Boston

I recently spent some time in Boston, MA and discovered that I really like New England. Boston is as you know full of history, you can spend weeks trying to make sure you dont miss anything.

We did a few of the tours; a walking tour, a trolley tour and of course I had to experience one of the many ghost tours! We actually managed two. The first one was the Ghost and Graveyard Trolley Tour, which at first, I thought was going to be silly and maybe even an over priced amusement, but it turned out to be incredibly fun and well worth it. The tour guides are dressed in period costumes and all of them have a character that they are playing along with a background story. Our tour guide was Jonathan Percival Goodspeed, and he took us along Boston Commons and told us stories of ghost, murderers and mayhem. He ended the tour with the chilling story of the Boston Strangler.

Still feeling brave we signed up for a walking ghost tour; Haunted Boston, not realizing that it met in one of the burying grounds, yet we remained brave and set out with our tour guide Mat and about 15 other brave souls into the night guarded only with our cameras. Below is a picture from the burying ground and yes, you may see a lot of orbs, but its probably because it was a windy night and as the leaves were falling they were hit by the street lights casting a glow (at least that is my theory).

The best way to travel around Boston is on Trolley, there are many stops and you can hop on and off as you please. The tickets are good for two days and include a harbor cruise. Paul's house (Paul Revere) is near a trolley stop, I feel that I'm on a first name bases with Paul because we got lost trying to find his house and spent at least an hour looking for it. Yes, the trolley does stop near his house, but several blocks away as the streets are too narrow for the trolley to maneuver through. I think it would be helpful for someone to at least put up signs but we did find some really cute shops along the way and met some really nice people.

Luke Aaron changes out the window display everyday giving you something new to admire. I also found this

garden tucked away nearby.

We did make it to Paul's house and it was quite the sight, for $3.50 you can go in and see the house as how it might have been while he and his family lived in it. There were two docents one on each floor who knew so much about the house and you could tell that they loved the house and took pride in it.

Nearby we discovered a memorial garden to all who have lost their lives in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.

Another sight to see is the Old North Church, which once inside I thought the seating area looked a lot like office cubicles.

We stayed at the Omni Parker House, had breakfast at JFK's table and once I heard that Charles Dickens stayed at the hotel and that the mirror he used to stand in front of as he practiced his public speeches was displayed on one of the floors we went in search of it and I had to take a picture!

There is much to do in Boston and I will have to return not only to see the places that I missed but also because I really had such a great time in the city. In my next post I will share some of the sights from Salem which is only a short train ride away.