Boston is a beautiful city, with a lot of history, and we had a GREAT time.
FRIDAY
After a very long ride on the Mega Bus (which Mega sucked), I met my friend Andrea at the Liberty Hotel on Charles Street in the Beacon Hill neighborhood.
The Liberty Hotel was once The Charles Street Jail, built in 1851 and officially closed in 1990.
It was GORGEOUS!
The front
The lobby
Former cells
View of the Charles River and Cambridge from our window
They even have bikes you can ride!
After our complimentary glass of champagne (nice!),
we headed out to wander around the city.
Our first stop was the Public Garden.
to see the Swan Boats.
Then, we stopped for a late lunch at Jacob Wirth, which first opened in 1868 (and can soon be seen in the upcoming Tom Cruise/Cameron Diaz movie "Knight & Day").
After lunch, and a couple of Sam Adams Summer Wheats (me) and Maibachs (Andrea), we wandered through the city, until we found ourselves (completely by accident, really!) at the Bull & Finch bar on Beacon Street, which inspired the tv show Cheers.
At first we just walked by. But then... we started to slow down. Finally, I turned to Andrea and said (sheepishly) "I'm kind of curious." Luckily, she laughed and said that she was too. So, we agreed to just go in and check it out.
We ended up staying there the rest of the night.
As is often the case, you have the best time when and where you least expect it.
There were shots of Absolut, in honor of our new Swedish friends Peter and Frederick...
and more Sam Adams...
which naturally lead to dancing (despite the lack of dance floor),
and this...
SATURDAY
I woke up way too early, and unfortunately couldn't get back to sleep, so went for a walk along the Charles River,
then had brunch at Panificio on Charles Street.
By this time, Andrea, and our friend Kris (who'd driven up from New York late the night before) were up so we headed out to The Freedom Trail, a 2.5 mile red-brick walking trail that leads to 16 historic sites.
Our first stop was the Old State House.
The Old State House was the seat of British Government before the Revolution, and afterwards served as the Commonwealth’s first capitol building, with the office of the state’s first governor, John Hancock. The Declaration of Independence was read to the people of Boston from the building’s balcony in 1776.
Some of the most significant events leading up to the Revolution took place in and around this building, including Samuel Adams urging resistance to taxation without representation. And, the Boston Massacre, which occurred in 1770, resulting in the deaths of five men, and galvanizing public opposition to the British.
Next was Faneuil Hall, and the famous grasshopper weathervane.
Behind Faneuil Hall is the Faneuil Hall Marketplace, with a variety of shops, restaurants and tourists. Lots and lots of tourists.
From there, we followed the Trail (in the cute new shoes I bought at the Faneuil Hall Marketplace!)
to the North End of Boston, the city's oldest residential district, where people have lived continuously since the 1660s.
Today the North End is home to Boston's Little Italy, but this is also where Paul Revere lived, with his mother, wife and 16 (!) children on the night of April 18, 1775, when he was sent to warn Samuel Adams and John Hancock that British troops were marching to arrest them.
His home is still standing, and is downtown Boston's oldest building.
The Christ Church, where he famously hung his signal lanterns, is also located in this neighborhood.
After a long day of sightseeing, we decided to return to the hotel to get ready for a night out watching the Chicago Blackhawks. The weather, however, caused us to change our plans slightly...
A brief downpour had us running (literally)
to the nearest Irish pub.
But eventually, we made it to our destination, The Four's Restaurant and Sports Bar, rated the #1 Sports Bar in America by Sports Illustrated.
I don't know if that's true, but they did have great Clam Chowder, and the Blackhawks on every tv.
And, the Blackhawks won!
(Imagine The Fratelli's Chelsea Dagger playing right now)
SUNDAY
Fenway!
After lunch at Bouchee on Newbury Street (the Grilled Two Cheese Sandwich, with brie and gruyere, tomato, arugula and dijon on fresh wheat bread was delicious!), we went to the Boston Red Sox / Kansas City Royals game at Fenway.
I used to live in Kansas City, so of course I wore my Kansas City Royals t-shirt.
We sat in the bleachers...
Saw the Green Monster...
Did the wave...
Sadly, by the 7th inning, it became painfully obvious that the Royals were not going to win (the final score was 8-1), so we walked across the street to the Cask & Flagon, which had been recommended to us the night before, and is, according to ESPN, the best baseball bar in the nation (as opposed to the #1 Sports Bar in America according to Sports Illustrated).
Inside, we quickly became friends with four guys from New York, then the people at the table next to us (as soon as they ordered pizza).
After a brief trip to the Landsdowne Pub, we ended up at Game On! with the boys from New York for more of this...
MONDAY
Monday was Memorial Day, and our last day in Boston. Before we left, we walked to Boston Common, where 20,000 flags were placed at the Sailors and Soldiers Monument, to commemorate all the Massachusetts men and women who have died in battles since World War I.
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