First stop: Ruggles

A beautiful city, culturally, historically and asthetically

Hello all! In many of my posts I have mentioned that I am from the city of Boston, and that this city is one of the best places you will ever go to. After flirting around this theme, now is the time to really get down to business to tell you everything you need to know and to convince you as to why this is the best city I have ever been to.

If you recall from my post about my trip to Miami, I compared Boston to New York, Miami, and Los Angeles, and clearly informed you that Boston is the smallest, least overwhelming and most accessible through public transportation than any of the other cities.

If you don't know where it is, here is a map:

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Boston is in the northeast of the USA. A four-hour drive to New York City and a five-hour drive to Montreal, Canada. I think we (Bostonians) have the best of both worlds.

Asthetically, Boston is quaint, original and historical. One of the first cities set up and colonized by the British more than 300 years ago, many of Boston’s buildings retain their British-influenced architecture and most of the historical events leading up to the American revolution took place in Boston.

When I was a young girl in elementary school, we had to do a project in which we researched an important event or monument in Boston and then present it in class. The topic I chose to do my project on was the Freedom Trail.

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This literal trail, a red painted or brick line, leads you on a tour of Boston and takes you to every important monument or place where a significant event took place in Boston’s colonial history, leading up to the revolution and freedom of the colonists from the British. This tour can be done individually or in a tour group; either way it is a good way to burn calories and learn all about Boston at the same time.

The unique Boston accent

Mixed into Boston’s historic culture is a very modern, international culture as well, which is what makes Boston unique from all other yankee cities (from New England). When I tell people I am from Boston, they don’t really believe me because I don’t speak with a typical Boston accent. I actually have my own unique accent, which I have no idea where it came from.

A Boston accent goes like this: They add an ‘r’ in words where it doesn’t exist, such as in a word that ends in ‘a’; and where there exists an ‘r’, you remove it. For example, if you say the very typical line: “I park my car in Harvard Yard to go eat lobster”, Bostonians would say “I pahk ma cah in Hahvahd Yahd to go eat lobstah”. Or instead of saying, “I love pizza”, you’d say “ I love pizzer”. Even though I don’t speak like this, I feel at home when I hear others using this accent.

Regardless of how cold it gets here in the winter months, Boston is always a cool city, all year round.

The transportation system

One of the best ways to view Boston is by going in by train because sometimes it is difficult to find free or inexpensive parking. There is the purple-colored commuter rail train and the subway/metro trolley, known as "The T". The colors of the T are: the green line, the red line, the orange line, the blue line, and the silver line. These cost between $2-3 for a one way ticket. Boston also has a bus system, but I have never used it so I can't give advice about that.

From my home, I can walk 8 minutes to the commuter rail station and in 30 minutes I'll arrive in Boston, at either the Ruggles, Back Bay, or South Station train stops. A one-way pass is $6. 75, a roundtrip is $12. 75, and the total one-way trip is about 30 minutes, give or take. Sometimes it can be delayed due to weather issues, or due to other technical problems, but for the most part the trains are on time and efficient.

The Ruggles train stop

Ruggles is right at the Northeastern University Campus, nearly across the street from the Museum of Fine Arts. Usually at night I would be careful around the Ruggles area because it borders with the part of the city called Roxbury and it can sometimes get a little rowdy around there.

Northeastern University

The campus itself is very nice and safe, and since I have a good friend who studied at Northeastern, I have been there many times to attend several events which I was invited to by some friends, including the lovely weekly iftar dinners during the holy month of Ramadan. Northeastern has a true community feel, and even though I was never a student here, I have always felt welcome and comfortable here.

Since the area around Northeastern is targeted for university students, there are many restaurants and bars in the area which are popular among students. I personally like Shawarma King, but there are many more to choose from.

The Museum of Fine Arts

Just across from the Northeastern University campus you'll find Boston's Museum of Fine Arts, represented by the statue of Chief Massasoit on his horse, the Native American Chief of the Wampanoags, who the state of Massachusetts is actually named after.

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The Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) is great because it has many levels, and my favourite parts are the Egyptian and Japanese exhibits. These interest me more than the Rennaisance, classical, Romanesque or African art, maybe because I feel very connected to Egyptian and Japanese culture.

Every few months, a new temporary exhibit will come to the MFA, and I will make an effort to attend these exhibits when they specialize in something Japanese because Japanese art and history greatly interests me. I have come to the MFA on many school trips, but I have also come here several times with friends, cousins, or my parents.

The Fenway

Behind the Museum of Fine Arts is the area of Boston called The Fenway. This is obviously where Fenway Park home field of the Boston Red Sox, is located.

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I love the Fenway area because I think it is one of the greenest parts of Boston. There is a river or pond that snakes through the Fenway with many trees surrounding the water. I have come here several times on walks and I find it relaxing from the bustling city life.

There are also a few local parks scattered around the area; a few are small ones just for little kids, and then there’s a big park, behind Peterborough street that is used for baseball, soccer, running and bike riding. Since I am a lazy person, you won’t find me running around the park, but I’ll be sitting up on the bleachers watching people play and exercise. I would come here a lot with a friend and we would talk and sometimes make fun of people playing on the field.

Now, about the Red Sox, I have been to maybe 4 games in my life, which is not bad but it’s also not a signification that I am a huge fan. The truth is that although I do support all my city‘s sport teams, I am not an avid fan and I never watch the games on television unless it’s the NFL Superbowl or MLB World Series, and the former is mainly to watch the great commercials that accompany the broadcast.

Other than that, I don’t enjoy watching American sports on TV because the advertisements just take up the bulk of the time. Call me “anti-American” if you want, but I would much rather watch a game of soccer: It’s 90 minutes, to the point, and since the game is a constant play (not many pauses or time-outs), the commercials are very limited, thus making the game more enjoyable to watch.

The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

Very close to Fenway Park exists a beautiful museum-turned mansion known as the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum. The owner of this home was a rich and influential woman from the beginning of the 20th century who furnished and decorated her home with objects from all over the world, and as a fun fact she loved the Red Sox.

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This is hands down the most beautiful courtyard I have seen, and because of it, I have been to this museum two or three times. I have always felt inspired by this courtyard garden and I hope one day to be able to have one like it.

Now that I have covered most of what there is to see around the Ruggles train stop, I can move on to the next stop on this virtual tour: Back Bay. Check out the next post!

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