Advertisement
Published: August 22nd 2006
Edit Blog Post
Freedom Trail
One of the many charming streets on the Freedom Trail It was only a few hours from our campground in Cape Cod to Boston. After a lovely drive up, we took advantage of the free afternoon and got caught up with some e-mails and blog writing…and we might have laid on the bed and watched a couple movies too.
The next morning was gray and rainy so we took our time getting ready. Finally the rain cleared and we got the "T" (metro) into downtown Boston. We got off at Boston Common and started the Freedom Trail from there. This is a historic walking trail that winds through Boston and takes you past significant churches, schools and other buildings like the home of Paul Revere. They have even painted a handy red line down the sidewalks so you don’t lose your way from the trail, clever! The Freedom Trail is a great way to learn about the history of Boston and is perfect if you are not quite sure where to start your explorations of the city.
One of the stops on the trail is Quincy Market, which reminded us a lot of Covent Garden in London. There is an indoor ‘market’ area with all kinds of gifts and souvenirs
that you don’t really need but feel compelled to look at anyway. Outside, there are all kinds of dancers, musicians and street performers. We later learned that the designer of Quincy Market moved on to design Covent Garden afterward; so it was not just a coincidence after all!
After following the trail right around the city, it eventually led us across the Charlestown Bridge and over to the Navy Yard. Here we toured the USS Constitution aka “Old Ironsides”, originally launched in Boston in 1797 and now the oldest warship still afloat in the world. We then got the commuter ferry across the harbour to Long Wharf and took the lovely stroll along the Boston Waterfront and Columbus Park. As dinner time approached, we headed toward Chinatown with hopes of finding a cheap, tasty meal. And lo and behold, we were sent a gift from the gods, as right in front of us lay Penang, the super tasty oriental restaurant that we had discovered in Philly! Obviously now we realized that Penang was a chain and it was in more places than just Philly, how wonderful! We rushed in and had a delicious meal as equally fantastic as the
first, all for less than $30.
For Day 2 in Boston we crossed the Charles River and spent the morning in Cambridge, home to famous Harvard University. This area was gorgeous, and obviously much less crowded in the summer than during term time. We strolled across Harvard Yard and reminisced about our university days, ah the good old days… We then went over to the Harvard University Art Museums, which the Rough Guide handily informs you are free on Saturdays before 12 noon. We made it just in time for the free admission and enjoyed browsing the collections for a while before heading to a café in Harvard Square for lunch.
After lunch we journeyed back across the river into Boston and walked up Commonwealth Avenue which leads off of Boston Common. This is a gorgeous wide avenue that’s split down the middle by a lovely park dotted with statues and benches along the way. From here we walked to the Christian Science Center, not for any particular interest in Christian Science, but because we had read the buildings were pretty impressive. The church there, which is the “mother church” of the First Church of Christ, Scientist, was
topped with a large white dome much like St Paul’s; it was indeed an attractive building. What was maybe even more impressive was the shallow rectangular reflecting pool that folded out next to the church and was overlooked by some of Boston prettiest skyscrapers. These reflected beautifully in the mirror-like still waters of the pool. After a quick round of window shopping in Copley Place, we headed for dinner at… guess where… come on, have a guess! Yes we ate at Penang again! The food is so tasty and so cheap that we just couldn’t pass it up!
So after 2 full days in Boston we felt that we had definitely seen all the highlights, taken some great photos and made some wonderful memories. Boston had a nice feel about it…nice people, clean streets, bags of history and all within easy walking distance. We really like Boston for its charm and character and definitely recommend a visit there.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.154s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 13; qc: 60; dbt: 0.0801s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb