So many books!

Today I went to the Boston Public Library to do some research on Phillis Wheatley. I wanted to see a complete collection of her poems and also get an idea of what was out there about her (in published form).

But before I start going on and on and on about how awesome the library was let me start off by saying that the subway service here has been eye opening! It's a great mechanism for transportation and really convenient. The stations are not too far from one another and they are divided nicely around the city.

Today I boarded the subway to go inbound towards Government Center at Fenway Station. This train would, on its way to GC, pass Copley Station, where I would get off and go to the library. Well Fenway Station is not like any station that I have been to yet. Unlike Kenmore and GC, Fenway doesn't have the gates were you have to either put in your ticket or swipe your CharlieCard. So I ended up using a scan machine that printed out a ticket. When I went to board the train I slightly panicked and just swiped my card...Opps. That was subway incident numero uno for the day.

I got off the train at Copley station and as I came up out of the station I practically walked into a Pride festival or parade. All of a sudden rainbow flags, colors, and music hit me in the face. There were people everywhere. Apparently there was a parade and Copley Square was on the way and it ended in downtown Boston I think?

Part of the festival/rally

The Boston Library is absolutely amazing! I have never been somewhere that has so many books in such a large place. I walked through what must have been the old entrance to the building. Here are some pictures from the outside and inside:

Boston Library entrance

Inside of the BL

Along the stairs

It was like a maze... which made finding the books unbelievably hard. It's an ironic situation, being in a library but unable to find the books. The reason for this is that the Library is a U or circle shape, and in order to get from the old entrance to the actual large circulating sections you have to go through all of these different rooms. Here's a picture of one of the rooms I passed by while searching for the larger stacks (I actually sat in this room while I googled the library map):

Social Sciences Room

I finally found the main stacks and I spent most of my day reading works (poems and letters) written by Phillis Wheatley.

A part of the many main stacks

Another entrance to the BL

After I completed my readings I thought I would go back to Emmanuel and get something to eat in that area. Here is where my second subway incident happened. Each station that I have been in so far has had two platforms, an outbound and inbound. Each station only had one entrance and it was to all the trains, meaning outbound and inbound. Well... Copley station is not like that at all. Copley has three above ground entrances. I assumed that the one I came out of was the one that I would need to take back. Well I went down into the station, swiped my card, and went out on the platform. Suddenly I realized that this was still the outbound line and the the inbound line was on the opposite side. I needed to go back and out and across the street to the other stations. I did this however my CharlieCard was denied access, probably because I had just swiped to for an inbound train and now I was trying to swipe it for an outbound train. Opps.

This is when panic started to set in. What if I fucked up my card? What if they think I'm cheating the system so now they shut down my card? Am I going to have to buy another one? Is it just timed out? Will it work at a different station? Thinking back to my previous obstacles I said to myself, "Just roll with it!" And that's what I did. I knew there was a park a few blocks away and that there were plenty of places to eat around here. If my card didn't work in an hour or two then I have money to just buy a regular ticket and return back to Fenway.

It ended up working out really nicely because I completed two things that I wanted to do by accident. The first one that as soon as I exited Copley station, where I failed to board the train, there was a street vender selling food- finally I was going to cross this off my bucket list. Eat a hotdog from a street vender in a city: Completed! It was very cheap and probably the best hotdog I have ever had, surprisingly.

Failed attempt at a incognito shot

Next I just walked around the square and accidentally found the Boston Marathon Memorial. I had planned to go to the spot where it occurred but I hadn't looked up the specifics yet. I knew it was in Boston, but not the exact locations. Apparently it occurred on the street that runs along the library and Copley Square. Here's a look at the memorial:

Memorial

It was kind of an overwhelming experience. I have been in Boston for a week and it's a beautiful city. The people are friendly, the transportation is great, and it just has such a welcoming feeling. Even the place where the bombings occurred, in the Copley Square area, it is quaint and surrounded by a bunch of old churches with one huge towering skyscraper. I was shocked when I realized this was the place. Here? But how, it's such a nice place... It makes you realize, don't take anything for granted, live everyday like it's your last.

Ok enough on that reflection and onto more pictures. Here are some pictures of the rest of the square and the park that I ended up in:

Old South Church

Trinity Church

Friends of the Public Park

Fountain and statue of George Washington

Eventually I went to a different station that was closer to the park and my CharlieCard worked- yay!

Lesson of the day: Don't sweat the small stuff.