Mapparium

Weather-wise, it's such a lovely day weekend. We've had some amazing weather, going up to the 70s on Saturday...almost like a mid-October mini summer. I've been down to the Charles River to get some amazing shots of Boston and sailboats (see the last post), and today we ventured over to the Christian Science area. The day began with a delicious (and filling) breakfast made by my culinary-gifted sweetheart, and a short trip to Blue State Coffee, a company dedicated to sustainability and they donate 2% of their profits to local charities/organizations that the customers get to vote on. I love democracy...almost as much as I loved their apple cider, made from local apples (from Carlson Orchards in Harvard, MA!).

The Hall of Ideas

We leisurely walked through the Fenway area, made a quick stop at the New England Conservatory, and then made our way to catch the last tour of the day at the Christian Science Center.


Upon walking in, you are greeted by the Hall of Ideas, a vast hall with a bronze and glass sculpture in the middle that doubles as a fountain. Thanks to a great deal of technology, lights shine down on it from above, projecting quotes onto the surface that follow the flow of the water. There is also an on-going video about Mary Baker Eddy and her life, and how she came to found Christian Science.

Mapparium

Next, you are brought into the Mapparium, the only structure of its kind in the world. You enter a huge glass sphere, which includes the entire map of the world (as you can see by the picture, a lovely view of the Eastern Hemisphere). Since we weren't allowed to take any pictures, I snatched this one off the internet. Everyone enters through one door, exits out the other, and you get to stand on a bridge in the middle, for the best possible 360 degree view. There is a short show that they do inside as well, highlighting the different continents, giving us a very brief overview of the world and global economy.

Glass sculpture/fountain

The glass is made so that you can switch it out, in order to keep the map updated. The current map is kept exactly the same as it was when it was built in 1935-with labels like Italian East Africa, Siam, and the Soviet Union. And the acoustics! Since it's a sphere and made out of glass, if you stand in the middle of the bridge and speak, you hear your voice, and voices around you as if they were in surround sound. At one point, someone across the bridge made a comment about Czechoslovakia, and I could have sworn it was Adam, and upon "shush-ing" him, I realized it was not, in fact, him at all. It also has a "whispering gallery" effect, where two people standing on opposite sides of the bridge can speak in a whisper, and the spherical shape
of the room makes it so easy for sound to travel that it sounds like the person opposite from you is whispering right into your ear.
After hanging out in the Mapparium for a while trying out the acoustics for ourselves (i.e. whispering "I love you" across the map and being able to hear it right in my ear from Adam, who was standing at the other end of the map <3) We went outside and decided on walking over to the Prudential building. As you can see, I got a really great shot of the Christian Science Center building, a beautiful structure with some nice autumnal foliage surrounding it.

We walked by the reflection pool hand in hand, reflecting on past visits to the same spot. It was starting to get chilly, which was nice because there wasn't a huge amount of people visiting. Come here in the middle of summer when the fountain at the end is turned on, and you'll see kids in swim suits frolicking in the fountain, (as well as fully clothed adults sometimes :) and college students), and you'll see tourists taking pictures of their families in front of the pool. In past posts I have taken many more pictures of this area, as it's just so beautiful.

Reflection Pool

Reflection pool

These pictures serve as a great reminder as to not only why I am still living in this wonderful city, but why I am as in love with it as the day I moved here over five years ago. Yes, I agree that sentence was awkwardly written, but you get my point. It's a great city, rich with history, culture and beauty. 

Boston, you're my home, and I love ya for it.

Prudential Building