Boston

As with other big cities we had limited options for staying near Boston – but we managed to find a campground with a shuttle to a nearby commuter rail station. It is a very fancy shuttle – people at the station weren’t sure why two casually dressed tourists were arriving in a white stretch limo!

After a 45 minute train ride we arrived in Boston and started our wandering through American history. Our plan was to visit sites along the Freedom Trail. Our only concern was the forecast for rain in the afternoon – we might have to cut our day short!

Our first stop was the Paul Revere House (not originally on our list but we walked farther than we meant to). It is the oldest building in downtown Boston – built almost a century before Revere bought it in 1770! The first floor contains a kitchen and a room for eating & entertaining guests; the second floor contains two bedchambers. There is also an attic and cellar (not part of the self guided tour). The visitor center contains exhibits about his career, his participation in the Revolution and a diorama of his shop.

Then we followed the brick trail on the sidewalks to other sites along the Freedom Trail. We didn’t take tours at any of the other sites but took advantage of plaques and exhibits outside.

Faneuil Hall was originally built as a central market with meeting rooms above – many Revolutionary meetings took place there. The Old South Meeting House was also utilized for Revolutionary meetings – the Boston Tea Party took place after negotiations failed with English representatives about taxes on a shipment of tea. The Old State House was first the seat of the colonial government (Royal Governor and courts) and then the state government – and the Boston Massacre took place out front when a confrontation between a British sentry and a Boston mob got out of hand.

Along the way to Boston Common we passed Old City Hall, King’s Chapel and  King’s Chapel Burying Ground, the Granary Burying Ground (final resting place of Benjamin Franklin’s parents and John Hancock among others) and Park Street Church.

 

I was surprised to find that Boston Common was on a hill – for some reason I had expected it to be flat! It is a lovely area with monuments separated by grassy areas and walkways. Several groups of school children were having lunch and looking forward to the merry-go-round – they presented a different kind of chaos to walkways full of professionals and tourists. In nearly Boston Public Garden swan boats full of tourists were gliding about the lake as it started to drizzle rain.

The wildlife on the Common is quite unafraid of people – this fellow was going after crumbs left by school children. His very white cousin was finding more natural food under the shrubs in the Boston Public Garden. And the giraffe might be a bit out of place – although he was among rather modern office buildings rather than a more natural setting.

 

We eventually ducked into a cafe to get out of the rain and to warm up with coffee and a bit of something sweet (banana nut bread for Charlie and lemon poppy seed bread for me). There were stools at a counter in the window so we could watch people and traffic go by. At this point we decided to call and arrange for an earlier pickup at the train station – we were cold and damp and ready to call it a day.

But we still had time to visit the Massachusetts State House – and joined a tour that had started a few minutes prior. Opulent might be an understatement – there is amazing marble inlay and mosaic work throughout the large addition to the rear of the original building and beautiful stained glass on the Grand Staircase and above the Hall of Flags. And the original section is full of marble and statues as well. The Grand Hall has a flag from almost every city and town in Massachusetts – they help reduce the sound from echoing in the reception hall created from an atrium (marble floors, original exterior brick walls and a glass ceiling).

 

It was still raining lightly as we left the State House so we attempted to arrange an Uber driver back to the train station. But it was a busy time and the wait was long – luckily it stayed a drizzly, light rain and we made it to the station quicker by walking. I didn’t find the commuter rail system to be as user friendly as the Metro in DC – but we managed to get back to the proper station and our waiting limo!

For more pictures of Boston click here!