Boston!!

My mom and I have not done a girls' trip in a few years. She's always wanted to go to Boston, so I thought that'd be a great place to go. A BIG thanks to my dad who gave us Delta tickets and 2 free nights at the Marriott!! We were able to stay there for 5 days, and I PACKED in the activities. Besides the millions of pictures here, I probably have another 20%. We also saw lots of gravestones- Winthrop, Revere, Hancock, Mary (Mother) Goose, Sam Adams. We saw lots of churches. The first day we flew in, checked in, and were out by noon.

This is Old South Church, near our hotel.

Faneuil Hall, originally a town meeting place

Quincy Market- still a place to buy fast foods and souvenirs

Old State House: Declaration of Independence was read from the balcony. Also the site of the Boston Massacre.

I love the Beacon Hill area, near the park (Boston Common).

Public Garden

We also saw the Make Way for Ducklings statues here.

Wednesdays after 4:00 are FREE at the Museum of Fine Arts. Whoo-hoo! We were quite tired at this point (woke up at 4am for our flight), so we split up. Mom went to American art; I headed for European art. I was able to find my favorite French artists. =)

Here is one of Monet's Water Lillies.

Walking back to the hotel. This is such a beautiful city. They definitely appreciate greenery.

The Christian Science Museum. We didn't go in, but we thought it was a beautiful area.

Day 2: The Boston Public Library is across the street from our hotel. SUCH a beautiful, free touring spot.

Freedom Trail

We did not walk the entire trail; we picked it up in spots.

Old North Church, where 2 lanterns were hung

Individualized pews provided for warmth in those harsh winter months. They kept a hot rock/brick in the bottom of the pew box. Families needed to purchase pew boxes. The larger the donation, the closer to the front.

Paul Revere's home. (No pictures inside.) One room was decorated in 17th century style, while the rest was decorated for when Revere's family would have lived there, in the late 1700's.

I definitely wanted to eat at Ye Olde Union Oyster House, the oldest restaurant in America. We really enjoyed the food and ambiance.

We visited Harvard in the afternoon but were not very impressed. I'm not sure what I expected- it was school buildings and dormitories. =)

Day 4: (Day 3 is at the end.) We rode the trolley all over town. It was such a fun way to see Boston! Here I am at the home of the Red Sox.

We also took a cruise of the harbor.

USS Constitution, "Old Ironsides"

This is the park on the roof across the street from our hotel. How neat is that?

Day 5: More downtown

This is the site of the first public school; it was a Latin school (1635).

on the trolley

Irish Famine Memorial

My mom's family (Quinn) is Irish but came over during the late 1600's.

BOSTON FOOD:

My family thinks I take too many pictures of food. But I love to show off new or beautiful foods. =) Here I am eating Boston Creme Pie for the first time. It was a little unimpressive. We are eating at Mike's Pastry. Some locals told us they all eat at Modern Pastry, across the street. I got gelatto there later. Yummmm!

Cookies at Mike's

Trying clam chowder for the first time (at Union Oyster House). I enjoyed it so much!

Now, you gotta admit that's beautiful food! I bought these in the oldest candy company in America.

Day 3: Daytrips to Plymouth & Salem

This is Plymouth. It is beautiful yet would be a little disheartening if I were a Pilgrim.

The Mayflower no longer exists, so this is the re-creation: Mayflower II.

Inside the cabin where 102 passengers lived for 9 months. Unfathomable. Cramped, smelly, wet.

And here's the rock.

We went to Plimoth Plantation. I was Super excited about this. Note: Plimoth was spelled many ways. They had no official spelling rules and just went with phonics.

Anyway, one area is the Wampanoag Village. Descendants of the original tribespeople work there, explaining their culture to us.

And then the 1627 English village. YEA! They even spoke in traditional tongue. It was so much fun to see their homes and speak with them. These role players study their "person" and dialect for 2 yrs. before they come into the village.

But the temperature WAS 103. Who knows what the heat index was. That made things a little difficult.

Inside one of the nicer homes.

There were 2 rooms in this one!

Listening to the preacher in the Meeting House

On to Salem, to visit the Witch Dungeon Museum

This was such a sad part of history to learn about.

Nathaniel Hawthorne's House of the Seven Gables

And finally, thrilled to be inside the Olde Pepper Candy Companie.

If you ever get a chance to go to Boston, go. Learn about our history. Enjoy the scenery. Eat. =)