I don't like America. When we took the kids to Florida (the obligatory middle-class Disney trip) I hated it. I hated the fakeness. I hated how slow the people were. I hated the portion sizes and the lack of vegetables. I hated the fact that they drove everywhere. I hated how long it took to get there and how awful flying across time zones made you feel. So I resisted the temptation to travel to the States until the Long Suffering Husband wanted to go to New York for his 50th birthday. I wasn't sure but as it was his choice I planned our trip with the precision of a Swiss watchmaker and I loved it. The people were sharp and intelligent, they had normal sized portions in restaurants with vegetables, it was preferable to walk and it had the best park I've ever been in.
Coming up to my birthday the LSH nagged. "We should go somewhere."
I pouted and flounced and sulked. I crossed my arms and said, "I don't want to go anywhere. I'm too tired. I'm too old."
"You'll sulk more if we go nowhere. I chose New York, remember," he pointed out, not unreasonably and despite my grumpiness he persisted until I agreed to think about it.
"Boston," I announced suddenly.
"Why, Boston?" he asked.
"I don't know, I just think it will be interesting. I want to see some of the New England history. Everyone says you have to see New England in the fall."
Now that I'm back, tired, grumpy and jet lagged was it all worth it?
It wasn't New York - I didn't love it but there were lots of things to like.
1. Duck Tour - A bonkers drive around the city in an amphibious craft that splashes into the Hudson river, with a guide who pretended to be from Boston, showing his accent, which he claimed we wouldn't understand. Ducktor (Dr) Fabulous, claimed to be an old radio DJ had us quacking at passing vehicles told us about Henry Winkler's time at Emerson College, the two seasons of Boston (construction and winter), how Boston had the first female only radio station in the twenties and how Boston had the most Dunkin' Donuts because they started in a nearby town called Quincy (pronounced quinzy).
2. Leaves - "New England is so pretty in the fall," is what you hear on films. You believe it is the only place that has pretty trees but old England has deciduous trees that have nice leaf colours. The trees around the M25 are particularly stunning at the moment and getting to Heathrow will give you plenty of time to look at them because, well....M25! However, just outside Boston in an area called Jamaica Hills is Harvard's tree collection, called the Arnold Arboretum and it is fabulous. I like trees.
3. Parks - I love a park, especially a city park. There's something very special about a section of green amongst all that concrete. Boston common and the public garden are next to each other and have cute animal statues that children enjoy making look huge. There are nice trees, ponds and bridges, What more could you want?
4. Witches - I like witches too. I like the idea of strong women. It's a shame that they were all killed and blamed for things that people at the time didn't understand. Salem is quite a fake place. It's almost like a theme park to all things spooky, which is a shame because the history is amazing. We were killing (mainly) women in Britain since Henry VIII th's witchcraft act of 1542 but Salem went a little hysterical and killed 20 people in three months. I was hoping to find out some of this history when we visited Salem but because the residents over the years had felt so ashamed they took down or burned the original buildings. Luckily, being America they are able to move buildings and you will find several things that came from other places. The memorial is quite poignant and reminds us to be tolerant and give people a chance, not shunning them for things we don't understand.
5. Walking - They say that Boston is the walking city. We walked about 12 miles a day. I like walking.
6. Freedom - Boston is very proud of it's freedom. They have a trail. You follow the red brick road and look at all the buildings and hear about how awful the English were. You hear about a man called Paul Revere,, who did everything: he was a horserider, a silversmith, a bell maker, a freemason, a politician, a dentist and he had a poem written about him. I like freedom.
7. Dragons - Smoke rises from the pavements. The only possible explanation is that they keep dragons.
2. Leaves - "New England is so pretty in the fall," is what you hear on films. You believe it is the only place that has pretty trees but old England has deciduous trees that have nice leaf colours. The trees around the M25 are particularly stunning at the moment and getting to Heathrow will give you plenty of time to look at them because, well....M25! However, just outside Boston in an area called Jamaica Hills is Harvard's tree collection, called the Arnold Arboretum and it is fabulous. I like trees.
3. Parks - I love a park, especially a city park. There's something very special about a section of green amongst all that concrete. Boston common and the public garden are next to each other and have cute animal statues that children enjoy making look huge. There are nice trees, ponds and bridges, What more could you want?
4. Witches - I like witches too. I like the idea of strong women. It's a shame that they were all killed and blamed for things that people at the time didn't understand. Salem is quite a fake place. It's almost like a theme park to all things spooky, which is a shame because the history is amazing. We were killing (mainly) women in Britain since Henry VIII th's witchcraft act of 1542 but Salem went a little hysterical and killed 20 people in three months. I was hoping to find out some of this history when we visited Salem but because the residents over the years had felt so ashamed they took down or burned the original buildings. Luckily, being America they are able to move buildings and you will find several things that came from other places. The memorial is quite poignant and reminds us to be tolerant and give people a chance, not shunning them for things we don't understand.
5. Walking - They say that Boston is the walking city. We walked about 12 miles a day. I like walking.
6. Freedom - Boston is very proud of it's freedom. They have a trail. You follow the red brick road and look at all the buildings and hear about how awful the English were. You hear about a man called Paul Revere,, who did everything: he was a horserider, a silversmith, a bell maker, a freemason, a politician, a dentist and he had a poem written about him. I like freedom.
7. Dragons - Smoke rises from the pavements. The only possible explanation is that they keep dragons.
8. Students - Boston is like one huge campus. It's quirky, full of coffee shops and there is smell of pot coming from every doorway. There a so many Universities. The posh students with moleskin notebooks hang out at Harvard, the nerds with maths t-shirts are in Cambridge at MIT, the theatricals are around Emerson by the common, the music students with their odd shaped cases are near symphony hall at Berklee, the would-be dentists are near Rose Kennedy Greenway at Tufts, the normal students seem to be closer to Fenway park and go to Boston or Northeastern or Suffolk. Then there are all the little colleges. Forty places where you can get a degree is quite impressive for a place a bit smaller than Birmingham.
9.Pumpkins - Unless you go in October then you won't get to see the pumpkins but what they do with pumpkins is fantastic.
10. Beacon Hill - This is a brilliant area of Boston, with nice shops and good bistros. Why can you never find places like this until the last day of your holiday?
No comments:
Post a Comment