Cathy's Travel Blog: April 2010

Two months ago, I asked my friend to join me to visit Boston on March 25-March 28, 2010.

We arrived in Boston on a wonderful 67 degree sunny spring day. We took the subway Red Line from the airport to the Central station. The Central stop is between two famous universities, MIT and Harvard. From the Central station, we walked to our hotel. Our hotel is located in between MIT and Harvard, and it is located along the Charles River.

After we checked into the hotel, we visited the Faneuil Hall Market (Quincy Market) and the USS Constitution. Quincy Market has over 150 shops, restaurants, and merchants. We enjoyed lobster roll and an Italian sandwich.

The USS Constitution is the oldest commissioned warship afloat in the world, manned by an active duty U.S. Navy crew. The ship was launched in Boston on October 21, 1797, and went to sea in 1798. The ship is affectionately known as “Old Ironsides” because cannonballs bounced off the ships oak sides during the war of 1812.

We decided to take a trolley tour of Boston in order to get to know more of the history of Boston. We saw Historic Faneuil Hall, Quincy Market, Old North Church, Historic North End (Boston’s “Little Italy”), USS Constitution, Old State House, the original Cheers restaurant, Fenway Park, Cambridge, MIT, Harvard, Beacon Hill, and Boston Common.

The second day (March 26), it was a windy and snowy day.

First, we went to Dunkin Donuts for breakfast. There are about 1,100 Dunkin Donuts within a 50-mile radius of Boston. The first Dunkin Donuts was founded in 1950 in Quincy, Massachusetts. It is now headquartered in Canton, Massachusetts. Dunkin Donuts in Boston is like Starbucks in Seattle.

After breakfast, we took the Old Town Trolley Tours of Boston. We stopped at the Bunker Hill Monument. The Bunker Hill Monument was dedicated in 1843. This 221-foot monument commemorates the Revolution’s first major battle, testing colonial unity against British forces. We climbed 294 steps to the top and enjoyed spectacular views of Boston. On the top of Bunker Hill, we gladly found that the snow had stopped.

The Bunker Hill Monument is one of the freedom trail sights. The Freedom Trail is a 2 1/2 mile trail that was created to help visitors find Boston’s historic sites. It extends from Boston Common to the Charlestown Naval Yard. Bunker Hill is marked by a line of contrasting bricks, red paint, and distinctive signage.

We walked to the North End after visiting Bunker Hill. The streets in the North End are narrow, and there is a lot of history there – Old North Church, Paul Revere’s house, and burial grounds.

Old North Church – this church was built in 1723 and is Boston’s oldest church. On the night of April 18, 1775, Robert Newman hung two lanterns in the steeple to warn Charlestown patriots of the advance of British soldiers.

Little Italy is located in North End and is packed with Italian restaurants. We enjoyed lunch at an authentic Italian restaurant. We enjoyed calamari, pesto, and ravioli.

Beacon Hill is the most photographed street in the US. This area includes beautiful homes with incredible architecture. We also visited the location of the bar featured in the favorite 1980s sitcom “Cheers”.

We finished the day by walking to the Harvard campus which is located next to the Charles River. Most of the buildings in Harvard are red bricks buildings. By the way, we learned that the John Harvard statue is not of John Harvard himself. The statue was created by a Harvard art student and the statue depicts this student, not John Harvard.

The Charles River is an 80 mile (129 km) long river that flows in an overall northeasterly direction in eastern Massachusetts. The Charles River divides Boston and Cambridge. Brandeis University, Harvard University, Boston University, and MIT are all located along the Charles River. We saw students walking, jogging, and biking along the river. We also enjoyed walking along the Charles River and watching the rowing practices.

The third day (March 27) was a cold sunny day. We started our day by walking around the MIT campus. MIT is a 30-40 minute walk from Harvard University.

We took the subway to visit the Samuel Adams Brewery after we visited the MIT campus. Samuel Adams Brewery offers a free tour. We toured the brewery and learned how the beers were made. We also sampled various varieties of beer. It was a very interesting tour.

Two major traditions of Boston: Samuel Adams and Cheers. So, we went to the Cheers Restaurant inside Quincy Market to have our lunch.

In the afternoon, we boarded the Boston Harbor Cruise. We enjoyed a 45 minute tour of Boston Harbor on a beautiful, yet cold, spring day.

Before we finished our Boston visit and headed back to our hotel, we went to Chinatown. We enjoyed walking through this section of Boston exploring the shops and grocery stores.

Boston is full of histories sites, diverse cultures, and hidden treasures. Boston has very easy and convenient public transportation. You can visit most of the sights in Boston by using the public transportation. However, the city seriously lacks street signs to help visitors navigate in and around town.