More Boston Sights
There was an abundance of historical and non-historical sights to cover, but some of our favorites were:
Faneuil Hall, known as the Cradle of Liberty where all important debates leading to the Revolutionary War were held. The restored building and marketplace is filled with shops, restaurants and cafes.
Paul Revere House. The only house still standing in downtown Boston, built in 1630. Paul and family purchased and moved into the house in 1770, and owned it for 30 years. There is a charge to visit and you then take a self-guided tour. The small house contains artifcats, maps, documents and exhibits.
The Old North Church..."one if by land, and two if by sea", built in 1723. The Church also has a performance covering the life of Paul Revere. Extremely interesting. We never realized that Revere participated in almost every major revolutionary event in Boston including: the Massacre, Tea Party, Battle of Lexington, and acted as a forensic dentist in the Battle of Bunker Hill! Talk about bringing history to life!
Bunker Hill..."don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes"...was a turning point in the American Revolution. They have free ranger talks daily and we arrived just in time for one of those. Sat in the grass with others, listened and learned about a large part of history, presented in an interesting way.
USS Constitution ("Old Ironsides"), the oldest, officially commissioned battleship in existence. It never lost a battle and its victories during the War of 1812 are legendary. It is free to visit and there are guided tours.
A walk around the Boston Public Gardens. All I could think about was one of my children's favorite books, "Make Way for Ducklings" and Mack, Jack, Pack all all their duckie siblings. Great memories revisited.
As an ex-runner, marathoner, making a pilgrimage to the John Hancock Tower, site of the world-famous Boston Marathon finish. (I never had a qualifying time.)
Seeing a full-size working replica of one of the three original Tea Party ships. A two-master and you can even throw a bale of tea over the side as your own person protest! Isn't it incredible how these ships actually sailed across the Atlantic?
A walk across the Charles River to Harvard Square. We couldn't leave Boston without visiting famous Harvard and Cambridge Universities. Shelley told us that it is always a nightmare renting an apartment around Boston because of all the students attending Harvard and Cambridge.
But, there was still more Boston...
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