Boston, Massachusetts

By the time we reached Boston, I think the multitude of cities we had visited were all blurring together in our brains.  We were looking forward to getting out in the sticks and winding down for a while, but we weren't sorry that we made one of our last east coast stopovers here while we had the chance.

Many people recommend doing the "Freedom Trail" as a tourist in Boston.  It's a 2.5 mile brick-lined route that takes you around all the notable historical sites.  A great idea but sounded a bit too much like school for our tastes, so we did our usual thing of wandering around and discovering the city for ourselves, pub by pub.

Boston is another old city by American standards, but one that's kept youthful by its student population; there are numerous colleges in the area and Harvard University is in nearby Cambridge.  So there are plenty of decent bars around catering for all different demographics - we ate and sampled even more ale at a German bar I think.

Sharon's feet were apparently "about to drop off" due to all the walking we were doing, but as we turned the corner and found the shopping district, the prospect of spending some money once again proved to be a more potent painkiller than a double dose of morphine.  Plenty to keep the average shopaholic amused for days here, including a building featuring over 150 jewellers under one roof.  Guys, the address is 333 Washington Street.  Write it down and prepare a suitable diversion if you ever go to Boston with your other halves.  It's too late for me but maybe you can save yourselves!

We emerged from the Jewellery Exchange some time the following week I think, after an extraction effort by me that made the Chilean miners' rescue look like child's play.  Once our eyes had adjusted to daylight again, we headed to Boston Common and the Public Gardens to check out the scenery.

Boston Common is a fairly large expanse of park land in the centre of the city, featuring a couple of small man-made lakes.  Nothing particularly eye-catching to be honest, but a decent place to escape the hustle and bustle for a while.

Just across the road from the Common stands the much more impressive Public Gardens, complete with everything you'd expect, from statues and water features to a wide array of plant and floral life.

It's all immaculately kept and a nice place to stop for a snack, which very nearly got snatched right out of my hands by a cheeky squirrel, who literally scaled my left leg like some kind of denim tree trunk and tried to steal my bag of Doritos.  These animals need to learn that Adam doesn't share food!

Delinquent wildlife aside, I like it when cities make the effort to break up the sky scrapers and construction a bit and give people somewhere like this to relax away from the noise and artificial light of the city.  I always liked Central Park in New York for the same reason; there's just something cool about standing the middle of a little untouchable oasis of greenery in the middle of a big metropolis, feeling like you have as much space as you need but with the action of the city not too far away.

Boston's harbourside is scenically a great place to visit at night, adorned with boats and waterfront pubs, restaurants, etc.

We saw no evidence whatsoever of the recent bombings, apart from several people walking around with the slogan "Boston Strong" on their shirts, and numerous posters and stickers around town bearing the same slogan.  The speed at which they repaired the bomb damage, as well as the general upbeat vibe of the city's population seem to prove the slogan right.  Good job Boston!