Lucky for me, the school is only a relatively short trip from the T station (although it'll probably seem much further come winter when ice will cover every exposed surface).
Because I'm sure you all would be fascinated with what I saw, I took lots and lots of pictures. Here we go!
The above was taken while walking to the school. Simmons is located just south of the Back Bay Fens, a large park with a river running through it. (The park is on the left side of the road in the above picture.)
If you keep walking down this street, you come across this:
Lovely, eh? This is the main Simmons campus building (with a little GSLIS sign there to brighten your day). I didn't actually go inside this one, but I did go inside the one below:
This is the building that actually houses the GSLIS program, as you can see from the merry little banner hanging from it:
(Seriously--I kept seeing that motif everywhere!)
Anyway--as I said, I went inside this building and kind of self-consciously wandered down hallways and imagined of sitting in one of the many classrooms I saw, soaking in information, getting all librarianish. It was, as you might have guessed, perfectly lovely.
I love that I'm here now, but I feel rather eager to get started with my classwork and I get this slight feeling of impatience as I anticipate going through the next few months before classes actually start. However, I'm more than happy to be here. It's taken me a few days to kind of get my bearings, but now that I've been here a week, I feel much more comfortable here. It's starting to feel, if not like home quite yet, at least more like a place where I'm living, a place where I will enjoy myself immensely. (Even though I seriously felt like a tourist while I whipped out my camera every few steps so I could snatch a shot of an interesting building.)
And just so you can see where else I wandered today, I'll include some more pictures from my travels:
Above is the Museum of Fine Arts (which I saw on that eventful first Boston trip) and below you can see the home of the Boston Pops:
(Sorry that's rather a poor shot. Bleh.) After meandering even further up the street and onto some other streets I ran into the Christian Science Plaza. Good. Land. Check this church out:
I love domes. LOVE. THEM. And here's the rest of the plaza with the (very cool and soothing) reflecting pool that was all astir with ripples as I walked past:
Here's some more cool buildings I saw further up. I believe the first is Trinity Church, but I'm not sure what the second one is:
And then, joy of joys, guess what I walked up to (when I was about ready to head home because ohmygoodness my feet were just that sore)? Why, the Boston Public Library, of course! Which, you know, I simply couldn't pass up.
Here's the entrance at which I...er...entered:
And here's the inside of the entrance (looking back down on it):
Yah. I know. Awesome. Here's a shot of one of the reading rooms (gorgeous, eh?):
And right in the middle of the library, you find this courtyard:
I. Loved. It.
And then (because my aforementioned feet were threatening to strike and run off without me) I came home.
I still haven't seen everything I'd like to yet, but I'm getting there. Oh, I'm getting there.
10 comments:
So pretty! I wish Utah had great awesome buildings from that early America period... Maybe I should have gone to school in the east, too.
(BTW, I'm signing up for classes at the Y now. Crazy!
You could have told me that all those pictures were from a Europe trip, and I would have believed you. Too bad everything in Utah is only like 30 years old. Because once it's 30 years old, you should probably just tear it down and build something modern. Old stuff is way more cool!
Now, Jo - we DO have buildings that are more than 30 years old! I was singing in one that's 150 years old last night... the Tabernacle, and Temple Square, and other cool buildings downtown. There just are a lot fewer of them.
Love you, Beth! I'm so glad you get to be in such a cool place, and taking in all that history. We'll have to come and visit you while you're there. Watched Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (have you seen that great Frank Capra film? It stars Jimmy Stewart) - it's one of the best old movies ever. Anyway, when he gets to Washington, he spends the whole day wandering around Washington looking at all the cool historical stuff. And everyone is freaking out, because he's the new Senator, and no one can find him. Rent it. or better, check it out from the library (which is what I did, but I might just go and buy it, because it's so great). You'll love it!
Wow - how fun! Isn't adventuring the greatest?
Wow! Thanks for the tour - love that you are sharing your photos!...I'm sure I've seen that reading room in a movie somewhere...which reminds me - have you seen the movie "The Librarian?" It's about a guy who goes on grand adventrues gathering historical artifacts that are stored in a secret room in some national library, which has nothing at all to do with your post - I just thought about it as I was looking at your photos....
Ok, I'll stop now.
Wow. Baltimore is just a little bit more disappointing now.
Debs! Awesome! What classes are you taking? (Tell me in an email, btw, in case someone is stalking you. ;)) And heck--you're always welcome to at least visit. I think the previous tenant in my room left an inflatable air mattress under the bed. :)
Oh, Jo! Um. Yes. I just went on a quick trip to...er...Italy. Thought it might be nice. Change of pace & all that. Ahem. (Actually, I love all these old buildings too. What's really amazing to me is that they're all within walking distance of each other!)
Mary--you're right, of course. The ones here are a bit older than that, of course, but not nearly so important. :) And I actually have seen Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, although it's been quite a while. I loved it too. It's wonderful to see the triumph of that optimist in a pessimistic world.
Lindsay, I love all this adventuring. Of course, I've been lazy all day today, but I'll probably adventure tomorrow so it'll all come out even, right?
And Pat, it wouldn't surprise me if that room had been in a movie. It looked kind of familiar to me too, although it may just have been the general booky atmosphere. And I actually haven't seen the movie The Librarian, although with a title and plot like that, I definitely want to.
Christian, I could say, "Hah! My city is cooler than your city!" but I won't. I'm just not that cruel. (And hey--you can always come and visit. (That goes for the rest of you too.) Maybe eventually I'll even know my way around well enough to be a most excellent tour guide.)
So its not normally on my list of must see places in D.C., but I guess the Library of Congress will have to be on our to-do list when you come to visit!
But I have to stand up for the West...its been slammed a lot on this blog recently. Without the "new" settlements of the west the world would be a mess. We'd have no "yo" no "dude" and wearing flip flops in the winter and socks with sandals would be taboo. Not to mention cowboys and flannel shirts. Yeah yeah old buildings blah blah, where would the women on the world be without cowboys? Imagine Seattle without flannel...yikes. If it were up to the women in my neighborhood, no one would go to the grocery store without pearls and high heels. The West is a very very good place.
Oi! Pam! I seriously did not mean to slam the West. I love the West with all its friendly people and mountains and (oh, sad feeling coming on) family. :( I miss it much much much.
However, I like the East too and I hope I'll love it here at least partly as much as I love the West. :)
And yes. The Library of Congress is a MUST. :D
You're all forgiven. Just don't let it happen again! :)
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