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Boston - Part 2
Written by: Dominick A. Miserandino
Photography by: Margherita Miserandino
How to eat and walk your way through Boston in three days. In our weekend review, we see some historic sites, eat some and walk some more.
Saturday Morning
Saturday morning we slept in a little bit having been exhausted from the drive. I tell you, the suite comes in a bit handy when you're feeling weary and run down. Getting ready in the morning is easier when you can be in one room while your wife is in the other.
For brunch, we went to Henrietta's again. I had a dish comprised of two eggs over easy with a side of jalapeno grits. Not as spicy as you'd expect but if you're into eggs over easy this was a nice variant. Margherita had roasted leg of lamb which I thought was a bit too hefty to have for brunch but she seemed to enjoy it quite a bit.
After brunch, we experimented with the "T", Boston's subway system. To be honest, it was much easier then you'd expect. You buy the token for a dollar, hop on the subway based on the color assigned to it and 10 minutes later a train shows up.
We took the train to the Prudential Center, which is one of the biggest malls in town and avoided shopping for an hour. That is while we walked around my wife would suggest that we buy this or that and I would explain that it wasn't the best idea to buy the aforementioned this or that.
Duck Tour
At 2:30, we took the "Duck Tour". In World War II, the U.S. Government made hundreds of these massive amphibious vehicles. Picture a school bus mixed with a HumVee and a little motorboat thrown into the mix. Our tour guide went by the name of "Major Groovy". Major Groovy reminded me a bit of Wavy Gravy from Woodstock with his swirling blue eyes, tie-dyed hat and of course his "Peace and Love" attitude. He was probably one of the nicest and most fun tour guides we've ever encountered. Not only did he explain everything we passed but he made it seem fun and interesting as opposed to a rote history lesson from High School. The Duck went through most of the main sites that you'd want to see in Boston and then "splashed down" into the Charles River and went around the river a bit before going home. While on the river he gave all the kids a chance to drive the amphibious vehicle with Margherita included in that bunch. She enjoyed steering the ship around the seven seas.
From there we walked along Newbury Street to again repeat the same avoidance shopping as before. She would mention our dire need for this or that and my wallet would usually provide a counter argument. The prices of the higher class stores along Newbury Street helped reinforce my argument. If you wanted the best of whatever it is you wanted it, you would find it here.
Around 5:00 we walked through Boston Commons which is the biggest park in Boston. With the fall leaves and gardens it was breathtaking. We took a few pictures in the park and watched the ice skaters having a bit of fun. I wonder how the park looks during the spring with the trees in full bloom.
Faneuil Hall
Faneuil Hall is one of the few places in the world where there are thousands of people walking around day or night. Faneuil hall was originally a public speaking forum in the middle of the original markets by Boston's Harbor. Now there is a bit of public speaking but more in the form of jugglers, musicians and other street performers. We went walking around and shopping in the market looking for nothing in particular.
The highlight of the weekend so far was getting a coffee from the Seattle Coffee Shop and watching a guitarist and drummer playing some Spanish Flamenco music. Just watching the people walking by and listening to the music while holding a warm coffee was definitely a relaxing close to the day.
The next stop was the Union Oyster House but before tha, we stopped across the street at the Holocaust Memorial. Six lone pillars with steam billowing up at your feet. As you walk through each one (which represents a different concentration camp) you can read quotes from survivors of the Holocaust. It was a very powerful memorial..
Union Oyster House
The Union Oyster House is the oldest restaurant in the United States, open since 1826. It was also where Daniel Webster used to give speeches and more importantly, it was the restaurant where the toothpick was introduced to the United States. On a side note, the entrepreneur who brought over the toothpick decided that the best way to start and increase demand for the toothpick was to pay Harvard students to come here and to request them. Inevitably, the toothpick was born.
We started the meal with a sampler appetizer, half oysters and half clams. They were all delicious although we preferred the clams. Laurie the waitress explained that some people are clam people, some people are oyster people.... I was definitely a clam man. Afterwards, we both had the lobster. I had a stuffed lobster (as I didn't want to work on ripping the lobster up) and Margherita had the boiled lobster, which did require some work. Fortunately, Laurie came to save the day and gave us a lesson on how to eat a lobster properly. Of course, she made it seem much easier then it really was. It was like watching a Japanese Chef at a Hibachi Grill... "Just a twist here, a turn there and the entire lobster is completely out of its shell." Within seconds, the lobster and its shell were soon miles apart... and she did it without even splashing a bit of butter. After that, we had a sampling of Boston Beans. Why Boston Beans? Well, the timing was off since it was after dinner but Boston is "Bean Town"! The beans were great but after the big lobster dinner, we were happy that they were just a sampler.
Overall, if you want to come to a restaurant in Boston that summarizes the Boston experience, this is the place. The history, the atmosphere and the food are a perfect mix. The prices of the meals are also very reasonable.
To end the evening, it was suggested that we go to the nightclub/billiards club, "Racks". Unfortunately, we were interrogated so intensely by the bouncer it gave us the impression they only wanted people who would either bribe them to get in or people with egos who wanted to go somewhere "exclusive". Needless to say it was not somewhere we wanted to go after our bouncer experience. After a 30-minute ride on the train, we went back to our suite in the Charles Hotel, relaxed and watched a movie.
Read part 1 | Read part 2 | Read part 3
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