October 19, 2018 - Old Sturbridge Village

 Title: October 19, 2018 - Old Sturbridge Village
Hike Info : Description :  Background : Extra Photo's 

Hike Info:

Type: City

Description:

Field plowing

Got up at 730. Both Bob and Diane are up. Read and wrote some while waiting for Sherri to get up, which she does around 8:15. Diane fixes us a meal of apple trat and eggs, along with some conversation. They are going off to visit their son for the first time since he went away to school and we are going back to Boston via a place called Sturbridge.

When we say our good byes after a good, but short visit, we tell Google we would like to go to Sturbridge without highways and toll roads. So we get to see more rural Connecticut at 35-40mph rather than more the citified portions at 55-65 mph. We enjoy the softer side of the world. The greens seem subdued, as would be appropriate this time of year, but this brings out the reds, oranges and yellows. The road winds around, going up a hill and down into another creek. At times it seems like we enter into a tunnel of leaves and trees.

Pottery Kilm

There are times I wonder why does it take so long to get from state to state out here. That is more because the roads are not conducive to higher speed travel. Even though it seems like the same 40 mph road out here would be a 55 mph in California. But this may speak more to a state of mind in these parts. Why rush? Why not go a bit slower and enjoy the journey? Something to remember. (I do observe that not all these states are this way as later on I get cut off a few times. But this is closer to the cities.)

After driving for two hours, we arrive the backway into the Old Sturbridge Village. It is a $26 a senior person(over 55 which we clear that hurdle with no problems). The Village is a mostly authentic village with only a couple of buildings being built “new” but after similar buildings of its age. By the way, that age is around 1830. There are people re-enacting the people of that period, but I think that they look too “fresh” for authentic people of the era. We go and mosey around the area-as it turns out, our wanderings is an all day affair. We visit the following:

• 

  Congregational Church

  Field plowing: When we first stepped inside the village area, there was this guy with two ox yoked together, leveling a small fields
• Old house with a woman tending to it-she was making a few household things.
• Friends meeting halle - a meetinghouse of the Religious Society of Friends, known as Quakers
• Congregational church - churches often served as a location for town meetings, elections, lectures, and political events
• Asa Knight Store - a country store, transported from its original location in Vermont. Store was stocked with items from that period.
• kilm-not in use, but sometimes used by the pottery shop
• Pottery Shop - New England potters made utilitarian items out of local clay, such as milk pans, mugs, crocks, flowerpots, and mixing bowls. A person was throwing mud and fashinging some raw vases before firing them.
• shoe shop - a historic ten footer, which was a small backyard shop structure built in the 18th and 19th centuries in New England to serve as a shoemaker's shop. Such structures were usually 10 feet (3.0 m) by 10 feet (3.0 m) in area. They were forerunners of the large shoe factories that developed in New England later in the 19th century. The person in there was showing how one person would make the tops, another person the sole and a third might put them all together. The shoes did not seem very comfortable.
• Freeman Farmhouse - a typical New England farm of approximately 70 acres (280,000 m2) with barn, outbuildings, and fields

• 

  Blacksmith's in their shop

  Blacksmith Shop - a shop where farm implements and other hardware were made and repaired and horses and oxen were shod. By far, this was the most exciting shop where two smith’s were fashioning other tools.
• Gristmill - uses water power to turn a 3,000-pound millstone for grinding grain
• Sawmill - a working replica of an "up-and-down" sawmill powered by a reaction-type waterwheel
• Carding Mill - a water-driven facility to prepare wool for spinning
• Covered Bridge - Covered bridges extended the longevity of wooden bridges in the harsh New England weather.
• Firearms - many displays feature firearms from colonial America through the post-Civil War era
• Glass - there are three categories of displays: blown glass, molded glass, and pressed glass

Sherri and Gary at Covered Bridge

When we walked down to the covered bridge, we came to the Quinebaugh River. It had been dammed so that a pretty nice size pond formed in back. With the autumn colors, the scene was so peaceful. We loitered around there for awhile, then traveled down a path till we got to the covered bridge. Not being a devotee of covered bridges, I will say I enjoyed, but not particularly impressed. We learned a bit of water rights and how some companies in the area were able to wipe out farmers downstream by releasing water, destroying their livelihoods. This was in the Wolcott Woollen Manufacturing Company v. Upton case. Upton lost.

We continue on down our little trail, hoping to hit another trail. But our trail petered out and disappeared, leaving us in some plants with thorns which looked very much like berries, but without the fruit. So we backtracked while in site of our objective. Now before you feel too sorry for us, our whole day of walking outside of the village was probably about ⅝’s of a mile. We got to a junction and went down the trail we originally saw to a bridge crossing the Quinebaugh. Here we turned around and went back into the village. By now, it was 4pm and the air was getting crisper and the shadows longer.

Quinebaugh River Pond

So we made our way back into the main part of the town, visiting a few places like the gun exhibit and probably the best house in the area. We then saw a building called the Beehive, which naturally they told about making honey there. But it was too cold for the bees, so nothing functional there. Then our final stop was the gift shop. We bought some fudge-good stuff and then headed back to the car.

 

Quinebaugh River Dam

We had asked in the gift shop about places to eat. One place which the lady talked about was the Cedar Street Grill. So we headed off there. Sherri had the Grilled Pork Tenderloin. while I looking things over, much of their menu was Mac and Cheese, so I ordered it Buffalo style-not expecting much. Sherri’s came with an order of Brussel sprouts. Which soon came out. While Sherri was eating that, the waitress came out and realized that the Brussel sprouts was her personal order, not what came with the meal. Not much she could do with that. Our food came out and we ate it up. Sherri’s pork was wonderful. My Mac and Cheese was definitely not out of a Kraft’s box. Pretty enjoyable meal, particularly since we did not have lunch.

Now it is time to get back to Malden. But first we stop at REI for some warmer clothing. We get into Malden around 8pm and get unpacked. We then drop the keys and car off at the rental and walk back. A bit tired so off we go to bed.

Background

Reviews posted on TripAdvisor.

Old Sturbridge Village. This village is a recreation of buildings and times in the late 1700’s to early 1800’s. If you are interested in something “historic” such as where a battle was fought or a famous person slept here, you will be better served someplace else. If you are interested in the lives of ordinary people of that era, this is a good place to learn how common people fared in New England during that time. There are re-enactments of everyday life from field ploughing to pottery making to smithing to straw weaving. Be prepared to spend at least half a day-we spent most of our day there.

Center Village

The Center Village contains:

• Friends Meetinghouse - a meetinghouse of the Religious Society of Friends, known as Quakers
• Center Meetinghouse - churches often served as a location for town meetings, elections, lectures, and political events
• Tin Shop - tin imported from England was used to make a variety of household goods
• Salem Towne House - a prosperous farmer's home
• Law Office - a small, free-standing office of a lawyer
• Parsonage - the home of a Congregational minister and his family
• Asa Knight Store - a country store, transported from its original location in Vermont
• Thompson Bank - a bank that was originally located in Thompson, Connecticut
• Fenno House - a historic house with exhibits that highlight domestic textile production
• Fitch House - a residence exhibit that highlights children and family life
• Small House - a small home based on those of less affluent families and renters
• Printing Office
• Cider Mill - a horse-powered mill for the production of hard cider
• Shoe Shop - a historic ten footer, which was a small backyard shop structure built in the 18th and 19th centuries in New England to serve as a shoemaker's shop. Such structures were usually 10 feet (3.0 m) by 10 feet (3.0 m) in area. They were forerunners of the large shoe factories that developed in New England later in the 19th century.^[2]
• Town Pound - for the confinement of livestock found wandering loose
• Bullard Tavern - an early 19th-century tavern room
• The Stage Coach - a stage coach marked "Hartford & Worcester" which makes trips through Center Village

The Countryside

The Countryside section contains:

• Freeman Farmhouse - a typical New England farm of approximately 70 acres (280,000 m²) with barn, outbuildings, and fields
• Blacksmith Shop - a shop where farm implements and other hardware were made and repaired and horses and oxen were shod
• Bixby House - the home of the blacksmith
• Cooper Shop - where wooden barrels, buckets, and pails were made
• Pottery Shop - New England potters made utilitarian items out of local clay, such as milkpans, mugs, crocks, flowerpots, and mixing bowls
• District School - a typical publicly funded one-room school
• Covered Bridge - Covered bridges extended the longevity of wooden bridges in the harsh New England weather.

The Mill Neighborhood

Mill Neighborhood features:

• Gristmill - uses water power to turn a 3,000-pound millstone for grinding grain
• Sawmill - a working replica of an "up-and-down" sawmill powered by a reaction-type waterwheel
• Carding Mill - a water-driven facility to prepare wool for spinning

Collections

Old Sturbridge Village has several buildings devoted to displaying their assorted collections of early American antiques.

• Firearms - many displays feature firearms from colonial America through the post-Civil War era
• Glass - there are three categories of displays: blown glass, molded glass, and pressed glass
• Lighting Devices - early lighting devices from ancient oil lamps and candles to whale oil, camphene, and argand lamps
• Herb Garden - a living collection of native and heirloom varieties of ornamental plants and those used for cooking, medicine, dying cloth, and making traditional crafts

From WIkipedia

Cedar Street Grill. We were hungry when we got here and content when we left. This restaurant is a bit off the main drag, but worth finding. We were ready to eat. When I saw many plates of Mac&Cheese, I was wondering what kind of place is this? But this is no Kraft out of the box meal. I had the Buffalo dish and it was certainly tangy-maybe a touch much, but good. My wife had the Grilled Pork Tenderloin-it may have been the best meal she had on the trip. Definitely a place to stop and eat.

Extra Photo's

Quinebaugh River Pond

Quinebaugh River Dam

Quinebaugh River Dam

Quinebaugh River Pond and Dam

Bedroom at the Fenno House

Getting ready for an October Celebration

Quinebaugh River Pond

October 18, 2018 - Boston, Going to My Cousin

Title: October 18, 2018 - Boston, Going to My Cousin
Hike Info : Description :  Background :  Extra Photo's 

 Trail head: Malden, MA

Hike Info:

Type: City

Description:

I got up at 7:15 and had my quiet time. Breakfast was cereal. I went to pick up the car while Sherri packed to go to my cousin. We had ordered a Toyota Camary, but they upgraded to a Hyundai SUV. We will see how it works out. It does drive nice.

Buckman Tavern

Sherri is getting used to using the Maps on my phone. This is outside of her comfort level. In many ways this is an adventure for her, which isn't that is why we are here? Just being on the East Coast is a bit outside of our comfort level, but we are learning how to navigate satisfactory. Of course, when you don't have a hard and fast itinerary, everyplace is a viable destination.

We eventually make it to Lexington. We park by the Buckman Tavern. We look inside at the gift shop, but balk at the $10 entrance fee into the museum-which even for our prolonged perusal looked like a dollar per minute. Down a little ways further we go to the village's visitor center. We spend several minutes looking through and getting warm-it is a bit cool. They recommend we go over to the Green and take a guided tour.

West view of Lexington Green

So we make our way to the Green and spy a tour already in progress. We figure we will join in mid-talk. If the guide is good enough, we will catch the start of the next one. The guide was dressed in the Revolutionary War period costume. You could tell that he was both experienced and interested in his material. He went over the formations which both the British and the militiamen used and what the dynamics of the situation were. It sounded like bloodshed could have been avoided here if only the sound of a single gun being fired, from who knows where was heard. That started the killing which carried on to leaving 8 of the militiamen dead. Our guide explained where the militia men ran off and all the confusion which accompanied this. The British regrouped and started on to Concord. We continued on with the guide and heard the start of the tour as well. After we heard the tour, we went to a memorial which our guide noted and saw the names of those who fought, died and the wounded. One thing of interest was yesterday our guide said that there were 250 British who went to Lexington. Today the guide said 800. Maybe the extra were reinforcements.

Our Guide at Lexington

Road to Concord

And now we are off to the Minute Man National Historical Park and maybe Concord. But first, we have to find it. How hard can this be. Well, if the British were going like how we did, there would not have been a Revolutionary War. We wandered around and then eventually found the visitor center. A beautiful walk in, past a pond where the leaves are reflecting. We get to the visitor center and who greets us? Alfred! The one whom we met on the Black Heritage Walk on Tuesday. He is glad to see us and he directs us over to the presentation which is about to start. This multiple media presentation called The Road to Revolution walks you through the Battles of Lexington and Concord and the retreat of the soldiers. It talks from the perspective of a Minute Man who was coming in as a reinforcement to protect the fighters in Concord and Lexington. He talks about being summoned and what happened to Paul Revere and Dawes. How the British were pushed back out of Concord and then back to Lexington, and then back to Boston. How the militia fought a guerrilla battle the whole way back against exhausted troops. Very enlightening. It got me to think more about recent history. Which side would we have been on back then? The Minute Men definitely were not fighting battles according to the rules of war for the time.

Hartwell Tavern

Our next stop was a couple of miles up the road at Hartwell Tavern. There were docents on duty explaining what life would have been like around the time of the Revolutionary War. People must have been shorter then as I had to stoop in several places or knock my head against the ceiling. But the main event was the firing of the muskets. While it was still blanks being fired, it was a pretty effective demonstration. The park is pretty narrow and there are houses on each side of it. The interpretive ranger said that the musket balls could travel about 300 yards, but only about 100’ accurately. All interesting and fun, especially the musket noise and smoke.

British Solder about to fire

But we needed to leave to get to my cousins at a reasonable time. So we put it his address into my phone to get a route. It looks like we have about a three hour trip. But first, we need to have lunch somewhere. You remember the trial we had in the beginning with the phone’s GPS? Well, we are at it again. But we see a Subway on the GPS. After circling around a bit, we find it. So we have a quick, but filling sandwich and are on our way again.

We settle down into a long drive into Connecticut, west of Hartford. The roads seem pretty good, but not like the 65-70 mph, but a seemingly slow 55mph, at least slow to this California boy. At one point, we all of a sudden get onto a turnpike with what looks like no way off-at least ot my eyes. So we go along for the ride. Which turns out to be quite lovely. I am sure if this was a journey trip instead of a destination, I would have slowed down and just enjoyed looking at the scenery.

Farmington River

I think the GPS must of lead us through every back road it could find. But we do make it to my cousin Bob’s house. Sort of feels strange. I have not seen him in 35+ years and had not met Diane his wife before. We have only recently started communicating through Facebook. But the reception is good and not stiff or tense. We soon pass by the wondering how this will work out stage.

Bob and Gary

Bob takes us along a walk along the Farmington River. This is a section where the old mills and factories of the area lay. When we look at the brickwork, you can only imagine what it was like. I do not think I would have wanted to work here, but my imagination sees possibilities for making it pleasing. We are lead along a bike path which has a gentle slope. Many of these rivers we have seen have a small dam holding back the river-maybe about 2-3’ high. They do make pretty pools, but I do not know if that is the reason for them. It is a good walk, and a good way to get reacquainted with my cousin. We walked for maybe about 2\two and a half miles total, until it started getting dark and a bit cool for those recently from California.

Farmington River

When we got back to Bob’s house, Diane, Bob’s wife, was there and finishing up getting our soup dinner. While light, it was enjoyable. This was followed by a couple of hours of conversation. So good to get reacquainted as adults-have I said that before. We get to bed after an enjoyable evening.

Gary and Sherri

Background

Reviews which were posted on Trip Advisor.

Lexington Green. First go to the visitor center just to the east of Buckham Tavern site. Find out if they are running the free tours on the Green. If so, latch onto one. The guide for our tour was knowledgeable, experienced and interested in what and how he was presenting the history surrounding the Battle of Lexington. Well worth the half an hour we stayed and listened.

Minute Man National Historical Park. First go to the visitor’s center and watch their half an hour presentation called The Road to Revolution. That will give you a good perspective of the relationship between the area and the events this park commemorates. Upon the advice of a ranger, we went up the road to Hartwell Tavern, a few miles up the road. Here we got to see a musket demonstration with an explanation of how the muskets were fired. Right by Hartwell Tavern is the road which the British used to march to Concord and get attacked on the way back. It looks both interesting and walkable, but unfortunately we did not have the time to walk it.

Extra Photo's

Don't Fire Unless Fired Upon

Tree at west end of Green

Lexington Minute Man Memorial

Lexington Minute Man Memorial-those who fought

Buckman Tavern

Prince Estabrook memorial

October 17, 2018 - Boston, Freedom Trail Part I

Title: October 17, 2018 - Boston, Freedom Trail Part I
Hike Info : Description : Background  : Extra Photo's 

From the Freedom Trail site

Trail head: Downtown Subway Station

Hike Info:

Type: City

Orange Line Subway

Description:

I got up at 7:30 local time. That seems pretty consistent now. I had my quiet time. Sherri followed around 8:00. We get off to another slow start, but yummy start. Sherri fixed pancakes for us under a little bit of hardship conditions. While the AirBnb is nice and comfortable, the kitchen lacks a certain amount of equipment, such as a spatula. So Sherri improvised with a plastic knife we got from a restaurant. Another thing for a shopping list.

 

Visitor Information in Boston Common

We leave a few minutes after 10 for Malden Center station where we pick up the subway. The Orange train comes pretty quickly and we are on our way downtown. We stop at Starbucks for Sherri’s coffee fix. While I am waiting for her, a guy asks to use a power cable for his phone. At first I did not think I had one until I remembered my battery. His phone still would not charge. But we got into a conversation. At one point a lady came over in our direction-was this my wife? No. Then Sherri came over and my new friend approved. After that it was talking about sports.

Robert Gould Shaw Memeorial

We walked to the Common after Starbucks. The Freedom Trail starts at the Visitor Information place we stopped at yesterday. At 11:30, we started our walk on the Freedom Trail. We cross the Common and end up at the Robert Gould Shaw commemoration-not that it is part of the Freedom Trail. The Freedom Trail celebrates the Revolutionary War while the Robert Gould Shaw monument is about going to war, the Civil War.

New State House

We cross over and take a few pictures in front of the “new” State House. The new is in the late 1700’s. We thought about doing a tour, but we will hold off for another day as there will be lots of things we are seeing. The “new” State House is currently in use.

Park St Church

We cross the Common again and stand in front of the Park St Church. It looks closed today. But the description is that it is where several of the leading people in the Revolutionary War, as well as the abolitionist movement went to this church. Beside it the the Granary Burial Grounds. Several of Massachusetts leading Revolutionary War citizens (anti taxation) where buried here-Samuel Adams, John Hancock, Paul Revere to name a few. We spent an hour or so wandering the grounds. Most of the grave stones were highly weathered, so it was hard to read them. Still it is a wonder to be among the graves of those who lead and fought in the Revolutionary War.

Inside the Kings Chapel

A short walk brings us to the Kings Chapel-even though most places seems to call it Kings Church. As the name sounds, this is a church which supported staying in the British Empire and then later on, were anti-abolitionist during the Civil War. In the churches which I have seen have pews all in a street line. Here, it seems more like box seats at a baseball game. The signs said that these were for those who well-to-do who would rent out the boxes for their families. The signs also indicated that the reason why people in the church supported slavery is that many of them owned the garment mills in Massachusetts, such as in Lowell, who depended on the cotton for their factories. Several signs show famous people who have been members of the Chapel. Also backgrounds of many people are given.

Kings Burial Grounds

Besides the church is another burial grounds. But the church and the burial grounds are not associated with each other. The church has its own crypt under the church. People like John Winthrop who founded the Massachusetts Bay Colony and Richard Dawes of the Paul Revere ride fame are here. Plus a variety of other folks. These burial grounds are smaller than the Granary one.

Ben Franklin

On the church's other side is the site where the first public school in Boston (America?) stood. Now a Chris Ruth steakhouse is here. Also a statue of Ben Franklin stands towering over its visitors, with a fellow named John Quincy at his side. While interesting, I wander over to a side of the courtyard and see a donkey with a pair of shoe prints. Wonder what this is? Close by there is a sign which explains how the two current major parties came into existence. The symbolism of the donkey and footprints are explained-you can either stand with the Democrats or stand against them.

Free Little Library

Old Bookstore

Onward down to Old Corner Bookstore. Now it was around 1:00pm by this time. When we located the bookstore, we discovered it was a Chipotle. Somehow this feels a bit of a sacrilege. I guess if a school can turn into a steakhouse, a bookstore into fast food-a sign of our times. But across the way from the Old Bookstore, there is a new bookstall. Or more accurately, a Free Little Library. I am used to seeing these libraries as a little box stuck on a post. But this is a full size cart. Restores some hope. 

 

Old South Meeting House

We stand in front of the Old South Meeting House, but do not go in. Seems like there is a $10 charge for everything. I needed to figure out what is worth going in and spending our time and money on, and what looks mildly interesting. We make our way to the Old State House, but we come across a bit of modern revolt going on. One of the hotel unions is staging a protest in the streets. Lots of meaningless noise, no violence.

Old State House

We get to the Old State House, the site of the Boston Massacre. Sort of interesting, Sherri and I have been at this site before, but we did not know it. We made a connection here Monday when we came in. Underneath us is the site of the State station where we did our transfer. At the corner of the building is a door leading down to the station. I guess space is so valuable here that they used the basement of the Old State House as a subway station. We do go into the upper building and look around the gift shop. But we think we will come back here when we have a little while longer to explore the museum and the building.

Faneuil Hall

Close by is Faneuil Hall. The first floor is befitting its history. It is an emporium of small shops, anchored by a park service visitor center. Right when we enter in, a man was giving an old style printer demonstration and explaining how books were produced and sold-by subscription. Once enough subscriptions were sold, the printing would be done. But there is something important which Faneuil Hall has for us, bathrooms! We go into the basement and make use of the facilities. Now it is hunger time, but we go outside where it is cool to eat. It is discouraged from eating on the benches below. Once done, we look around the shops. I look at the gift store and find they have a large assortment of National Park passport stamp sheets going back to 1986. I spend a wad of money procuring these sheets. I, with some forethought, had made a sheet of the sheets which I was missing. Now it is maybe about 10 of them.

Sherri found out that there will be an NPS tour going on the part of the Freedom Trail which we have not been on yet. After yesterday’s tour, we are up for it. So we wait around for it to start. A young lady-all of them are young now at my age-from down South is leading us. She starts by giving a lesson on Faneuil Hall and how it was built. Then we take off.

Paul Revere House

There seems to be a maze of streets. We cross over a pleasant looking parkway where many people are strolling through. Our guide explains that this area used to be part of Boston’s highway system, but the Big Dig put the highway underground. Now it is a delightful strip of green with water fountains. In the distance I see a gold topped dome. I asked what church it is? Boston’s Public Water Department. Surprise!

We continue on into the North End. We pass many Italian restaurants along the way on the way to the Paul Revere House. We are told that not only was Paul Revere living here, but his mother and his siblings. Then when he got married, and had a family, they lived here as well. Sounded like about twelve people lived here-the house did not look that big. We then move on to the Old North Church. 

 

Old North Church

It is at the Old North Church where the lines from Longsworth’s poem, Paul Revere’s Ride.

Of the North Church tower as a signal light,—

One, if by land, and two, if by sea;

We also learned that it was not only Paul Revere who road but Dawes also road to Lexington and Concord. There was a connection between Revere and the church’s sexton which allowed for the use of the church.

The tour ended here-it was getting a bit late. But Sherri and I went up the road a ways to Copp’s Hill Burial Grounds. The gates are closed, so we just peep over the wall to see what is in there-more headstones. Now it is time to think about food-dinner specifically. As was noted, we are in an Italian section. We wandered around a bit, going from one promising looking place to another. But the promising places all at lines. I had seen a place called Limoncello which thinking about the family’s enchantment for the drink, maybe this would be a good place. But the prices were a bit more than this cheap guy wanted to spend. So we end up at a place called Quattro which seems promising. We go right in and are seated. The service was good, but the food was a bit plain. But we eat and are satisfied.

While we were wandering around, looking for a place to have dinner, we spied an establishment called Mike’s Pastry. Unbeknown to us, there are three of these in the Boston area. All which we knew was that we had been seeing boxes being carried around Boston with that name and had seen a line out the door. When we stopped in, there was only a few people. So we got a mint chocolate-chip cannoli and a Boston cream danish.

Now it is make to Malden and our temporary habitat. As we make our way back towards downtown, we come across the Haymarket Station-which is on the Orange Line. So down we go. And now it is back to Malden. Then the ¾ mile walk back to the house. Here we enjoy a pleasant evening of rest.

Background

Freedom Trail sites
    • New State House
    • Robert Gould Shaw
    • Park St Church
    • Granary Burial Grounds
    • Kings Chapel
    • Kings Burial Grounds
    • First Public School
    • Ben Franklin Statue
    • Old Corner Bookstore now a Chipotle
    • Old State House. $8.50 for museum
    • Boston Massacre
    • Faneuil Hall. Ate lunch. Got tour.
    • Paul Revere house
    • Old North Church
    • Copp’s Hill Burial Grounds
    • USS Constitution
    • Bunker Hill

Reviews posted on TripAdvisor

Quattro. Three star. 264 Hanover St, Boston, MA 02113, (617) 720-0444. We were looking for a place to eat on the North side of Boston. After wandering around the area, we picked this one-not too busy, but still had people in it.I had the Ziti Caserecci all' Amatriciana, while my wife ate the Cuscinetti Ripieni di Pollo Arrosto con Funghi Selvatici. Her comment was that it was good tasting, but not filling-it could be because we were walking all day. While there was a substantial amount of the Ziti. I felt the noodles were a bit undercooked while the tomato sauce cold use a bit more flavor to it. The service was courteous and quick. He paid attention without being overbearing. My overall impression was that it was an OK place to eat, but not an unforgettable dining experience.

.Freedom Trail. Five star. This is a short walk between 2.5 to 3 miles. But it is packed full of American history-mostly of the Revolutionary War. With 14 (and probably more) different sites along the way, you can make at least a full day just visiting several of the places-we took two days. You can go on either a guided tour or one which is self-guided. There are many self-guided pamphlets-you can pick up a free one at the NPS visitor center. Also at the NPS visitor center at Faneuli Hall, you can go on mini-tours with an NPS interpreter-well worth the use of your tax payer money. One piece f\of advice-determine how much you want to spend and which places you want to go into before starting your walk.

Mike’s Pastry. There are three shops in Boston-we were at the North End shop. We had been seeing packages for Mike’s all over our walk along the Freedom Trail. So when we stumbled across this shop, we had to go in. Our order was for a mint chocolate chip cannoli and a Boston creme danish. They did not disappoint. So glad we stopped.

Extra Photo's

New State House

Daniel Webster

New State House

Granary Burial Grounds

John Hancock's Memorial at the Granary Burial Grounds

Granary Burial Grounds

Kings Chapel Organ

Josiah Quincy statue

Site of the first public school

Old State House

Old South Meeting Hall

Our guide at the Paul Revere House

Faneuil Hall Weather Vane-that really is a grasshopper on top

Old North Church