We spent from Monday the 20th to Sunday the 26th of November in Boston and decided it could definitely go on our list. That list we have prepared in case we ever win gazillions of dollars and need to purchase holiday homes around the world – so far we’d have a house/apartment in San Diego, San Francisco, Portland OR, Vancouver, Banff, Homer AK, Austin or San Antonio TX, Chicago, and Washington DC. Boston is getting added to it.

Things we loved about Boston:

#1 The public transit system – unlimited use of buses and trains for $18 a week? YES PLEASE and thank you very much.

#2 HISTORY in the making. America’s oldest tavern is here The Bell In Hand. The Freedom Trail a 3.5 mile walking trail that covers a number of fairly significant locations in the making of America. Highlights include: Paul Revere’s House, USS Constitution, Bunker Hill and the Bunker Hill Monument, the Holocaust Memorial. I think the idea of paving the road with red bricks so you know where to go is a simple but genius measure which should be employed in all cities which have walkable sight seeing.

#3 The Architecture. I must admit the descriptions of the brownstone buildings first spoken of in the Robert Ludlum books I read years ago always made me a little fascinated to see them up close and the Boston buildings certainly do that. There’s just something about the buildings here that make you want to look at them a little more closely, wonder about them and ultimately think – that’s a nice style.

#4 Quincy Markets – it’s like Fremantle Markets on crack food wise. So much good food, reasonably priced and freshly made as you wait. Spoilt for choice we were and just enjoying the looking let alone the eating. Tim tried the Lobster Mac N Cheese and I went with the Philly Cheese Steak bun.

#5 The food variety, availability, quality and choice all extremely GOOD. They take advantage of being on the coast and the seafood is plentiful and so much cheaper than back home. We ate at Turner’s Seafood for Thanksgiving Day dinner which is based in the Westin hotel and it was an excellent buffet with all the trimmings – not a fan of the glazed yams but definitely a fan of what they do with sweet potato and the turkey. Tried my first piece of Pumpkin Pie. Maybe my Australian is showing but the Pumpkin Pie didn’t work, the Sweet Potato did…but the Apple was best. The Northend of downtown is one of the hotspots for Italian and have to say I had some of my best Italian at a restaurant we queued up for an hour for. Called Giacomo’s – cash only, but BEST mussels and pasta ever.

And lastly Harvard and Cambridge. It was good to have some fun pretending to be one of the fortunate clever people who get to go to this campus/University and live in this area. Made me nostalgic for my Uni days. If I lived here in Boston I would do my utmost to see if I could attend some classes here. Loved the Harvard Books Shop and a number of the quirky little old fashioned leather, boot cleaning, barber stores – they even sold Mason and Pearson brushes.

Things you overhear in Boston:

Homeless Person 1: Hey man did you get my email?
Homeless Person 2: Nah man you should have just sent me a text.

True story – straight from Tim’s incredulous mouth. See if he wasn’t waiting on me outside yet another shop he would have totally missed that whole exchange. Surreal Homeless interaction experience DONE!

And now…onto SALEM!!! The real one…with the Witches and everything. EXCITING!!!