Boston
As neither my husband or I had ever been to Boston, we decided it would be a great spot to break up a long overseas trip. We’ve realized over the years that you set yourself up for a much better trip if you can break it up and not kill yourself traveling 24hrs+ straight. We were headed to Portugal, and Boston has a direct flight there, so it worked out great. The first thing I want to say about Boston is that it was much prettier than I thought it would be. Many big cities tend to be dirty, noisy and often very unpleasant in areas. It was actually quite picturesque and had a quaint feeling to it. We spent two nights at the beginning of our trip and two more nights at the end. We stayed at two different places, both of them close to the water.
On our first full day in town, we did some walking and checked out some of the monuments and cool looking buildings. The weather was a little chilly and rainy with it being the end of April, so we didn’t spend a ton of time outdoors. That evening we went to game 5 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. We aren’t fans of either of the teams but my husband is a huge hockey fan and he wanted to see what the stadium was like. It was a bummer of a game, pretty boring. The next day before we prepared to fly to Lisbon, we visited the USS Constitution/Old Ironsides. Launched in 1797, she is the worlds oldest commissioned naval warship still afloat.
Part 2: Boston
Thankfully when we returned to Boston at the tail end of our trip the weather was absolutely perfect. We had crystal clear blue skies with temps in the low 70’s. During the morning we walked a portion of the Freedom Trail. This is a 2.5-mile path that runs through Boston laying out 16 places of historical significance. We were pretty wiped out from jet lag, so we just did a small portion of the trail. If I were to go back to Boston, I’d book a private tour of the Freedom Trail. There is so much history there and it would be easier getting around without a big group of people. We enjoyed the tranquility of Boston Common, established in 1634, it is America’s oldest public park.
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From there we wandered on and off the trail, stopping to look at the old, beautiful buildings tucked in amongst the skyscrapers. Seeing a 300 year old church next to a modern skyscraper is a very strange sight. We visited the site of the first public school in the United States, Boston Latin School, founded in 1635. A monument of former student, Benjamin Franklin stands where the school was located. After that we visited the Granary Burying Ground. It felt very right to visit a place where so many founding fathers are laid to rest during Memorial Day Weekend. This might sound weird, but I like cemeteries. I find them very peaceful. This was a lovely, tree shaded place. It was established in 1660. A grave marker dating back to 1666 can still be seen. We saw the final resting place of John Hancock, Samuel Adams and Paul Revere. I would recommend booking a tour, you’ll get so much interesting information.
Our final outing in Boston was a Red Sox game at Fenway Park. You guessed it, my husband wanted to see the park (not even a Red Sox fan). Honestly, I wasn’t thrilled about going to either one of the sport events, but you’ve got to be willing to compromise when you travel with someone. Vic wasn’t crazy about wandering around the cemetery, but he did it because it was something that really interested me. Having a wonderful travel partner is such a blessing.
Boston is a fantastic place to visit and learn about our countries history. It gave me a real appreciation for how hard people have had to fight for freedom. There are lots of lovely places to visit and you can find pretty much any kind of food you might like. Food costs are a bit pricey, somewhat similar to NYC. There is seafood and Italian food on every corner. I suggest enjoying a leisurely lunch at Omni Parker House. An icon since 1885, Parker’s Restaurant is the birthplace of Boston Cream Pie and Parker House Rolls. Both were absolutely delicious. Sorry, no picture of the rolls, I inhaled them too fast. What a great location for a long weekend. Maybe next time we’ll make it to Harvard and MIT. Enjoy!
