Where to go for our family summer holiday was something that puzzled us for a while - east and it gets a bit wet and we had already done some exploring there; south - no way, we couldn't stand the thought of hotter and stickier than where we are now; west - we had left it too late and didn't have quite enough time to justify a 6hr flight; so only 1 option left - north. We decided to impinge upon the hospitality of some former Sandwich colleagues and take the opportunity to explore Boston and then Cape Cod (see next post).
Boston was founded in 1630 by some Puritan colonists from England (not the Pilgrim Father's themselves but settlers who followed close on their heels) and has many links to the parts of American history that we are growing familiar with from Philadelphia. It was of course the site of some of the famous events in the run up to the Revolutionary war (more about that later) and also the birth place of Benjamin Franklin (who went on to be a significant member of the Philadelphia community after moving south following a fall out with his brother). Today it is one of the largest cities on the East Coast, capital of Massachusets, gateway to New England, and home to the Boston Red Sox (baseball team), the Cheers bar (from the sitcom) and Harvard University just across the Charles river in Cambridge. We were all excited to be going to explore.
Boston is a very beautiful city - it has much more of the European historical city about it than downtown sky scrapers (although it has a few of those too). Boston Common and the public gardens next door could be a park in England, weeping willows trailing in the water made good hiding places for hide and seek and the boats in the lake were very serene. Beacon Hill is the area of the city
famous for nineteenth century red brick town houses with beautiful windows reminiscent of houses in Bath and cobbled streets. And it all runs along the banks of the Charles river which was filled with sailing dinghys tacking to and fro whilst we were there. We spent a pleasant few hours wandering around enjoying the "sidewalks" and had the most amazing coconut and chocolate ice - creams - the only disappointment was that there was not enough time for more mozying in the designer shops (the like of which we do not really see in Paoli).
The tourists though (including us) have all come to follow "the freedom trail" (www.thefreedomtrail.org), a walk which guides you past the buildings significant in the run up to the War of Independence (known locally as the Revolutionary War). It follows in the footsteps of the revolutionaries who through their actions, propaganda and media campaigns ensured
the "taxation without representation" was stopped once and for all.
Since not all of the party has the same appetite for city trails and local history we split the trail into two days. Part 1 - Old South Meeting House where Sam Adams gave the cry to throw the tea into the sea in 1773; the Old State House where a speech by James Otis on 1761 was said to have initiated the cause of independence; the site of the Boston Massacre where, in 1770, British sailors fired on a
rioting mob killing several locals and sparking a media campaign of outrage; Faneuil Hall where Samuel Adams and James Otis lectured and debated on the cause of independence; the home of Paul Revere who on the night of 18th April 1775 rode from Charlestown to Lexington and Concord to warn the militia, and especailly Samuel Adams and John Hancock (first signatory of the declaration of independence) of the marching of British troops; and the Old North church upon which steeple church sexton Robert Newman hung two lanterns to signal to Revere the troops movements. This ride is immortalised in Henry Longfellow's poem "Midnight Ride" (http://www.legallanguage.com/resources/poems/midnightride/).
Day 2 was less walking but just as much history in Charlestown Naval base. Main attraction for us was the Bunker Hill monument - which commenmorates the spot where, in June 1775, the British troops had one of their first encounters with the Revolutionaries. The Revolutionary Army, although at that stage nothing more than a motley bunch of 1,200 farmers from the various colonies, had taken the high ground a day earlier under the leadership of William Prescott. They faced the full force of the British army who arrived well equipped and marched up the hill to meet them. Although the vitory was ultimately for the British, it took three assaults and the British suffered large casulaties. The scurmish both spurred the Revoluntionaries to unite into one Army and also gave them hope that, if better organised and equipped, they would be able to ultimately win (which of course they did!).
Now - we had visited everything - seen and learnt lots, but I was still a bit purturbed - something was missing. Just where was that tea thrown into the harbour? We sought it out eventually - but - in case you ever visit - it isn't on the freedom trail at all.......(and the gift shop sells the most expensive tea I have ever seen!).
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