Boston baby!

One of the nice things about Andrew being in graduate school is the frequent trips to confrences. Andrew usually gets some good information from them, and it's a nice excuse for a mini-vacation. This trip found us in Boston for Labor Day weekend.

I met up with Andrew after school on Friday - he met me at the airport, and after a drive through the Big Dig, it was time for bed. (Got in at midnight.) I'll have to admit I was a bit afraid of crashing while in the tunnel. Not that we had a bad taxi driver...just something about being so enclosed with merging traffic. Ack!

Saturday Andrew presented his paper, while I slept in. We met up for lunch with a few other people from Emory at Legal Seafood Co. I had a wonderful mixed green salad and clam chowder. Perfect lunch! Then Andrew and I headed down Newbury street which had some great shopping! We didn't really take advantage, but that's ok. We saw some beautiful buildings-several churches. We then headed to the Public Gardens / Boston Common.

Here I am by the pond...where the ducks were. Made me wish I had a large loaf of bread...

While in Boston Common, Andrew pointed out while there was how very different Civil War memorials in Boston are from ones in Atlanta. Interesting. . . From there we found the start of the Freedom Trail. I'm a huge U.S. history buff, so this was so fun for me! The history in the city of Boston is amazing! The best part about it, it was FREE!! The only thing we paid for on the 2 1/2 mile trail was $3.00 to enter the Paul Revere House - totally worth it. We didn't get that far on Saturday - only about 4-5 stops before finding a Borders to redeem my gift cards. We then headed back to the hotel quite hungry and tired.

Sunday we picked up where we left off, and headed down the rest of the trail. It was a perfect day for being outside...sunny and warm with a light breeze. Fabulous! Here are a few pictures from our trail walk.

The Old State House - just outside is where the Boston Massacre took place. Then, 7 years later, was the place where the Declaration of Independence was first read to the people of Boston. Faneuil Hall: It has cute shops on the lower level. This is the building where they came up with the idea of "no taxation without representation."

Along the trail, right before we made it to the Paul Revere house, we found a resturant that had delicious lobster ravioli - Mother Anna's. It had a spectacular view of the city, and I got some sun on the back of my arms while sitting on the patio. Perfect! :o)

Paul Revere's House & the monument with the Old North Church in the background.

Bunker Hill Monument. We thought about climbing to the top, but there's no way we would've had enough energy to make the trek back to the train station!

The U.S.S. Constitution with Boston city skyline in the background. After about a 3-4 mile walk around the city, we were tired and ready to head back. It was a very fun day - relaxing in a way because we were doing what we wanted.

On Monday, we had a 1:00 flight, so we got up early and headed to Harvard, & Fenway before heading out. The trains were on holiday (Sunday) schedule, so it wasn't the easiest getting around. Harvard was nice to see, but we didn't spend much time there because of the train schedule. Plus, all the freshman were moving in. There were a LOT of parents running around campus with a camera. Many pictures being taken in front of the library, on the lawn, etc. We didn't get the opportunity to see Harvard Square either. That's on the agenda for next time, because I've heard it's a cute little area. We did see a very beautiful "Harry Potter-ish" building. We wanted to go inside, but weren't allowed. Oh well, I guess that means we get to see what we want in our imagination.

Then to Fenway to see another baseball stadium. I'm NOT a Red Sox fan what-so-ever, but as you all know, I am a baseball fan. It would've been nice to see the inside of the stadium, but time did not allow on this trip. Another thing to do in the future. Andrew and I agree that we really could've spent a full week there and done something different every day. While around Fenway we did get a better understanding of why they have so much money. Their team store was gynormous!!! It was insane. Waaaaaay too much Red Sox gear - I could only stand it for about 5 minutes.

To the hotel to get bags, and then to the airport to head home. We had a great weekend, and can't wait to come back to do more in this very fun city!