Took an early flight out of Toronto so landed in Boston at about 11am. Dropped our stuff at the hostel and headed straight into the city. We did the harbour walk, was such a beautiful, but boiling day!
Decided we were going to get a hop-on, hop-off bus tour for the next day so we went to check in at the hostel and get changed for dinner.
The following day, we got on our bus and did the 2.5 hour tour around the city to see where we wanted to go and what we wanted to do. We went to Quincy Market for lunch where I had a very unhealthy binge on mac n' cheese, not a good idea!
Included in our tour was the harbour Duck Splash that takes you round the Mystic River and gives you a really nice view of the Boston skyline.
We then took a stroll through the Boston Public Gardens which are beautiful and a great place to just chill out. As Boston was in the Stanley Cup Final (hockey) when we were there (they lost to Chicago Winterhawks), everything in the city was decked out in all things Bruins, including some famous monuments...
One of the little ducklings in the Boston Public Gardens
Statue of George Washington,again in the gardens
Later on that day we wanted to go and see the Boston memorial for the bomb that exploded earlier in the year. It went off on Boylston Street, just at the finishing line of the marathon. Quite an emotional experience.
Part of the memorial with the Fairmont Hotel in the background
The memorial is situated in Copley Place, beautiful square with the public library on one side and Trinity Church on the other. Just behind the church is the John Hancock tower which is the tallest building in Boston.
That evening, we went to watch the hockey at a cool restaurant and bar called Rock Bottom. It had a really cool atmosphere and it was a good game, despite Boston losing. We weren't too tired and were both in a giddy mood so we decided to go and see the Hangover Part 3...great laugh!
Another thing that was included in our tour was a river boat cruise along the Charles River. The river runs between Boston and Cambridge (where Harvard and MIT are situated).
We also did a tour of Cambridge and stopped off to have a look at Harvard. Lovely university and quite a nice atmosphere with people just reading and chilling in the garden.
That afternoon, we walked the Freedom Trail. A 3 mile trail where you follow at red line along the streets of Boston and you pass all the most historical places in the city. Boston was significant in America gaining their independence from us. The American Revolution started in Boston so it is filled with history and was really interesting.
Monument along the Freedom Trail that pays tribute to the first unit of the military that allowed African Americans to join.
The State house
The donkey is the mascot of the Democratic party in the USA and the elephant is the mascot for the Republicans...see you learn something knew everyday.
The Holocaust memorial
The oldest pub in the USA
After the Freedom trail we went back to Little Italy and had a lovely meal for our last night in Boston. Our bus for New York the next day was at 3pm so we didn't have long. It was so hot the next day, almost 33 degrees! So we did as any Brit would do in that heat, sat in a pub! Wimbledon was on so we watched Nadal get beat while I was sipping on my $1.50 beer! A lovely way to end our trip to Boston.
Next...the Big Apple!!
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