We were hoping we’d be able to see the sunrise from our hotel room, but we were both up early, so we decided to head back to the Fort Allen park and see it for sure from there. We were not disappointed.
Then headed over to Holy Donuts for a delicious blueberry (gotta have blueberries in Maine) donut and an espresso from Speckled Ax Coffee.
After that, we packed up our stuff, checked out, and headed south towards Boston, stopping at a Maine lighthouse in Fort Williams Park.
Then we resumed our course towards Boston,
but first stopped off in Saugus, Massachusetts, just north of the city, for a Kelly’s Roast Beef.
Kelly’s is a chain that makes roast beef sandwiches, and it was recommended as something to try in Boston. They’re on par with Arby’s, but hey, had to try one. I also accidentally dumped the plastic tray in the trash can but wasn’t about to try to fish it outta there.
I knew beforehand that Boston had a decent metro system, so we decided to ditch the car when we got into the city. We drove straight to Boston Logan, dropped off the car, and then there is a shuttle that takes you from the rental car area to the metro station. We got to the hotel, citizenM, around 2p and were able to get in straight away. The room was tiny, but very stylish.
We headed out to the Boston Commons, a central park area where the ‘Freedom Trail’ starts.
This trail, just like in Providence, connects lots of historically important sites. But, of course, Boston, much more than Providence, has some of the most famous and recognizable sites in our nation’s early history.
The Massachusetts State house
The Park Street Church. This church was founded in 1809, so after the revolution and start of our country.
Granary Burying Ground- this cemetery was founded in 1660 and contains the graves of Paul Revere, Samuel Adams, John Hancock, and Robert Paine.
Kings Chapel and the Boston Latin School/Ben Franklin Statue.- Kings Chapel was a loyalist stronghold and many of its members left after 1776. The Boston Latin School is the oldest public school in the US, established in 1635. Ben Franklin attended the school.
The Old Corner Bookstore- home to 1800s publishing giant Ticknor and Fields, and the meeting place of authors like Longfellow, Emerson, Hawthorne, Dickens and Oliver Wendell Holmes. The historic building still exists, but is now home to the old corner Chipotle.
The Old South Meeting House- is an old church built in 1729, famous for being the organizing point for the Boston Tea Party.
The Old State House- the oldest surviving public building, built in 1713. This was the seat of the Colonial government. Just outside is the site of the Boston Massacre, (where the crowd of people is)
and the Declaration of Independence was read from its balcony on July 18, 1776.
The lower floor now serves as an entrance to the South Metro station on the Orange line. Gotta pay the rent somehow, right?
We walked back to the hotel from here, but passed several of the other historic sites like Faneuil Hall on the way back.
That evening we ate at the Union Oyster House, the oldest restaurant still operating in Boston, opened in 1824.
The restaurant is a step back in time.
We sat next to the Kennedy’s booth.
One of the things on my list of foods to try in Boston was Boston Broiled Scrod, so I had that.
Fat and happy, we waddled back to the hotel and crashed for the night.
