Located in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Boston is a gorgeous coastal city. Unlike many in America, it is walkable, clean, preserved, cozy-yet-modern, and full of friendliness.
It's the capital of Massachusetts (MA), which was named for the Native Americans who pre-existed the Europeans but mostly didn't survive them. (Four small Native American reservations still exist, where their residents live tax-free). MA is chock-full of British heritage. From 1691 until 1776, Massachusetts was part of the New England colonies of British America. Seen below, its original coat of arms has symbolism of the British monarchy, and it still adorns some public buildings.
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In fact, Massachusetts is located in a region of America named New England. In the 1600s, New England was the area settled by people from England. It included upstate NY, while downstate NY was owned by the Dutch and called New Netherland. But within 40 years, the British took that from the Dutch. Having attended a university in upstate NY—full of New Englanders who lived there—I contentedly adopt the habit of considering NY as part of New England. (Furthermore, England owned all of New York from 1664, through the Revolutionary War, until 1783).
To get to Boston, we had two travel options: 4-hour $200 per ticket Amtrak (slow/dirty) train or 4-hour $40 per ticket express bus. Guess which we chose? It's astoundingly disappointing that trains in America only go as fast a car or bus! I'm not sure why they aren't compelled to go as fast as trains in the rest of the world. Furthermore, NYC's railroad rivalries in the 1860s caused the tracks that Amrak uses to divert hugely out of Manhattan and go on a loop through Queens County. So, we essentially pass the place where we began! Here is the 1-hour route via subway to leave Astoria and get to Pennsylvania Station in Manhattan.
Here is the train route from Penn Station, going through Astoria again, on its way out of the state.
It remains idiotic that there is not a train station in our busy neighborhood of Astoria. Amtrak trains pass directly overhead of the subway station. If NYC cared, it could easily make a link. But it doesn't care, which is typical. Consequently, thousands of travelers from Queens are inconvenienced to waste an hour to get to the train station in Manhattan... only to be taken back to where they started—and pay highly for that experience.
Lewis and I rode Amtrak's Acela Express during a prior trip to Boston, and we disliked it. (I also used it for journeys to Albany and Rochester, and it was pathetic). Getting aboard was a disorganized mess, and they didn't announce the track number until the last moment, so hundreds of passengers flooded through the gates. Regarding the train, imagine how the former Soviet Union would promote their trains: Amtrak puts a slanted front locomotive on it, but it fails to go fast; Amtrak labels it "High Speed", but it only moves as fast as a car at 70 miles-per-hour; Amtrak sells pricier tickets for a Business Section, but it looks as meager as Economy; and Amtrak advertises a Cafe Car, but it sells the same innutritious crap as McDonald's. It's not worth it.
Unfortunately, the bus departure is not great either. Uncaring bus companies do not have the decency to provide a Waiting Shelter for their customers. Travelers are forced to stand against the riverside (which is always gusty) in any type of temperature or weather. Seen below, the area on the bottom left is where we had to wait... alongside the train yard.
That morning, it was windy and cold (especially so early in the morning), so Lewis and I huddled together. Thankfully, the bus came on time.
After that, our morning ride was scenic and dozily quiet. Our journey included 220 miles (354 kilometers), and we napped during it.
In Boston, trains and buses arrive at the same place: South Station. Built in 1899, it's the second-busiest in New England, yet it's immeasurably cleaner than any station in New York City. This is what the train station looks like...
The bus depot is seen below...
It exits to a flowerbed that cheers visitors/commuters.
How nice!
We stood on Atlantic Avenue, which was constructed in 1868. Similar to Amsterdam and Dresden, it originally separated the city from the sea (Atlantic Ocean)... until the wharves were filled in. Further land reclamation expanded the city. That vicinity is Boston's version of SoHo or NoLiTa.
Looking straight down the intersecting Beach Street, we spotted the Chinatown Arch (above), so we went there for an early lunch. When the railroads were constructed (some of the first in North America), the neighborhood lost value, but its affordability appealed to immigrants like the Chinese. In 1870, Chinese laborers were imported by Boston manufacturers to work more cheaply than unionized Americans. Instead of thanks for their back-breaking work, the USA discriminatorily barred the Chinese in 1882, and it illegally deprived them of property. 61 years later, the USA finally repealed its Chinese Exclusion Act in 1943 (to get them to serve in World War Two and to avoid accusations of racism from European nations). Improvements for Chinatown began in the 1950s, and now the district is lively, delicious, and vastly cleaner than NYC's.
Hei La Moon is famous for handmade dim sum. As tradition, servers push trollies through the dining room, and customers select from each. Speaking in fluent Cantonese, Lewis chose turnip cakes, tripe, pea shoot dumping, sticky rice, tofu cakes, beef short ribs, and shrimp siu mai.
Compared to NYC, Boston's Chinatown is much tidier! The streets are not neglected, trash is properly removed, and there is no graffiti. (That is NYC's fault). There's no ugly "fish smell" because the seafood shops dispose of waste properly, whereas seafood markets in NYC's Chinatown dump waste by the curb. (That is the shops' faults). Boston's Chinatown is a place to get herbal medicine, Asian groceries, pastries, Zen-like housewares, and foods from Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Vietnam, Mongolia, and Thailand (some Cambodian ones are in the Back Bay neighborhood). For dessert, we munched on Chinese pastries from Crown Royal Bakery, on Ping On Alley. All around us, open-minded Bostonians mingled with Asians. Some of the food reminded us of being in Beijing!
*To read about our trip to China, go here:
Desiring an afternoon cuppa, I found an espresso bar nearby!
Full of heart and good vibes, Gracenote Coffee is a delight. They invest in superb machinery and supreme beans.
Their effort goes into preparation and presentation.
We admired their curvaceous reclaimed driftwood counters.
I chose their Alpha espresso, and I complimented how they maximize space in their cozy shop. Without being asked, the barista offered me a choice of still or sparkling water to accompany my caffeine. So polite and cheery!
From there, we went around the corner to the Boston Tea Party Museum. As a lover of history, it was the first thing that Lewis wanted to do. It was a lot of fun: docents in costume—speaking Ye Olde King's English—moving portraits that came to life, a tea dumping reenactment on a historic sailing ship, and a gallery of artifacts. (Sorry, no photos were allowed inside). For a metropolis with so much history, it's great to see it come alive.
Founded in 1630 by Puritan settlers expelled from England, Boston was named after the market-town of Boston in Lincolnshire. America's first public school opened there in 1635. Eventually, Boston was absorbed into the British Colony of Massachusetts Bay. During 1673 (after the English took Manhattan from the Dutch), Governor Lovelace of NYC was in Boston—formulating the first postal system between both areas—when Dutch forces recaptured Manhattan! The attack was led by Admiral Cornelis Eversten the Youngest (who might've been gay and assisted England's Dutch-born King William III during the Glorious Revolution of 1688). In 1674, England took NYC back. Regardless, Massachusetts dealt commercially with Dutch colonists/traders so much that it used Dutch currency! By the 1700s, such things infuriated London businessmen and the British Crown, which contributed to the American Revolution. Many crucial Revolutionary escapades occurred in Boston, such as the 1770 Boston Massacre...
... and the 1773 Boston Tea Party.
Impersonating Native American Mohawk tribesmen (famous for their mohawk hairdos), marauding Bostonians boarded ships that were laden with tea from China. They dumped the pricey cargo into the sea. Named the Sons of Liberty, the vandals chose to resemble Native Americans because they favored their independent spirit. In fact, such tribes were used as a blueprint for the 13 Colonies unifying against England. For example, the Iroquois System unified tribes across New York; each managed its own affairs but shared a common (national-level) set of laws. Ben Franklin—America's diplomat to France—was also the colonial diplomat to the Iroquois Confederation. He and John Adams pushed for a similar system to be adopted by the young United States... and it was! Tribal symbols were included: a bald eagle clutching arrows—one for each colony.
In modern money, the loss of tea for the British East India Company was $1,700,000. Publicized by Samuel Adams (one of America's Founding Fathers whom a beer is named for and whose cousin was America's first ambassador to the Netherlands), it triggered a parliamentary panic in London. While the event didn't spark a rebellion from the Thirteen Colonies (many colonists still abhorred lawlessness), England's response did.
In the anteroom of the Tea Party museum, guests are given period-accurate ID cards, so each of them can be one of the actual attendees in that night's historic event.
Everyone gets a feather, symbolizing how the colonists disguised themselves as Native Americans.
Amidst modern skyscrapers, we climbed aboard an antique vessel.
Its rigging is intact, with a superb paint-job. We explored the ship's cargo hold and captain's chamber.
Our next stop was at the park: Boston Public Garden. It was the first botanical garden in America, and it's duck pond is always popular. The area is located between Boston Harbor and the Charles River. Bostonians have a partiality for calling it the River Charles. The River Charles (and Boston's Charlestown) are named for King Charles I of the Stuart dynasty.
Our hotel was one street away from the park! Ideal!
Built in 1927, the Boston Park Plaza Hotel hosted all but two American Presidents.
The last time we visited Boston, Lewis and I stayed at a Bed & Breakfast, which is a classic method because the city has many historic ones. This time, we initially sought a modern boutique hotel, but many are along the ambulance route to a big hospital, so they are are noisy at night.
The hotel we chose has a great location! It is situated at the intersection of Park Plaza and St. James Street (named for the cathedral nearby... not for London's St. James district, where the royal court for the United Kingdom operates).
The semi-triangular-shaped hotel—which fills the entire block—points to a peculiar intersection of Columbus Ave., Arlington St., State Highway Route 28, and Stuart Street. Stuart Street honors the Royal House of Stuart. Begun in Scotland in 1371, that dynasty lasted in Britain until the (lesbian) Queen Anne died in 1714.
Our check-in was efficient, and maid service—to request toothpaste that we forgot—was immediate from when I hung up the phone. Such prompt service is great.
A historic exterior belies a modern interior.
The 4-star hotel offers a lobby restaurant & bar, a trendy gym (formerly David Barton), and a fireplace library.
Near the adjoining neighborhood of Back Bay, the hotel stands were British troops landed for the Battle of Lexington. After winning our Independence, Bostonians filled in the bay to give their growing city more real estate. Reclaiming land from the sea is how the city built its international airport, which has subways and ferries going to the city-center (something that NYC never initiated for its two waterside airports). Most of Boston was built on reclaimed land. As seen in these comparative maps, the original city was an outcropping on a peninsula. The curvy edge of Boston Common is seen in both.
Situated next to the Four Seasons, our hotel was in the center of the Beacon Hill neighborhood. The district is a National Historic Landmark because many structures were built by the first American-born architect: Charles Bulfinch (born 1763). It abounds with avenues of boutique shopping. In several places, we noticed stand-alone outdoor vitrines that displayed merchandise... as seen below.
We noticed some rental bikes from Harvard University. (No, we didn't have time to see a performance by the Harvard Din & Tonics). That "Ivy League" school is located in the City of Cambridge, within the Boston Metropolitan area. It is similar to the City of Westminster within London.
*To see my amazing university experiences, please use this link:
https://halfwindsorfullthrottle.blogspot.com/2013/05/college-memories.html
One block away, on Boylston Street, the Public Gardens and the Boston Common (both are national landmarks) are side-by-side. Together, they form a sprawling expanse of greenery!
We savored an afternoon of strolling through the cobblestone streets and tree-lined avenues. Gas street lamps, floral window boxes, and preserved heritage made the city charming. Instead of bulldozing old buildings—like NYC does—they mix them tastefully alongside new ones.
As seen above and below, new skyscrapers keep a historic-looking facade, to maintain harmony of the street view. Also, taller buildings skirt around the edge the historic city center, thus preserving the low-level skyline... similar to Europe.
Boston is full of long-gone arts: craftsmanship, masonry, metalwork, architecture, poetry, and beauty. Lewis and I adored the cozy alleys and "nooks & crannies".
If you can have such beauty in your city, you are lucky.
Doorways are original from the 1700s & 1800s, and streets are safe enough to allow deliveries to remain on a front stoop.
From Charles Street (named for the beheaded King Charles) and Mt. Vernon Street (named for President George Washington's plantation), we sauntered west on Commonwealth Avenue. (Massachusetts is one of four commonwealths in the USA). In the center of the avenue is one of Boston's many greenways. Other greenways hold the rapid-transit "light rail".
Skateboarders, subway commuters, and joggers use it. It starts from a string of westward parkland called the "Emerald Necklace", and it ends at the Public Garden.
Running parallel are streets for shopping: Uniqlo, Dolce & Gabanna, sidewalk cafés, independent boutiques, Marshalls, moderne furniture stores, violin shops, and bakeries.
The time approached Cocktail Hour, and we were due to have drinks with a former coworker who remained a friend. Chalmer worked with us at the Cartier Mansion, but he left Manhattan and returned to live in Boston. Who can blame him? He invited us for drinks at the Four Seasons Hotel's fireplace lounge. It is the only AAA Five Diamond hotel in New England.
Literally across the street was Lewis' choice for dinner: Bistro du Midi. Rustically handsome, with a warm color palate and beamed ceiling, the two-story restaurant offers great views of the park.
Chef de Cuisine Josue-Louis and Sous Chef Christian set to work creating that night's culinary triumphs.
Our trio pre-ordered Pastry Chef Allen Morter's chocolate soufflés. For dinner, we started with Chef Robert Sisca's steak tartare with sunchoke crisps and quail egg. Lewis was delighted to have seared foie gras torchon! My duck breast was delectable, accompanied by a side of fiddleheads and spring asparagus in brown butter. Springtime veggies taste the best!
Chalmer enjoyed the skillet-cooked halibut with cockles, spigarello, and chorizo.
Three martinis put Lewis and I in a sublime mood to walk two blocks to our queen-sized bed. Saturday would be amazing!
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