Traveled: June 2016

The oldest bar in America, Italian food as good as Italy’s, parks everywhere. Go to Boston if it is for a few hours or just a day. You will love it.

Boston was an after-thought on a much anticipated trip to Montreal. Due to tight budgeting, we would be flying into and out of Boston for our trip. Might as well spend a day in the city we thought. And then we kind of forgot about Boston. I am very sorry to say this now, because after spending the day there, it became a highlight of an already amazing trip.

We had a little over 24 hours, not counting sleeping hours, to explore the city. Here is our journey and the stops we made along the way:

Freedom Trail

Well obviously. If you go to Boston and don’t do the freedom trail, well then you might as well go to Paris and never glance at the Eiffel tower. I would only say skip it if you are not American and not interested in history. Part of the reason to do the trail is that it winds through the city. It is also extremely easy to see the things you want and skip the rest. There are placards all over, check them out, even a boring looking building may have an interesting back-story. I wouldn’t say it should take you more than a couple hours to complete the trail, unless you stop at every stop and read every placard. Plan half a day with a stop for lunch.

Start out headed through the park (now, or later, take time to check out this huge, wonderful park in the middle of the city) to see the golden topped building. You will then u-turn back through the park and come to a church. Read the placards, it is a very interesting building. The graveyard right next door is also full of revolutionaries.

Continue on, pass more churches, important sights and very cool buildings. All of the places we ended up eating/drinking (except dinner) we found along the trail.

For coffee: Thinking Cup

Very good coffee (and orange juice). But it is really the decor and atmosphere you will love. The tables are old maps and the dark wood make the place somber. Yet it still has a grab a coffee with a girlfriend and plan your day feel.

For lunch: The oldest bar in America – The Bell In Hand Tavern

It is not just this place’s history that makes it so inviting but the eclectic vibe. The walls are mostly exposed brick and it is surrounded in windows. The funky layout (corner building) adds to the uniqueness. We went fancy (brie on bread) and basic (chicken strips). Both were good and great for a quick, filling lunch.

For a snack: Mikes Pastries

I hate to say anything negative about a place so popular and fun, but, while they were good, they were ridiculously sugary. If your in to that, this is the place for you! It isn’t really a sit down and hang out place but there are tables.

For dinner: La Famiglia Giorgio’s

We had actually planned on eating at a different Italian restaurant in Little Italy that was along the trail. But it turned out to be way too popular for our hungry stomachs. The line was about 20 deep. So we milled around and found my second choice…also a long line. But just across the way was a nice looking place with what I was looking for – butternut squash ravioli. The lack of a wait time had me a little worried. But I certainly did not need to be! The great mood of the room (we sat upstairs, exposed brick, cool art), the friendliness of our waitress and the absolutely delicious food were all we could hope for.

For sleep: HI Boston

This was my second Hosteling International Hostel. It was very much like the first, clean, well provisioned, well set-up. You can leaver your bags if you arrive early. I would suggest checking in late as the wait at 4pm was about half hour. If you want to leave your bags after check-out you will have to rent a locker ($3). They are very well situated, close to basically everything.

Tips

We did not get a metro pass as we walked everywhere but I hear it is easy to use.

We killed time before heading to the airport by wandering the waterfront. Not a lot to see but a lovely walk. Use Uber to get to the airport ($12).

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