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Boston (14th - 18th Sept)
Arrived at Logan International Airport in Boston on a balmy Sunday evening after 7 hour flight from London. Got through customs surprising quickly and checked in to the Midtown Hotel in the Back Bay district by 9pm.
Spent most of our first full day getting our bearings of the city with miles of walking. Most things of interest are in walking distance and Boston is a great city to stride around. Headed for Boston Common and Boston Park which is in the heart of the city and a good place to start. Walked most of the Freedom Trail which is a 2 mile walk covering many of the historical landmarks of the city. You can't go wrong because you just have to follow the red brick line on the sidewalk which gives you directions. We also walked to the harbour area and passed Quincy Market with street entertainers.
Day 2 we headed for Harvard University. Harvard is based in the city of Cambridge which is north of Boston. I thought it was a district of Boston but is in fact a separate city north of the Charles river. It was meant to be a short half day visit but we finished up on a rather long 2 hour walking tour covering the history of Cambridge and Harvard with a very knowledgeable guide Vince. Harvard is a fascinating place with several lovely campuses. It was the first university in north America and was named after John Harvard who was a benefactor and left half of his fortune of $800 to the then unnamed university.
In the morning of day 3 we went whale watching. Left Boston Harbour and after about 90 mins we reached the feeding grounds where several different types of whales including humpback and minky could be seen coming up for air. Not the most exciting experience of my life but very popular with tourists. In the afternoon we visited the Cheers bar from the TV series. Only problem was the series was filmed in Hollywood and only the exterior was used for filming. The city council however have recreated the interior in another bar somewhere in Boston. After that we went on the famous Boston Duck Tour which is an amphibious vehicle built in WW2. It takes you on a tour of the city but also goes along the Charles river. Silly but good fun.
Eating out in Boston was a mixed experience. One evening we went to Chinatown. We were not there long but the area and the restaurants seemed a bit seedy to me. We found a restaurant that was busy mainly with local Chinese which presumably is a good sign. However most of the things on the menu seemed alien to me and a million miles away from my local Ping On in Edinburgh. Chose a couple of things that I recognised but the portions were too large and very uninspiring. The waiter was also unhappy when I failed to leave a tip.
The second evening had a much better experience when we went to an excellent restaurant called Legal Sea Foods. Great food (clam chowder etc) if quite expensive. There are 20 of these restaurants in Boston all over the city and very popular
Boston is a great place to visit especially if you like walking. Weather was great too. Only down side is the price of accommodation. It is impossible to find a cheap, good value hotel in the city at least at this time of year.
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