Five hours and two very sore legs later, I’ve seen most of the Cows in Boston. I knew I had to get to as many today as possible because after this weekend, I only have two more in town before my knee surgery – and after that, pounding the streets to find fabulous fiberglass bovines is not a possibility. Today was the day.
It was perfect weather, thank the gods, without any rain for a change. I mapped out my route and headed out early to get a head start on what was going to be a hot sunny day. I had good tunes in the iPod and sturdy walking shoes on my feet and cows, lots of cows to see.
I saw them in the Boston Common and Downtown Crossing, clustered in small little herds where they can be easily found, petted and photographed. The two in South Station were a bit more exotic and needed to be inside for protection (Trojan Cow and The Mooflower were elaborate and more delicate than some of the others). But amazing! I found cows in Post Office Square and along the Freedom Trail, stopping to help lost tourists find their way. Boston is full of visiting people and it took me a while to figure out that this was more than just the first non-rainy weekend day in a while, it’s also the first part of July 4th weekend which is a HUGE deal in Boston. I know what it’s like to be lost in a city so tried to be alert to those who needed help.
Following the red line that marks the Freedom Trail and carrying my camera, I looked a lot like a tourist myself except I was only really looking for cows. Yes, I am more than slightly obsessed. I found more at Fanueil Hall and Quincy Market – lots of them, but not all – and then headed to the North End for still more after grabbing a sandwich at the Market and sitting down for a brief stretch to rest my aching feet, which were starting to hurt.
I love the North End and don’t tend to get there much which is really silly. It’s like being in Italy, especially in warm weather when windows are open and the sounds and smells from inside fill the streets. Today it was all World Cup all the time, from practically every bar and restaurant. After snapping the cows and some other scenes, I stopped at Mike’s for a lemon Italian ice and another bottle of water. They’re better known for cannolis and pastry but I really just wanted to sit down and rest my feet, though it was getting harder to get moving again after I’d been sitting down.
With summer music on the iPod, I continued on to Government Center for more cows, then took the T to Copley and saw a few that I’d missed, and finally went in search of Make Way for Calflings at the Pru (seeing a few others on the way). It was a wonderful day and I loved them all. My knees and feet are not very happy that I spent 5 hours pounding the pavement to see all these cows, mind you, but since my window of opportunity to get out and see them in person is small, I wanted to see as many as possible. I wish I could take one home – do you think it would work in the living room?
Random Thoughts of a Disordered Mind 