Boston, Mass. Day 1!

I'm in Boston! After a day full of traveling to get here (I swear, taxi drivers any/everywhere know just how to keep me anxious), we got to our hotel a little after midnight and slept like logs.
But then today happened! My dad had meetings in the afternoon, so we took advantage of our morning together and walked on over to the Boston Public Library. We happened to stumble into a guy who asked us if we arrived for the tour of the library, and we decided to attend. The tour was fun and quite informative. I learned that the Boston Public Library was the first library that was free to the public in America, among many other things. The building is beautiful with art and murals and stunning architecture. I know where I'd like to work someday!
After the library we went to a fast food place for lunch before my dad had to go to meetings, so then it was just Mom and me off to have adventures.

These Sauron-lights were outside the library and I must have them.

Me, Momsie, and Popsicle in the courtyard in the library.

This was the large study area in the library. I expected to see Indiana Jones or the Ghostbusters, but they were out on business.

The would't let me up the spiral stairs. :-(

This is the view from the front steps of the library. That's Trinity Church - we went in but the tour didn't work with our schedule...maybe later!

 After lunch, we went for a long walk exploring the area. We walked through the park, but didn't see any swan boats. The lake was also empty, except for a narrow puddle of collected water. There were ducks in that inch-deep water though. I guess they were just making-do with what they had.

The most haunted-looking tree I have probably ever seen.

This is a sculpture inspired by the ducks that always crossed the road or something. My mom says we have a book about it; I guess I'll have to read it when I get home. 

 After the park, we walked around the area some more, but didn't really stop anywhere besides a fancy-looking old church. I took pictures, but they were too dark to post.
The architecture was really fun and diverse. We didn't wander as long as we would have liked because it was really cold.

A fun blue antiques shop amid a bunch of red-bricked buildings.

Did I mention it was COLD?!

 In the evening we went to dinner at the always delicious Cheesecake Factory, and right after that we went to the New England Conservatory's Jordan Hall to see a concert by the Berklee Orchestra. It was SO fun! They opened the night with the premier of a symphonic poem written by one of their own students! The guy was born in 1991! What have I done with my life?! The piece was astonishingly good, and I hope that the piece is someday released on recording so I can hear it again.
The second piece they played was Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet. I always love hearing the first section called "Montagues and Capulets" and if you're not familiar with it, look it up on Youtube and imagine stomping down the halls of your castle.

The Berklee Contemporary Orchestra. They were so fun!

The rest of the night's pieces were jazz, and I really liked most of the pieces. There was one piece with a really bizarre, experimental opening. It sounded more like a nightmare of noise than an orchestra following the written music, but the rest of the piece was nice.
The concert ended later that we expected, so afterwards we just all went back to the hotel. There is some international figure skating tournament this weekend and it seems like everyone involved is staying here. The lobby is PACKED with girls on their laptops and phones, all using the free wifi down there.
My mom and I are going to do some major sight-seeing tomorrow, so I'll take lots more pictures and write about it tomorrow.
Stay tuned!