by Kiran Jayasinghe
Today we woke up at 10:30. You would think this would have us rested and energized and ready to go, right? Wrong. We woke up cranky and sluggish and ready to go – back to bed. Somehow, our mom got us out of the house and into Starbucks for breakfast, where we ate our bacon, egg, and gouda sandwich. By then, we were excited and fueled, so you can imagine the energy we had when we heard we were going to the Boston Public Library.
The first public lending library, the Boston Public Library (BPL) is magnificent in it’s own 17th century way. The BPL has several floors with gigantic rooms filled with books and reading tables. It has it’s own cafe and high tea room. It also has a new, renovated, second wing, complete with modern computer catalogs and reading nooks. We enjoyed time in the BPL’s map room as well.
After visiting the BPL, we stopped and took an audio tour of Trinity Church, just across the street. We learned so much history about the church, we were happy to donate. After the tour, we took an Uber ride to Faneuil Hall. The environment surrounding it is awesome! People are always giving shows, either singing, drumming, or – performing flips on a pogo stick. The actual hall is filled with tiny shops and boutiques, selling Boston merchandise, keychains, and more! The Quincy market, opposite Faneuil Hall, is filled with dozens of restaurants, selling a variety of foods, from fresh lobster rolls and clam chowder, to amazing cupcakes, gelato, and saltwater taffy and chocolate.
We finished our day by ordering room service. We ordered clam chowder and quesadillas, both of which were wonderful and sent us off to sleep.