Freedom Trail

In Boston, we stayed in the Financial District because we had such a short time in the city, and we wanted to walk the Freedom Trail.  Our hotel was just a few blocks away, but we ended up taking a cab to the beginning of it.  To start out, we had a fantastic lunch at Legal Seafood. Of course, I had to have Boston clam chowder and it was great,  but my goodness, what a rich dish.

We went to the beginning of the trail, and started to follow the red (mostly) brick trail through the city.  I especially enjoyed looking at the gravestones in the Granary Burying Ground, which was established in the 1600s.  This is where John Hancock, Samuel Adams and Paul Revere are buried.  There are pebbles and pennies on Paul Revere's headstone.  The pebbles are a tradition that shows someone was there to remember the person buried, and I may adopt that.  On Paul Revere's grave though, there are also pennies, a tribute to his contribution to the copper industry.

We saw the site of the Boston Massacre, at the Old State House.  At the bookstore, I needed to find out more about this incident, which was a foreshadowing of the American Revolution.  The British apparently call this "Incident on King Street".  Even the respective names highlight the issues at that time.  Essentially, five people were killed, six were injured, and two British soldiers were convicted of manslaughter with reduced sentences of branding on their hands. There may not have been enough to go around, but if there was, it wasn't about to be shared.

I would like to return to Faneuil Hall and the nearby Quincy Market.  We weren't hungry after our lunch so we didn't linger amongst all the food stalls, and Faneuil Hall was stifling hot, but there was a lot of things to see at this shopping district.  Outside, street dancers had gathered quite a crowd.

The North End is a fantastic neighbourhood and if when I return, I would very much like to explore it more.  The streets are old and unstable crooked beasts, but they are enveloped by scents of garlic and tomatoes from the Italian restaurants that all seem to have won awards.  Some restaurants had lineups down the block.  We had been watching people carrying white and blue boxes from Mike's Pastry, so when we saw it, I wanted to see what made them so popular.   Mike's sells cannolis in all kinds of flavours, but they also have crazy lineups of people waiting to get their own box.  We tried them, and I thought they were pretty good, but I wish that we had shared them instead.  I think that cannolis appeal to the cheesecake club...I'm not a member.  Still, I'm glad I tried them, and I probably would go back.

Another highlight was seeing the Old North Church.  This church is home to the steeple where Paul Revere's signal of two lanterns indicated that the British were arriving by water.  It sparked the American revolution.

I'd wanted to visit Boston for many years, and it didn't disappoint.   I'd like to go back sometime, as there is much more to explore.  It's a smallish city with a big personality.   It wouldn't be hard to people watch on the Rose Kennedy Greenway for hours on end.   Boston was bittersweet though.  I love our yearly trip together, and it's always a bit sad when it ends.  Boston marked the last stop for 2012.