Another day in Boston! We didn't drive in since that would be suicidal, but drove over to the Wellington station to take the orange line in. A nice woman gave us a TIP that I'm going to give to you: If you go in by train (which may be your best option), then buy the Charlie card. You can put the amount you need for everyone that day and it's $1.75 compared to the $2.00 of regular tickets. I know this doesn't seem much, but if you're a family of four like us, you save a whole regular ticket price for a round trip.
We got off at State Street, which put us near the Old South Church. Nearby is the Visitor Center, where you can pick up a 90-minute tour given by a park ranger. It's free and full of good information. Our guide took us to five different locations. First, we went back to the Old South Church where she talked about the Boston Tea Party. It was from this meeting house that Sam Adams gave the signal for the other Sons of Liberty to board the ship and throw it over board. We next went to the site of the Boston Massace and heard the story. A good visual is the start of HBO's John Adams miniseries. From there, we walked over to Fanueil Hall. Our ranger guide talked about how it was an important meeting hall, but I'll admit I was distracted. There was a performance artist pretending to be a statue as tourists stopped to watch her. Unfortunately, none of them freaked out when she moved like I had seen in Disney and Stratford-Upon-Avon. Now that's funny. As security moved the artist, I returned my attention to the guide, who explained Fanueil Hall was still an important meeting place even with City Hall across the street. We walked from Fanueil Hall to Paul Revere's house, which is the only wood house amongst a bunch of brick ones. And now located in the heart of Boston's Little Italy. Afterwards, we ended at the back of the Old North Church by a statue of Paul Revere. He faces St. Stephen's Church, which was once Puritan and his place of worship. Now, it's Catholic and the Kennedy's.
After we finished with the Old North Church, we crossed a bridge to the Charleston Navy Yard to revisit the USS Constitution. Though first we needed to find something to eat--and lo and behold, there is a place to eat at the Yard. I had a BLT (without tomatoes) and it was pretty good. Maybe not the best I've ever eaten, but filling then. We finished and past through security to visit the ship. There were two options: a thirty-minute guided tour or a ten-minute self-guided tour. If you want to go below decks and hear the history of the ship, go on the guided tour. If not, if you just want to go on the ship, then take the self-guided tour. Either way, it's free. There is a new visitor's center, which traces the ship's history through the 19th and 20th Centuries. We finished off at the museum, going through all of the War of 1812 exhibit. A must-see there is a short video where they recreate the USS Constitution's most famous victory, against the British ship the Guerriere, using the words of the sailors present on both sides.
After our visit to the Constitution, we went back over the bridge where now people had gathered to go fishing in the Charles River. As I walked past, one guy was looking for a measuring tape to measure the striped bass he had caught. And trust me, it was pretty big. We returned to Fanueil Hall so my sister could get some shirts she had seen the day before while my dad got some more ice cream. I got a book about the ghosts of Boston because I couldn't go on a haunted tour.
And then it rained. So we hung out with everyone in the marketplace under the awnings as a thunderstorm rolled through. Three little kids next to us were enjoying themselves, using the storm as a giant sprinkler. As the rain died down, they started chanting, "We want rain!" over and over.
Once the storm passed, we went to two of Boston's cemetaries. The second one, Granary Burying Ground, is a must see for the people buried there. The tomb for Benjamin Franklin's parents sits prominently in the middle of the cemetary so you can't miss that. My dad and I couldn't find Mother Goose's (yes, the Mother Goose) grave, but we found Paul Revere's. He has a big headstone though next to it is a weather-worn, small stone which reads "Revere's Tomb." What it means, I don't know. Hancock's grave is in it's own nook and the second tallest after the Franklin tomb. It is also surrounded by some grave's which read "Servant of Hancock." We found the grave stone for the five victims of the Boston Massacre, including a child whose death started to fan the flames that lead to the night of March 5, 1770. Right next door is Sam Adams' grave. It is surrounded by American flags, marks him as a signer of the Declaration of Independence as well as a Son of Liberty. And sitting on top of his tomb--a bottle of Sam Adams beer. TRIVIA (courtesy of Neil from the tour yesterday): The picture on Sam Adams bottles isn't of Samuel Adams. It's Paul Revere!
We returned to our hotel and boy was that train CROWDED! We were packed in, reminding me of my days on the London tube. Now, we're just sore and resting up.
Tomorrow: Salem, Massacusetts! And my camera's dead, so I need to change the batteries to upload the pictures I took. Also, I need to send the pictures I took on my phone to myself as well. I may post them tomorrow or do a whole post of just pictures. We'll see.
Showing posts with label Freedom Trail. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Freedom Trail. Show all posts
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
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.
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.
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