Mini tour!

I wanted to share the photos of my little walk yesterday. Boston is known as "America's Walking City" and it really is very friendly to pedestrians. The city park and the Commons are always busy--folks sunbathing, reading, making music and so on! It is busy but not stressful. The park is about 2 blocks wide by 4 blocks in length. It isn't remote and you can walk through it at any time and feel completely safe. I can't help but think how delightful it would be to work in this city and walk through the park on the way home. It would totally destress a person!

I left the NEHGS library and headed the two blocks on Newbury Street to the City Park. Along the way, I passed this:

Fortunately, they were closed!

Next is the City Park:






The swan boats were put away for the night! This particular walk was straight across the center of the park and over the foot bridge.

Once through the park, there is a street then you come to Boston Commons.


People were starting to gather for Shakespeare in the Park. The play this summer is "A Midsummer Night's Dream."


Through those trees is a playground with a water mister and the frog pond which is a large wading pool for the little ones!

Below you can see the far corner of the Commons where you can look up the hill and see the State House!


Directly across the street is the Old Park Church which is undergoing some restoration.


Next to Park Church is the Grannery Burying Ground. This is one of my favorite places. I was bummed out to see that the gate was locked. I will have to go back before I leave. This is truly hallowed ground. The signs on the gate tell you some of the notable gravesites.


John Hancock, Samuel Adams, Paul Revere, Robert Paine, Ben Franklin's Parents, the victims of the Boston Massacre and Mother Goose! It boggles my mind to see this place tucked between the church and another city building.
Here are a couple more shots of the Burying Ground:


The tall marker you see is that of John Hancock.

I turned back and walked along Boylston which runs along the edge of the Commons and the park.

I was standing next to another old Burying Ground when I took that photo. It is right at the corner of the Commons.

As I walked along the side of the park, I was thinking of the words to the old Stephen Foster song:
"Wherever I wander, wherever I roam
Be it ever so humble, there's no place like . . . "


Starbucks!
They are almost on every corner and I've been to all of them!
This one is on Beacon Street across from the Commons and the park and one block down from this Boston landmark:



As I headed back to Newbury Street, I passed by Commonwealth Street which runs parallel to it. I stopped to take a photo of one of the spectacular row houses there.

This street is fabulous. It has a park that runs down the middle of it and it is lined with huge, multimillion dollar historic homes that are just the picture of elegance along with turn of the century apartment buildings with roof top decks.

I didn't get to see much today. I pretty much spent the day from noon until 8:30 p.m. in the library. My eyes are going nuts after reading microfilms of 300 year old wills and the like!

Tomorrow I will do some exploring in Rhode Island then pick up DH at the airport in Providence.

I can't leave without my regular features:

Bushism of the day:
"I mean, there needs to be a wholesale effort against racial profiling, which is illiterate children." --George W. Bush, second presidential debate, Oct. 11, 2000

Oh my!

Kitty Cam:
This one is from Ems who is annoyed that Mokey would rather cuddle with KC than her!