Boston is a friendly town with great food and plenty to do
This Summer, we decided to spend a weekend in a Boston. There were a few things that were definitely on the agenda, but found much more that wasn’t.
The weekend started with a walk down to the wharf for lunch. We stopped at a place called the Chart House. The Chart House is housed in Boston’s oldest wharf building (circa 1760) and is known as The Gardiner Building. It once housed the offices of John Hancock and was known as John Hancock’s Counting House.
The next stop was Fenway Park. Now you may not know this, but I’m from New York and a long time Yankee fan. Anyone who follows baseball knows that there is no love lost between the Red Sox and the Yankees. But we were there for the history and there is no shortage of it here.
Fenway Park opened on April 20, 1912, making it the oldest ballpark still in active use in Major League Baseball. Fenway Park is actually the second home for the Sox. Its opening in 1912 was not mentioned on top page in the newspaper, happening, as it did five days after the sinking of the Titanic. Fenway Park is one of the few remaining classic parks in major league baseball to have a significant number of obstructed view seats. These are sold as such, and are a reminder of the architectural limitations of older ballparks.
On May 8, 1926, Fenway Park caught fire, destroying bleacher seats down the left field line. Yet nothing was done until Tom Yawkey bought the Red Sox in 1933. Yawkey, a rich man devoted to getting the Red Sox a championship, re-did the stadium in 1934. He put concrete bleachers in center to replace the old wood ones, “Duffy’s Cliff” was leveled off (not completely), and the 37′ wooden left field wall was replaced by a more durable, 37′ sheet metal structure. This would later be known as the “Green Monster”. However, the screen was replaced after the 2002 season with more seating atop the Green Monster (in an attempt to fit as many seats as possible in Fenway).
After the game, we grabbed a cab to the most iconic bar in Boston. Cheers. It was exactly what you would think it would be. A place where everybody knows your name, and they’re always glad you came.
Day two was all sightseeing. We started with a walk through Quincy Market which is amazing! Food, food and more food inside. Then on the outside lots of artisans selling all kinds of interesting things.
Next it was of food to the hop off – hop on bus. This is a great way to see the major sites in the city. Here are some pictures along the way:
The Constitution is read here each year
The Capitol Building
Plaque in front of Rose Garden
Rose Garden in honor of Rose Kennedy
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Boston Garden
Bobby Oar’s Infamous Goal
Side Street in Boston
Of course, we had to get to some of the history. We walked the Freedom Trail visited the Paul Revere House.
The First King’s Chapel
Inside the First King’s Chapel
This was where an entire family would sit
History of the Chapel
Chapel Cemetary
Samuel Adams
Getting ready for the parade
The Constitution
Paul Revere’s House
After all this walking, we got into the car and drove to Cambridge. There we toured the campus of Harvard University. The campus was just as I imagined it to be. Large brick and stone buildings with stone columns in front. I can’t say that it was the most beautiful campus that I’ve been on, but it was definitely impressive.
Although I don’t have the pictures, we also spent time in the Italian section, Chinatown, the various wharfs and of course Boston Harbor. We cam across a farmers market that looked amazing. A street fair where I met the nicest people and bought a beautiful blue glass necklace. There was also a street fair in the Italian section where we ate dinner our last night there.
Jam
