Beacon Hill and Beautiful Boston

We spent all day and night Tuesday in transit, despite only travelling from Savannah, Georgia to Boston, Massachusetts. It's a long and tedious story, so suffice to say that after nearly 12 hours in transit, we found ourselves at the luggage carousel in Boston at Midnight.

We grabbed a taxi, and again destiny dealt us an utter idiot as a driver. Having hurled our bags into the back of his car with a violence that disturbed me, our driver then claimed to not know of Beacon Street, Beacon Hill. I opened the door while the car was taking its first corner and threatened to disembark there and then. For him to state that he didn't know how to get to Beacon Street is equivalent to a Sydney taxi driver saying he doesn't know where Circular Quay is, or a Melbourne driver not knowing where Federation Square is. It's bloody ridiculous. In any case, he suddenly remembered that he had heard of Beacon Street after-all, and in fact knew the shortest route there possible. Incidentally we are staying right next door to the Massachusetts State House, with it's great gold dome and grand estate. We can see the gate to the House of Representatives from our bedroom's bay window, and the security guards can see me too!

Our condo is very old money, with ghastly salmon pink walls, highly ornate fretwork, walnut dressers and chandeliers. I feel like we should be wearing 1700s wigs and full period costume with white stockings while here. It reminds me of New York's Diamond District, where we stayed for three nights in a sprawling old hotel that had seen better days, but remained loved by all the oldies (the Roosevelt.) We even have a door-person, which is lovely, though it makes me feel like we must be living in a bank.

Yesterday, we ventured out to the Boston Public Market first up to have breakfast. Laurie and I chose Jewish, while J went French. The Market itself was too clinical, contrived and showy - Presumably due to the exorbitant rents. Thereafter we explored the King's Church Grave Yard, which dates back to the 1700s and hosts Boston's first Governor. We then went inside the Church, which was really something different. Each family had their own walled booth, like sheep pens, but with red satin walls, velvet seating and black stands for four brollies.

As we emerged from this peculiar church, there was a sudden summer shower, so we dashed up to our street intending to get cardigans and a brollie, but by the time we reached our building (a matter of minutes) it had all passed and it was warm again.

We then decided we needed an overview of the city, so we descended into the Boston Common in search of the visitor centre. Found that and booked a City Trolley Tour which does a one hour loop of Boston, and is the best value. $16 each for us and $6 for J.  We can use it for two consecutive days. We had the best driver and guide ever. He was so informative and highly entertaining. Had a voice exactly like Phil's Father from Modern Family. We did the full one hour loop (I could have gone again), then went back to Boston Common coz J had decided she had to buy a sweater (partly because it had turned cold and windy again). Shortly thereafter it was warm again, so I suggested we share a pizza slice and a fresh lemonade in the park. We did that, along with a squirrel friend for company.

Next we ascended the hill toward Joy Street and began our amazing walking tour of the whole heritage rich Beacon Hill area. We loved it. Acorn Street was magic. Toward the very end of our walking expedition we came across an authentic old liquor and convenience store which immediately reminded me of Sydney's Eastern suburbs (where I lived for nine years). There's something very special about the crustiness of these old stores. Yet the nearby square where John Kerry (U.S. secretary of state) lives is premium. After all those hills and cobblestones, and all that architectural appreciation I was suddenly utterly exhausted, so we had to trek home. We cooked a meal in, as we were still weary from our crazy long day travelling via Chicago, and spent the evening watching re-runs of Seinfeld and the Big Bang Theory.

Bostonian Intent

I've always wanted to go to Boston.

The influence of American television culture on my childhood highlighted the historic importance of the area, via cheery and cheesy kids' television programs, such as The Brady Bunch and Bewitched, both of which I adored. The references to Massachusetts were subtle and, on reflection, only featured in one episode of each series, but clearly I was paying full attention, in an era when there was no auto-replay option...

As a tweener beginning to buy celebrity rags from the corner store I learned that the teen actress Brooke Shields went to Yale (half way between NYC and Boston). Over time I learned that Harvard and MIT were in Boston (or at least adjacent, in the township of Cambridge) - all Ivy League educational institutions that were, and still are, held in the highest regard globally.  It's amazing how these adolescent learnings can have life-long impact.

As a 'grown-up' and an educational publisher the first global Manager's Conference I ever attended was in Madison, Wisconsin, via Chicago. I was overwhelmed and impressed by the mammoth character of these places, and the warmth of the people I met. I liked the fact that they had political conscience, and would talk about democracy at the end of each day of meetings, generally while at the bar.  At that first conference I found that I connected really well with the small cohort of publishers from the Boston office. At that point in time, back in late 2001, I made up my mind that one day I'd make my way to Boston, Massachusetts, one way or another. Fifteen years later, I'm finally converting that goal into reality.

We're spending five nights there, staying in a private apartment at Beacon Hill, directly opposite the starting point for the famous Freedom Trail tourist walk. Our accommodation appears quite elite, though compact of course, and the building has a dedicated doorman, which will be an extraordinary novelty for a little Australian family like us. Again, it's an Air B'n'B find, and promises to be rather special indeed (yet still about 25% cheaper than our match-box sized hotel rooms in Manhattan seven years ago!) And we'll have our own full kitchen in which we can whip meals up in, to save some dollars.

I've got a range of places across the city I want us to explore on foot, like Back Bay for instance, but for me it's not about any particular part of Boston - It's just about being there and soaking it all up. Some people have told me it's grey, drab and stuck-up, but I find the drab part hard to believe. In any case we're there in June, so it should be warm enough. For us the Boston experience will be hot on the heels of a few days in sultry and slow-moving Savannah, so we're bound to find the whole trip completely mind-boggling, not just the Bostonian component.

I do anticipate Boston to be the most intimidating of places, in context, but that's fine. If I can't handle the challenge at mid-life, when can I? I view it as part of my PhD preparation, frankly. This whole trip is about deeply historic cities. I am certain I'll arrive home (to my historic city) monumentally inspired.

While we're there, we are planning a day trip by ferry to visit nearby Salem, the historic open air museum township settled in 1626, and made tragically famous by the witch trails of 1692. It seems like there's far more there than any history student (such as myself) can possibly digest in just one day, so I'll be making a list, and checking it twice.

I'll be taking photos: hundreds and hundreds of photos, so will work out a way to feature them here, or via a link to another site. I haven't decided on the best forum for images yet, but I'll get there. We still have 3.5 weeks before we fly... Plus a truck load of work to get done in the meantime! Not to mention preparing a list of things to see and do around here for our house sitters. Yikes!