We got up fairly early about 8:00ish. I really wanted to be out of the hotel by 8:00 to follow the walking direction provided by BeanTownMan, but what with going to bed later than planned and the 1 hour lost in the time change between Boston %26amp; Texas, my hubby wasn%26#39;t quite up to it. (Okay maybe I was a little sluggish too. :D) At any rate we were out the door by 9:30 am and got directions for getting to Fanueil Hall from the friendly front desk staff @ The Charlesmark. We were a little dismayed when we saw it was raining (which it did off and on all day) but luckily I had brought a small umbrella and we just opened it as needed. (It did make for a lousy ';hair day'; though. LOL!)
As luck would have it there was a Green Line right across the street. The employee on duty helped us work the Charlie Ticket machine and for a mere $15.00 each we had unlimited rides on the T. Future Boston travelers take note. :) The ';T'; was such a nice, easy way to travel from place to place and we more than got our monies worth even though we didn%26#39;t actually use it for the entire 7 days we purchased. We made it to the Samuel Adams statue with about 10 minutes to spare and met up with a Boston by Foot guide for a tour of ';the heart of the Freedom Trail';. Now there was a lady at the airport who tried to discourage me from getting a guide. She said it wasn%26#39;t necessary - and while it%26#39;s true the trail is well marked with a ';red line'; - I humbly disagree. I think having a guide added to the total experience. I love DETAILS, (as hard as that may be for some of Ya to believe! ;)), and the guide was able to provide antidotes and interesting ';tidbits'; of information that really enhanced the experience!! For $12 a piece both the Mr. and I thought the experience was well worth it! (I can%26#39;t remember who initially recommended Boston by Foot to me, but thanks a million!) The only disappointment I had was when my camera battery died mid-tour and I wasn%26#39;t able to snap pictures constantly as is my habit. However that was easily rectified with a trip to CVS (across the street from the Government Center) where I purchased new batteries. I also took the opportunity to get ';cash back'; off my debit card as suggested by one of the fine people on this forum. Lunch was @ Durgin Park. There was so much ';controversary'; as to whether or not this was a good place to eat, that I almost scratched this plan, but in the end ';just went with it';. Boy, are we glad we did! I had a delicious Shepherd%26#39;s Pie. OMG! (If I could have conned the recipe out of them, I would have. I would love to make it here @ home.) That Shepherd%26#39;s Pie was so delicious (and just homey tasting) I wish I could have finished it - which I couldn%26#39;t despite my best efforts. The Mr. had Boston Scrod, mashed potatoes, and corn and was equally as pleased. If you happened to be eating @ Durgin Park last Friday we were the couple ooing and ahhing as we forked food into our mouths! I regret not having room to try the Indian Pudding as recommended here on this site. The meal was as delicious as it was reasonably priced. Don%26#39;t hesitate to try Durgin Park if you are in the midst of trip planning. The afternoon found us back @ the Sam Adam%26#39;s statue in front of Fanuiel Hall where we met a different Boston by Foot tour guide for an afternoon tour of the North End. Once again we got a lot of ';behind the scenes'; information; very enjoyable and highly recommended. :D From there it was back on the ';T'; for a quick trip to our hotel room in order to freshen up a little. Then we headed (again via ';T';) to Fenway Park for our first ever Red Sox%26#39;s experience. WoW! What an awesome experience that was (even if the Sox%26#39;s lost and neither Manny or Big Papi played.) The seat I sat in was an old wooden one, but I could just imagine the history that accompanied that seat. How many Red Sox%26#39;s fan%26#39;s butts had sat on that very seat in proceeding games??? It was a little chilly Friday night, but the close proximity of my seat mates helped generate a little heat! :D For supper we had Fenway Franks, diet Cokes, Cracker Jacks, and peanuts. It was kinda expensive, but part of the total Fenway experience. As we were leaving I insisted the Mr. get a ';Meet Me at the Green Monstah'; t-shirt. He was as happy as a little kid with a new toy! We headed back to Copley Square via ';T'; (of course) and fell asleep before our heads hit the pillow! In short what a GREAT day!
Trip Report Day 2 June 6th
Thanks for the report. Very interesting. Really fascinating to hear that they still sell cracker jacks at Fenway Park - I remember talking about this with someone 11 years ago, when I worked for a company with season tickets and I went to a lot of games because we just couldn%26#39;t get rid of them - someone mentioned how ridiculous it was that they sold cracker jacks, because ';nobody buys them.'; I really wouldn%26#39;t have thought they were still sold there.
Also good to hear that you enjoyed Durgin Park. I haven%26#39;t been there since 70%26#39;s but think we should go there someday, just to see if it has changed. As crazy as this seems, I can remember when Durgin Park was the only place near the Charles Street Cinema where we could get a drink while waiting to get in to see the midnight show of the first Star Wars movie in 1977 - this must have been just after the first renovations of the market - I remember prior to that, around 1971 the buildings were only used as a giant flea market on the weekends. Hard to imagine now.
Trip Report Day 2 June 6th
Teacher you%26#39;ve done a fine job writing up your first real day in Boston... Reading your notes I feel like I am on the trip with you!
So I am glad you enjoyed the Boston By Foot tours (and I hope you can add a TA review when you get a chance -- just copy your text from this posting). I like to promote the Boston By Foot tours because I think they are well worth it and aren%26#39;t as well know as some of the other tours.
I am so jealous that you got to go to a Red Sox game! I%26#39;ve given up trying to get tickets the last 3 years (since my company stopped having outings to Fenway).
Hi Teach,
Love the details - just like I love your attitude to planning. :)
Teacher,
I%26#39;m sorry you didn%26#39;t get to experience the full walk, but it sounds like you kept yourself plenty busy and got to see most of what you would have liked. You must be exhausted, though :)
As for Durgin Park, it NEVER changes. I remember the first time I ate there. My family was up in Boston visiting my brother and we went to eat there. This was in 1974, two years before Quincy Market was renovated into a tourist attraction. Durgin Park was the only inhabited section of the building. The rest of the block was dark and boarded up. I couldn%26#39;t believe they would allow a restaurant to be in the middle of all the decrepitude.
Then, about 5 years later, I went again to eat there. I mentioned to my brother that I was glad Durgin Park ';moved'; to a nicer location. He laughed and looked at me and said that it was in exactly the same place it was the last time...
BeanTownMan, Not only didn%26#39;t I get to experience the walk, but I never made it more than ';by'; (more details on that in day 4) the Public Garden; no swan boat ride, no pics of the ';Make Way for Ducklings'; ducklings....
One of my MAJOR regrets of the trip!! :(
Quincy Market is such a bustling busy place. It%26#39;s hard for me to picture it all boarded up. I don%26#39;t know if I would have had the ';guts'; to eat in a restaurant in those circumstances. LOL!
Glad you enjoyed your walking tours - makes me want to do the North End one, maybe on my next trip - I usually find walking tours a great way to pick up information I didn%26#39;t have before. I didn%26#39;t see you oohing and aahing at Durgin Park because I was there in the evening! Thanks for the kind words on my post as well.
Sedum, We were absolutely thrilled to get Red Sox tickets. They certainly weren%26#39;t cheap, but how could we come all the way to Boston and not take the opportunity? I will also post a review of Boston By Foot tours. It was truly an enjoyable experience and I know others would benefit from the information!! :D
Gibraltarr, planning for our trip was such fun! As much as I anticipated it now that it is sadly over, I will surely suffer withdrawals. I guess I%26#39;ll just ';lurk'; here for a while until the sadness subsides!
Thanks Warriorjan!!
OMG I will think of you every time I sit down on those wooden seats at Fenway! Forgot to mention to you how expensive the food can be! The game I went to on Sunday was sweltering.
Teacher--what a great first day you both had! BeantownMan--how well I remember when Durgin Park was the only place opened in that area. Thinking back to how the area was, it certainly has made a remarkable transformation!
Thanks for the trip report teachah. I can%26#39;t believe you%26#39;ve already come and gone. Do you think you%26#39;ll ever come back or was once enough? Looking forward to the rest of your report.
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