While Liz, who works nights, was sleeping--I had the days to myself and went out to explore Boston. The weather, other than that bit of rain on my first day there, was gorgeous! I had nothing but sunshine as I walked everyday, exploring Boston. It isn't easy for a tourist to get lost in Boston, if you stay on the red brick of the Freedom Trail, but yes...I managed to go astray at one point. Luckily for me, the people are friendly and got me back on track.
I liked riding the water shuttle across the harbor. It didn't take long, but the view was wonderful. It let me off only a few blocks from Quincy Market, and Faneuil Hall. Faneuil Hall is named after a Peter Faneuil, a merchant, who built the Hall in 1741. It's the "home of free speech." This is where the Sons of Libery proclaimed their rebellion against Royal oppression. The "no taxation without representation" doctrine was set here.
Here I am, at Quincy Market, posing in a lobster hat. I'd met a young couple who were trying on lobster hats and offered to take their photo for them. They liked that idea, but wanted to return the favor.
One of my favorite places in Boston is the Commons, which is America's earliest park. It has been used from everything from a pasture for livestock, to a training field for the militia....a camp ground for the British when they occupied Boston...to a hanging place for pirates and witches! Now, though, it is a lovely park. When I was in Boston a few years ago, along with Cait, we went to Shakespeare in the Park, a production of the Taming of the Shrew. That was a fun experience.
Boston has a lot of old cemeteries. The old Granary Burying Ground is near the Commons and holds the mortal remains of John Hancock, Paul Revere, all five of the Boston Massacre victims, Ben Franklin's parents, and others. There were at least two tour groups of teenagers mulling around while I was there, but I got to the other (and smaller) King's Chapel Buring Ground before they did. John Winthrop, the first governor of MA is buried there, as well as Mary Chilton, whose claim to fame was to be the first woman to step off the Mayflower.
I visited the Old North Church, which is in an Italian neighborhood, filled with bakeries. Mmmmm!!! I bought fresh sourdough bread, rolls with raisins and nuts, and a bag of Taralluccis. I had no idea what those were, but they smelled good and were deliciousl They are crunchy bread, twisted in a small circle with a toasted almond in the center. But back to the Old North Church... This is the church where, on April 18, 1775, the sexton, Robert Newman, climbed to the window in the steeple and held 2 lanterns high as a signal to Paul Revere (and several others) that the British were marching from Lexington to Concord, to arrest Samuel Adams and John Hancock, and to seize the Colonial store of ammunition. I learned when I visited Paul Revere's home, that he wasn't able to come home after his "midnight ride." In fact, he had to stay away for about a year--since the British had taken over Boston.
Paul Revere's house was interesting, but no photos were allowed inside. It was built around 1680--the oldest structure in downtown Boston. It has all been preserved as it was when the Reveres lived there. Cooking oer the fire, with a baking oven built into the fireplace on the left. Two bedrooms upstairs. One had a rope bed with a device to tighten the ropes when they got loose. It didn't look very comfortable.
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