Boston..It Was a Pleasure to Meet You

(Disclaimer.. extremely long post ahead)

Dearest Boston,

I wanted to thank you for being the coolest Northeastern city ever...  I'll admit I was a snooty Southern skeptic.  I wasn't sure what to expect from a city north of the Mason-Dixon line, but I thought you were the best, you had lots to offer, and if I could have I would never have left!  After great food, and most likely 3-4 pounds later, awesome sites and enough subway rides to last me for a while, I was still not ready to go.  Had it not been for the other love of my life (the 11 pound furball), and I guess my job, I would have stayed.  We enjoyed pretending to be locals for 4 days, but apparently my southern accent stood out like a thug at a county fair, so much for trying to blend in :)

Matthew had the honor of being selected to interview for a Molecular Genetics Fellowship at Harvard last Thurs.  We decided to make a trip out of it, so I tagged along to accompany M for a couple of days.  I had to work night shift Tuesday night, so Matthew picked me up from work Wed morning to head to the airport to catch our flight.  We had a short layover in Atlanta, and finally arrived at Logan International around 3:45.  We caught the "T" or the subway to our hotel and arrived there around 5ish.  Thanks to Harvard we got to stay at a really neat Bed and Breakfast called The Bertram Inn that was in the middle of Brookline Village, 10-15 minutes outside of downtown Boston.  At this point I had been up about 25 hours, but I was not about to let that ruin my trip excitement, so I immediately showered and we headed out to get dinner at a local pub called The Publick House.  They were famous for their mac n cheese, and it did NOT disappoint.  M ordered the fish and chips, and we proceeded to eat ourselves into a food coma.  After dinner, we decided to head back to the inn so M could prepare for his interview the next day, and I could finally get some much needed sleep.  I was asleep by 9:10, which was really 8:10 on my body's (central) time.  I was still impressed that I was up until then.

At this point I'd been up about 20 hours

The Bertram Inn

Thursday, M woke up at about 6am to get ready for his interview that started at 9.  I woke up long enough to kiss him goodbye and wish him good luck.  I slept till 9, got up and got ready to spend the day gallivanting around Boston. I took the "T" to Copley Ave. which is the stop by the Boston Public Library and a short 5 minute walk from the Boston Common.  At the Boston Common I decided to pay $13 to take a guided tour of the Freedom Trail.  It was worth it to this history nerd; I would've paid more for it.  While I consider myself more of a Civil War girl; I've read and seen countless documentaries on everything from Abraham Lincoln's assassination to Gettysburg (yes I know, why I didn't become a high school history teacher?), I'm a lot less familiar with the beginning of the Revolutionary War.  From this point on, I'll explain the rest of my day through pics.  If you are not in the least bit interested in history.. feel free to skip ahead. :)

Boston Public Garden, which is right across the street from the Boston Common.  Beautiful.  Perfect time of year, the leaves were changing!

Boston Common.  The first park established in America.  It was settled on by the Puritans.  Where the playground is now located is where they believe the town gallows were placed.  People were hanged for multiple reasons, some for just being a different religion, most commonly Quakers.

Another shot of the Common.  Martin Luther King Jr. and Pope John Paul II have spoken here.

This is the Massachusetts State House.  It was built I believe over 200 years ago.  The original building is the brown brick.  The dome is in fact 23 caret gold.  It was painted gray in World War II to help disguise it from enemy bombers.  The original dome was copper, made none other than by our favorite patriot... Paul Revere!

This is the Park Street Church.  Founded in 1809.  This is where Sunday School first started!  It was also where the song "America" was first sung from the steps in front of the church.  Billy Graham started his 1st transcontinental crusade here in 1949. 

This is the Granary Burial Ground.  The only graveyard with 3 signers of the Declaration of Independence buried within the grounds (John Hancock, Robert Treat Pain, and Samuel Adams).  Benjamin Franklin's whole extended family is also buried here, along with Paul Revere, and the victims of the Boston Massacre. 

This is John Hancock's grave.  Other than being known for having the largest signature on the Declaration of Independence, he was an extremely wealthy man, but not too humble.  He rode around Boston in an 24k. gilded carriage!

Paul Revere's grave...or within 5-10 feet around the burial marker.  We all know him for "The British are Coming!".  Which was most likely not actually said, because at those times, everyone was considered British.  Most likely he said something along the line of, "The Regulars are out!."  He was one of 3 men who made their way out from Boston to warn those in Lexington and Concord that the British army was coming.  What most people don't know was that he was actually detained by British patrol for hours before he actually made it. 

Mostly known now for the beer that is named after him, Samuel Adams was a master of war propaganda.  He was able to use the killings at the Boston Massacre (only 5) and use it to fuel the hate towards the King's rule in the Colonies. 

The resting place of the 5 victims of the Boston Massacre.  8 others were wounded.  The 6th name is a 12 year old boy who was actually killed 2 weeks before the Massacre occurred. 

Old State House.  On July 18, 1776 the Declaration of Independence was read publicly in Boston for the first time.  Now every year the Declaration is read from the balcony on July 4th.  It's a big deal, and the city shuts down every year for it.  On the bicentennial anniversary in 1976,  President Gerald Ford and Queen Elizabeth were in attendance for the reading.  Ford handed the Queen a check for $33,000 (the cost of all the tea that were thrown into the Harbor 200 years earlier...no interest of course).  She never cashed the check, and it is now framed and hung in Buckingham Palace. 

Old Corner Bookstore.  Frequented by multiple famous authors: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Charles Dickens, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathanial Hawthorne, and Oliver Wendall Holmes.  Cool..

Old South Meeting House.  Famous for being the organizing point for the Boston Tea Party in 1773. 

Old North Church.  Where Paul Revere instructed the church sexton to hang 2 lanterns as a signal to those in the city that the British army was on the way. 

 This was the end of my terrific tour.  As you can see, I had the best day while M was busy interviewing.  Later that night he said he was worried that I would be bored and not find anything to do while he was gone.. Ha.  Around 4, M called and said he was back at the Inn, so I took the T back, and we met up to go to our next hotel where we were staying for the next 2 nights.  I surprised him with Mike's Pastry... the best pastry shop in Boston America.  We may or may not have gone to this place 3 times in 2 days...it was that good.

Red velvet cupcake and a ricotta dipped cannoli.

On our way out to dinner.  We ate a local Italian restaurant called Giacomo's.  It was the best Italian I have ever had. 

This is what we spent most of our trip doing: figuring out the subway lines.  We got pretty good at it if I do say so myself!  

Friday, we went out to Cambridge.  We toured the campus and grabbed a quick lunch of lobster roll and hummus at a local restaurant.  Best college town ever.  Founded in 1636, it's the oldest learning institution in the U.S.  Seriously Harvard, way to be 140 years older than America.

The campus is absolutely breathtaking.  If only I had been smarter :)

Just a 24 year old co-ed on my way to class!

After Cambridge, we went back into downtown Boston and I gave Matthew a brief version of the tour I had taken the day before.  Friday night we had tickets to the Celtics Game!  Before heading to the game we stopped by Boston's famous bar and embarrassingly headed to Mike's Pastry 1 more time. 

"Where Everybody Knows Your Name"

#3.  It was so good I didn't even feel guilty later :)

The Garden

It was the perfect end to the perfect trip!  Go Celtics!

So thanks Boston.  We really appreciate the good time. 

P.S.  M said he would blog at a later date about his interview and his upcoming interviews...Hope everyone is having a good week!