All Aboard

So, we're in Boston! And I'm writing this post in red in honor of the Boston Red Sox (though I walked around in an FDNY shirt and a Staten Island Yankees cap). For anyone going to Boston, I would pay attention to what we did today and really consider it.

We made reservations yesterday to go on a bus tour of Boston. The bus picked us up right outside of our hotel at 9:10 AM. There is a bus that goes to different hotels located in the same area and that makes up your group. Our driver, Neil, took us into the city so he had to navigate the traffic. We started at Breed's Hill, where the Battle of Bunker Hill was fought because the American army official thought Breed's Hill would be a better choice. There is a monument there where you can climb to the top--warning, it is 294 steps and no elevator. The last time I saw a sign warning me there were 294 steps, it was the London Tube telling us the stairs were for "Emergency Use Only" and to take the lift. My family climbed to the top, my fear of heights kicked in and then our legs were like jelly for the next two hours.

We piled back into the bus after most of us climbed the monument and headed over to the Navy Yard. Docked there is the USS Constitution, built in 1793 and still in service, manned by members of the Navy. My family did the museum there, which has a 19 minute movie about what the USS Constitution means to America as well as the history of the ship. The upstairs has an exhibit dedicated to just the War of 1812. After our time in the Navy Yard was up, we continued on a bus tour around Boston. We saw where the Boston Massacre occurred, the Massachusetts State House, City Hall, Beacon Hill (also home to the location that inspired the show "Cheers"), and then, we made a quick stop at Fenway. I'm not much of a baseball fan but even I had to get off to see this legendary park.

After Fenway Park, we went on a college tour over in Cambridge. We visited MIT and Neil told us about some of the pranks seniors have played using the Dome of Knowledge, like when they turned it into R2-D2. After MIT, we drove further into Cambridge until we came into Harvard University. There were many students walking around and I couldn't tell if they were college tours or orientations. Neil told us there is a statue in Harvard with three lies written on it. It is of John Harvard, except it is actually the artist's friend pretending to be Harvard. It says he is a founder, but he just donated his money and books to the school. And the statue says it was founded in 1638, but was really opened in 1636. Harvard just died in '38 and they named the school after him due to his post-homous donation. Our last stop in Cambridge was to the Longfellow House, where Henry Wadsworth Longfellow lived.

After Cambridge, we returned to Boston to Fanueil Hall. It is a market place comprised of the original Fanueil Hall as well as three new halls: Quincy Market, South Market and North Market. Both South and North have stores as well as food places while Quincy is just all food. There are also other stores located in the market place and I saw a Wagamama's. It's a noodle place I ate at in London, which I loved. If they are expanding into North America, I am excited. It is cafeteria style dining and the food is delicious. We ate at Sam's Cafe/Cheers--a replica of the famous bar. I had a BLT sandwich with Italian dressing--very good though the bacon tasted off to me. We finished off with ice cream and returned to the bus.

Our last stop was to Copp's Hill and the Old North Church. Now, throughout the day, Neil has been telling us how Paul Revere's role was greatly exaggerated. While he did make the ride to Lexington, he was one of a few riders and he was the one who told his friend to hang two lanterns. He wasn't riding to warn the countryside moreso to warn John Hancock and Samuel Adams, who the British were coming to capture. And he didn't do that--the British got him as he entered town. Fellow rider William Dawes, Jr. got the message through. At Copp's Hill, we saw the gravestone of Robert Newman, the man who lit the lanterns and hung them in the Old North Church. Because of a curfew, the British troops came to arrest him but had to release him due to lack of evidence (thanks to that same curfew). We saw the Old North Church, but since the famous bellfry is 14 stories up and our legs are still angry at us for Breed's Hill, we just viewed the Church and listened to a quick information session.

And that was the end of our day. We returned to the hotel, relaxed our sore legs and then went across the street to Bickford's for dinner. I had one of the best grilled chicken clubs of my life followed by a hot, delicious apple crisp I shared with my mom.

As for the bus tour, I would definitely recommend it for newcomers to Boston. If you like to do things at your own pace, though, you may want to skip this. We were given time limits on how long we spent at each place--Breed's Hill was 20 minutes while the Navy Yard was about an hour, for example. But as a way to get a great tour of the city without walking or fighting traffic, it's a definite. It's also a good way to acquainted with some of the sites you may want to see while in Boston. So if you are staying a few days in the city, definitely do this first.

We're going back to do the Freedom Trail tomorrow, so I'm going to hold off the pictures until then.