beantown and la belle province 4: finding freedom in boston
After dodging heavy machinery to cross Harvard Square, I hopped on the subway and headed into downtown Boston. Everyone obeyed the sign not to run down the ramp even as the train was ready to pull away. First stop was Brattle Book Shop , whose bargain carts filled the adjacent lot. A series of author portraits hang above the $3-5 books - I'm partial to the take on Dr. Seuss. Disintegrating 19th century editions of The Atlantic were tempting but looked as if they would crumble before I reached the cashier. I soon discovered I wasn't the only Canadian roaming around Downtown Crossing. While checking out at an Eddie Bauer outlet, the cashier noticed my CIBC credit card and noted I was the sixth or seventh Canadian she had served that day. It wasn't difficult to find traces of home around Boston, if only in the TD logo and colour scheme on Banknorth branches. One of Downtown Crossing's retail landmarks was Filene's, which was famous for yearly "runn...