Other than just walking around the city, the first thing we did in New York to see the sights was take a water-based tour. We found it to be a great way to get our bearings, and so our first stop today was to the Museum of Science to board one of the Boston Duck Tours.
The Boston Duck Tours are similar to those in other locations around the world in that they show you the sights by both land and water. With a city that is as compact as Boston, and one which has a river running through it, it’s a great way to see the city.
The first half of the tour is land based, and so we were taken all over the city seeing famous sights including those linked to the famous story of Paul Revere. The guide tells you lots about the history of the city, including during the time when Boston was one of the British colonies, plus some stories which change the way we know the stories slightly.
For example, one story that I found fascinating was how the famous line that legend says Paul Revere cried out – “The British are coming” – was in fact not what he said. The simple reason being that, at that time, everybody who lives in the colonies were British so he would have more likely said something like “the soldiers are coming”.
That was just one story, though, we were told lots about Boston during our time driving on the roads before we made our way onto the river to see the city from a different angle.
As Boston is a smaller city than New York, sailing around on the Charles River was really peaceful despite the noise of the engine. The weather was great, too, so we got some great views of the city including MIT and the Charles River Esplanade.
After around two hours we arrived back at the Museum of Science at the end of our tour. Overall I found the trip to be really enjoyable, even though it was a very touristy way to see the city.
My friend is a big fan of Cheers, and we mainly came to Boston because of that. So we made a decision to eat at the Cheers Bar for lunch today, walking along the southern banks of the Charles River until we arrived at the bar which is 100m away from the water, overlooking Boston Public Garden.
I have to admit, I’ve never actually seen Cheers although I know of it, but I enjoyed the meal that I had at the Cheers Bar. It was nothing fancy, just good quality food, so worth a visit if you’re a fan of the show.
This is the third time that I’ve visited Boston, the other two times being for skiing trips in New Hampshire and Maine while I was at school, and both times that I’ve been here previously we’ve had a tour of Harvard University since it’s an iconic institution – not just in Boston but around the world. However, this is the first time that my friend has ever been here so we decided to pay Harvard a visit.
The campus is pretty nice – the buildings are historic and the grounds are lovely – and we spent some time just wandering around taking in the sights including the statue of Harvard that isn’t actually of Harvard. My university didn’t have such a nice campus, although I also didn’t have to pay as much as the people attending this university!
The rest of the day was spent walking around the city, taking in the sights, doing a bit of shopping, and just taking in the atmosphere of Boston. I’ve been to a lot of cities in this country, and I think that this one definitely has the best atmosphere of any of them that I have visited so far.
I’m back in the hotel again now, just relaxing watching TV. We have to get up quite early tomorrow for an activity that I’ve always wanted to do.
