I try to manage my infrequent trips to Boston so as to catch good weather, since so much of the city is a treat for pedestrians  like me. Yesterday was Memorial Day, perfectly clear, with a high temp of around 70. Perhaps ten days a year have conditions so perfect for pounding the pavement as a camera-toting tourist.

“That’s not a trail,” you’re sniffing. My reply: “Is, too.” I haven’t been to every part of the city, but as someone who Will Not Drive In Boston, I assure you it’s an urban walker’s dream.

Yesterday’s trip was inspired by two things. The memory of the atrocity of the bombings at the Boston Marathon last month is still fresh. I wanted to make my own quiet, private statement that no terrorist is going to bomb me into being scared of the city. Prompted in part by gratitude for the overwhelming support for the city expressed by people from everywhere since the bombings, and no doubt partly to say that the city is very much still open to tourism, the Museum of Fine Arts offered three days of free admission over the holiday weekend. That clinched it. I plunked down $22 to Boston Express for a bus ride to South Station.

Ironically, when I got to the Museum, I found a line outside about 200 yards long of people waiting to get in. That’s a great testament to both to the Museum and to the city’s low fear-factor. I wasn’t in town to wait in line, though, so I moved on.

Yesterday was Memorial Day, and Boston honored Massachusetts’ war dead with a simple but moving display of over 30,000 American flags on Boston Common. That’s one flag f Continue reading →