3 Days in Boston

We started out from CT on Sunday morning. We decided the best route was to head out of Hamden north along I-91 to East I-84 to I-90 into Boston/Cambridge. We had already made reservations for the luxurious Liberty Hotel. That would be our first stop.

Mistake number 1: not printing off the Google map that illustrated the directions I had printed out. Ended up lost (not really) and driving around downtown Boston for almost an hour looking for the hotel AND getting frustrated with the cluster-f$#@k of streets. VERY quaint, and beautiful this time during the Spring--cherry trees in full bloom, trees popping a spectrum of soft greens, tulips and daffodils and everywhere brownstones with colorful window boxes.

The Liberty Hotel -- AWESOME. I'll not take up the time here to describe it, but here's my in-depth review of the opulent Liberty Hotel.

Day 1: After we got settled in our room D. and I grabbed our walking map and hit Charles Street heading to Boston Commons and the Public Garden. This lower end of Charles -- just on the edge of upscale Beacon Hill-- is a somewhat quiet tree and brownstone lined street punctuated with small restaurants, antique shops, bakeries, oddity boutiques --The Inkwell is memorable-- and two Starbucks. At Beacon Street I decided I wanted to partake in a very tourist-y pasttime--a beer at Cheers. We sat in the room called the Set Bar, which is really nothing like the bar you see on the TV show. But there is an awesome moose head on the wall surrounded by a stellar woodcarving that I would swear is a Grinling Gibbons, but may just be a very good likeness. Nevertheless that was a find for me. Besides our beers, we ate up a plate of potato skins.

After that we headed to Newbury Street about 4 or 5 blocks away along the edge of the Public Gardens. Newbury is the ultimate shopper's paradise. The street is decorated with the highest priced retailers--Gucci, Marc Jacobs -- to name a couple. Restaurants spill out onto open sidwalks for alfresco dining and drinking. This particular afternoon in May was near 70 degrees.

That evening we took the T train to Fenway Park for an 8 pm Red Sox game. Crowded, but a true Boston sight. We had nosebleed seats, but we didn't care. Chewed on hotdogs and fries. Went back to our hotel loaded and happy. The Charles/MGH (Mass General Hospital) T station is just across the street from the hotel, btw.

Day 2: Trekked the Freedom Trail throughout downtown Boston. From our hotel we walked diagonally through Boston Commons to just below the State House, where we picked up the head of th Freedome Trail. For me the most memorable part of this 2+ mile walk was the Granary Burial Ground near the start of the walk. Here headstones alone are a veritable historical tableau of early America. Celebrity corpses buried in the yard include Paul Revere, Ben Franklin, one of the Adamses, and John Hancock, to name a few. Also memorable--the Italian - American North End, particularly Mike's Pastry. If you hang out in Boston long enough you're sure to spot a few folks wandering aroudn with littel boxes sporting the "Mike's Pastry" logo. We stopped, elbowed our way through the pushy crowd at the totally disorganized counter and ordered a huge lemon bar and a chocolate dipped pizelle....mmmm. Oh and the old Italian guy on the street claiming he was the true Rambo the gov't has wanted to keep muzzled since the Vietnam War was frosting on the cake. Not worth it was the beer and potato skins we ordered in the Green Dragon pub on our walk home.

Concierge recommended Skip Jack's for dinner--a "seafood emporium" not too far from the hotel. When we asked for a taxi we were instead offered the "house car" which was sitting idle at the time. This is a complimentary (gratuity-based of course) service the Liberty Hotel provides. Brand new Cadillac suv with a very nice driver, that dropped us in front of the restaurant in about 5 minutes. I had my heart set on sushi and I wasn't disappointed--some of the best rolls I've had in a long time. D. ordered the Skip Jack styled scallops (soy-marinated, then broiled) also a nice surprise.

Day 3: Took the T out to Harvard University and poked around there a bit--wandered Harvard Square, some of Harvard Yard, visited the Harvard Bookstore. Grabbed a bit and a beer at Grendel's Den--thank God finally a pub worth raving about. Good and cold beers and top notch food that makes a sensible stab at combining the best of bar style dishes with some gourmet savvy. D. and I shared a small plate of nachos and a greek salad, both fresh and assembled with fresh and satisfying ingredients. Back in Boston proper we ambled about sunny but chilly Boston Commons.

Evening it was the capstone of our trip: The Blue Man Group at the Charles Theater. WOW is the best way to describe this act. Now most people have heard or seen something about the Blue Man company, but you really should see it if you're into exciting acts. The Charles Theater is small and intimate, so there really is not a bad seat, even if you're in the balcony. Be warned that should you purchase tickets for the first 3 or 4 rows you'll be donning plastic coveralls--these guys bang on drums covered in red blue and yellow paint....it splatters. Great show, period.

Three ways to get around Boston easily: (note: we parked our car the entire 3 days we were there)

1. Walking -- much of the city is very walkable
2. Taxi -- most of the main arteries have taxis running up and down; stick your arm up and you'll get one...
3. The "T" (MBTA)-- use it once or twice and you'll have the hang of it. Honestly, on our way out to Fenway Park we hopped on a train going in the wrong direction....We jumped off at the next stop and got ourselves re-oriented and heading in the right direction. Simple. Most of the hotels have MBTA maps and can point you to the nearest station, at the very least. Fares are $2. Unless you leave a station you travel on the same fare--in other words, if you change trains or lines you don't have to buy another fare unless you leave the station and come back in.

Resources:

Freedom Trail official site and maps
MBTA (the "T" subway)