The Freedom Trail in Boston is a
crash course in American Revolution history. You can feel it. You can
smell it. You can touch it. You can see it. You can hear it. If
you're going to Boston and you're physically able, walking the
Freedom Trail is a must-do activity. This is my relatively unedited
travel diary, sketchy in spots, detailed in others. I hope you enjoy
this retrospective journey from 2002 with me!
Wednesday, July 31
We just enjoyed a downright tasty meal
at Caffé
Sorrento in Milford! As a rule, I stay away from Italian food at
restaurants. It's just never as good as my mom's cooking. But I had
excellent Veal Piccata, and my husband had superb Seafood Gorgonzola.
If there's Gorgonzola to be had, he will order it. So would my mom,
if she was on this trip with us. But wait. I'm getting ahead of
myself again.
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| Massachusetts State House, Boston Paul Revere's rolling mill made copper to cover the dome. Photo by Chris. All rights reserved. |
It was another hot and muggy day today.
When you leave the air conditioned hotel and step outside, you feel
as though you should go right back in and take another shower. But
why? You'd just have to do it all over again. If you're having to go
to work and are dressed for business, as my husband has to be, it's
not great. But I didn't have that problem and was almost comfortable
in shorts and a t-shirt.
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| The Granary Burying Ground A Stone Garden Sam Adams, John Hancock, Paul Revere, victims of the Boston Massacre and others all buried here. Boston Photo by Chris. All rights reserved. |
With my camera bag in tow, I took the
train to Boston to walk the Freedom Trail [Here's a map of it]. It
wasn't strenuous (except for the heat and humidity) or excessively
long, and it was totally worth the effort. Starting at Boston Common
and ending in Charlestown, it included the State House, the seat of
government. The Trail also took me past a bunch of churches
(including Old North Church... “one if by land, two if by sea”
...and New North Church, now St. Stephen's), and a slew of meeting halls and taverns
where revolutionary types liked to expound and/or hang out, as the
case may be. The actual house of Paul Revere is also on the Trail,
and I found it very impressive for the day. A silversmith by trade, I
guess he could afford more than the average person.
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| Paul Revere's home, Boston Photo by Chris. All rights reserved. |
Revere's house is located in what's
called the “North End,” which is now a picturesque Italian
neighborhood, full of wonderful atmosphere and presence. Restaurants
everywhere, narrow cobbled streets, laundry hanging from windows, old
ladies sitting out on the sidewalk on chairs from their kitchens,
gossiping with their neighbors in Italian. Oh, it was wonderful! My
people! It's funny how you can feel out of place and at home at the
same time.
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| Oh, the revolutionary stuff that was printed here! Photo by Chris. All rights reserved. |
The Trail takes you right past the
famous Green Dragon Tavern, where the Sons of Liberty met, the Boston Tea Party was planned, and Paul Revere was sent off on his historic ride to Lexington. There are also some wonderful old “stone
gardens” (cemeteries), and Bunker Hill, and Old Ironsides (the USS
Constitution, still a commissioned naval vessel and beautiful to
behold). And, and, and!
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| Spire of Old North Church Photo by Chris. All rights reserved. |
You have to go through a security check
to get on board the Constitution, but I had run out of time.
Unbelievable. I had to start back across the Charlestown Bridge in a
big hurry so I wouldn't miss the train back to Milford. Which just
goes to show, just ignore what it says in the guidebook about how
long something will take. If it says, “Allow 2 hours,” allow
four. If it says, “Allow ½ day,” plan on a whole day. You can
always fill the extra time with a visit to a pub if you have time
left over, but you can't see the sights you didn't have time for. By
the way, there are plenty of pubs to be visited.
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| USS Constitution "Old Ironsides" Tomorrow? Photo by Chris. All rights reserved. |
Naturally, this means I also didn't
make it to Bunker Hill at all, not that I would have been able to
climb the stairs (inside the monument) after all that walking in the
heat. Oh, well.
I did find out some interesting
factoids today. Apparently, people commute to Boston all the way from
Providence, Rhode Island. This must be okay in the summer, but I
wonder what that's like in the winter? It isn't that far (50 or 60
miles, I think), but it must take forever on icy roads in traffic.
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| That's amore... Loved the atmosphere! Photo by Chris. All rights reserved. |
I had asked someone at the train
station about that commute, and I hadn't realized it wasn't that far,
so I told him I hadn't figured out eastern distances yet. Everything
here was closer than I expected, whereas things “out West” were
always farther than expected. So he said, “Yes, once you get past
Worcester [MA], distances are greater.” Worchester?! I meant “out
WEST” – the West Coast, California! Funny how what you say can so
easily be misinterpreted.
I had a spectacularly good time today.
Maybe I'll take another train ride downtown tomorrow. Boston is
fantastic!
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| Old North Church from another angle. Photo by Chris. All rights reserved. |
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| North End goodness! Photo by Chris. All rights reserved. |
