Today was the laziest day of vacation
yet. I headed out pretty late this morning wondering what to do
before 11, so I went inside Trinity Church in Copley Plaza to
continue this unofficial church tour I seem to be doing during
vacation. This was a straightforward pay $7, then walk into the
church. That's it. No massive tombs or corridors or audio guides
like in London. An organist was rehearsing so that gave a nice
dramatic soundtrack while I was walking around. After the church I
went to the Farmer's Market in the Prudential Plaza, but this turned
out to be really small. At least I got a free Lindt truffle from a
store worker handing them out on the way there. Then I decided to
walk to the North End to get something Italian for lunch. I was
trying to find this place from my guidebook, but I couldn't, and then
just as I was walking past Florentine Cafe, this guide on a segway
tour wheeled by with his tourists and said, “This restaurant also
has pretty good Italian food,” so I thought I might as well stop
walking and go inside. There were so many cafes on the street all
serving Italian food so it was pretty hard to narrow one down. But
the restaurant was pretty crowded so I figured it must be good. I
ordered some penne pasta with chicken and some alcohol. The food was
good but not amazing.
I also stopped by the Old North Church
(otherwise known as Christ Church) and this is the famous church
where 2 lanterns were hung outside in 1775 to signify that the
British were crossing the river (“one if by land, two if by sea”)
and therefore warned the militias before the Battle of Lexington and
Concord. The church was very simple on the inside: white walls and
pews and clear windows, but it was still emotionally moving. The
pews were actually arranged like cubicles because that was the only
way to keep people warm back then, and back then you could “buy”
a pew to attend service with the best seats going for the equivalent
of $25,000 a year.
I made a quick stop by Faneuil Hall
Marketplace to grab a yogurt smoothie and caught the end of a street
juggler act. I had also watched a street juggler in London and
another one in Iceland, and it's funny how even though they have
different styles and senses of humor, a lot of things are similar. I
video-recorded all of them, so it's gonna be interesting to string
all the videos and watch them together. Then I walked along Beacon
Street, a famous neighborhood because of its ritzy townhouses.
They're very nice-looking in that New England/old money type way. I
passed by the bar that was the inspiration for the tv show Cheers
unintentionally. (Eh, I never really cared for that show). Only the
outside and staircase are like the show, otherwise the inside is
completely different. But I think there's another bar in Boston that
recreates the inside exactly if you're so inclined to visit. Then I
walked to the Esplanade, this park right along the water with
running/biking trails. It's also where the 4th of July
celebration will be held. It was really pretty and very relaxing
just to sit there in the sun and enjoy the breeze and watch the
sailboats go by. I think I sat on a bench there for close to 2
hours. I had a long list of things I wanted to do in Boston but
decided to just take it easy today and enjoy the city without
stopping to take a picture every 5 minutes.
So that ends my short stay in Boston.
A nice little city, but I kind of feel bad for the drivers because
the roads are narrow and people constantly jaywalk and block turns
all the time. Tomorrow morning I am flying to NYC, where I have no
guidebook at all, so let's see what happens! I have one event
scheduled only, and that's to catch a Broadway show on Saturday
night. Otherwise maybe I'll just chill in Central Park or check out
the museums. I can't believe I'm starting the final leg of vacation
tomorrow.
