3 days in Boston

Well, Cheers!
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Well, it all started well. First flight, I get randomly selected for extra security checks.  Brilliant.  Well, with that out of the way, we're all good to go... to sleep on the plane, it was a pretty late night on Monday.  Poor Nicky, it's a 6 hour flight, and she can't sleep on the plane.  You'll soon learn!!

When we arrived in Boston I was well impressed, not only by how pretty, green and clean the city was, but also that we made it to our hostel in one piece - the taxi driver was a loon.  Checked into the HI Fenway (wasn't too surprised that the girl behind the desk was Irish), and set out to see what Boston has to offer.

The clams are much nicer than the oysters...

See, it's really pretty
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We headed out for a bit of a wander, and took a stroll through Boston Common.  It's a big park in the middle of the city, and like a lot of Boston is really, really pretty.  Apparently some fella lived there all on his own for years until the good old English decided to take over.  (Not necessarily entirely factual, I don't really have a head for history.)  Anyways, the walk through the Common took us to the other side, and to our first stop - Cheers bar.  The outside is exactly the same, but in the words of Olivia Newton-John, that's where it ends.  Inside, it's a completely different bar.  No one knows your name.  They probably didn't want to, gIven the number of times we unwittingly said 'Cheers' instead of 'thanks'.  So we just stopped for a few beers, and chatted the bartender.

Don't do it Rick!!
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We all blamed the jetlag (althougth I suspect it may have had something to do with 5 weeks of leaving dos), but we all got pretty tired early on.  Realising that a night on the tear was not on the cards, we started to head for home.  We strolled back via the pier, where the world and its mother were out jogging.  Considering the number of Dunkin' Donuts in Boston (96 in a smallish city), it's no wonder they need a few gym sessions now and again.  It was really pretty down there though, and lying down on the jetty staring at the skyline, I was thinking I was really taking to Boston.

Go Red Sox
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Day two took us towards the financial district, and we stopped for lunch in the higly recommended 'Union St Oyster House' - the oldest continually serving restaurant in the States, apparently.  I say highly recommended as in it was recommended to us by the barman in Cheers, and by all accounts serves the best seafood in Boston.  Personally I wouldn't recommend it unless you have aquired the taste for shellfood, although I'm still not sure why you would want to.  Sitting at the bar watching the servers shuck oysters and clams, I tried them both for the first time.  I was pretty proud of my convincing 'mmmmm' noises while, with an audience on both sides of the bar, I tried to chew as little as possible, and prayed that the gooey, seasalt mess in my mouth would stay down when I swallowed it.  Thankfully, it did.  Note to self - Nicky lies.  After managing to get through an oyster, I had to try a clam.  "Don't worry", Nicky pipes up, "they're much nicer than the oysters."  That girl's going straight to hell.

The shellfish hadn't made me queezy, so maybe a spot of seasickness would do the trick.  We took a tour of the city Duck-stylee, on the kind of amphibious vehicle tours you get in Dublin and Liverpool. The tour was really good, and a nice way to see the sites.  After that we headed to the Science museum (just because I'm travelling doesn't mean I have to stop being a nerd!) for a couple of hours.  That night we decided to 'culture it up' with a spot of (free) Shakespeare in the Common.  The Taming of the Shrew is all very well and good, but when I turned round at the end of the first act to find the boys asleep and Nicky 'just dozing', it was time to curse the jetlag again.  So we headed home, tucked up in our beds before midnight.

Day 3 and we decided to do some proper hardcore touristy stuff - a tour of Boston's Baseball ground, Fenway Park.  Our guide was about as excitable as a 10-year old on Smarties, I think he just maybe was a bit of a Red Sox fan.  We were informed that we had 'lucked out' because we were allowed access to the pitch itself, and immediately the whooping started.  I guess you have to be a fan.

After that we took the subway to Harvard or 'Hahvahd' (getting in with the locals, don't you know).  Nice university, but that's all I really have to say about that.

That night we went to a free 'Yeah Yeah Yeahs' gig, which was really good.  That turned out to be our first night out (vodka and redbull laughs in the face of jetlag), and it was a really good one.  Unfortunately for Mike and Nicky, it turns out that they suffer quite badly from hangovers.  The morning flight the next day was just the best.

All in all, top city, and one that I would definitely recommend as a holiday destination.  We did quite a lot in the three days, but I got the impression there was still loads more to do.  Just don't try the clams...

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