Wanna make friends in a city?

If you want to get noticed and have people talk to you then try knitting on the T or the bus. I've been working on a scarf for my roommate and while I was waiting for the bus today I had two older Chinese women come up and ask questions about it. Then after class a girl came over and asked to look at it before she ran to catch the 60 bus. So if you're new to a city and feeling a little lonely then just knit in public, you'll have scores of friends in no time!

Granary Cemetery

John Hancock

Paul Revere

The carving on the headstones is so beautiful

Mother Goose

As part of the Freedom Trail we walked past the Granary Cemetery, buried there are Sam Adams, Paul Revere, John Hancock, Mother Goose, the parents of Benjamin Franklin, and the victims of the Boston Massacre. As you can see in one of the pictures you can get a tour guide dressed in period costume, and there's also usually someone by the gate handing out guides to the cemetery and then asking for a contribution. The guides are helpful if you want a lot of history or if you just want to be able to find Mother Gooses' headstone.

Trinity Church

These pictures may look familiar from my last entry on Copley Square since Trinity Church is in the middle of the square. On Saturday I met up with my friend Amanda to walk the freedom trail and since we were so close to Copley and she had never seen it I decided we needed to start there. Normally I would give you all kinds of fun info about why it's important but I am a very busy and frantic grad student, so just enjoy the pictures!

Copley Square

I liked the contrast between the old church and the new office building.

Saturday was Brewery day but I had to go to class first and once I was done around noon Rick and I were too hungry to head straight to the brewery. So we hopped on the green line to head into the city and get closer to where we would eventually pick up the orange line. Playing it by ear we decided to get off at the Copley stop and look around for a restaurant. Before eating though I had to snap some pictures of the great buildings in the area, play with the statues of a turtle and a hare, and gawk at a dalmatian spotted pigeon. It was a beautiful day to just hang out by the fountain and people watch but we were on a mission and didn't hang out very long.

In case you didn't know where you are, the red pin will tell you that you're in Copley Square.

Boston Public Library

Sam Adams Brewery

Rick came up to visit me this weekend so we could celebrate our two year anniversary. Since it's such a long trip for him I wanted to make sure I had some really fun things up my sleeve for us to do. Luckily someone from my history class suggested the Sam Adams brewery. The brewery is in Jamaica Plain and the tour (with a beer tasting) is free although they appreciate a donation of 2 dollars per person which is given to local Boston charities. It's a bit of a hike to get to the brewery but well worth it. Take the orange line to the Stony Brook station and take a left out of the station, from that point on the signs will lead you right to the brewery.
While waiting for our tour to start we got to sit in the beer garden and try samples of some new flavors, a blackberry and a coffee porter, and then vote for our favorite which will be coming out in stores this winter. The tour was pretty basic, an explanation of the ingredients (which were passed around so you could smell and taste them) and then our guide walked us through the brewing process.
While the information was fun and added to my beer education, we (and everyone else) clearly were most interested in the beer tasting. After being given free tasting glasses, we were taught how to sample a beer and then had the Sam Adams Lager and the Octoberfest. After finishing our beers we were encouraged to visit the gift shop (we just really wanted the glasses so we skipped that) and then we headed back to the orange line.
In all it was a fun outing, be prepared for a bit of a raucous college atmosphere, but for 2 dollars each and free beer, who can complain?

City life thus far

I started my morning off by staying in bed (it was too comfortable to resist and I get a kick out of watching the pigeons on the roof next door). After feeling sufficiently lazy I had my to do list to attend to starting off with a visit to work to drop off my HR forms. The campus used to be a finishing school for privileged women and it is absolutely beautiful to walk around. I still can't believe I started school, moved into a new apartment, and got a job all within a week of moving to Boston! After leaving the campus I got the crazy idea to walk from Chestnut Hill into Boston and was doing pretty well until the light sprinkle turned into a full blown thunder storm. A quick hike to the nearest bus stop (luckily a covered one) then a twenty minute wait and my pleasant walk turned into a nice bus road. My friend was going to meet me at Faneuil Hall but I got there a little early and was freezing and starving, what can solve both problems? Indian food! A huge serving of aloo mutter and I was finally warm again (and sweating from all the spices) and my friend showed up just as I was finished eating. Coming from undergrad in rural New York I am loving the selection and availability of delicious ethnic food. However with all the yummy temptations I'll have to be doing a lot more walking (unless there is thunder).

Hello Boston!

Boston garden

Sorry for the delay... I have moved to Boston and it is good! My mom helped me with the move, a couple bruises and a lot of coffee later and we had transferred me and all of my physical belongings (okay, at least 75% of my belongings) from one state to another. The bed decided to fight us but after a trip to the hardware store and a good deal of time locked in my room I had a futon frame that was not only put together but was not stuck in the couch position (this at one point required my to prop up the frame with my toes so I could screw one side in). Since fully nesting in my new room and making myself at home I have dealt with Satan Kitty (she welcomed me by peeing on my bed), gotten a T pass, navigated public transportation, purchased my grad school books (eek and yikes!), and had a great day in China Town/Financial District with my friends. We walked all around the public garden, had amazing dim sum, drinks near Faneuil hall, and plan to do a lot more exploring together. So far I guess it's a big hooray for city life!