I have just come back from two days in Boston and it was just beautiful. I worked out that it's the first time I've been to this great city in good weather. The last three times I've been met with snow, high winds, and rain. But having said that, every trip I've made to Boston so far has given me a fantastic holiday - there is something for everybody here, at any time of year you're fortunate enough to visit.
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| South Street Station, Boston |
In a little over three hours, the
Acela Express trains on
Amtrak can get you from New York's Penn Station to the impressive South Street Station in Boston. You can often get cheaper fares on some of the budget airlines of course (and I've flown them too), but generally speaking I like to travel by train, so I will always do that if I can.
This time around I came to Boston on the spur of the moment. One of my oldest friends is a commercial airline pilot and he was flying into Boston and invited me to visit. In one of life's happy accidents, given that I was on holidays already, I could make the mid-week trip without any problems. My Amtrak train was 25 minutes late getting into Boston however, so I dragged my suitcase straight to Captain's hotel and met up with him and the flight crew for a few drinks
at their hotel's Irish bar before they turned in for the evening.
The airline's hotel of choice is on the Boston waterfront, right by the super-modern and enormous
Convention Center where, on previous visits, I've attended both a classy wine expo, and then a crazy motorcycle expo - with bonus beef jerky! There must have been another convention in town this week, because hotel rates were astonishingly high at all the hotel properties on that side of the river.
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| Omni Parker House |
Not to be deterred however, I used this as an excellent opportunity to splurge on a fantastic hotel room at the
Omni Parker House Hotel in Boston's historical precinct. Rooms here aren't cheap either; however, the hotel has been operating since 1855 which makes the Omni Parker House the oldest hotel in the United States and boy, has it seen some action over the years! Charles Dickens, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Ralph Waldo Emerson used to convene here for catch-ups, and Dickens wrote & gave his first public reading of "A Christmas Carol" here. JFK hosted his bachelor party in the Hotel, and announced his candidacy for Congress here, several years before. And John Wilkes Booth stayed here 11 days before he assassinated President Lincoln (and was allegedly sighted having target practice near the hotel during his stay).
The Omni Parker House chef also invented the state dessert of Massachusetts in the Hotel's kitchens. It is called the
Boston Cream Pie and it's actually a cake, not a pie - but of course I had to have one during my visit. Delicious! I also made the somewhat fateful decision to enjoy the hospitality of the award-winning whiskey bar located in the hotel lobby, called
The Last Hurrah. They certainly know their way around the whiskey bottles, and they're very generous hosts, let me tell you.
I was nursing a somewhat sorry head early the following morning, when Captain met me at my hotel and we set off for our sight-seeing adventure. I put Captain in charge of the map immediately, and we wandered over to the tourist drawcards of
Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market, as well as the site of
the 1770 Boston Massacre, and we did some souvenir shopping along the way.
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The grave of Mary Goose, who
inspired the "Mother Goose" myth |
History is everywhere you look in Boston, and nowhere is it more obvious than on the headstones in the
Granary Burying Ground. Founded in 1660, this is actually Boston's third oldest cemetery. A lot of leading figures from the Revolutionary War era are buried here (as well as Mary Goose, who allegedly inspired the "Mother Goose" myth). When we arrived, we were also lucky to meet Jimmy, a local resident who has prepared little manila folders of trivia for visitors to the site. You borrow a copy of the folder when you walk in, and return it to Jimmy at the end. The folder is an excellent resource to guide your walk around the site. Just by reading the trivia that Jimmy has pulled together, you learn about the origins of the "skull and wings" motif that is popular on a lot of the gravestones you see (where age and weather has not worn away the writing). Jimmy's folder also shows you the location of some significant graves on the site, including that of John Hancock (first signatory on the US Declaration of Independence), and also explains the history behind the imposing Franklin family cenotaph, which marks the spot where Benjamin Franklin's parents are buried.
Our walk from the Granary Burying Ground led us directly into
Boston Common, a free public park spread out over almost 50 acres. Kids were splashing around in the Tadpole Pool, where the water only comes up their ankles, and there was a popular playground and carousel getting a lot of attention too. Hard to believe that public hangings used to take place here (up until 1817) and livestock used to graze on the lush, green lawns until as recently as the early 1830s. These days however, joggers and cyclists make full use of the many well-tended footpaths around Boston Common, and there are historical monuments and sculptures to look at along the way.
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The swan boats in the Public Garden,
across from Boston Common |
If you leave Boston Common and cross over Charles Street you come into the Public Garden, which was the first Botanical Gardens in the United States. Here you'll find a tranquil duck pond where people and their kids were feeding the ducks, ducklings, and swans. Continuing the bird theme, there is also a lake where tourists can ride on
the famous swan boats, which have been around for about 130 years. The boats
are obviously only out in fine weather, so I got to see them for the first time on this visit.
All our walking around had worked up quite a thirst, so it was logical that we would call in to the famous
Cheers bar. If you're a fan of the TV show, as I am, you will definitely recognise that exterior shot. I indulged in a delicious icy-cold beer which went down a treat, and the gift shop isn't bad either.
At this point in the day I had been talking up a fantastic seafood restaurant that I felt we needed to visit for lunch. Fortunately Captain's map-reading skills far exceed my own (but whose don't!?) and before long we pulled up to the wonderful
Barking Crab restaurant, right on the Boston waterfront.
I came to this great little restaurant on
my first visit to Boston and had my very first taste of clam chowder. It must have made a real impression because
I bought my cousin here on a subsequent visit, and I was really keen to share it with Captain too. Fortunately he was quite taken with the rich and creamy clam chowder and the enormous Alaskan king crab legs, and my lobster roll was just the perfect meal for me.
Captain's flight out of Boston was later that evening, so we parted ways after our lunch and I headed over to the
Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum, which we could see from the Barking Crab. I didn't buy a ticket to the Museum itself which I do regret, now that I've seen the website for the place. But nevertheless, I did relax for a while in the Abigail Smith Tearoom upstairs, and I sampled three delicious teas - including the recreation of two varieties that had actually been dumped into the Harbour in the Boston Tea Party incident of 1773. While I sipped the tea from my lofty vantage point, I could hear Museum visitors and the rowdy tour guides re-enacting Tea Party scenes, with frequent and resounding
HUZZAHS! This Museum is a definite must-see for history buffs and their families.
Left in charge of my own navigation from here, I trudged back over the bridge in the general direction of my Hotel, stopping off at the historical
Old South Meeting House. Given where I'd just come from, it was actually quite appropriate to call in there, as the Old South Meeting House was where the Boston Tea Party actually began. Colonists used to gather there for public meetings that would challenge British rule. As their gatherings grew larger, and anti-British sentiment grew more fervent, the American Revolution gathered steam. There are a couple of really interesting display boards inside the museum, and even some shout-outs to the women who helped shape the Revolution, at a time when women were really just seen but not heard. I was particularly taken by the gift shop downstairs, as well as the adjacent second-hand book store, where some books were only one dollar. Bargain!
You wouldn't think it was possible to still be hungry after all the eating and beer-drinking I had done up until this point. But clearly we have to get to know each other better because, frankly, there is
always room for more food!
I was so proud of myself on Thursday evening, to consult my tourist map and actually get myself to
The Union Oyster House, the oldest restaurant in the United States. In fact, such was my excitement to find the place, I even high-fived the hostess upon my arrival. Bless her heart, she didn't think I was weird at all.
The Union Oyster House has officially been operating as an oyster restaurant since 1826, but records suggest it was a dining establishment for
at least 100 years before that. The place is now a national historical landmark, for obvious reasons. I came here on my most recent visit to Boston (a work trip) and dined like a queen in the upstairs dining room, where lucky patrons can still snag a seat in JFK's permanent booth. This time around, however, I just needed a half-dozen local oysters, and an icy-cold beer to take the edge of my appetite. Sitting at the tiny oyster-shucking bar just inside the front door, I had a lovely chat with a retired couple next to me, who are doing their "grey nomad" tour through the northeastern US, and had actually come back to the restaurant for the second night in a row. We were clearly kindred spirits.
On previous trips to Boston, I've been to the beautiful
Museum of Fine Arts; I've cheered the
Celtics to basketball victory at the
TD Garden; and I've done a tour of
Fenway Park - home of the famous
Red Sox. I've also done a
Samuel Adams brewery tour, which was a great way to see how the tasty local beverages are produced. As so often happens, time was just too short to see these places again, but I would never hesitate to come back to this wonderful city. Tourists call Boston "Bean Town" for
the famous baked beans recipe that comes from here. But can you believe I still haven't tried them? Reason enough to come back, wouldn't you say?
If you want to see some more photos of my Boston adventure, please visit the link below:
