I arrived at about 6pm and went for dinner in an Irish bar, it was the coach that drove me to drink again. Seriously, the coach driver missed a turning on the highway and reversed down the shoulder so he could take the right turn - terrifying!
The next morning I followed the Freedom Trail, which is the thing to do from the amount of other tourists walking the red line that denotes the Trail. I paid $3.00 for a leaflet explaining the route and sights only to find better ones are free, pah. Of course the good weather couldn’t last and it rained, which doesn‘t always make for the best pictures or a happy me. I also saw the memorial to the Irish famine, which gave the impression there was a walking tour of the famine, maybe societies or individuals that helped? Not really sure what was going on there, but I think that Irish Bostonians sent ships to Ireland with relief.
I also climbed the 294 steps to the top of the Bunker Hill Monument, not a great view because of the rain, but I had to do it because it was there and it was the end of the Trail. It was then down to the USS Constitution, which was nicknamed Old Ironsides as the hull was so thick cannonballs bounced off it.
I also climbed the 294 steps to the top of the Bunker Hill Monument, not a great view because of the rain, but I had to do it because it was there and it was the end of the Trail. It was then down to the USS Constitution, which was nicknamed Old Ironsides as the hull was so thick cannonballs bounced off it.
For a typical Boston lunch I had clam chowder (me being brave again) at Ye Olde Union Oyster House, the oldest restaurant in Boston and then a beer in the Green Dragon Tavern which was Paul Revere’s watering hole, all very historic. After all that I collapsed in a heap at the hostel!
For my second day, it was more walking, this time the Black Heritage tour through Beacon Hill which is now the posh part of town, very pretty but not quite as interesting as the Freedom Trail. I then took the T (subway) to Harvard and did the unofficial Harvard tour with Tom & Kelly, both students at Harvard. It was very amusing and probably more fun than the official tour, which was started when the powers that be realised how much money the unofficial one was making. I was surprised at how small the campus was, I would have thought it would be huge, but even some of the main lecture buildings didn’t appear to be that big. Admittedly the library is huge, we weren’t allowed in, but we were told that it’s also 4 storeys underground. Plus the patron demands fresh flowers everyday in the special reading room for her son, after whom the library is named. Unfortunately her son died aboard the Titanic, hence her donating millions for the library, so she wants the flowers for her son’s ghost. And Harvard have to go along with the stipulation, because if they don’t then everything, the building and books are to be given over to the town of Cambridge, with which Harvard are great rivals.
After the tour and thankfully fully dressed primal scream (a Harvard tradition - though they are naked), which ends the tour it was back to Faneuil Hall and Quincy market and lunch in the Cheers bar. The bar that Cheers was based is in Beacon Hill, but they built a replica in Fanueil Hall, so being a proper tourist, I had lunch there, trying to follow the American football blasting out of the TV screens. Still no idea who won, but it was probably New England.
For my second day, it was more walking, this time the Black Heritage tour through Beacon Hill which is now the posh part of town, very pretty but not quite as interesting as the Freedom Trail. I then took the T (subway) to Harvard and did the unofficial Harvard tour with Tom & Kelly, both students at Harvard. It was very amusing and probably more fun than the official tour, which was started when the powers that be realised how much money the unofficial one was making. I was surprised at how small the campus was, I would have thought it would be huge, but even some of the main lecture buildings didn’t appear to be that big. Admittedly the library is huge, we weren’t allowed in, but we were told that it’s also 4 storeys underground. Plus the patron demands fresh flowers everyday in the special reading room for her son, after whom the library is named. Unfortunately her son died aboard the Titanic, hence her donating millions for the library, so she wants the flowers for her son’s ghost. And Harvard have to go along with the stipulation, because if they don’t then everything, the building and books are to be given over to the town of Cambridge, with which Harvard are great rivals.
On my final day in Boston I was lured to the Duck Tours, which take you on a tour of the city then into the Charles River. Again it was a lovely autumnal day so we braved the open windows and I was able to see even more of Boston. A lot of it I had covered by foot, but the conDUKtor was amusing and provided lots of extra snippets about the place, including the duck napping on Boston Common of one of the ducklings from the Make Way for Ducklings statues.
After the tour it was lunch time, so I decided to splurge and go to the famous Omni Parker Hotel, which is famous for its Boston Cream Pie. Lunch couldn’t just be pie, so I had a lobster roll, with a side of Boston Baked Beans (it was an option for sides with the sandwiches, a little bizarre, but there you go) and for dessert it was a Boston Cream Pie. So I managed to get three typical Boston foods in one go. The beans were sweet, the lobster roll has onions in it (another thing I don’t eat, but I did) and the pie was lovely - well it did have chocolate on it.
After the tour it was lunch time, so I decided to splurge and go to the famous Omni Parker Hotel, which is famous for its Boston Cream Pie. Lunch couldn’t just be pie, so I had a lobster roll, with a side of Boston Baked Beans (it was an option for sides with the sandwiches, a little bizarre, but there you go) and for dessert it was a Boston Cream Pie. So I managed to get three typical Boston foods in one go. The beans were sweet, the lobster roll has onions in it (another thing I don’t eat, but I did) and the pie was lovely - well it did have chocolate on it.
After lunch I made my way back to the hostel via the Boston Public Library (the first in America), which is huge and very impressive. Then it was up the Prudential Center tower to the Skywalk for 360 views of the city. I was able to see Boston’s Harbor Islands and a lighthouse that would have been the oldest in America (they’re very proud of having lots of old things) if it hadn’t been burnt down, so it’s not the oldest. I could see Fenway Park and best of all the brownstone buildings of the city interspersed by the trees which are still changing colour.
The rest of the afternoon was spent working out my trains for the next few weeks across America and reserving my seats, without the help of Julie the automated Amtrak person, I worked out that saying ‘agent’ as soon as possible got me through to a human being!
Next stop: Portland, Maine
Next stop: Portland, Maine
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