Blogs from Boston, Massachusetts, United States, North America - page 16

Good morning Boston! We decided it would be much easier to take the T to get to our first tour at Sam Adams. Well, that meant an earlier morning than most because of the walk to the station then switching trains. Go to my friends blog to see some pictures of the T. Samuel Adams, Boston Beer Company, Boston, Massachusetts http://www.samueladams.com/ This was one of the tours I was excited to take. And what better time to start than first thing at 10 A.M. We waited for the tour in a room with pictures and factoids about the brewery and brewer, Jim Koch. While the tour is free, they did ask for at least $2 which goes towards a Boston area charity. Surprisingly, the place was pretty small. It turns out that most of their production ... read more

The place I have been staying at is called a co-housing unit. The people who live there are acommunity's who help each other and maintain the premises as much as they can without outside help. They each donate four hours a week to do something around the place, I.e. gardening, cleaning etc. There is a committee who organise things and there are communal areas where you can do yoga or work out at the gym they have. They also have guest roomswhere's guests can stay for a small fee. They are very supportive of each other and do not have any rules about who can live there. It had a really good feel, the people were friendly and everyone looked out for each other. The guy I stayed with was a community artist and worked with ... read more

Geo: 42.3585, -71.0596This is the beginning of a seven week trip up and down the eastern seaboard of North America from Nova Scotia to the Florida Keys.Arriving at Boston airport in the middle of the afternoon we picked up our Kia (ugh) hirecar from Avis and while Peter learnt to interpret the satnav he had brought with him we made our way by a variety of confusing tunnels and motorways to the familiar street with Annie and Tim's house which we know well from previous visits and where we were greeted by Annie and Monty the dog.It was great to have a long catchup chat over tea but by the time Tim came home from work and supper was served our body time was beyond midnight and we began to droop! ... read more

Finally I could really sleep in. I didn’t have to be up early to catch a plane, train or bus, and I didn’t even have to check out. As a result, I left the hotel at about 12 to embark upon the so-called “Freedom Trail”. The trail is a series of historical buildings and places in Boston, mostly related to the American Revolution. They have mapped out a path between these locations and it was this that I planned to follow. First thing was to get something to eat. As it is a weekend and I seem to be staying in the financial district, there wasn’t much open near the hotel. So I walked towards the beginning of the trail and eventually found a small food court. I picked up a chicken sandwich and went over ... read more

Boston’s North End is known for its Italian feasts. Every single weekend in summer, there is a festival honoring a saint. They are community gatherings and celebration of heritage. Above all, they are religious events, designed to bring blessings for the next year. Nearly all of them were brought from Italy by immigrants in the early 1900s. Even as the neighborhood has gentrified in recent decades, they have remained a staple of the event calendar. If I had to choose only one feast to experience, it would be the Feast of Madonna del Soccorso, much better known as the Fisherman’s Feast . It started among Sicilian fishermen in the 1500s , and was brought to the North End in 1910, making it the oldest feast of them all. It culminates with a religious blessing so unusual ... read more