May 17 & 18. Boston

Arrived in the final city of our trip yesterday lunchtime after a two-hour flight from Chicago and were pleased to be reminded that Logan International Airport is not far from downtown Boston, so we weren't faced with the seemingly endless, traffic clogged, slow crawl that we had endured both ways between Chicago and O'Hare. For this last stop we had chosen a boutique hotel in the Beacon Hill area of the city and it really is lovely here - a sort of cross between Hampstead Village and Notting Hill - uber trendy!

The front desk lent us a book of walking tours and we chose the Beacon Hill walk just to stretch our legs. One of the first stops on the tour was the Harrison Gray Otis House, which had originally belonged to a wealthy Boston lawyer and property developer and was built to order for him by architect Charles Bulfinch in 1796. Bulfinch later went on to design the Capitol Building in Washington D.C. It was an interesting tour, conducted by a very knowledgeable elderly lady, but meant that we ran out of time to finish the walk. We'll probably pick it up again on Saturday or Sunday.

The Harrison Gray Otis House

On the way back to the hotel we spotted an Italian restaurant on Charles Street, so booked it for later. On the way to the restaurant later we called in at a pub in the area for a sharpener before going on to an enjoyable meal.

This morning (Friday) we walked down through Boston Common and bought tickets for the city tour bus. After crossing the river to Cambridge, we jumped off at Harvard Square and picked up a walking tour of Harvard University conducted by one of the undergraduates, which was pretty interesting. With the Facebook flotation happening the same day, the guide was quick to point out this building...

The dorm where Mark Zuckerman lived as a freshman.

We rejoined the bus tour and covered a fair bit of the downtown area before getting off to spend an hour or so walking before getting back to the hotel. Here are some of the things we spotted during the afternoon.

Old, not so old (1950s), modern and post-modern architecture, all in one shot.

In the centre background is Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox and one of the oldest and best loved baseball stadiums in the country. In the foreground is a Shell petrol station. So what? Well, on match days, about three hours before the game starts, the petrol station proprietor shuts the place down and turns it into a match-day parking lot. Capacity is 92 cars, and the charge is no less than $60 per car. Just to save you working it out, that's $5,520. Who needs to sell petrol? By the way, there's a 162 game schedule in major league baseball, which means 81 home games per season. The season's gross for the petrol station is therefore $447,120!

Paul Revere's house, built about 1680.
In 1774 and the Spring of 1775 Paul Revere was employed by the Boston Committee of Correspondence and the Massachusetts Committee of Safety as an express rider to carry news, messages, and copies of resolutions as far away as New York and Philadelphia.
On the evening of April 18, 1775, Paul Revere was sent for by Dr. Joseph Warren and instructed to ride to Lexington, Massachusetts, to warn Samuel Adams and John Hancock that British troops were marching to arrest them. This "midnight ride" to warn people that the British were coming has ensured Revere's place in US history. The USA declared independence a year later, in 1776.

Not sure what we're doing tonight, but if it turns out to be spectacular, I'll report back tomorrow.

Jen's bit:  I've enjoyed yesterday and today. Lots of walking, lovely weather and a very relaxed atmosphere. As Peter says, Beacon Hill is very trendy / yummy mummy, what a pity I resemble a bag lady as I try to eke out my few remaining clean clothes. Jx