Trip Report Day 4 June 8th

On day 4 we had an unplanned deviation from the original itinerary. I failed to mention that while eating @ LaFamiglia Giorgio the day before I called to confirm our hotel pickup time for the next day’s planned Cape Cod Excursion on Boston Tour Corps (suggested by Will.) I was a little distressed that the tour had been cancelled due to lack of interest on Friday and no one had notified me either via e-mail, on my cell, or by calling The Charlesmark Hotel and leaving me a message. I was also hopeful that I would be reimbursed the $110.00 tour cost I had put on my credit card. However, I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason and the added day to spend in Boston turned out to be a bonus! The Mr. and I got out and about around 9:00ish and headed to Government Center on the Green Line. I headed to CVS to get some daily cash and he headed to Model’s concession tent where he purchased a Celtics t-shirt and cap for himself and his son. At that point with just the little bit of walking we’d done I knew we needed a different game plan so we headed over to Quincy Market and the first manned “Hop Off and Hop On” tour company kiosk we came to. It happened to be “City View” which wasn’t familiar to me either from my readings on TA or from Frommer’s, but the salesperson was super nice and offered us a small discount because my husband was now wearing his new Celtics cap! The tour also included a free harbor cruise so we paid the $29.00 each and headed toward Long Wharf for boarding. The tour turned out to be a wonderful idea. The first go around we just rode the entire loop. The driver not only provided some commentary we hadn’t heard before but also took us to some places our legs had yet to carry us such as; China Town, The Boston Common area, The Public Garden, in front of the Grannary Burial Ground, (our Heart of the Freedom Trail tour had only gone as far as King’s Chapel), and by the Rose Kennedy Rose Garden. This is also a foot friendly way to get to the USS Constitution. It will drop you off right in front and you can either pick it up after your done when it makes a return trip or head over to the BHM and check it out. The trolley won’t pick you up @ Bunker Hill so you will have to walk back to the USS Constitution pickup spot, but it will save you many many steps on your feet.

After riding the loop around once we got off in the North End. During our North End tour we had not gotten to hear the commentary of the docents in the Old North Church. (Our tour guide offered the option but someone didn’t want to invest the extra ten minutes. Go figure!) Today we did. The speech was short and they offered a tour of the steeple and crypt area for $4.00 per person, but I just knew I couldn’t climb any extra stairs so sadly we had to pass. Otherwise I would have loved to have done it. From there we went in search of Neptune’s Oyster and a lobster roll! I wasn’t sure how to order it; cold with mayo or hot with butter. The waitress suggested we get one of each and share. However; when we got ours (mine was the hot with butter) and tasted it – well - neither one of us was willing to share even a small bite in exchange for one! That’s how good it was!!! I guess it’s possible the cold with mayo was better, but it’s hard for me to believe. If you ask my husband he will have a similar opinion except the other way around! BTW the sandwich was served with fries and they were very good as well. Surprisingly when I asked for some salt I was given sea salt, which worked. That was probably the priciest sandwiches we will ever eat, but you will never hear either one of us complain. That lobster roll was THAT good. Incidentally when the TA contributors described the lobster roll as lobster stuffed into a hot dog bun I was still picturing the hot dog buns I’m familiar with and I was a little iffy, but once I knew Y’all had “special” hot dog buns well I knew I had to have one! :D After paying the bill @ Neptune’s Oyster we headed back to the pickup point of the trolley. We passed Mike’s Pastry and for purely scientific taste comparisons I wanted to stop and pick up some canollis to go, but the Mr. said it would probably spoil in the heat before we could get it back to the hotel and we were too full to eat it @ the moment. Sadly with my bum ankle and all it was the last chance I had for a quality canolli. If I knew what I knew now I’d have just stuffed myself and ate it right then and there on Mike’s sidewalk. We caught the trolley and this time rode it to the point by the Massachusetts State House and the back of the Boston Common. From there we walked up the hill and around the corner and spent some time in the Grannary Burial Ground. I took pictures of all the famous resident’s tombstones. Wherever there was a tour going I tried to eavesdrop on the info but it didn’t seem to work out to well. LOL! From there we walked down the hill to the Omni Parker House. Our intention was to go into the Last Hurrah where we were told JFK held his bachelor party and try their famous Boston Cream Pie, but unfortunately it was Sunday and therefore closed. At this point I was able to get some pictures of the area that I missed on the first day when my camera battery died. I tried to get my husband to crawl on the back of the donkey in front of the old City Hall for a Christmas card photo op %26lt;%26lt;kidding%26gt;%26gt; but he chose to stick in his feet into the foot prints and grab hold of the ears instead. I also tried to get a picture of the mosaic on the sidewalk from The Latin School but it probably won’t come out too clearly. (I haven’t had a chance to develop my pictures yet as I’m still trying to catch up with the mounds of laundry!) From there we headed back toward the trolley stop but stopped in at a 7-11 for two bottles of water. We really love the way you can be walking along and wa-la there’s a 7-11 just amongst everything else. Here such stores have a free standing building and a parking lot. Anyway, after boarding the trolley at The Massachusetts State House we rode the trolley back to the Long Wharf to take advantage of the harbor cruise included in our admission price. The Harbor Cruise was really nice. The driver again provided commentary and the cool breezes were ever so refreshing as the day was absolutely scorching by this point. I got a lot of what I think are going to be excellent pictures. We also stopped at the USS Constitution and the driver said he’d be back in an hour for anyone who wanted to get off. I’m not sure an hour would be long enough to do the tour and the museum, but if it wasn’t the last stop of the day you could probably stay longer. This would be another excellent alternative to walking. (Dang! I sound awfully lazy don’t I?) After the harbor cruise we went to the Legal Seafood located at Long Wharf for a dinner that I thought would never happen (you’ll know what I mean if you’ve read my other installments.) My husband and I decided to order the surf and turf but truthfully it look like so much food we asked them if we could split the plate. Since we each started with clam chowder it was truly more than adequate. I can’t imagine being able to eat the whole thing alone and it would have been a crime to leave any of it uneaten! For dessert we split a piece of Boston Cream Pie. I have no idea if it was as good as the piece we would have gotten @ the Last Hurrah, but it was definitely delicious. From there we planned to browse a little in Faneuil Hall but by the time we got back there they were closing up for the day. Instead we headed back to Copley and walked up the street to Prudential Center, but again was everything was closing. I was tempted to eat some more clam chowder at the Legal Seafood there, but that would have been just plum piggish! We stopped off @ Walgreens and got a couple of Dr. Peppers and you guessed it, some cash! After that we went to our room and relaxed a little before drifting off in happy land. And so ended another awesome day in a city I’ve come to love, Boston!

Trip Report Day 4 June 8th

Teacher, the energy that you and The Mistah have is amazing. That you managed to accomplish everything you did despite a sore leg, is jaw-dropping amazing. I%26#39;m tired just reading it!

Your love of our hot dog rolls is extremely amusing. I don%26#39;t think I am speaking out of school when I say pretty much everyone takes them for granted. I do confess though to a preference for the Martin%26#39;s brand of potato rolls for both hot dogs and hamburgers. Seriously soft and delicious. But I digress..

As for lobstah rolls...hard to believe that this gourmet treat was once the food of the very poor. New Englanders started eating it out of desperation.

Trip Report Day 4 June 8th

Well done. Next time I go away, I%26#39;m calling you to arrange my itinerary!

Great trip report. You%26#39;ve given me plenty of ideas for my trip later in the year.

Again, an outstanding post. Your personality shines through your writing and you have been a wonderful addition to this TA community. I second Healy%26#39;s nomination of you as best poster of the month. I think I can speak for many of us regulars, we%26#39;re going to miss you! So please make sure you visit Boston again. Lastly, assuming you are a teacher, how lucky the students are to have an individual such as you!

Oh yeah, one more thing, GO CELTICS! Phenomenal win last night.

thanks again, and wow- I%26#39;ve had dozens of cold lobster rolls w/ mayo and LOVE them, but have NEVER tried hot with butter! Now I will have to. Although I%26#39;ve had plenty of whole lobsters w/ butter and of course they are yummy :). Good point about us taking the larger hot dog rolls for granted, the other thing I like is when the buns are grilled for a minute instead of cold/raw and getting soggy sooner than later!

teacher91, I remembered that you should be due back from your trip about now and decided to check out the Boston forum to see if you happened to check in. I%26#39;m so glad I did, I%26#39;ve enjoyed reading about your adventures so far. Sounds like all your planning paid off and I look forward to reading the rest!

As for the Lobster Roll, I always order mine with just hot butter and lobster meat with a little extra melted butter on the side. I love to first savor a few forkfuls of meat just dipped in the butter. Then I pour a bit of the extra butter over my roll and devour the rest! A bit indulgent but it is one of my favorite treats! I absolutely prefer the toasted (and buttered :))split roll to a potato roll, I don%26#39;t like the flavor of the roll competing with my wonderful lobster! I think between your lobster roll and mister%26#39;s, you definitely ended up with the better of the two, although others may disagree with me.

Glad you had a great vacation!

Teachah- yet again another great post! Like ';Bostonbased'; I have never had a ';hot lobster'; roll. I think it must be specialty of Neptune Oyster and now I need to get over there to order one. The traditional New England lobster rolls are served cold with mayo on a grilled hot dog roll. I am also a fan of the New England hot dog rolls. When I lived in other parts of the country, that was something I missed when we grilled hot dogs and sausages.

Reading these trip reports and those of other visitors to Boston has given me a whole new outlook on the city. I was born here and lived here all my life and have not paid much attention to many of the sites I pass by on a daily basis.

I%26#39;m also a photograher, so I tend to look at even the most common thinsg with an artistic eye. I%26#39;ve noticed lately that I%26#39;m walking through the city looking at archetectural detail that I%26#39;ve never noticed, looking at people and the surrounding areas more closely. Tomorrow, I%26#39;m even planning a cruise out to some of our Harbor islands which I haven%26#39;t done since I was a kid. Camera in hand, I%26#39;ll be rediscovering the resources we have here in Boston%26#39;s Harbor and along the waterfront.

Thanks for the inspiration :-)

Thanks for these reports. It%26#39;s always great to hear how out of towners perceive our city. It makes us appreciate things we%26#39;ve taken for granted like the hot dog rolls and the fact that there%26#39;s a convenience store on every corner.

Really interesting reports. The details are fascinating, and make me think about the choices we make when we travel. For some reason I continue to be fascinated by the idea of going to see the Bunker Hill monument, of all places to visit in Boston.

I%26#39;m pretty sure I%26#39;ve never eaten a lobster roll. I asked my mother about this a few years ago - when did lobster rolls become such a big deal, and she assured me that they had always been around, but growing up in the 50s here in a large family I think it just wasn%26#39;t something that we got to eat. On the other hand, as a child, going to Crane%26#39;s beach for the day pretty much meant we would have lobster at home that evening, so it%26#39;s not like we didn%26#39;t eat lobster (my mother is one of those people who devours pretty much everthing except the shell itself).

Very unfortunate that you had such horrible weather while you were here. Although heat waves are not exactly rare, they are not the norm either. I only got an air conditioner for our bedroom last year for the first time, for example.