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“You have lucked out!” |
Well we arrived just in time, literally! The following day was the big scare at London with the scuppered terrorist attacks - that would not have been a good start if we'd be caught up in all the delays!
Boston far exceeded my expectations, well actually I didn't really have any as I knew very little about the place but we couldn't have hoped for a better destination to start in. The most striking thing initially is how big everything is. The skyline is dominated by numerous enormous skyscrapers (small in comparison to NY no doubt) - something you just don't see in the UK.
Needless to say, Cheers! bar was the first essential sight to see, we strolled through Boston Common Park on the way which makes for a really nice focal point for the centre of town. Boston in general is really clean and well maintained, you'd struggle to find anything shabby or run down. There's now 2 Cheers! bars (ya gotta love blatant cashing in). The first and original bar was used for all exterior shots for the TV show and was the inspiration for the show itself. Inside however, it's nothing like it. The 2nd is a replica built to look exactly like the interior of the bar on the show.
On the way back to our hostel we walked by the river which was full of joggers (the path not the river) and small sailing boats (the river not the path). It was very picturesque (see er the picture). With jetlag and a couple of pints working their magic we stumbled sleepily home.
The following day we wandered around city hall and went to the Union Oyster bar (recommended by the barman at Cheers!) for our first taste of clams and oysters. I think it's a somewhat acquired taste - the taste I acquired was a bit rank. I'm assured their the best in town tho and the mussels and shrimp were fantastic as was the place itself. Following that we took a Duck tour in a converted amphibious WW2 landing vehicle. The tour is incredibly well run and split into a tour of the city by road and then through the river. Our tour guide 'Garibaldi' an ex magician and stand up comic was fantastic and had us in stitches. The man has clearly found his vocation in life! Later that evening we went back to the Common with a picnic to watch Taming of the Shrew a free performance arranged by the amusing titled 'Wang Centre'. Well at least I thought is was amusing.
On our final day is Boston we went for a tour of Fenway Park, the home of the Boston Red Sox (That's a baseball team dad - it's like rounders). As we were told numerous times throughout the tour, we had really 'Lucked Out!' as we got ground access to the pitch as well as access to the exclusive Green Monster seats. No that doesn't mean a lot to me either. One young chap eager to take home some of the magic, produced a small plastic bag and began scooping up some of the dirt (yes dirt) from the sidelines while his cluster of friends did their best to stand around to cover him. This I might add after specifically being told by our guide we weren't allowed to remove any of the gravel from the pitch - and I just thought he was joking!
After the tour we walked a few miles to Harvard, the university district, mainly so Nikki could pose for some Dawson's Creek style campus shots. We also met the friendliest vagrant in america who greeted everyone who walked by with the kind of enthusiasm you'd reserve for a long lost sibling. Nice chap.
In the evening, the Yeah Yeah Yeah's were playing a free outdoor gig outside the City Hall. It was here, 3 days into our trip and before an early flight the next morning we chose to get properly drunk and have a late night for the first time in the trip (Jet lag had prevented this auspicious event happening earlier). Great idea at the time, terrible idea in the morning.
More Boston pics here: http://www.flickr.com /photos/miketong/sets /72157594238022187/
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