One suitcase, one openmind and a beating heart are all I need to begin journey of an adventurer. I tried to squeeze 10 days worth of wardrobe in a carry-on luggage which is a challenge, especially  with the season changing  in the East Coast. Lesson learnt: packed light, flip flop, comfy shoes/ walking sneakers would be preferable, simple color clothes are easy  to mix match. Fortunately my style is not too fancy , so the fashionista inside me could be still manageable.

I made a quick stop at Cleveland, the heart of rock and roll. Rusty guitar statue inside the heart of airport is a living roof of music power withstanding through time. Red-eyed flight is worth it after all.

First time in Boston to me is an interlectual journey to a city known for an international hub of higher education and culture. I couldn’t check in my airbnb until later so I decide to start my exploring a little bit early with luggage in hand. Luckily my first stop is the Mary Baker Eddy Library . They are so kind, they offer a locker for my luggage while I’m in the area, as long as I picked it up before they closed.

What doe it feel like to live within the earth instead of walking on it, don’t we all wonder? That is what you should get to experience  at Mapparium located within the Mary Eddy Baker museum on 200 Massachusetts Avenue. Mapparium is a three-story, inverted globe consisting of 608 stained-glass panels, was built back in 1935 on a 1inch:20 miles scale. None of the panels were updated since 1935 so visitors might notice such a historical  differences  on how each country depicted then in term of their names and boundaries. As walking through the globe via a thirty-foot glass bridge from which they can stand in the middle of the world. The Mapparium’s other notable features were actually completely unintentional: its spherical shape and glass construction create multiple unique acoustic effects. Standing in the center of the globe, directly under the North Star, one can hear their voice in surround sound, as though they were speaking into their own ears. At either end of the bridge, visitors can also whisper from one doorway and be heard perfectly from the opposite side, 30 feet away, in a “whispering gallery” effect.

Also a must-see in Mary Eddy Baker library is The Hall of Ideas which located on the first floor of the library is used for talks, musical performances, and presentations for the public. An original work of art created by acclaimed glass sculptor Howard Ben Tré serves as the centerpiece of this two-story hall. The cast glass and bronze sculpture is a fountain integrated with a media production of constantly changing quotations from some of history’s most influential thinkers.

In a collaboration with media designer David Small, a graduate of the MIT Media Lab, state-of-the-art computer programming is used to project words and ideas throughout the Hall of Ideas. The quotes bubble up from the center of the basin of water in the fountain, flow around the rim toward observers, and finally overflow onto the floor and up the walls onto scrims.

A word of wisdom for day one: “There are … two kinds of gratitude: the sudden kind we feel for what we take;  the larger kind we feel for what we give” _ Edwin Arlington Robinson. Unfortunately, the projecter for the fountain was down so I’m a little disappointed.

Neighbor to the library is First Church of Christ, Scientist which the Mother Church and administrative headquarters of the Church of Christ, Scientist, also known as the Christian Science church. Christian Science was founded in the 19th century in Lynn, Massachusetts, by Mary Baker Eddy with the publication of her book, Science and health (1875). It is located in the 14.5-acre Christian Science Center in Boston, Massachusetts. The center is owned by the church and contains the Original Mother Church (1894), Mother Church Extension (1906),Christian Science Publishing House, Mary Baker Eddy Library, the Administration Building, Colonnade Building, and Reflection Hall. There is also a reflecting pool and fountain.

Day versus night shot of First Church of Christ, Scientist give me a sense of perfect architectural in the heart of Boston.

Prudential  tower and skywalk  observatory at night is also a spectacular view I’m never tired to look at.

Amazing dinner served at Island Creek Oyster Bar knocked out all the oysters and lobster I ever tasted. Now I understand why Maine oyster and lobster are known to be died for. Yum yum yum.

Until tomorrow we will start our real journey learning more about the culture and history of one of the oldest city in the Metropolitan area.