Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Freedom Trail

The rain abated today so we had a beautifully clear (albeit cold) view of the city today. The whole place reminds me so much of Dunedin, right down to its own, distinct accent. Our trolley driver this morning spent some time encouraging us to speak 'Baahhstonian' but I'm afraid I just can't get my tongue around those drawn out vaahhls. I could listen to it all day though. I asked a man for directions and was so entranced by his accent that I had no idea what he'd said!



We got off at Boston Common this morning to play with the squirrels again and check out some of the historic monuments in the park.


On the spur of the moment (and to get out of the cold) we decided to visit the State House, home of the Massachusetts' parliament. I'm so glad we did. What a beautiful building with very friendly and approachable staff. The murals and stained glass windows throughout the great halls reflect the history of Boston, Massachusetts and indeed the United States through the American Revolution, the birth of Independence and the Civil War. We climbed the stairs right up to the golden dome and checked out both the Senate & the House of Reps.



A walk around the corner took us to the Granary Cemetery where the likes of Paul Revere, Mother Goose and Sam Adams are buried. So many old souls, right there in the middle of the city and residential buildings.



Taine was keen to visit the Tea Party Museum so that was our other stop for the day. We took part in a quaint re enactment and role play of the Tea Party, complete with a pretend tipping of tea into the harbour. The young man playing Sam Adams whipped us into a frenzy of rebellion complete with lots of 'hazars' and 'fies' and some foot stamping. We pretended to disguise ourselves with indian feathers and then boarded the ship to tip the tea. It was all informative and good fun and ended with a free sample of tea!



For dinner tonight we visited Whole Foods on our way home and bought ourselves a picnic of hot veggies & salad. This store is nowhere near as extensive as the one we visited in Austin but it's still big enough to provide lots of variety. Taine even scored some gingerbread corn chips for the bus tomorrow. I love the way even savoury foods become sweet treats in the U.S!

Boston is lovely but I'm not sure how people manage the Winter here. It was so cold today that even Geoff wore long sleeves and it was fully dark by 4.30pm. I can only imagine what it might be like in January and February.

No comments:

Post a Comment