Day 48 - Cheers to Boston!

My name is Lulu and it’s been over two weeks since I last blogged!!!  Where do I start….Boston!  We spent a couple of days in Boston from 11^th July and as a treat booked into a Mariott Suite hotel for a couple of nights.  This was a welcome relief as I had been unwell for a couple of days with a severe headache so staying in one place for a bit did me the world of goodJ

After a day or two round the hotel pool to recoup we finally ventured into the heart of Boston via the overground train and what a lovely surprise it was. 

Skyscrapers surround historic buildings unlike anywhere I have seen before.  Although built up, Boston still finds space for its common, a beautiful grassy area with a shallow pool where we saw children splash away in delight and shriek with laughter when the fountain was turned on sporadically.  Oli told me that in winter the pool turns into an ice skating rink – how beautiful that must look!  Although the city was alive with traffic you feel a world away sitting on the common surrounded by trees and people sitting under shady trees to relieve them from the hot sun.  

With a picnic we bought in the local shops we too sat under a huge tree on the common for an hour and watched the world go by…this was the closest I felt to home, just us two sitting in a park it all felt very “normal” and for a few moments I forgot we were miles away from home!

After our picnic we strolled around the common stopping to look at the various monuments and sights such as an old fashioned carousel.  With a map in hand we started to head for the Freedom Trail which is a historical 2.5 mile tour of the city on foot – even without a map you can do this tour as there is a red brick line on the floor of the city leading the way for you to follow! 

Not on the route but top of Oli’s “historical sites” to see was the 1990’s cult tv show Cheers bar (where everybody knows your name…) The outside of the bar is where the exterior shots are filmed.  The bar is actually called the Bull and Finch but also has the Cheers sign and is a real tourist attraction.  You can go inside but it’s a bit of a disappointment for fans as you expect it to be as seen on the tv but it’s nothing like that – Oli was not impressed and didn’t even want to stay for a root beer!

So we finally got started on the Freedom Trail tour, the red bricks took us to sights such as The Massachusetts State House with it’s gold leaf domed roof, the site of the first ever public school in the US and the Old South Meeting House where the Boston Tea Party started.  

Other sights included the house of Paul Revere who made the famous midnight horseback ride to warm the Americans that “The British are coming, the British are coming”!  There were loads of other interesting things along the way but far too many to name them all. 

We also popped into what is claimed to be the oldest tavern in America called the Bell in Hand tavern.  Unfortunately it didn’t have root beer and with a thirst only that would satisfy we ended up stopping off nearby in a deli called Nick Varano’s.  This little place has bags of charm, walls covered in old newspapers and photos of celebs in the deli.  We wondered up and down the area known as “Little Italy” - my fave place there was a cupcake shop called “Lulu’s”!  

We’d seen one in Savannah but this was another independent.  The tiny shop was crammed with goodies in an array of colours and flavours, on the wall were pictures of “Lulu” the owner – glad she was also a blonde!  The young girl behind the counter was super excited that I was wearing a pink Wonder Woman vest (I bought it in Florida).  She then had a 5 minute outburst of her love for Wonder Woman – seriously this girl was a hard core comic book fan and seemed to think I was, just because of what I was wearing….didn’t have the heart to tell her I just bought it because it was pink!!

With all the culture and fab restaurants in Boston how on earth would we pick a place to have dinner!  Well in the end there was only one place to eat –the oldest continuously serving restaurant in the US “The Union Oyster House”!  Although it was a Monday night the place was packed, even booked reservations were running 30 minutes behind – blimey this place must be good!  We were told we had a 45 minute wait, with our bellies grumbling we grabbed a booth near the bar and ordered our starters there (clever us) and the choice was simple - Boston clam chowder! 

We’d never had it before and me not being a soup person (Heinz tomato the best I can do) I wasn’t sure if I would like it.  The creamy lumpy bowl was put in front of me, it smelled really good so I grabbed a spoon and dug in if slightly hesitantly.  As I brought the steaming spoon to my lips I closed my eyes and put the lumpy soup-like stuff into my mouth….hold on a minute, I thought, this is really yummy!! 

We did wait just under an hour to get the table upstairs but while we waited downstairs we were proper tourists and took photos of everything including the live lobsters in the tank awaiting their conclusive fate!  The curved oyster bar downstairs for those just wanting a quick bite was turning over continuously while we waited, a curly haired ginger man seated on a stall was talking loudly and entertaining the customers..he may have entered the restaurant alone but left with a bunch of new friends which made me smileJ

Finally we got our table upstairs and this charming, wooden almost boat-like décor was really charismatic.  Although we waited a while to give our order we were given corn bread to nibble on.  If you’ve never had it it’s nothing like bread, it’s sweet and has a cake-like texture, it’s soooo yummy, but I do feel like I’m having dessert before my main course!  Although I enjoyed the chowder I was a bit fished out and where I hadn’t been well, today was the first day I’d eaten for a few days so I thought I’d better play it safe and opt for plain chicken and boiled rice.  Oli on the other hand went straight for the medium lobster at $40 dollars.  Complete with his bib on he tucked into the lobster with his tips from the waitress on how to break and eat it.  Oli can be messy at the best of times with food so here he was in his element, the phrase “don’t play with your food” can be excused when eating a whole lobster although I draw the line on Oli using the lobster to wave at me and becoming its puppeteer!!

The waitress clearing our plates (and Oli’s mess) was lovely, she had been rushed off her feet all night but couldn’t stop chatting to us (the English travellers).  She lives in Boston but travels a lot and recently came back from a tour of Europe.  We told her we were heading to Maine the day after tomorrow and she gave us some good tips of exactly whereabouts to go.  Watching a programme nearly a year ago on Stephen Fry travelling America he went to Maine and had lobster – that was our whole reason for going there and we hadn’t a clue exactly where to go!  She (Tegan) told us of a place in Maine called Camden and said it was near to beaches and the mountains so thanks to her we had our destination sorted!

With our bellies full on good food and Oli’s cheeks slightly rosy from the ale it was time to head back to catch a train home.  The short walk to the station soon made us wish we had got our bill sooner, the next train was 50 minutes away so we did what we do best – got a taxi!

The taxi driver was Brooklyn born and couldn’t stop talking at us for a full 20 mins, I definitely met my match!  He loves English music and sounds like he has an amazing collection of memorabilia, Beatles autographs, Stones autographs and things like The Who's tambourine.  He told me the best scam I've ever heard.  

He said years ago Elton John was in concert in the US and he couldn't get any tickets for love nor money, on the radio there was a competition to win 4 Elton J tickets.  Think he said all you had to do was call up and be the number of the radio station i.e caller 102.  He rang up but of course didn't win – but that didn't stop him!  The cheeky monkey rushed down to the radio station and proclaimed he was the lucky winner of the tickets (he remembered the real winners name) and without question they just gave him the tickets for that night!!  Gets better!  He then admitted he's never told his wife this but another time he couldn't get tickets for Rod Stewart, he had found a Policeman's badge and before handing it in he saw ticket touts and said he would have to arrest them if they didn't hand over their Rod Stewart tickets – his crafty tactic worked and he and friends went to the concert!

Finally back at the RV we had nowhere to park up, we drove around for what felt like hours and asking hotels if we could park in their car park overnight (one lady said we could for $50 – stuff that!). We eventually parked up in a car park behind a pet store and managed to have a restful sleep if only for a few hoursJ

Boston apparently is beautiful in the autumn, but it was also beautiful when we saw it at the beginning of summer…and I imagine just as beautiful in winter with its snow and ice rink – I can only conclude that Boston must be beautiful all year round and would definitely want to go back there someday!

J&O