Another disclaimer: This post is mostly a photo dump with some narrative.
Day two of Boston started with a trip to South Street Diner with our friend, Nikki. South Street is in an honest to God actual diner car. Totally cool. We walked to counteract all the yummy calories we were about to eat. Nikki had banana pancakes, I had chocolate chip pancakes with a malted chocolate soda, and Kev got steak, eggs, and home fries. So good, but no photo.
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| The wind wouldn't cooperate. |
Then Nikki went to explore the city on her own, and Kev and I decided we would walk around and do the Freedom Trail.
Boston is seriously diverse. We passed the Chinatown neighborhood where there were signs were in Chinese and people were speaking it all around us. So neat!
We took this photo of a 7-11 for Kyan because we don't have any in North Dakota, and saw so many here in Boston, and Kyan seriously misses Slurpees!
The hustle and bustle of the city was intriguing. It's true when you hear the phrase, "The city never sleeps." It doesn't!
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| Another shot of our hotel |
I was enchanted with these brick pathways. Hazardous to my health, as anyone who knows me can attest to, but I was lucky and did not end up visiting Massachusetts General on this trip!
John Hancock's house
Massachusetts State House. There was a protest for gun rights going on as we walked by.
Our first stop on the Freedom Trail. This burial ground is super old. This states the victims of the 1770 Boston Massacre are buried here, along with the parents of Benjamin Franklin, and Paul Revere.
Paul Revere's tomb
The Freedom Trail is easy to follow. This narrow red brick path runs the entire length of it, interspersed with these cool medallions. There are also street signs, and of course, you can get maps. We just followed this and made it just fine.
Samuel Adams tombstone.
Omni Parker House. Ever heard of Parker House rolls or Boston Cream Pie? Both originated here.
See, street signs, just like I said!
Old City Hall
A memorial dedicated to the Irish Potato Famine that devastated Ireland between 1845 and 1852, causing the deaths of over one million, and a population decrease of almost two million more due to emigration. The Irish made up a quarter of the population in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore by 1850. (Kind of love history, if you can't tell...)
Old South Meeting House. The Boston Tea Party originated here on December 16, 1773. It is reenacted each year on that date.
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| The Declaration of Independence is read from the balcony each July 4. |
Faneuil Hall
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| Samuel Adams tribute |
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| Faneuil Hall. More on this later, we got a private tour on our last day! |
Quincy Market. The Market is totally cool. Tons of stores, food vendors, restaurants, etc. The Body World exhibit was here when we were there, but I didn't get a chance to see it. Bummer.
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| The rotunda in Quincy Market. |
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| A familiar sight on this trip. Who are we kidding here?? This is a daily sight, haha! |
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| Cool old restaurant that Kev says is really good. He ate here for lunch on our last day. |
Oldest tavern in America!
The Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway is an awesome stretch of park and greenery. Lots of kids were playing there in the water and having a ball.
Couldn't get enough of all the diverse architecture!
The Freedom Trail takes you right through the North End, or Little Italy. It's totally amazing. Numerous Italian restaurants, bistros, stores, and of course, pastry shops. We heard Mike's was a must and it did NOT disappoint! We tried to show restraint and only ordered a few cannoli and some cheesecake to save for later, but that was a stupid decision. Buy a LOT when you visit Mike's. Trust me. You'll thank me later!
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| A very, very small selection of what Mike's Pastry offers. They had ever so many flavors of cannoli and cream puffs. |
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| The cannolis were HEAVEN. No lie. I still crave them. Moving on... |
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| Cigar parlor in the North End. |
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| Cool old cobblestone street in the North End |
Paul Revere's house. We paid to get in and take the tour, but you aren't allowed to take photos. It was still awesome and completely steeped in history. I was in my element!
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| Paul Revere statue. The Old North Church is in the background. |
Remember learning about Paul Revere and "one if by land, two if by sea?" Well, it happened right here. The church sexton climbed the steeple on April 18, 1775 and held two lanterns high as a signal from Paul Revere that the British were marching to Lexington and Concord by sea across the Charles River. This was the spark of the American Revolution. Services are still held at the Old North Church. How cool is that?!
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| A memorial for soldiers who lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan. Each dog tag represents one soldier. |
After we hit Copp's Hill Burying Ground, Kevin was dead on his (recently repaired) right ankle. The Trail continues across the Charles River to the Bunker Hill monument and the USS Constitution. Admittedly probably the best parts of the entire Trail, but I couldn't bring my empathetic nurse's heart to drag Kevin many more steps on his sore ankle. Back to the hotel we went,with a promise to finish the entire trail when we bring the boys to Boston in about ten years.
A few random photos of Boston. I've mentioned before the diversity of the architecture. It just blew my mind!
Found this hip little tea shop on our wanderings and they had these cute cups in the window. I'd been searching for cups just like these for my boys when we're traveling or going to the park. I promptly went in and bought three. They each came with a free fill of your choice of their two teas of the day. I chose to only fill one since Kevin didn't want any and got the watermelon mint. It was so refreshing and yummy!
We got back to the hotel to rest for an hour or so. Am I crazy, or does our hotel hall remind anyone else of The Shining?
We decided we needed a little late lunch so we headed out again. Boston is truly a walking city and is easily accessible by foot and especially the subway. We walked by the Boston Public Library and I desperately wanted to go inside, even just to breathe in the smell of all those glorious, wonderful books, but I was vetoed. My life is sad, right?
We hit a mall close by and wandered and then hit Au Bon Pain for a snack. I had a super yummy Thai wrap.
We headed back to the hotel and got ready for the actual conference part of our trip to start. We had a short dinner general meeting which was a vast buffet including whole lobster, steamed clams and mussels, clam chowder, salad, fresh fruit, rolls, and Boston cream pie. Sooooo yummy!
We finally stumbled back up to the room, found Friends re-runs on the tube, and passed out. Who's ready for Day Three??! To be continued....again!
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