September 19-21, 2025 Boston

Thursday - Sunday  Sept 18-21, 2025    Tourists in Boston, Mass.

Thursday: After our midafternoon arrival on Thursday, we walked down to see the USS Constitution, as it's the closest item on the Freedom Trail to us.  Too late in the day to do the tour but we wanted to get a feel for the ship, the museum and the old Navy Yard.

USS Constitution - ie "Old Ironsides"

Dry Dock #1 completed in 1833 was the first US naval drydock. 

Friday:  Took the hop on hop off bus which basically follows the 2.5 miles route of the Freedom Trail.  Boston has done a great job with placing a brick path to follow that takes you from one historic site to the next.  Faneuil Market, Quincy Market, Old South Meeting house, Boston Massacre Site, State House, Boston Common, Old Granary Cemetery, Kings Chapel Cemetary, Boston Tea Party Ship, Paul Revere house, Little Italy, Old North Church, and Copps Hill Burial Ground. Then dinner at La Famiglia Giorgios. Obscenely huge portions. 

Faneuil Hall Marketplace -a gift to the city of Boston in 1742 from Peter Faneuil.
Often called the "Cradle of Liberty" due to the many pro-liberty speeches given here
 in the 2nd floor meeting room in the months leading up to the Revolution

Town Hall meeting room on 2nd floor of Faneuil Hall. 
Passionate discussions are still held there today

Quincy Marketplace

The underside of the gold dome atop the Quincy Market Building

Massachusetts State House

Tomb of Paul Revere

Tomb of John Hancock - a big monument for a big signature

Boston Tea Party Ship - you even get to throw a chest of tea overboard

Paul Revere's house

The Old North Church - made famous by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem
 the "Ride of Paul Revere" and the line "One if by land and two if by sea"

Saturday:  Haymarket Square has a huge farmers market every Friday and Saturday.   Produce, meats and seafood at crazy low prices.  Pastry from Little Italy for breakfast, then John to Bunker Hill Monument to climb the steps to the top while Martha was off to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.  Dinner at Ducali with Patrick and Leila from Grand Life, another boating couple in the process of completing the Down East Circle Loop.

Haymarket Square produce vendors - super cheap prices

Plenty of proteins too- seafood, beef, chicken, lamb, goat. Lobster tails 3 for $20

Vendors on both sides of several streets. Found a vendor selling bags of Japanese
eggplant for just $2.   Should have bought one - makes the best ratatouille

Awesome 1800's architecture all around Little Italy

Awesome pastries at Bova  - very tough to decide which ones to get.

No trip to Boston is complete without a trip to Mike's Pastry.

Bunker Hill monument

Climbed all 294 steps to the top. Paid for it with 2 more days of sore thighs

View of Boston and As You Wish from the observation portholes

Gardens inside the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum courtyard/atrium

Isabella and her husband both came from families of great wealth. They collected art
              knowing that eventually they wanted to build a museum.  After Isabella was widowed,
               she fulfilled that dream and with no heirs, she gifted it to the city of Boston

Art is everywhere - floor to ceiling

Every nook

and every cranny is filled with art and her belongings

An extensive amount of religious art and artifacts

No tags showing the artists name, interpretations or significance

She just wanted the viewer to look, enjoy and appreciate

Per her will it all had to remain just as she lived with it and wanted it presented

Sunday:  Restful morning waiting for Rich and Lynn, our neighbors down in Richmond Hill, who have a summer cottage up here in Connecticut.  Brunch with them at Blackmoor Bar and Kitchen.  Toured our boat and visited to catch up with people and activity at home.  Finished the day relaxing by watching a Jaguars game and the F1 race we had recorded on the TV.

A great way to finish off our trip to Boston.
Brunch with our Richmond Hill neighbors Rich and Lynn