Boston Day 1:

Nisheet and I had a wedding in Boston to attend, so we of course jumped on the chance to turn it into a vacation. We decided to spend a couple days in Boston and then drive up to Maine and camp in Acadia National Park. But first things first. Boston and The Freedom Trail.

We dedicated the entire first day in Boston to the The Freedom Trail. I read beforehand that it can take as little as a couple hours or as long as you have time for. That is the difference between merely walking the 2.5 mile trail and stopping at all the museums and reading all the history. I knew it would take us more than a couple of hours. But I also knew we would want to cram in as much other stuff into our itinerary as possible. So, I allotted 1 day for it, and we would just see how much we could take in. Spoiler alert – we didn’t finish.

Before I rehash our day, I want to shout out to Brigid and Jeff (the beautiful bride and handsome groom) for giving us Boston Go Cards to explore their wonderful city. Thank you so much! It was our entrance ticket to all the attractions that we visited! I will still post ticket prices though so the rest of you make your own judgment on if you want to buy a Go Card.

The Freedom Trail Walking Tour

We started our day of with a walking tour of The Freedom Trail. It doesn’t cover the entire trail by any means, but it is a fantastic way to introduce yourself to Boston’s history and start your path down the trail. I know I go on and on about how great free walking tours are, but trust me, this tour is worth the price.

You can start the tour near the Boston Commons or near Faneuil Hall. I goofed and directed us to Faneuil Hall for the start of the tour. I had it backwards. The Faneuil Hall tour is actually the “reverse walking tour.”  If you start at Boston Commons you start at the beginning of The Freedom Trail. That way when you finish with the walking tour, you can continue on the trail. We, on the other hand, had to backtrack our steps. Oh well. Not a big deal. And it actually ended up working out well as you will see later.

[Online ticket = $12, Ticket booth = $14, included in Go Card]

I’d like to note that since we had the Go Card, we did not make an advance reservation. We showed up at the ticket booth about 15 minutes before the first tour of the day and had no trouble getting a spot.

Our guide did a phenomenal job grabbing our attention and drawing us into the history. She was full of animation and drama, just like any good storyteller should be. She also had the group help act out the scenes such as the Boston Massacre and boycotting of English goods. My favorite part though was that she was in full 1700’s character costume. Clothing, actions, and speech. She started the tour by telling us about herself. Where her character grew up, how she was raised, and how she was a common person. If you know anything about Boston history, you have heard the stories of Paul Revere and Sam Adams. The commoners are often left out of the history books, but they had just as important role in defining this country. So, it was nice to see the tour led by someone who appreciated the “regular people” like you and me.

As I mentioned before, the tour did not cover The Freedom Trail entirely. We only covered the most important spots between Faneuil Hall and the Boston Commons. This included Faneuil Hall, the Old State House, the Boston Massacre Site, the Old South Meeting House, the First Public School site, the Granary Burying Ground, and the Park Street Church. We didn’t go into any of the buildings, but our guide told us stories about the sites. What happened and when. And, of course, there were corny jokes along the way. The best? While standing just outside the Granary Burying Ground (where Sam Adams is buried), our guide pointed to one of the most unique pubs in the world. It is the only place where you can drink a cold Sam Adams while looking at a cold Sam Adams. Ha-ha-ha.

My mistake of taking the wrong walking tour ended up being a good thing. The tour laid the foundation for The Freedom Trail, and we were dropped off at the beginning. Now we could work our way along the entire trail and go inside the museums along the way. Our guide had given us an overview for the stops, and now we could stop at each site and delve a little deeper into the history.

Old South Meeting House

The first stop we made was the Old South Meeting House. To me, it looks like a church, but it was actually a meeting house for the Puritans. But, anyways, it was built in 1729 and was the largest building in Boston at the time. Because of its size, it was used as a gathering place for some of the most important events leading up to the revolution. For example, Sam Adams addressed 5,000 colonists here in preparation for the Boston Tea Party. Unfortunately, in 1775 the British occupied this building and used it for horse riding practice which completely ruined the interior. But, the museum has now restored the inside to how it would have looked in 1770. In addition, there are informative exhibits about the events that took place here. There is also a timeline of events leading up to the American Revolution. Definitely worth a short stop.

[Online Ticket = $6, included in Go Card]

Boston Irish Famine Memorial

Right across the street from the Old South Meeting House is the Boston Irish Famine Memorial commemorating the 150th anniversary. While these statues aren’t exactly part of The Freedom Trail, they are definitely worth a look.There are two groups of statues representing Ireland’s class structure during the potato famine. One group looks grief stricken and affected by the famine. They represent the poor farmers. The other group shows the white-collar workers as healthy. It is a very touching memorial here since over 1 million Irish immigrant came to the US during the famine and a majority of those landed in Boston.

Lunch-time

By this time we were getting pretty hungry. I was planning on eating at Quincy Market since they have so many restaurants to chose from. On one of my previous visits to Boston I had lobster mac-n-cheese there. Yum!! But, we happened to walk right by a place called Cheeseboy with all sorts of specialty grilled cheeses. I couldn’t resist. I had to have a grilled cheese right then. We ordered a veggie grilled cheese on multi-grain bread. It was just meh. I should have resisted. Or, at the very least, I should have ordered a real grilled cheese. At least we got some veggies though, right?

Old State House

After regaining some energy from lunch, we headed off to the Old State House. It was built in 1713 and housed the colony’s original government. The British government. It was therefore at the very center of events leading up to the American Revolution. This is also where the Declaration of Independence was first read to the people of Boston in 1776. It is now a museum like most other important buildings from the 1770s. And, while I can’t say that I was impressed, Nisheet thoroughly enjoyed it. I think I was just on history overload from the morning. There are some interesting artifacts on display though including a vial of tea saved from the Boston Tea Party and a drum from the Battle of Bunker Hill.

[Tickets = $10, included in Go Card]

Boston Massacre

The colonist called it the Boston Massacre. The British called it an unfortunate incident. Perhaps neither term is correct. But, whatever you call it, it was inevitable, and it happened right outside the Old State House. In short, an angry mob was surrounding the Redcoat guards. The mob was supposedly throwing snowballs and taunts. A shot was fired. Orders were confused and more shots were fired. 5 men died. Obviously this helped fuel animosity towards the British further leading to the revolution. Now, the spot is marked with a ring of stones.

[Price = Free]

Faneuil Hall, Haymarket, and North End Park

We walked through Faneuil Hall’s touristy shops but decided to come back later to explore Quincy Market. Never happened. (Lesson: Don’t put anything off until later.) After Faneuil Hall, The Freedom Trail becomes more leisurely. And by that I mean there aren’t any museums for a while. To me, it provides a much needed break from the history lessons and becomes a nice stroll through the city. The first area you pass through is full of old restaurants, pubs, and cobblestone streets. If you have time and haven’t eaten yet, this would be the perfect place to grab a bite.

[Price = Free]

The next stop on The Freedom Trail was at the North End Park. This was one of my favorite spots the entire day. The sun was shining. People were lounging on the green grass. Kids were splashing in the fountain. People were having snacks under the umbrellas. And, the skyline was in the background. But, we had to keep moving because we had a lot left on our itinerary for the day.

North End

Next we strolled around Boston’s North End. There are dozens and dozens of adorable Italian restaurants. Each have romantic candle-lit tables and windows opening onto flower covered streets. There are also pastry shops. THE place to get cannoli though is Mike’s Pastry. So, when we saw people walking around with the white and blue string wrapped boxes, we knew that we were getting close. We did a quick search on our phone and found the shop was only a block away, just steps off The Freedom Trail. The line is quite long, but it moves fast, so don’t skip out. Once inside, it looks like a mad house, but just be patient. While you are waiting, look at the top of the wall near the ceiling for you choice of cannoli. We went with a chocolate ricotta and pecan caramel. Both were scrumptious, but the pecan caramel was out-of-this-world heavenly.

[Cannoli = $4 to $4.50 each]

Paul Revere House

The Paul Revere House was the next stopping point along The Freedom Trail. In my opinion, you could skip this attraction, but since we had the Go Card, we decided to take a quick look around. Walking through the house will only take around 10 minutes. You get to see the kitchen, the living/dining room, the master bedroom, and a spare bedroom. That’s about it. The best part of the Paul Revere House wasn’t the house at all. It was the performance outside. (I believe it was a one time only thing.) There was a single actress performing the story of Deborah Sampson who disguised herself as a man and fought in the American Revolution. Later, with the help of Paul Revere, she was awarded her pay which the army had withheld from her since she was a woman. She also received a pension.

[Tickets = $3.50, included in Go Card]

Paul Revere Statue

Not far from the Paul Revere House is the Paul Revere Statue. We didn’t spend much time here because the day was getting late. But, we had to snap a few pictures since it is one of the most well known sculptures in Boston. If we had more time, it would have been a nice spot to take a break. There are several benches, the area has shade, and there are entertaining street performers.

Old North Church

Just beyond the Paul Revere Statue is the Old North Church. Yep, this is the site of the “one if by land, and two if by sea” lanterns. There isn’t an entrance fee, but there is a suggested donation. Please donate if you come here because they have done a beautiful job of keeping up this historic church. I loved how you can sit in the box seats where famous people have sat before and listen to a spiel on the history of this site. I could almost imagine sitting here all those years ago for service. Also, I think it would be fun to go to an actual service here since it is still an active Episcopal church.

[Suggested donation = $3.00]

Captain Jackson’s Historic Chocolate Shop

At this point, all the museums and sites were closing for the day. We didn’t finish The Freedom Trail. But, we needed to begin making our way to the Seaport District for dinner with Brigid and Jeff anyway. We did however have time for one more quick stop. The historic chocolate shop, located just outside of the Old North Church. Don’t skip it! They will show you the process of making chocolate in the old days, and you even get to sample a chocolate drink. They also sell a chocolate chai tea which smells so delicious. Sadly they were sold out, so I didn’t get any. Boo 🙁

Christopher Columbus Waterfront Park

On our way to the Seaport District, we came across the Christopher Columbus Waterfront Park. It was the absolute perfect evening setting. People were lounging on the grass. Some of them even brought a picnic to share with friends. There was a Spanish guitar player filling the air with beautiful music. And, boats filled the waterfront in the background. Again, if only there were more hours in the day….

Walk to Seaport District

Further along our walk, we came across a temporary art display. And, this is random, but have you ever stumbled upon the same exact statue in 2 different cities? When we were in Paris, we saw a circle of crazy head statues. Some were animals (rats, etc) and others were crazy beasts like the one below. And just for clarification, the picture directly below was in Paris, France. We found the artwork in an area full of temporary outdoor artwork. We found it fun, interesting, and oh-so-Parisian. So, you will understand my surprise when we stumbled on this exact piece in Boston. Look at the 2nd picture down and tell me that isn’t the same statue? Now, I can’t guarantee it since I can’t recall the artist’s name from the one in Paris, but they sure look the same to me!

 

Seaport District

We eventually made it to the Seaport District for dinner with our friends. There are all sorts of restaurants and bars along the water here, and we opted for Jerry Remy’s Sports Bar & Grill. We had a fantastic table at the window overlooking the water, and, of course, we tried the clam chowder. Superb! Word to the wise. Don’t share your chowder. You will want your own bowl. It was a delicious first taste of the New England staple. They also serve Sam Adams Brick Red, served in draft only in Boston.

[Clam Chowder = $5, Sam Adams Brick Red = $6.50]

After dinner, we needed to burn off a few calories, so Brigid and Jeff showed us around the area. I’m happy they brought us here because we wouldn’t have ventured into the Seaport District on our own. From across the water it looks like construction consumes the entire area.  And it does. But that is because it is an up-and-coming area. There is a gorgeous water front path that provides front row seats for the sunset. There is also a bonfire and small water fall tucked around a corner. So, definitely put this area on your list if you have a chance!

 

What is your favorite stop along The Freedom Trail?