Boston Tour Blog, Part 4 and End

Beautiful Boston College

Our last day of the tour started with a soggy walk around Boston University.  Our tour guide told us about the benefits of a truly urban campus, showed off the university's various colleges, and explained how a large urban institution can feel like a tight-knit community.  No one seemed daunted by the off-and-on rainstorm (someone said Boston was crying over our impending departure), and aside from the lack of seating in the crowded student dining hall, I think BU was a highlight for many.

The afternoon took us to the much more traditional-feeling campus of Boston College. Think gothic architecture, beautifully manicured quads and lawns, and an obvious Catholic presence.  We learned about BC's Jesuit legacy and how that shapes student life.  BC is a place where academics are important, but where students also focus on giving back and being part of something larger than their campus community. Our tour guide was a fellow St. Louisan, but only allowed me to distract her for a few minutes to talk about Cardinals baseball.  Probably better for everyone that conversation was cut short.  Tour director Erik wouldn't let us leave without paying homage to the similarly diminutive Doug Flutie, whose statue stands proudly outside the football stadium.  We boarded the bus one last time, and that was it for our Boston tour - off to the airport after some nice farewells with Frank the Driver and Erik the Tour Director.  Four days, eight colleges, lots of eating, some bus-ride bonding, and a lot of badly imitated Boston accents - all told, it was an action packed fall break.