Boston - Something for everyone

It's easy to see why Boston is called America's Walking City! At first, I was daunted looking at a map of downtown. Where will we stay? How will we get around?

We picked a great hotel near Quincy Market/Faneuil Hall (see accommodations) and just walked everywhere (except Fenway). It's amazing how quickly you reach your destination, and you discover lots of great stuff along the way, including lots of little public parks in between the tall buildings.

We saw the Public Gardens, Boston Common, Faneuil Hall, Quincy Market, Copley Square, Newberry Street, Beacon Hill neighborhood, Little Italy, Paul Revere's House, the North Church, and Fenway Park. The Duck Tour allowed us to see many more attractions we wouldn't have seen otherwise.

There are many other things we didn't see that might interest others: The New England Aquarium, Benjamin Franklin's birthplace, Museum of Science, USS Constitution, etc.

The Freedom Trail is clearly marked right on the sidewalks and leads to many historical sites. There are many maps and tours available if you chose to follow the entire 3 miles of the trail.

Quick Tips:

Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau: 888/733-2678

We took the subway from Logan Airport. It was an easy walk and only cost . Free shuttles run from all five airport terminals to the T station on the Blue Line.

A taxi ride downtown would probably cost between and , depending on where you stay. Warning: don't take the public transportation on weekends; they don't run as often and you may miss your flight!

The local accents are interesting. Quincy is pronounced "Quin-zee," and Faneuil Hall rhymes with "Daniel." Have fun and say "Bah-ston," "lob-stah," and "chow-dah!"

Best Way To Get Around:

Don't drive in Boston! We were SO glad we were on foot! There's no way you could keep your eyes peeled for sights and drive those busy streets. Just stay downtown and WALK. Jaywalking is illegal, and city drivers aren't known for their kindness to pedestrians (although we saw plenty locals on foot ignoring the "Don't Walk" signals). Their patience is probably shot after dealing with "The Big Dig" for all these years.

We were pleasantly surprised with just about everything at this hotel. The staff was very courteous. Example: I accidentally made THREE exact reservations via Travelocity when it appeared my info wasn't going through. I was worried I'd have a fight on my hands trying to get a refund of the prepaid amounts. The front-desk clerk just made two of them disappear! Our room was large, comfortable, and clean, and the location was perfect.

I'm a member of Wyndham by Request, so shortly after check-in, they delivered our welcome gift, which I had chosen from their website. Mine was Amstel Light and chocolate chip cookies - LOL!

www.wyndham.com
Toll-free reservations: 877/999-3223

We wanted to do something different for our anniversary dinner this year. We always go to very fancy restaurants and eat so much that we feel bloated by the end of the evening.

We looked at the Naked Fish website (www.nakedfish.com) and decided that this would be more fun. They specialize in Cuban cocktails, and their seafood is served either "naked" or "not-so-naked." I'm not into gourmet food, but really enjoyed my coconut-encrusted Haddock with orange and rum cream sauce. The mashed sweet potatoes with bananas are delicious. This was a great place to celebrate!

You see these huge vehicles all over town. People buy "quackers" and are honking and carrying on, so we were a little wary of being the oldest people on board! Luckily, our Duck was mostly adults and nobody got too silly. Our guide was very knowledgeable and had that great Bah-ston accent. We saw things we wouldn't have otherwise seen, which was helpful, since we were only in town 3 days.

We hit some fun places for drinks.

The Union Oyster House is a famous restaurant between Fanueil Hall and Little Italy, but we only had drinks and appetizers there. The bartender found out that it was our anniversary and went in the back to get something for a photo. It turned out to be a LIVE lobster (lobstah)!! Close by is the Bell in Hand tavern, which was great on a Thursday night, but crowded and with a cover charge on the weekends.

We also had drinks and a bite to eat at the "Cheers" location in Quincy Market. We had great tomato soup and seafood chowdah and discovered that we really like Sam Adams Summer Ale and a local microbrew, Harpoon UFO.

We also had a nice outdoor drink at Brandy Pete's, near the Wyndham

These are two large parks in the middle of downtown. The BOSTON COMMON was a bit of a letdown. There was not much there, as it was a place where people hang out (including street people). Just above there is the beautiful BEACON HILL neighborhood. I photographed a bunch of front doors because each one is unique.

PUBLIC GARDEN is the nation's oldest botanical garden, dating back to 1859. Cross over the picturesque Brooklyn Bridge and watch or ride the famous foot pedal-powered SWAN BOATS, which cruise the lagoon during warm weather months. Near the pond stands a series of small bronze statues of a mother duck and her ducklings from the book "Make Way for Ducklings," which was inspired by an actual duck that would stop traffic as she led her babies to the Garden's pond. Children line up and jump from duckling to duckling and have their photos taken.

Just north of the Public Garden, you'll find the BULL & FINCH PUB, the exterior of the "Cheers" bar of TV fame.

My husband was really excited to see historic Fenway, home of the World Champion Red Sox. We ordered tickets ahead of time from a broker and paid through the teeth for them. It was worth it though. (If you’d like, you can also scalp tickets from plenty of people from the subway exit to the ballpark entrance.) It was an easy and fun ride on the subway to get to Fenway. ,P>The atmosphere before a game is electric. People jam Yawkey Way, the street adjacent to the ballpark, to DRINK and EAT! These are die-hard fans who have supported their team through generations of losing. Although we're Cleveland Indians fans, we're happy for the Boston folks!

Our seats were in the Grandstand. I wouldn't sit there again. The rows of seats are LONG, which means much standing up as people file by on their way for drinks/restrooms, etc. The chairs were old wooden things that were so uncomfortable. Next time, we'll sit in the Loge section.

If you're a sports fan, you owe it to yourself to add Fenway to your life's list of ballparks.