Boston, Massachusetts

Sunday, September 14, 2014  Arrival to Boston, Massachusetts

After capturing some awesome shots of Boston from the ship, we caught the Silver Line Bus that took us from the cruise terminal to the city subway…the oldest subway in the US. From there we caught the Red Line to Braintree. Everything was well marked and easy to follow.  Hats off to Boston for making the transportation system around the city relaxing and fun to use!

 

Boston is known as 'Beantown'. Why? Back in the 17th century, every Saturday  all the locals cooked a big pot of beans. Sailors coming into port could smell them cooking; hence, naming the area. Boston has a number of titles for being first. First subway in America. First park....Boston Common.  Boston is also known for  a lot of American History....Boston Massacre, Bunker Hill, Boston Tea Party, Paul Revere's Famous Ride.

We also noticed the ease that a disabled person has when  getting around in Boston. How did that occur? When you are pulling a couple of rolling suitcases around in Europe, you are always lifting them up over the curbs or carrying them up and down the stairs in the subways, buses, etc. We never had to lift the bags the whole time in Boston...especially when boarding the bus. We think this is due to the Kennedy's disability laws. 

One of the most prevalent things that we noticed was how courteous the Boston drivers were. When crossing the street, they always gave the pedestrian the right away. They all stopped to let you cross even when it wasn't an appropriate place to cross over. After almost getting run over in Dublin several times, this made for a more carefree adventure. 

 

Monday, September 15, 2014   Boston

 

 

We caught the Red Line back into the city and got off at the Downtown Crossing. From there we followed the brick red line on the sidewalks called the Freedom Trail, a walking tour of Boston’s major historic sites. We passed  by the Old State House. Built in 1713 as a seat for colonial government and in 1766 it became the first public gallery to observe government in action.

 

Old State House,  Mass's first capital building

 

 

                               We came to the exact spot of the Boston Massacre.

 

 

On we walked to Faneuil Hall (1742), nicknamed the ‘cradle of liberty’. Sam Adams began his cause against the British here. Now current building brims with restaurants and shops.

                                      Statue of Samuel Adams in front of Faneuil Hall

 

                     We passed by Quincy’s Market, inside a smorgasbord of irresistible eats. 

 

 

 From here we purchased tickets for the Super Hop on Hop off Bus that took us to see Paul Revere’s House, the oldest 17^th century house still standing. Did you know that Paul had 16 children?

                                                                Our ride

 

Next we saw the Old North Church…where the lantern was hung in the steeple to warn that the Brits were coming…”one by land, two by sea”. We passed the Old USS Constitution in the harbor.   We passed the Bunker Hill Monument…a mini Washington Monument.

We passed the New England Holocaust Memorial and got off the bus at the Galleria. Here we boarded a new tour to see the Harvard Square Loop, MIT, and Cambridge. 
 

Boston has 43 educational institutions! Radcliffe, Boston College, Boston University, Harvard, Mass U, MIT, Cambridge just to name a few.  One third of Boston's population consists of students. WOW...that's a lot of learning going on!

 We also took the Charles Riverboat Cruise. What awesome views of the city! 

                                What a relaxing way to enjoy Boston sites!

 

 

Awesome scenes of Boston, Harvard, and MIT from the Charles River 

  Tallest building in the city...John Hancock Building! The glass reflects the clouds in the sky!

Afterwards we hopped on the bus to see Fenway Park...home to the beloved Boston Red Socks. 

 

We passed John Hancock’s glass high rise…tallest building in the city and the Back Bay Brownstones and Brick townhomes.

                                                      What beautiful architecture!

Boston’s Public Library is the second largest library in the US…just behind Washington D.C.'s Congressional National Library. While seeing the US’s oldest park in existence, the Boston Commons,  we spotted the infamous swan boats where the children’s book, Make Way for Ducklings had originated.

                                                            Boston Commons

Ducks are still hanging out in the Commons.

 

The gold dome on the Massachusetts State House sparkled down on us as we passed by.

 

 

                                                                    Mass State House

 

At the end of our ride we walked down the wharf passing by the 1837 Customs House that blended with the pleasant combination of condos, hotels, shops and restaurants.  The Boston Marina had many extravagant yachts.

                                                             My favorite sailor!

                                                           

 

I'll take that one!

                                                                     Customs House

Our final stop was at Cheers…famous for the old television show. What a wonderful way to end the day…having a couple of ice teas and looking at the memorabilia from the television show.

 

What a shock...Elaine dropped by!

 

It was almost like being in the show!!!

 

Tuesday, September 16, 2014   John F. Kennedy Library

 

 

This morning we took the Red Line to the John F. Kennedy Library situated on the University of Massachusetts Campus facing the Boston Harbor. The massive white building was full of Kennedy’s historic life.

 

JFK's White House desk

 

Gold, diamond, and emerald purse presented to Jackie from the Middle East.

Who needs cash to put into that?

We enjoyed every minute of the exhibits showing documents, photographs and artifacts of the Kennedy years. A grand 20 minute movie told of his early life and other shorter films gave more in depth information about his accomplishments.

                                                            Kennedy's sail boat

                            You can see Boston across the bay from JFK's Library.

This was the fourth presidential library that we have visited….probably the least impressive of all. We wondered if this monument seemed less because Kennedy’s life ended while he was still so young.   

                 Thank you to my hubby for the best birthday trip of a lifetime! XXOO