<p>is the last Saturday in February, and my son has joined a multistate team that will compete there. So he and I have hurriedly made arrangements to travel to Cambridge, my first trip there since November 1998 and his first trip ever. </p>
<p>It looks like we’ll be able to join in on a Harvard tour and info session while there, which is the plan of some of the other mathletes coming in from out of town. The Harvard admissions website suggests that I can take the “T” all the way from Logan Airport to Harvard Square, something I was not aware of before. (I REFUSE to rent cars in Boston. On four previous trips to Boston, I LOVED the two trips without cars, and hated the two trips with rental cars. Boston is a great area to see by public transportation and on foot.) </p>
<p>What should we be sure to see on our quick trip? What (besides the Big Dig) has changed about the Boston and Cambridge area in the last decade?</p>
<p>token, I can’t give you any advice about what has changed but wanted to wish your S good luck at the tournament. DD and her team went a few years ago. They did pretty well all things considered, but were astounded by the matching shirts and jackets that some of teams had.</p>
<p>I highly recommend public trans, too. If your S winds up in Boston for college, the T and walking will be a way of life. If you have time, you might take a tour of the other campus along the Charles…</p>
<p>You can get to Harvard Square from Logan by public transport, but it will take at least one change of lines. Take the Silver Line from Logan to South Station, then take the Red Line to Harvard Square.</p>
<p>Lots has changed in Boston in the past 10 years! If the Celtics or the Bruins are playing (and you’re sports fans), check out the new TD BankNorth Boston Garden, right at North Station where the old Boston Garden was.</p>
<p>Even in winter, it’s worth just taking a walk through the Public Gardens and Boston Common - that’s part of quintessential Boston, accessible from Harvard Square via the Red Line to Park Street.</p>
<p>The Museum of Science may be worth a look as well.</p>
<p>Are you staying in Harvard Square. We stayed last year at Harvard Square Hotel. Not the best place but very convenient to Harvard and to the T. Hopefully the competition will give you and son opportunity to get over to Boston for at least one great Italian meal in the North End. It is fun to walk around the North End and see Old North Church,etc. Also, see if any sporting events are happening at Harvard. It is Hockey, Basketball, and Indoor Track Season. It is a great way to mingle with students.</p>
<p>The MIT Museum is great, but I think it’s almost better just to stroll the halls of MIT and look at the displays on the walls. The engineering library under the big dome is a great place to spend a few hours. My son used to love looking through a few of the dozens of journals on display. There are a couple of small museums right in the main campus - one is an aeronautical museum on the corridor parallel to Mass Ave., on the section toward the Charles from the 77 Mass Ave. entrance. There is another one, with changing displays, on the first floor under the dome. You take the elevator from that area to the 5th floor to get to the engineering library.</p>
<p>I’ll be away end of February, otherwise, I’d invite you to drop by. Is HMMT at MIT or Harvard this year? Alas, the Hotel at MIT has turned into Le Meridien, a posh and expensive hotel.
Indeed, you should take the T rather than a taxi (that should set you back $45, as opposed to $1.75 on the T). Take the Silver Line bus to South Station, and from there the Red Line to either Kendall Square/MIT or Harvard.
Royal East on Main Street in Cambridge is close to MIT. When S participated in HMMT years ago, we took him and a few other participants we knew to Royal East for lunch.
In Boston, I like the Gardner Museum as well as the MFA. The new ICA is a great piece of architecture, the art I saw there somewhat uneven. You and your son may like to see the Stata Center at MIT, designed by Gehry. It leaks, and MIT is suing Gehry, but it is certainly eye-catching!</p>
<p>If you had more time and means of transportation, I’d suggest you drive out to the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem. It has an old house that was transported from Guangdong. It also had a wonderful exhibition of Korean art when we visited some time ago.</p>
<p>The Stata Center has a display of various hacks that have taken place over the years. Also has food and places to hang out, talk to people, etc.</p>
<p>Too bad there won’t be a meet-up with marite on this trip. Thanks to all for the suggestions of things to see and do. Okay, now I get that the “T” to Logan is a bus, not a subway line.</p>
<p>Not the T generally means the subway, although it also encompasses the bus system. The Silver Line is a bus that goes from Logan Airport to South Station where you can get on the Red Line of the subway system. South Station is also the terminus of AMTRAK; there is also a commuter train (known locally as the “purple line” that goes out to the Western suburbs.</p>
<p>The Stata Center has been described as “drunken robots.” It appeals to some, and does not to others. But it certainly is an architectural improvement on Building 20!</p>
<p>The last time we visited Boston, we made a point to stop at Harvard’s Sackler Museum to see their collection of ancient Chinese artifacts. My ds2 was studying Chinese history at that point and it was the best collection we have seen.</p>
<p>Here’s part of the blurb copied from its website. “…Among its treasures are the world’s finest collections of archaic Chinese jades and Japanese surimono, as well as outstanding Chinese bronzes, ceremonial ancient weapons, and …”</p>
<p>If you like to try different ethnic foods, Central Square (about a 10 minute walk from Harvard Square, or one stop on the subway) has loads of options, including Ethiopian and Tibetan.</p>
<p>To take in one of Boston’s charming neighborhoods, take the subway and get off at Charles Street/MGH and walk along Charles street to the Boston Common.</p>
<p>I LOVE ethnic food. Thanks for the suggestion. It looks like there aren’t enough meal times on this trip to take up all the good eating suggestions. :)</p>