The problem with living on the West coast is solidly tied to travel. Specifically getting to and from Europe. It takes forever. Much quicker from the East coast. A direct flight from Madrid, Spain to Boston is 8 hours. Add another 8+ hours for us to go home. However, this does provide a most excellent way to sneak in a few more days of exploration. We simply tacked on a few days in Boston. Why not? I’ve never been. Having now been, it has not altered my opinion of the East coast. The East coast is interesting but the West coast is the best coast. Hands down. We have mountains. Massachusetts is FLAT. And hot. And humid. At least humid to me. I live where the humidity hangs around 30%. Boston was over 60%. Yuck.

Why Boston?

Boston is a goldmine for USA history enthusiasts. It’s considered the cradle of the American Revolution. It’s where the first protests against British rule occurred. The Boston massacre presumably didn’t help the situation. US rebels surely had a grand time chucking tea off boats in the well known Boston Tea Party. Boston was home to many influential Revolutionists, Paul Revere and Samuel Adam’s are perhaps some of the most well known.

Beyond history, Boston is home to a plethora of sports teams. Baseball? Red Sox. Basketball? Celtics. Hockey? Bruins. Like colleges? Ivy League Harvard is here. So’s MIT. There’s loads of boating, beaches and islands. There are bikes for rent. Parks all over the place. Pick your adventure.

Freedom Trail

Possibly one of the best ways to explore Boston’s Revolutionary history, the Freedom Trail connects 16 historically important sites. Starting at the Boston Commons, this 2.5 mile long trail is easy to follow. Simply stick to the brick “path” that leads the way. I loved this trail as it allows you to visit most historical sites without having to navigate or think. Whoever dreamt up this trail is brilliant.

Boston Commons is a 50 acre public park in downtown Boston. It’s quite lovely to see so much green. A modern sculpture called “ The Embrace” is worth checking out. Which side you observe it from will greatly affect what you see. There’s a fountain, ball fields, bandstand and carousel. There’s even a bakery within the park. They sell half way decent sticky buns for the record.

Across the street is the Public Garden. This is the first public botanical garden in the US. Within the park are quite a few statues commemorating historical figures. There are swan boat rides on the lagoon and paths wind throughout the park. It’s a nice park, though not technically on the Freedom Trail.

Sites along the Freedom trail include the Massachusetts State House, Park Street Church, Kings Chapel and a few graveyards. Paul Revere is buried in the Granary Burial Ground. Boston is big on Paul Revere. There’s his burial site, old house, a statue, a park and mentions of him throughout the city. While he’s an American hero, it’s not like there aren’t a bunch more, from Boston even. Oh well, at least Samuel Adam’s got a brewery named after him.

Further along, the Old State House stands (where the Boston Massacre occurred) dwarfed by surrounding towering high rises. This one was my personal favorite. If nothing else, it’s a pretty building with a shiny golden unicorn on top.

Carrying on there’s Faneuil Hall, Paul Revere’s House and Old North Church. Once you cross over a bridge, the trail will take you to the USS Constitution. It’s an old warship that was originally launched in 1797. It is free to board, though you will need to bring your ID with you to pass security as it is an active military base. There’s a museum as well. In theory it’s free. In actuality it costs $15 per person, though they claim “pay what you can”. We chose to pay nothing. As in, declined the museum and headed on. I’m rarely a fan of museums.

As a side note, there’s a WW2 destroyer docked here. It is also free to enter and is well worth seeing. You are not allowed on the upper or lower decks but it’s neat to walk around the main deck. This particular ship was in the Pacific and survived a Kamikaze-attack.

The final attraction on the Freedom Trail is the Bunker Hill Monument. This hill is where the first significant battle of the American Revolutionary War took place. The monument is a 221 foot granite obelisk that, in theory, one can climb via a whole lot of stairs. That being said, if the heat index reaches 87 degrees or more they close it down. The temperature when we visited was in the mid 90’s with a real feel of 102 degrees as per AccuWeather. Definitely a no go for climbing the stairs. Being hot, tired and sticky, I was not disappointed. Doug was massively disappointed. Poor guy.

There are plenty of other buildings along the trail. I mentioned the ones I liked the most. We chose not to enter most of the buildings. Partly due to each charging a separate fee and, if I’m honest, largely due to lack of interest on our part. Revolutionary history never was my favorite. Regardless, the trail is well put together and worth the walk. There are walking tours available if you prefer more in depth information as you walk along.

Wharf’s and Boston Tea Party

Not so surprisingly Boston has a plethora of wharfs. There’s a harbour walk that loosely connects them and makes for a nice stroll. There are loads of boats and marinas. The Christopher Columbus Waterfront Park provides a nice stopping point to sit down and enjoy the afternoon. There’s a long open arch covered in grapevines that offers plenty of shade. Perfect when it’s stinking hot out.

Along Congress Street bridge are the Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum. Here you can do everything from sample teas, watch a reenactment and board one of the old wooden ships. If you don’t want to partake of the tour, I would recommend relaxing on benches along the Harborwalk. From here you can see one of the ships and watch as kids chuck “tea” over the side of the ship. It’s hilarious.

Schools

Took a train out to see Harvard. Lots of brick in that campus. They were having a reunion the day we went. There were loads of alumni all over the place. We even saw Conan O’Brien walking about. Other than that, there’s a bunch of buildings and a free art museum. The museum hosts a wide variety of art. Roman “art” (statues mostly), Asian art, Renaissance art, modern art, and more. There are a few famous pieces by Monet, Picasso and Rembrandt. Van Gogh’s self portrait was out on loan. Ah well. Maybe some other time.

After strolling around we walked to the MIT campus. It certainly has a more industrial vibe to it. Not exactly the loveliest of campuses. But hey, all the ridiculously smart people attend here and they don’t seem to mind. They do have a great spot right off the water.

Notable Bites

Mike’s Pastry has been around since 1946 in the north end of Boston. They seemingly have everything. A wide variety of cannolis, pastry’s, muffins, sweet bars, brownies, cupcakes, cakes, Italian cookies. Yum. We had to go. Inside you’ll line up behind the counter, when busy, it’s madness. They only take cash for payment. We chose a variety; apricot filled Italian cookies, a raspberry pastry, peanut butter brownie and lemon bar. The brownie was insane. Thick fudge style brownie with frosting and peanut butter chips. One could not eat the whole thing at once.

Regina Pizzeria in the north end of Boston has been around since 1926 and serves up delicious brick oven pizza’s. 99 years of pizza making. They are pretty dang good. Inside is old school with a dingy feel but the pizza is fantastic. They are generous with cheese and toppings. Well worth a wait.

Samuel Adam’s Brewing should be mentioned since it’s Boston. While we didn’t go to the actual plant, there are plenty of brewery’s around to visit. Generally we don’t drink Sam Adam’s but, hey, when in Rome. The red I had was pretty decent. Plus we had the Samuel Adam’s statue directly behind us. Seemed fitting.

Lastly, Lobster. Specifically lobster rolls. So good. While there are many places to choose from, we selected Luke’s Lobster. They source their seafood responsibly and can pinpoint exactly where it’s coming from each day. A nice bonus. The lobster rolls were a true delight.

Overall, we enjoyed Boston. I was mildly surprised at how small it feels for a big city. We found the people to be quite pleasant and friendly, transportation was a breeze (we used their subway system), and the city itself is remarkably clean.

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