Graziella5b

I am arriving one person at 11 AM on a Thursday is there any reasonable public transportation to take with a carry on , or may be can you recommend a door to door van?
I am guessing taxi would be 30 dollars ? Thank you.

Graziella5b

I would like to ask if the new Bay Back Logan Express bus is convenient....thank you

DonTopaz

The Back Bay Logan Express bus would be ideal for you.

200 Comm Ave is near the corner of Exeter St and Commonwealth Ave. Take the bus to the Copley stop, and walk 2 blocks to Commonwealth Ave, which is a major street with a wide grassy mall separating the travel lanes. Turn left on Comm Ave and walk about a block to #200.

Graziella5b

Thank you , DonTopaz, this sounds to good to be true. One question I will have no problem to get into the bus with a carryon?
By any chance do you know if I buy the $5 dollar ticket on board?
Than you very much, I haven; t been in Boston for ...decades... and I am looking forward...

cw

I believe you pay on the bus, credit cards only, no cash. If you plan on using public transportation during your visit, consider buying the weekly pass at the airport. If you show that on the bus, the ride is covered by the pass.

The weekly pass is $19 and can be worth it, even if you're not staying for a week. You should have no problem with your bag. If it's too unwieldy it is stored in the luggage compartment.

cw

Meant to add that there are machines in every terminal that sell the MBTA passes.

Graziella5b

Thank You cw, i was looking at the map and realized that the place I am staying is at the corner of Glouchester and Commonwealth so it is even better for me to get of at the Center .... stop,only a couple of blocks away. I shall be staying ,four days so for what you tell me the MBTA pass seems ideal, because only going back and forth to Logan will be $10.
I am meeting there a dear friend since college days, that is some 60 years ago,
My plane arrives 11 am and she is due later in the afternoon, I was thinking to spend the day alone at the
Museum of Fine arts., having lunch there. Can I use the pass to get there? Do you know what transportation should I take?( I also noticed that there is an special exhibit of Gordon Parks photographs,
Who I knew long ago in Scarsdale, NY because we had common friends, he was not that famous then)
Or do you suggest any other way to spend those loose hours alone.?
My friend Susana having studied in MIT and Harvard loves Boston, and Zi am sure she has been multiple times in the Museum of Fine Arts.
Btw do you know how is it for Seniors in Boston to pay for local transportation.I noticed it varies for instance in DC
And NY in buses without ID you can pay half fare, but here in Miami where I live now it requires an ID card from the Transportation people.
Thank you .

gail

A useful resource during your stay might be the MBTA.com website. It has a useful routing function where you can put origination and destination and they will offer you route options - including how far the walk is from stop to destination.

MOFA would be a good choice for your time alone.

In order to get a senior fare on MBTA one must use a "Charlie Card" and register for one with a senior fare option in downtown Boston. I am guessing that it would not save you enough money to be worth taking time out to do so, but the MBTA website also gives information on that (on "Charlie Card" tab)

And in case you are wondering why the fare card would be called a Charlie Card - decades ago there was a song called "Charlie on the MBTA" - it spoke of traveler (Charlie) at a time when one sometimes had to pay to get on the MBTA and if distance was long enough, pay an additional fare to get off - back when fares were all in cash. Charlie did not have the money to get off the MBTA so he was trapped on the subway.

Since you were in college 60 years ago, I am calculating that you are at least 80. Be aware that elevators are often out of service at various MBTA stations - but the same website can also give you current updates on what is operating and what is not.

Graziella5b

Hello Gail, thanks a lot,your calculation is right on the dot, I am 78 going to 79 this year, which scares the hell out of me, only to think about it. Thankfully I walk several miles everyday by the beach, and often climb the stairs to get home instead of using the elevator.(5 th floor) Having said this I hate when elevators and/ or escalators are not working in subway stations, so your advice is very welcome.
I am thrilled to go alone, because my husband has to go else where those days .So the time is perfect.
Thank for the Charlie explation which I enjoyed .One day in Paris I was in a similar predicament in the Metro, andsomehow managed to get out. Thanks God I did not ended in jail.
thank a lot again.

DonTopaz

Not worth your time to get a Senior Charlie Card -- there's only one place to get one (in a passage within the Downtown Crossing station), and there's usually a very long line.

cw

Graziella, are you staying at 200 Commonwealth Ave.? I ask because that is near the corner with Exeter St., so the bus stop near Copley is the most convenient.

You can get the Green Line E train for the Museum of Fine Arts at Copley Station. Or, if you are staying near Gloucester St., you can walk through the Prudential Center and get the E train at the Prudential stop on Huntington Avenue.

Graziella5b

Actually I shall be staying THE First night At the Chalesmark Hotel at 655 Bolyston spend most OF thursday alone, then I plan to join my friend and her son and wife, ....next morning I shall move to 284 Commonwealth, THAT IS a Guest House at the corner of Glouschester St , I shall stay there with my friend while her son and wife Go to New York. Monday I shall fly back Home and They Will remain on Boston.In summary , from Logan which bus stop Is better for me to GO the Chalesmark Hotel?thank you

cw

If you're staying at the Charlesmark, then I would take the Express bus to the Copley stop. The hotel is in the same block. Then go to the Copley T stop and take the E train outbound (it will say Heath St.) to the MFA. Sounds like a nice trip with your friend.

Going home, the Express bus from the Hynes Convention Center will be closer.

Ozarksbill

Enjoy your visit, but I don't see why a cab isn't the best way, saving trouble of public transportation. Don't be cheap. A must in case you didn't know it...major Goya exhibit at MFA until 19th just in case you come before then. Easy to get to via Green line as suggested. And btw I'm some older than you so good luck with "the old acquaintance."

Graziella5b

Hello cw,thank you for the information you have provided me. I am flying at the end of February.
It is very useful since I do plan to travel a little in the 'T", and although I agree that a cab is the best way from and to Logan, I will use the bus, unless weather turns out to be terrible, . I cannot resist that the bus stops very close to the Hotel and besides I am only taking a small carry on.

One small clarification, when you say buy a $19 dollar weekly pass, is this the same than a
Charlie one week ticket?
I hope the machine is easy to use.
Thank you again.

Ackislander

Are any of you who are posting actually in Boston, either as residents or commuters right now?

I don't want to worry the OP, but my sister in Arlington (north) and my daughter in Milton (south) both have four feet of snow in their yards and much higher piles of snow along the sidewalk. They are expecting another two (2) feet between now and Monday night.

I am not there but there have been huge delays on the Red Line and Green Line, and the photographs on Universal Hub show impassable streets -- still -- and impassable sidewalks.

Is this poor lady actually going to be able to do what everyone is telling her to do?

Graziella5b

I am planing to be in Boston on Feb 26, I am hoping all the scenario you are describing will be ok by then. If not I guess I shall cancel the whole thing.
In the mean time I am hoping for the best.

Ozarksbill

So Ackislander, you are presently in Virginia not Nantucket? Yes indeed, lots of snow and traffic/commuter problems and with those snowmounds. And yesterday the Patriot parade. Outside our Watertown apartment window more snow in the air. Not supposed to amount to much...oh yeah?

As for a Boston visit, just hard to predict two weeks ahead. I'm past 80 and did get out yesterday and drove to Newton to get hearing aid devices checked. But it was a challenge.

fun01960

I am in a town that borders Boston and I drive through the Back Bay an Charlestown almost daily. Driving an walking now is difficult, but sllloowwwlly improving each day. Hopefully things will be more normal when Graziella arrives.

And Graziella ... I am only trying to help by pointing this out .... Gloucester street has no H and we actually pronounce it gloss-ster, or with the Boston accent Gloss-stah. We all know what you mean but Glouchester could be confusing if you ask a young local for directions (like my teen who goes to school near there), or you get a taxi driver for whom English is an new language.

Happy Planning!

Graziella5b

Thank you fun.. for THE information
I haven't been in Boston FOR a Long time and I am really looking forward FOR This short escapade
from Miami. Usually we go to NY .
You know the joke, I love Miami it is so close to the United States...