Boston Trip Part II

Friday morning, we woke up to another beautiful day in Boston.  We headed out on a run along the Charles River.  It was beautiful looking at all the old buildings and college campuses as we ran along the river. 

   

After getting ready for the day and grabbing some lunch, we decided to head back to the path along the river. We had seen some bike rental spots around town, so we rented some bikes and rode them along the river to Harvard.  The weather was perfect, and it was fun to ride and enjoy the view along the way.  Once we got to Harvard, we ate some lunch before going on one of the student-led tours of Harvard.  We loved the tour and all the interesting facts we learned about Harvard.

              

Once our tour finished, we hopped on the bikes again and rode over to the Bunker Hill Monument, the last stop on the Freedom Trail.  The sun was setting and make for a pretty (but cold!) bike ride, and we made it to the monument just after dark. 

     

Saturday morning, we once again got on some bikes, this time riding along the esplanade to Fenway Park for a tour.  The weather was great again on the bike ride,

               

After Fenway Park, we walked over to the Boston Public Library.  The architecture was amazing; if I lived there, I would want to come study and read there every day.  We enjoyed exploring through the library.  We also passed just outside the finish line for the Boston Marathon.  From there, we continued walking back to Boston Commons again and on to Little Italy for some delicious dinner.  We finished the evening with some hot chocolate in Quincy Market before heading back to our hotel for an early departure Sunday morning. 

       

It was a great trip for us, and we were so glad that we went.  Boston is a beautiful city, probably one of the favorites I have visited in the United States.

Boston Trip–Freedom Trail and Harbor Cruise

`Shane has always had an interest in American history, and because of this, he has wanted to go to visit Boston.  Thanks to my amazing Mom, we were able to make a trip there for a few days.  We left on Wednesday afternoon and flew back Sunday morning.  We got there late Wednesday night (actually technically Thursday morning).  Thursday, we decided to focus on the Freedom Trail.  We lucked out with the weather, and it was a beautiful sunny day, and not too cold.  Our hotel was near Faneuil Hall, and we were able to easily walk to everything along the Freedom Trail.  After eating some lunch at Quincy Market, we headed to Boston Commons to begin the trail.  I loved walking through Boston Commons, and seeing all the people and the views of the city.  The Public Garden is right next to it, which was the setting for the children’s book Make Way for Ducklings.  We saw the little island from the book and enjoyed walking through the gardens there too before returning to the beginning of the Freedom Trail.

   

We then began our tour of the historical sights along the Freedom Trail.  We loved seeing all the sights of so many amazing events from American history.  We used an app that gave us great information about each sight along the trail. 

   

   

   

I saw a Paul French bakery along the trail, so we had to stop for a pastry before continuing.  I of course chose an almond croissant.  The East Coast definitely has a lot more French restaurants, stores, and cafes than we do!  We then stopped at the Old State House, where the Declaration of Independence was first read from the balcony.  Just in front of the building, in the square, was the location of the Boston Massacre.  This building was actually just around the corner from our hotel, so we saw it the most of any site on our trip.

   

From there, we continued along the trail to the North End, where we found Paul Revere’s house as well as a statue of him riding on a horse, representing his famous ride.  We also saw the Old North Church, where the lantern was hung on that same night of his ride.  It was a beautiful old church with neat little individual pews that were each in their own little cubby/section with a small half wall around them and a door to get in and out.  By then, the sun was starting to go down, so we walked over to see the U.S.S. Consititution, and then headed over to our scheduled harbor cruise, leaving the end of the trail to finish later.

       

The sights along the harbor cruise were beautiful all lit up at night.  We went out on the deck of the boat to enjoy the view, but it was sure cold and windy!!  We didn’t stay out long, but it was a beautiful night despite the cold.