Arrival and Day One
10.09.2017
We travelled from New York to Boston by Megabus. It was a trip that started all wrong. We tried to travel there on the 7 line. We did not realise that the 7 line left from a different part of our usual station. We got lost trying to find a new separate station that did not exist. Then we got on the wrong train and had to change lines. We made the bus with about five minutes to spare. Unlike our non-existent bus to Philadelphia, this bus turned up and departed on time.
The journey took us through New York State and Connecticut, but it was not a very interesting route. The scenery was largely all the same - trees. We passed by only one large town. We arrived in Boston about an hour later than expected due to traffic, but this was not a big problem for us as we were in no particular hurry.
When we arrived at South Station, we bought ourselves seven day Charlie cards even though we were only in Boston for three nights. Then we found the red line to travel to Wollaston where our hotel was located. There was some problem with this line. It was rush hour and there were delays and a huge backlog of people had formed. We had to fight our way onto the train with our case and we were squeezed in as tightly as sardines in a can. It was even worse than travelling on the Hong Kong MTR. Boston is a friendly place and everyone squashed together got talking. We discovered that while services could get crowded, a train this packed was not normal. I felt sorry for one heavily pregnant lady who was squashed right in the middle of us. She was afraid of passing out and injuring her baby. Suffice it to say we were extremely glad to get off that train.
We walked through a pleasant residential area till we found our hotel - the Howard Johnson Hotel, Quincy. The receptionist was friendly and chatty and we were given a pleasant, clean and comfortable room.
Our Room.
The Howard Johnson Hotel.
We were tired that evening after the journey, so instead of going back into the centre of Boston we just wandered along Wollaston's main road to the Hancock Tavern. Wollaston actually has large numbers of Asian restaurants, but we went for the local pub instead. I liked the Hancock Tavern. It had friendly service and good food. We ate here twice on our stay. I decided to go local and have a hearty bowl of New England clam chowder and very tasty it was, too. We also had pork sliders and potato skins. As portions were quite large, this turned out to be too much food. We just took some home with us to eat later.
At the Hancock Tavern.
Next day we took the train to Park Station in the centre of Boston and began our sightseeing. Many of the sights we visited were on Boston's Freedom Trail, but we did not follow this exclusively. We detoured off and also left bits of it for the next day.
Our first sight was Park Street Church on the edge of Boston Common. This church dates from 1809. It was designed by Peter Banner and has a very tall steeple - 217 feet high. The church is quite plain inside as you would expect in the land of the Puritans. Its walls are whitewashed and bare. However, it did have a lovely stain glass window. On July 4th, 1829, William Lloyd Garrison made his first public speech against slavery here. The church became known as a firm supporter of the abolitionist cause.
Park Street Church.
The church's lovely stain glass.
Our next sight was the Massachusetts State House. This dates from 1798 and was designed by Charles Bulfinch. This building has a distinctive golden dome, which had to be painted grey during World War II to protect it from bombing raids. There were people outside the state house protesting a variety of issues when we arrived.
Massachusetts State House.
Massachusetts State House.
Next we wandered on to Boston Common. This is America's oldest public park. It was established in 1634. It began its life as common land for grazing cattle. It was also used as a place of punishment for criminals or dissenters. Mary Dyer was hanged here with two others in 1660 for following the Quaker faith. In 1775 over a thousand English redcoats set up training camp here during the American War of Independence. Martin Luther King led political rallies here and in 1979 Pope John Paul II carried out Mass here. I am a great fan of the children's novels written by E.B. White. In his book 'The Trumpet of the Swan' mute trumpeter swan, Louis, gets a job playing the trumpet on one of Boston Common's many swan boats.
The first sight we saw on the common was the Brewer Fountain. This was a gift awarded to the city of Boston by Gardner Brewer in 1868. Gardener Brewer was a wealthy Bostonian merchant.
We then dipped our toes in the children's paddling pool as it was a very hot day. We wandered on to the boating pond with its swan boats and had a look at 'Make Way for Duckling's. This is a statue celebrating a children's picture book of the same name. The book was written and illustrated by Robert McCloskey and was first published in 1941. The book tells the story of a family of ducks who decide to make their home on Boston Common. The statue was created by Nancy Schön.
The most famous statue on Boston Common is the one of George Washington. It depicts Washington as the Army’s Commander-in-Chief. rather than as the first President of the United States. This sculpture was created by Thomas Ball.
The Brewer Fountain.
Children's paddling pool.
A swan boat.
Make way for the ducklings.
Statue of George Washington.
Statue of Mary Dyer outside the State Hall
Next we walked to Copley Square which is named after John Singleton Copley, a famous Bostonian painter. There are a lot of lovely buildings on this square including Trinity Church, Old South Church and Boston Public Library. It was outside this library in 2013 that the Boston Marathon bombings occurred. The square itself had a statue of Copley, a very popular fountain and statues of the tortoise and the hare. The tortoise and hare statue commemorates the Boston Marathon and was created by Nancy Schön.
Trinity Church.
Boston Public Library.
Fountain, Copley Square.
The Tortoise and the hare, Copley Square.
After Copley Square, we headed back towards the common and walked to The Bull and Finch Pub. This pub, now renamed Cheers was the inspiration for the comedy series 'Cheers'. I used to really enjoy this show, though it is a while since I've seen it. I love my beer, though not normally at lunch time on a hot day when I'm sightseeing, but since it was one of Boston's most famous sights, we had to go in and have a beer. The pub has several bars - all very busy. I enjoyed the fact that you could pose with pictures of the cast of the show or even cardboard cut outs of some cast members. There is a Cheers themed gift shop inside the pub, too.
Cheers Pub.
Peter joins the cast.
Everybody loves Norm.
I guess he loves Diane, too.
A little unsteadily on our feet after our visit to Cheers, we continued to the Granary Burial ground where Paul Revere, Samuel Adams and John Hancock are buried. These men all played prominent roles in the American War of Independence. Paul Revere famously rode to Lexington to warn John Hancock and Samuel Adams of the approaching British on the night of April 18th, 1775. His ride is commemorated in a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Most gravestones in the Granary Burial Ground were quite plain as puritans frowned upon fancy memorials. Many had a winged skull at the top. This is known as a death's head; others had a winged cherub and some had a willow and an urn.
Plaque on the gates of the cemetery.
Death's head gravestone.
Cherub head gravestone.
Next I left my husband to have a rest outside the Old City Hall while I looked in the nearby King's Chapel. King's Chapel was founded in 1686. It was the first Anglican Church in Puritan Boston and as such it was considered a significant milestone in the pursuit of religious freedom in Boston. Next to the church stands the King's Chapel Burial Grounds. These predate the church and are not linked to it. They were locked when I got there which was a shame as I wanted to see the grave of Elizabeth Pain. Pain lived from 1652 to 1704. She had a child before she was married - a great disgrace at the time. When her child died, she was accused, I'm guessing falsely, of murder. When Pain died a large letter A was carved on her grave. She is said to have inspired the novel 'The Scarlet Letter' by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Despite the burial grounds being closed I still saw the grave of Joseph Tapping. This is considered to be the loveliest gravestone in Boston. Tapping died when he was just 23 years old. At the top of his gravestone an hour glass is depicted to remind us of the closeness of death. In the bottom centre of the stone Father Time battles against a skeleton - symbolizing death who is trying to snuff out a candle - symbolizing life. I got a photo of this stone using my zoom because the grave is so close to the cemetery's main gate.
Peter outside the old city hall.
Inside King's Chapel.
The loveliest tombstone in Boston.
Next we visited the memorial to An Gorta Mor -The Great Hunger. This memorial depicts victims of the potato famine which ravaged Ireland between 1845 and 1850. Another part of the memorial shows those who managed to survive the perilous journey on board 'coffin ships' to Boston where over time they recovered and created new lives for themselves.
Victims of the famine.
Making a new life in Boston.
Near this memorial stands the Old South Meeting House. This was a meeting place where Puritans could worship. It was built in 1729. A meeting was held here on December 16th, 1773 to decide what to do with 30 tons of tea contained in the holds of three ships moored at Griffin's Wharf. The ships were the Dartmouth, the Eleanor, and the Beaver. If the ship's cargo was unloaded, a tax would have to be paid to England. No-one wanted to pay this. Following the meeting a small group including Paul Revere and Samuel Adams boarded the ships dressed as Mohawk Indians and threw the tea into the sea. This became known as the Boston Tea Party.
Old South Meeting House.
Next we saw the Old State House. This was built in 1713 and was home to the colony’s government. It was here that lawyer, James Otis, spoke out against the Writs of Assistance. These writs entitled the British authorities to enter any colonist house at any time and for any reason. After listening to Otis speak, John Adams (who would become the second president of the USA) stated “Then and there the child independence was born.” In 1768, the colony’s government located in the Old State House defied the royal governor and refused to allow people to pay taxes to the British Crown. This led to the British sending troops to ocupy Boston. In 1776 the Declaration of Independence from Britain was first read to the people of Boston from the Old State House balcony.
The Old State House.
After that we went to Faneuil Hall which was built by merchant Peter Faneuil in 1741. It was here that Americans first protested against the Sugar Act and Stamp Act, stating "no taxation without representation." On top of Faneuil Hall there is a golden grasshopper weathervane. This weathervane was used during the War of 1812, yet another war with Britain, to spot spies. Anyone who could not answer "What is on top of Faneuil Hall?" was regarded with suspicion.
Faneuil Hall
Next we went behind Faneuil Hall to a market complex set in historic Quincy Market and the North and South Market buildings. In the background we could see a tall tower which turned out to be the Boston Custom House.
Quincy Market and the Customs House.
Then we walked to the waterfront and took a ferry from Long Wharf to Charlestown Navy Yard. This ferry was free using our seven day Charlie card. The views back towards Boston Harbour from the ferry were lovely.
At Charlestown Navy Yard we went to visit the USS Constitution, an old sailing ship nicknamed "Old Ironsides". She earned this name in the War of 1812 when she fought against British ship HMS Guerriere. In the battle the two ships got so close they became intertwined. When they separated, the HMS Guerriere was so badly damaged her crew surrendered while the Constitution was largely intact.
We should also have climbed up Bunker Hill to see its monument, but I messed up and forgot about it, so that did not get done.
Waiting for the boat.
Boston Waterfront.
USS Constitution.
Boston Waterfront.
Once we returned to the centre of Boston, we took a walk in the Christopher Columbus Waterfront Park. Then went to dinner. We wanted to go to an Irish pub and chose The Black Rose, but it was too crowded so we ate in Sissy K's which was nearby. It was ok, but very, noisy.
Christopher Columbus Waterfront Park.
Dinner in Sissy Ks.
Posted by irenevt 00:58 Archived in USA Comments (2)