Beautiful Boston | Travel
This year's family holiday spread over quite a few locations but the first place probably has got to be my favourite. No one from my family has ever been to Massachusetts and due to its historic significance my mother has always wanted to see Boston. It was lovely to be back in the United States and Boston has a certain charm and calm feeling that I couldn't help but love.
We left Denmark early in the morning and arrived in USA around noon thanks to the magic of time zones. We were staying at the Colonnade Hotel on Huntington Avenue, which was conveniently located next to a train stop and within walking distance of a shopping centre and many restaurants. We dropped off our baggage before going exploring the area close to our hotel as well as grabbing a delicious lunch at Whiskey's.
Next up was buying a seven day pass for unlimited travel with the train, even if we were only staying in town for five days. It's always so lovely and nice when a city has proper public transportation and you can just hop on and off at the stops near the things you want to see. We headed with the Green Line to Park St. where we walked right up into Boston Common.
We planned to just take a stroll through the park and then head down towards the bay area to look over the water before walking back towards our hotel and grabbing dinner at the Irish Pub we'd seen earlier. I immediately fell in love with Boston park, which I already wrote about briefly in the post before this one. However, it's worth mentioning again because walking through a space clearly so loved and cared for, in a pleasant heat was exactly what I needed after a long travel day. Obviously I was snapping away too, though I doubt photos will be able to replicate exactly how calm and wonderful it felt to walk around Boston for the first time.
I never did watch Cheers but I know about the popular TV series anyway. While the actual bar they filmed in isn't in Boston, the iconic front is, so obviously we had a quick stop there and took some photos like all the other tourists. Our parents both watched and liked the show, so I suspect it was quite cool for them to see something they'd seen on screen so many times in real life.
Boston had pretty much already won me over at this point, even with the tiredness starting to claim me. We went to bed early, like around 8.30 PM but that ensured that we woke up feeling refreshed for our first full day in Boston. One thing that had been on the schedule for the very beginning had been walking the Freedom Trail, which is essentially following a line of red bricks for 5 km. as it takes you past the many historic places in Boston.
After breakfast at Dunkin' Donuts, which became our go-to breakfast place after this, we hopped on the underground train and drove back to Boston Common where the trail starts. More by coincidence than actual planning we stumbled right onto the people giving walks around the trail. Our whole family loves doing themed walks with guides because you learn so much that you could never know otherwise. The guides we have had are always passionate about their city and the history they retell and this place in particular had guides dressed up to match the time period.
I don't know anywhere as much as my mother and brother does about American history and learnt so much that I never knew. From the daily life in Boston, to the American revolution, to Boston tea party, to founding fathers and all the small stories in-between, it was quite the experience. We learnt how the Midnight Rider Paul Revere wasn't actually the one calling alarm despite the famous poem saying so. We learnt funny customs, such as the rules what could get you into the stocks then placed in Boston Common, which could be something as innocent as kissing your wife in public - or her kissing you - if it was Sunday. Also the story of how all the other colonies came together to help out Boston after they threw the tea in the harbour because they didn't want the heavy taxation and subsequently got cut off.
The freedom trail was easy to follow and the guided walk lasted about an hour and a half and only covered a third of the trail, but we kept walking to see the rest of the places dotted along the trail. We stopped for lunch at Faneuil Hall first though, which had so many small food stalls dotted throughout it and we could buy four different kinds of food and still eat together. We walked to the end of the trail straight afterwards, though we had a brief frozen yoghurt/ice-cream turnbuckle.
The trail ended at the USS Constitution Museum. She is the oldest still sailable ship and has a really interesting history and connection to the American people who refused to let her rot away. In her time, she was given the name Old Ironsides as cannons seemed to bounce off her hull thanks to the combination of oaks. Unfortunately, she was in a dry dock while we were there but she was still impressive to behold.
We took the ferry back to around where the guided tour had left off as to not walk back the exact same way. The ride was extremely short but it was nice to see Boston from the sea, where it's just as pretty. At some point I'll learn how to do a good panorama but until then, I'll have to suffice with my best attempts.
We took a little rest when we came back to the hotel until around dinner time, where we hopped on the train to the theatre district where after much discussion, we got tickets to see Wicked two days later. Dad always seem to gravitate towards stage shows and musicals when we're abroad. Afterwards, we had dinner at Chipotle, which both of our parents insisted on calling by a slightly different name; Chipoletta was absolutely my favourite.
The following day, we took the train out of the city and then a shuttle bus to visit John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. He was Boston born and bred, a Harvard graduate and hobby sailor, so it makes perfect sense for the city to be home of his library. He's one of the favourite American Presidents for several members of the family and I learnt so much about his early years that I never knew beforehand.
When we finished at the Museum we headed back into Boston, downtown to be specific and grabbed lunch at a food corner and did some shopping at Macy's. I finally got around to trying the s'mores donut I had been eyeing for a couple of days now. It was delicious and glorious.
After shopping we headed back to the hotel for a little break and suddenly flood warnings came through on our phones? The weather looked pretty clear though, so we didn't worry too much about it. My brother and I stayed behind as our parents got to fidgety and decided to explore a bit on their own before it was time for dinner. By the time we were ready to leave the hotel, it was pouring down. Bless, the trusted umbrellas we bought on our very first day and the shopping centre across the street that meant we didn't have to be outside for long. It was so wet and cold, so we took the easy option and went to Whiskey's again. That'll teach us to shake our heads at flood warnings.
The next morning, we didn't go for what had become our usual breakfast at Dunkin' Donuts. Instead, we hopped on the train and took it to Harvard campus. They had an IHOP nearby, which all of us fell in love with during our big 2014 trip to the west coast. Those pancakes, man. After consuming the delicious breakfast, we went on a guided tour around Harvard held by students and alumni. Harvard is such a renounced place and it was so interesting to learn about the history from back when it was founded in 1637 and how much things have changed over the years.
It might be because I'm a university student myself but I just found the whole thing immensely cool. One particularly amazing thing is their huge underground library (that we didn't see but heard about). Understandably, you have to have a student card to go into the buildings, so we only saw the exterior of everything. Our guide Tiffany had just graduated last month and despite following a script, that included a few bad/insensitive jokes, you could hear her passion and fondness for the place that educated her.
In the afternoon, I got a bit of time to myself to use the Lush bath bomb we'd bought earlier. I miss having a bathtub and access to Lush products from when I lived in England. There's something extremely relaxing about that. After the break, we headed out to do a bit of shopping and grabbing an early dinner before heading to the Opera to watch Wicked. While waiting for the musical to start, we ducked into a café and stumbled across a whole stack of papers tucked into the drawer of an old coffee table. I honestly love stuff like that so much. I added the last bit to the story beneath and my brother left a note in Danish to any other Danes who might find their way in there. And I laughed out loud on that second note shown beneath.
Wicked was a hoot, and the two main actresses playing Elphaba and Glinda were such incredible performers and singers. I've never read or seen The Wizard of Oz and only had limited knowledge but it was still so fun to see the a different perspective from a story that's so famous that even if you haven't sought it out, you probably know the basics anyway. I think even Mum warmed to it, despite her initial hesitance.
The next day, Friday, would be our last full day in Boston and baseball was on the agenda. After breakfast at Dunkin' Donuts, we headed to the famous Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox. Dad is the only one in the family interested in sport at all, and even he doesn't really watch baseball, but it's an important part of the American culture nonetheless and the tour turned out less dull than I thought it would.
We got to sit in the "monster seats" and the press lounge and while most of our little family struggled with the ease of which the guide used specific terminology, it became easier to follow with every sentence. I particularly loved the story of the green section of seats with the one red seat. It was the farthest home run and it knocked a man sleeping in his seat awake.
On our way back to the hotel after lunch, we finally got around to exploring the absolutely gigantic Barnes and Nobles directly opposite our hotel. I don't think I've been into a bookstore that big before. It seemed more like a library vibe, though I suspect they won't let you check out any books if you tried. There's alway something about lots of stacks of books that excite me. Think of all the stories hidden within those pages. Think of all the potential joy and knowledge you'd get out of reading them. Suffice to say, I like books. A lot.
I headed to the airport with Dad to pick up the car, which we would be leaving in the following morning to drive to Niagara Falls. The train ride and shuttle to the car rental at the airport went rather smoothly, as did picking out the car. After deliberation between a few different cars we settled on a Nissan Pathfinder for the added leg room for my brother. The colour was a bit off, a muddy sort of green (officially called Green DK), but it was a nice car. It was big but that seems to be a trend with thing in America.
We came back to the hotel after leaving the keys with the valet, and we had an in-room dinner consisting of nachos, guacamole, sushi, onion rings and more that Mum and A had picked up at the local supermarket. It was glorious and just the kind of thing we needed. Early the next morning, we all piled into the car and after a successful breakfast stop at the IHOP near Harvard, we turned the headlights towards the Canadian border, which would be a seven hour drive.
We had an awesome time and it definitely won't be the last time we head towards USA.
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