I jumped on a train this morning and headed into the city. The train station is really easy to get to from the house, as it's only a few blocks away. Boston, on the other hand, is a little more daunting at first. The layout of the roads takes a little getting used to, but think I got the hang of it by the end of the day. So armed with a map I made my way through Boston, exploring as I went, to the Boston Commons. I was planning on walking the freedom trial and exploring on my own, but as I started out on the trail and got to the State House (first stop) I ran into a tour that grabbed my attention. The tour guide was dressed in colonial garb, but that wasn't what caught my attention. What caught my attention was his knowledge of Boston and his deliverance in speaking about it (obvious that he graduated as a theater major). I ended up jumping in on the tour as we walked down the trail. It really made the trail a lot more interesting than it would have been on my own, as you get to see everything, but also hear the history behind it. We made our way down the trail and learned a lot of interesting things about the buildings and history in Boston. The tour ended at Faneuil Hall, and so at that point I took some time to explore the Hall as well as Quincy Market with all the shops. I didn't spend too much time before noticing the same tour guide I had before starting a new tour of the North end of the Freedom Trail, so I jumped on that one as well (and paid this time). The second portion of the tour was definitely less populated, only having six other people, but much more enjoyable for me. North Boston has some great historical landmarks, and I think it has a different feel than Southern Boston. North Boston is still very busy, but the travel by vehicle is substantially cut down due to many one lane roads. I think this makes it a lot more easier to explore and you get less of the that "in a hurry" mentality that you get in Southern Boston and most other urban areas.
So after exploring the Freedom Trail, the tour ended at Copp's Hill, and after most of the group heavily tipped the guide, we disbanded. As the guide and I were headed in the same direction, as well as a couple others, we walked back to the Commons together. He was a super nice guy, and gave me a couple Boston tips on what to do and not do, as well as just generally talking about college and how he ended up with his job and whatnot. It was fun to make a friend even if I probably won't see him again. I guess that's just a hardship of travelling, it's hard to make friends when you're only staying in one place for a certain amount of time, and you have no routine or place to be.
Anyways, so then I jumped on a train back to the house. It was fun to explore Boston a bit and get my bearings for the next few weeks. More adventures tomorrow!
Boston
Tour Guide
Old State House
(site of Boston Massacre, Balcony where Dec. of Independence was read from)
Oldest Running Restaurant in the US
What a great start to Boston :) As far as the friends thing goes, don't worry about losing the friends, just keep on making them and everything will turn out well (trust me)(qualifier: don't make friends with any serial killers or such) also, nothing stopping you from "catching" another tour midstride, and meeting up with an old friend. So proud of you, can't believe my little girl is so grown up, still remember you spent most of your years cuddled up in my lap ~ ok, i guess i miss you more than the other way round :)
ReplyDeleteLove the blog. I thought I commented about the cattle at the fair, but when I looked back I didn't see it, anyway I should have sent business cards with you. You could head up our east coast operations. :)
ReplyDeleteDon't worry, I have no plans for making friends with serial killers. Love you dad.
ReplyDeleteJay, I think we should start shipping freezer beef out here, I'm sure I could get a few costumers! ;)