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Published: December 11th 2006
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So we eventually got to Boston after a majorly long mistake-ridden journey. We had to wait hours to get through customs in Niagara, it was already busy enough but us not having the necessary forms filled in delayed things even longer. We were the last back on our bus receiving sarcastic applause. After the customs nightmare we found out that the bus ticket we had wasn't able to take us directly to Boston and that we'd have to go all the way down to New York first of all then catch a bus back. All in all turned out to be a 22 hour trip, but we saved on a night's accomodation although it didn't seem like a bonus at the time. We were staying at the HI Hostel in Boston. Barry "15 minutes" Dolan had stayed there before and assured us it was only a 15 minute walk from the bus station. This walk inevitably turned out to be 30-40 mins, just what was needed after no sleep on an uncomfortable bus and carrying heavy backpacks. Cheers Baz.
It was about midday when we reached the hostel so we dumped the bags and headed out in search of food and
drink. This wander ended up in the pub as usual. We went to the oldest pub in America, the Bell In Hand. It's been running since 1795 but apart from this fact it wasn't too interesting to tell you the truth. The night continued in the usual fashion until we ended up at a pizza place called Steve's just round the corner from our hostel. We order our pizza and take a seat next to these two girls with sketch pads. One turned out to be an artist whose work was displayed on the walls of this place and who had an exhibition coming up somewhere downtown. The other girl looked like she was on crack and probably couldn't find the right end of the pencil she was holding. So as we ate our pizza the proper artist shows us some of her work and i drunkenly agree to pay her $5 to draw me a postcard on a paper plate. Now, if I hadn't commisioned her to do this we would have left the pizza place and missed out on one of the funniest scenes ever. As she went off to begin drawing this commotion breaks out at the
counter. A guy is going nuts accusing someone who works there of punching him in the face. Turns out this guy was trying to steal a slice of pizza from the counter so the manager, Steve is either trying to ignore him or telling him to leave every now and then. The guy, now phone at this ear saying he's from Jersey and announcing to the whole place that some "guys" are on the way, acting like he's in the Sopranos or something. By this time the place is really busy and people are getting annoyed and shouting "Go home" every few minutes and generally taking the piss. Another guy comes in and just looks him up and down, but doesn't say a word. The Jersey guy says threateningly to him - "I'll replace you". It was absolutely hilariuous and the whole place is watching now as he challenges people at the counter. The crowning moment though was when he turned to one guy and says "When was the last time you walked into a pizza joint and got a right hook?" and without a moment's hesitation the guy replies - "About a month and a half ago". It was
priceless. Clamped, as we say in Scotland. Eventually all customers had to leave as the police arrived. I did get my postcard though and meant to send it home but I'm now using it as a bookmark instead.
Next day we were going to do the Freedom Trail, a famous walk around downtown Boston. We only managed a small part of it before jumping on a subway and deciding to take the Boston Duck Tour instead. This was great for us in our hungover state as you can see all the sights of Boston while sitting down. The Duck is an amphibious World War 2 vehicle which has been restored for tourist purposes. They drive along the road amongst the traffic then plunge into the Charles river to take you out on the water to give great views of the city. I had a go at driving the Duck on the river, told the guide i was an extremely careful driver and had not once been involved in any bus-related accidents in the past. Think he believed me not sure about the other passengers though. After all this tiring sightseeing we went for a pint. I tried a drink
called U.F.O ale and can honestly say it was the worst pint I have ever had. Now I don't think it's legal to sell stuff that tastes this awful, so I reckon it must have just been a bad pint. I'm never trying it again though just in case.
Since we were in Boston we thought we'd better go the most famous bar of all, Cheers. Glad to say the pints were good there. We were chatting to the barman about how to get tickets for the Boston Bruins ice hockey game the following night. We thought we might struggle to get them as it was their home opener of the season. He gave us a number for someone called " Wiggsy" or something like that and told us to call him the following day and he could probably sort us out.
We went to the Harvard area the next day and wandered around the square and the University grounds. We were trying to get into some classes for a laugh but nearly all buildings required valid student ID for entry. A girl told us of one building we could try as a long shot. We got in
fine but unfortunately classes had finished for the day so we had to leave without any Harvard knowledge being bestowed upon us. We called "Wiggsy" to haggle a price for tickets and arranged to meet him in some bar near the stadium. When we got off the subway near the stadium there were loads of touts with tickets so we just ended buying from one of these guys instead for $40 each. Turns out we had bought 1 adult and 2 kids tickets which made us sweat a bit as we went through the turnstiles but it all worked out fine. So it was Boston vs. Calgary Flames. Don't know much about either team but it turned out to be a great game which Boston won 3-2. We were slightly disappointed there was only one fight which was over pretty quickly. We all joined in on a chorus of "Let's Go Bruins" which seemed to be the one and only song the fans sing. It's just not like being a the football. Have to say though I couldn't believe how many hot women go to the hockey, almost as many as attend Tannadice......yeah right.
Later
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