Sunday 9 November 2014

North America part 1 - Boston!

Before we continue with the blog, I must apologise for the delay in blogging for the last few weeks. I had originally planned to blog during my trip to the US but, the idiot that I am, I may have left my tablet charger on a plane. And by may have, I mean that I definitely did. And as my tablet was an old model, and not an Apple product, I wasn't able to get a replacement. Oh well. Back to the blog!

<Scene missing> - As mentioned, I lost my cable and the start of my blog was actually on this. I've ordered a replacement but it looks like it will take a while As such, there is a scene missing which will be replaced in the near future

Now then, we left the blogging at me complaining at how convoluted the 'pre-security' was but as it turned out, this negated the need to go through any security in Boston Airport. Or, at the very least, I didn't go through any security. So, after grabbing my bag and getting the train into Boston, I wandered through the leafy suburbs of Boston to my hostel: 40Berkeley. Now, this was recommended to me by Michael and Cara, and I can see why. Although it is a hostel, it doesn't have any dorms but has cheap rooms with double beds and shared bathrooms: perfect for me as I don't think I would sleep well in a dorm. Additionally, the hotel has free popcorn, a cinema, a small kitchen area and free coffee (woohoo!). Finally, and the piece de resistance, it has breakfast included at a small American diner nearby with some damn good French toast. A nice, if unhealthy, way to start the day.

So, after checking in and fueling up with a free brewed coffee, I headed off for a wander around the cradle of American Liberty, and my first stop? Boston Public Park, a beautiful and relaxing area of greenery that is situated in the heart of historic Boston. And what a beauty, especially with the colours of Autumn! Small ponds and rivers flanked by weeping willows; ornate bridges criss-crossing; statues and gardens littered around. A really pleasant walk after a long flight. Now, this is also the scene of a meeting that proves, without a doubt, I am 'cool' (the tone of this is tongue-firmly-in-cheek – Ed). As I was walking through the park, surrounded by a mob of people, an old jazz musician (I heard him play later) who was smoking a cigarette whilst sitting in the park, caught my eye and started a conversation with me, then called me 'ma man' as I left. I think I almost died of happiness that day. Which possibly suggests I'm not actually cool...



At the end of the park, it was time for my next port of call: the inspiration for the hit-show, Cheers. This was pretty cool to see and I ended up going for dinner there a little later.





After the park and Cheers, I continued my walk through the Back-Bay towards another Boston park: the Charles River Esplanade. Now, whilst I did prefer the Public Park, this area was situated right next to the river (As the name may imply -Ed) and had a pleasant evening breeze as I wandered along the river, soaking in the atmosphere. As I slowly meandered along, much like the river, and flanked by joggers, dog walkers and couples, I watched the many boats sailing, including, what I would guess was the Oxford rowing team practising.









Finally, and as it was growing dark, I returned to the Back Bay, and headed in deeper than before. Now, the Back Bay is a fairly gentrified neighbourhood filled with lots of boutiques and 'hip' restaurants, all in streets lined by trees and is an absolute pleasure to walk along at night. In addition to the modern aspects, there are still various historic buildings with magnificent architectures such as various churches and the Boston Public Library.








Eventually, I ended up back at the inspiration for Cheers, where I had dinner and a beer after circumventing a 45 minute wait for a table, as I was only 1 person and could sit at the bar. Score one for travelling alone (Though Alison has told me that I'm not allowed to travel without her for two weeks again). As I sat there, at the bar spot reserved for Frasier, I have to admit, I was quite taken with the bar and the city from what I had seen. That could have been the beer after no sleep though.

After stumbling tiredly into bed, I woke up for Day 2 and headed off to the small diner across the street for breakfast. And as mentioned earlier, what a breakfast! A large cup of tea, served with a plateful of French toast covered in powdered sugar and maple syrup, with a knob of butter melting on top. Artery clogging at it's tastiest. After rolling out of the diner, I brushed my teeth (well, I returned to the hostel first...I didn't just whip out my toothbrush in the street) and grabbing my free coffee, I headed off into the slightly rainy morning (the one bad weather day of my trip – the rest of the time, the weather was stunning).












After wandering around the city, it was time for my tour. Now, I know I've went on before about tours but, as the area is such a historical city with (at least) 16 major buildings, I figured it would be useful to have an overview in the short time I was there. The interesting thing about the tour was that it was 'pay what you want' by 'Boston – free tours by foot' and it took you along the 'Freedom Trail'. The Freedom Trail is an actual marker that the city installed linking all the major buildings or sites that were involved to the American Revolution. This means you can actually follow it yourself but I would recommend this tour as it can fit any budget you have and the guide that I had (though I can't guarantee for other tour guides) was knowledgeable and entertaining, and included extra information about the city and any other buildings. This included: a joke about Samuel Adams that got him an invite onto the Boston news channel twice; a club that is a replica speak-easy from the prohibition period; and a book bound in human skin. I won't sit and list and talk about the entire history of the buildings (as I can't remember it all and it would take a very long time) but some of the buildings we visited including the Boston Commons; Massachusetts State House; and the Boston Massacre Site.















After paying for the tour, we were left at the Faneuil Market Hall, which was a collection of shops and eateries, including the set for Cheers. I wandered around for a while, popping into a comic shop there and refueling with a peanut butter bagel, before heading onto my next stop: the USS Constitution. However, on my way, I tried the famous Boston Cream Cake (bit sickening and heavy actually) and took a detour to a 'Colonial Chocolate shop', who made hot chocolate the same way as they did in the colonial era. Happily, I was 'convinced' to try a sample of this fairly spiced and sweet chocolate drink which I enjoyed but I'm not sure I could drink a cup of the stuff.

After my tipple, I continued my little adventure through Boston, including crossing over a bridge that has a mesh you walked on, letting you see the river beneath you, and eventually arrived at the USS Constitution, which is the oldest commissioned naval vessel in the world. You can actually buy a ticket to go and explore the ship, but as it was cold and wet, and the queue was massive, I opted to go straight into the museum. The museum was interesting and it covered the history of the ship, as well as a lot of the American Revolution but I felt like it needed a little love and maintenance to make it even better. After wandering around for a while, I jumped on the ferry which took me back to the area near Faneuil Market Hall.

By this time, it was getting dark and as it was a little too early for dinner, I wandered into Macy's department store to see if I could get a present for my sister, then headed to a small basement bar for a drink. It was here that I had my most...unique beer of the trip. Now, as it was that time of year, I ordered a seasonal pumpkin beer, which is interesting enough but the glass came with a cinnamon sugar rim. I've never actually had a beer with a sugar rim before: it was quite the drink. I'm guessing it was to try a replicate pumpkin pie or something.

After my thanksgiving beer, I opted to grab dinner at a nearby barbecue restaurant, that served traditional barbecue meals. Now, the meal I am talking about is a main barbecue dish e.g. pulled pork; ribs; brisket etc, served with corn bread and water melon with a couple of sides. These sides can vary but often include beans, coleslaw or 'slaw, macaroni and cheese and various other dishes. I was actually really excited to try this kind of meal and I wasn't disappointed. After sipping on a beer for a while, I was served with a massive plate of food, with a pile of the best pulled pork I've had. I've added a picture below.


After the meal, I walked it off for a bit and went to bed, ready for day 3. Powered by a stack of pancakes and my coffee, I began my trek to the Boston Museum of Fine Art, along a mostly beautiful avenue of trees. I say mostly beautiful as there were various seeds dropping from them that hit the pavement with a fairly resounding crack. It's quite frightening trying to avoid these small missiles.

I survived the trek without incident, and arrived about half an hour before it opened but, as the sun was shining, I sat reading on one of the walls. It's quite an experience sitting with this spectacular building looming behind you, as you read. Eventually, the doors opened and I was able to wander around the museum. The museum itself contains a massive amount of artwork, spread over two floors and 4/5 wings and includes art from all over the world. Even better, and if you have the time, you can actually use your ticket ($20) a second time, so you don't have to spend all day seeing everything. I would recommend this if you have the time, as it is massive.

After I was finished with the museum, I decided to travel to my next destination via Jamaica Pond, yet another park area filled with ducks, squirrels and oddly enough, chairs.






Next up, was Cambridge and Harvard, which although there wasn't masses to do except for walking around, it was fun to visit because of how famous and prestigious these places are. First up though, lunch and a beer,before I headed to Harvard for a wander around. As I arrived in the area, what was the first thing I saw? An archaeological dig!

“Finally, it's my time to shine” I thought, as I whipped off my normal clothes to reveal my digging overalls and tools. With a leap and a bound, I was at the edge, shouting like a madman that my 'two years or archaeology hadn't gone to waste'! I then realised, much to my disappointment, that it was some sort of interactive dig, aimed at educating children. Deflated does not begin to describe me at that point. As such, I then decided to maintain what little dignity I had left and continued to explore the area.










Now then, at this point in time, my knee was beginning to hurt again (It had hurt the day before as well) and it was causing me to limp in pain. As such, I decided to take a break in the MIT Museum of Science, which I have to admit was a little disappointing. Although it has some interesting and interactive exhibits, and some history, I felt that it was a little run down as there were a lot of exhibits broken or in the process of being put up. The exhibits that did work were interesting though, with a particular highlight being a Tetris game played on the side of a building (a model one sadly...).

Once my knee was a bit better, and having been educated for the day, I grabbed a donut as I walked back toward the city centre to grab a beer and some more bbq food after a long day of walking. It was about this time that two rather interesting things happened:
  1. I saw a person dressed as a teddy bear playing guitar in the dark
  2. I got cat-called by a group of girls in a car

And with that ending my day, I decided to call it a night and head back to my hotel room as I had an early start to get to the next stage of my journey: New York. However, you'll need to wait until next week for that!


Pick of the Week

A Rumor of War - As I picked this up in Boston, I figure now is a good time to recommend it! If you have any interest in the Vietnam war, I would thoroughly recommend this. Not only does it give a personal account, it doesn't make any excuses about the darkness of the war: it just lays out the cold, hard facts of this particular soldier and explains the circumstances that the soldiers lived in.


Music of the Week

Hmm, who to list this week? I'm going to go with a song that was stuck in my head for most of my US trip: Korn – Prey for me. Enjoy!

Well, that's it for this week! Tune in next week to find out what happened in New York!


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