New Campus, Boston Common & OMG My Poor Aching Feet

After I left the Poe statue I continued down Boylston Street and was surprised to stumble on Emerson's new campus.  I totally forgot that they moved to this part of town.  To me it seems very crowded and cramped compared to the brownstones and dorms on Beacon.  But at least the whole campus is one place, instead of being as spread out as it was in the 80s.

Of course I had to stop into the bookstore to pick up a couple of souvenirs.  In my day the bookstore was awful, and in the basement of 100 Beacon Street.  It was tiny and cramped and stuffy.  There was a nicer store that sold tshirts and stuff in the Student Union.  Now it's all in one Barnes & Noble and is very nice.

Turning the corner onto Tremont Street, I noticed this ancient cemetery in Boston Common.  If I knew this was there in the past, I totally forgot about it.  I really didn't remember ever seeing this before.  

Across the street from Boston Common is this awesome tilework on the Masonic Lodge.

Another statue in the Common on the Tremont Street side.

By this point I was really humping it to get back to the bus station....it was 12:40 and the bus was set to leave at 1:15.

Downtown Crossing again.

Uh-oh!  The British are coming! The British are coming!  

Wow what a great day!  The weather was perfect...not too hot at all but comfortable for this epic walking tour.  And that's what's so great about Boston, you can do the entire city in just a few short hours (if you skip museums and tours).  I made it back to South Station by 1:00 pm and home by 2:30. My feet were absolutely screaming when I got on the bus and my back kinda went out a little bit too...this was an ambitious first walking day trip of the year. This is a map of the area I visited with a poorly drawn red line to show where I walked.  Started on the right side, worked my way to the top, then over to the far left and back to the right.  No idea how many miles it was, but I'm guessing at least 4-5.

I hope you enjoyed my tour of Beantown!

The Public Gardens and EA Poe

One of the reasons I wanted to get to Boston ASAP this spring was that the Public Gardens were in full bloom and it truly is a sight to see.  I entered the Gardens through the Arlington Street gate at the George Washington statue.

That is one of the famous swanboats.  I did it once many years ago in the mid 80s and hope to again one of these days.

Next thing on the list was the new Edgar Allen Poe statue at the corner of Boylston and Charles Streets.  Although he is associated with Baltimore, he was born in Boston and apparently hated the city.  He is facing the direction of the home in which he was born, although I did not venture down to see it.  

The Telltale Heart.

The Raven.

And some quotes embedded in the sidewalk as well.

 Phew! What a tour!  Almost done!

First Day Trip of the Year!

I have desperately.....desperately...needed to get out of town.  I chose Boston for my first day trip because I wanted to see the Public Gardens in full bloom, plus once it gets hot and humid, traipsing around the city is no fun at all.  

I took the 7:55 AM bus from Sagamore.  Here it comes!  It costs $33 round trip, but it's so worth it to have someone else do the driving.  Plus it can use the HOV lane and bypass the bumper to bumper commuter traffic.  I don't know how people do that every day.  You see the electronic signs that show how far/how long it is to the next major highway and I'm sorry but '5 miles/40 minutes' is just insane.

You can see how empty the HOV lane is compared to the traffic on 93 to the right.

The iconic 'Chinaman' tank in Dorchester.  I know that's not very 'PC' to refer to it that way but everyone in the region calls it The Chinaman.  It was painted by Corita in the 70s and the blue looks like a Chinese man with a long beard (he's facing left)

After I got off the bus at South Station, I first headed towards the Children's Museum so I could shoot the big milk bottle.  I think this is some kind of complex string art.  I don't know how they got it hung without tangling. 

Crossing over the water and looking at Atlantic Wharf.

Didn't even know there was a Tea Party museum over there.

Now I can check this one off the local bucket list.

Back over the bridge.

Saw some Patriots at the Tea Party Museum.

I love this mural.

South Station.

Then I walked through Downtown Crossing on my way to explore Beacon Hill, which was my old stomping ground at Emerson.  This orange sign is really faded now but it's been there since the 70s. It's one of the last remaining signs in this area, that I remember from when I lived there 30 years ago. I cannot believe it's been that long.

Now I am up on Beacon Hill and let me tell you, I could spend hours and hours exploring and shooting every nook and cranny up there.  It's sooooo picturesque.

Tons of these little 'hobbit doors' as I call them, that lead to basement apartments.

Love the brick work and architecture so much.

Louisburg Square is one of the most expensive places in the USA to live.

It's gorgeous.  I'm not sure I would want to live here....it's a little too cramped for my liking but I'm sure those buildings have spacious rooms.  Parking can't be very easy, although it is for residents only.

This is the other side of the square on Pinckney Street.

Looking up the hill on Pinckney Street.  The trees were amazing with all the white blossoms.

There are tons of these courtyards with lamp posts and that's what I love the best about Beacon Hill.

Two such court yards always stuck in my head from my Emerson days.  This is Primus Avenue. I always loved the gate, although back in the day it was usually open but it was locked now.

This is my absolute favourite one on the hill: Champney Place.  I was sooooo happy to see that it hadn't changed one bit since I last saw it in the mid-80s.

I don't know what this used to be but it's so unusual and somewhat out of place for an alley but someone has kept up with the white paint.

Stay tuned for more!