Wandering along Charles River in Boston
It’s Monday! And it’s time for another Rock Fever Column. Here it is:
I saw the red and blue lights flashing before I heard the sirens. I was running down the streets of Harvard Square before I knew what I was doing. I had lost my friends.
“Andrew?!” He ducked into a building’s shadow. He was being followed by an overzealous citizen and I was following them. This was getting ridiculous. I lost Andrew. I could hear the Police sirens still screeching though the sound was reverberating less and less in my ears.
The concerned citizen gave-up. I saw Andrew ahead. “Andrew….Andrew….stop! Wait…What happened to you? (ok this is the clean version).”
I went to get some water to wash the fight off his face and hands. We try to call our friend David. He’s with the Police and not for his health. Ahhh…Boston.
Andrew tells me: “Robyn, you’ve just experienced the ‘real’ Boston.”
Yeah great. Quite honestly I could give the Boston that sends my friends to jail a pass. How did I get into this Boston brawl? I decided Memorial Day was a good excuse to leave Bermuda and visit some friends I had met while traveling through Cusco, Peru. You know…from my round-the-world trip….last year. It was turning-out to be far more than I expected.
David spent the night in jail and I went back to his house with Anthony and David’s sister. They bailed him out in the morning and I bailed myself out of the situation with a run along the Charles River, which cuts through Boston and Cambridge.
Fact for you: Cambridge is its own city. Yep. Boston is a city and so is Cambridge (you know the one with Harvard in it.)
Other ways to get your kicks (and not into someone’s side) in Boston? Visit Jail. No I didn’t go to get David out. So where did I go? The Liberty Hotel. This former prison has now been turned into a beautiful hotel filled with aptly named bars and restaurants such as The Clink, Alibi, Scampo and the Yard. Stuck in the heart of Beacon Hill it’s pricey (rooms range from $300 and upwards) so I came here for a drink and to enjoy the view of the former prison cells. It’s located on Charles Street and a hop, skip and a jump from Mass General Hospital.
Believe you’re innocent? Not quite ready for prison, but want to experience the long-arm of the law? Try The Back Bay Hotel which was a former Police station turned hotel. Their aptly named bar? Cuffs. What more could you want? Well for just about $200 (and sometimes some good deals) you can also stay at the hotel. I have heard from at least two couples who stayed here and loved it.
Settled into your secure beds, but want something peaceful for the days? Yeah, me too. Well then head for the Boston Aquarium. I have loved this building since I was seven-years-old and lived in a neighbourhood outside of Boston. I must have been onto something. This aquatic centre attracts more than a million people each year. Ok so it costs about $20 to enter, but their tubular, “Giant Ocean Tank” with rays, sharks and all types of fish will keep you mesmerized as you walk around it to the top of the building.
Hungry now? Craving more peace? Well now that Boston has finally completed their ‘Big Dig’, which placed miles of above-ground highway below, the North End (or little Italy) is no longer ostracized from the rest of Boston. This area is Boston’s oldest residential neighbourhood where people have lived continuously since 1660. It is also the birthplace of the revolution. So now you’ve grabbed a pizza you can also sneak a peek at Paul Revere’s House and The Old North Church (you know, where the sexton signaled that the Brits were marching and set-off the whole independence thing). For the celiacs (because I am one and am always on the look out) the North End will not leave you out. It is also has Nebo which offers gluten-free pizza!
From the North End, finish the three mile Freedom Trail. March the 294 stairs up the Bunker Hill Monument and then find somewhere to rest your feet.
Where did I find? Fenway Park. The infamous, and one of the oldest baseball diamonds in America now has ….a bar, the Bleacher Bar to be exact with arguably one of the best views in Boston. What do you look at? Well if there was a game on I would have been ensuring first base was covered. And yes the bar is open during games and no, it doesn’t cost anything to get in. Well I mean besides a cold cider at the reasonable price of $5.
Of course after being in the dungeons of Fenway it was time to head to the tippy top of Boston Top of the Hub. This restaurant and bar at the top of the Prudential Centre offers incredible food (stuffed my face with salmon) at not ridiculous prices ($30 for an entree), but with spectacular views.
Not on the $30 a dish budget? Visit for a glass of $8 wine and enjoy the Jazz Band and the view for less. It will be worth it even if fires in Quebec fill Boston (yes it happened, Memorial Day weekend. Still did not ruin my time).
Now you’ve stayed in a jail in Boston, run Boston and enjoyed some of the peace of Boston. What’s left to do? Visit during July 4. This town knows how to party (even if they sometime run-in with the Police). For independence day, Boston manages not one day, but six days of celebration. Pull up a chair and a keg along the Charles River and celebrate the United States of America’s independence. I hear it’s a good time.
Flights are available on Delta and will spit you into Beantown by 2 p.m. or take Jet Blue and get in around 5 p.m.
Whichever way, visit Boston and my website: www.robynswanderings.com
* Next week: Now you’ve booked your ticket to Boston, I presume….how to pack? I’ll try to find someone who can tell you …. until next week!
Robyn's Wanderings 