FINAL DESTINATION

What a surprise Boston has been, such a beautiful city. With all the history and the fact that it was originally based on London we have felt like we are back home already..well almost. We arrived to sunshine that was set to stay for the whole 4 days we were here, couple that with a bank holiday for Columbus day and we were feeling really good. Our hotel was right out of the city but when we arrived we purchased a 7 day ticket for the T which is the public transport here and for $15 we both thought it was very good value. It was a little stressful on the underground with our backpacks but we managed to get to our lodgings in one piece. Originally they had not had an ensuite room available but we asked if they would put us in reserve and fortunately for us they had one free, goody. Still feeling quite tired from our previous late night we spent the afternoon planning our stay here and then got a very early night.

Waking nicely refreshed the next morning we set off for the Samuel Adams brewery tour. Tim has been beside himself for a few weeks now that his favourite beer of the trip is actually american but he is very into it! We had to get a couple of different trains but we had no troubles and already in our first hour or so Boston was leaving a lasting impression. With the out of the ordinary sunshine for this time of the year the city feels both quiet and relaxed. The parks we pass are in full fall colours and it just looks so wonderful. Arriving at the brewery we get issued a little ticket which is actually a label off the bottle and we set off for our brewery view. ive never been to a brewery before and it was quite interesting very similar as you would expect to the wine tours we did. The tour was much shorter than we expected but we enjoyed it mainly everyone seemed to be coming for the free beer, we obviously came for the informative narrative given to us, right!!! We got to try 3 different beers at the end of the tour and Tim still decided he liked the original Boston Lager the best. I find it too strong as home it would be more of a bitter than a lager but the Octoberfest and Cherry beers we very good and unusual. With the tour finished we headed back to the T and off to downtown. We needed to change some travellers cheques but the area we thought we would find a place was literally deserted. oh yeah its Saturday, and Monday is a bank holiday this was not looking good!! We jumped back on the T and set off to Harvard university to have a look around there. Fortunately we saw a bank right by the station at Harvard and got our cheques changed, phew. The harvard area in Cambridge is really pretty the university dominates the suberb with various differnet buildings dedicated to education. We took a walk around the oldest part of the Uni called Harvard Yard, we were both impressed by how peaceful and calm it felt even though there were many people meandering around. Students reading, tourists picturing and the odd few just lying on the grass soaking up the sun. It was very pretty and I was quite jealous of the student life for a short while al least. Obviously walking in the grounds is the closest i'd get to Harvard!! Moving on from here we stopped outside a bar for a quick refreshment and then wondered round one of the old cemetries. It really was old too the graves dated back to the early 17th century, quite remarkable really that these people still have a plot all these years on. As the day was now drawing on and we were both hungry we jumped the T back to our suburb and stopped for dinner in the local pub to us. Everyone was really friendly and the food was very good. With our first full day over we both felt we were coming to like Boston very much, sunshine always helps though and we were making the most of this.

Rising early on our second morning we hit the T again and downtown Boston Common for the start fo the freedom trail. The trail is marked by red paint or bricks on the road and takes you through some of the highlights of this historic city. Mainly the old buildings and people that started the revolution that broke them free from British rule. Boston common looked really pretty as we found the start of the line, again just a really relaxed and peaceful place even though it was teaming with tourists. We avidly followed the trail through graveyards, the state house building, various other old buildings and out into a court yard area. Here we got side tracked by a street act from the circus, they were english and seriously good. Getting back on track we found it was lunchtime and a little pub looked rather inviting. This turned out to be the oldest pub in America and with all the large windows open we picked a sunny spot to debate the menu. Two hours later we have eaten but the atmosphere and surrounding people watching was so fantastic we didnt want to leave. The sun warm on our faces and a cool refreshment in hand we happily whiled the time away. We did get back ont the trail later though and strolled through little Italy and over the water to the war ship. because we had been on one in San Diego we just had a quick look and then follwed the trail back on ourselves. Stopping at a small bar to enjoy the last few rays of sun we got chatting to three local ladies who turned out to be most entertaining. We really enjoyed sharing stories with them and it really was non stop laughter. Who says as you get older you get more sensible these ladies of a certain era were up for serious fun and rather tipsy, so hilarious. As the day was getting late we sloped off and got the T back home as the night set in we were surprised though when we saw the time it was only 8pm, we are so lame these days. We played a few games as the TV channels we have are just rubbish and we hate americas obsession with adverts it drives us crazy. It is very strange how every moment counts now and we both keep finding ourselves saying " God were close to going home now"

The next morning started with a stint in the internet cafe but the blog site was down and I ended up just being able to write up the text and email it to myself. Got lots done but figured we were not going to get it up to date before we fly home. The afternoon we went downtown where I made some more purchases for home, seems a shame not to fill my little suitcase doesnt it!! Tim also brought some souvenirs and after a coupel of hours we headed back home to get dinner and watch soem of the Red Sox game in the bar. We would have liked to have gone to a game but tickets are so scarce. We did get chatting with locals again though and they explained the rules so we could enjoy the game more. Americans are so friendly and helpful for nicer than we expected!! The game was good but baseball goes on for hours so we had a few drinks some dinner and left. We spent the rest of the evening listening to Tims ipod and once again reminising over the trip it was another late night!

As I sit here writing this entry it feels bizarre in just over 24 hours our adventure will be over. Our memory bank is full to bursting and we have had an excellent time. So many feelings, experiences to call upon. We have achieved everything we set out to do and more. So this is it the last blog entry, well we may do another one with tips and things but as for destinations it is the last. We love Boston beautiful and interesting it has been a great choice for our last stop. Im going to finish this up and go get some lunch!

Hang on to your hats everybody were coming home....................

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