Okay, I promised to write a report, so here it is. Sorry, I couldn't write it sooner but while being in New York I just didn't have time for my own private stuff.
Well, how I found Boston? Easy: AMTRAC knew the way
So, I arrived at 10 pm in the Holiday Inn Gevernment Center and was so tired that I went to sleep immediately. The next morning the sky was gray and I slept late. Then I decided to do one of those Trolley tours. I did the Grayline one, going Cambridge, crossing the bridges, passing the Prudential Tower and Chinatown. I went off on the Boston Teaparty ship but found it wasn't worth it as the ship is just a wreck (has burned last year) and it will be restored only next year. So much for looking for history...
I walked over to the Aquarium and intended to hop on the trolley again but then I saw an advertisement which said 'whale watching' and that's the reason why I never hopped on the trolley again. I bought a ticket for the next catamaran to leave and as I had some time I strolled around the area some more. Saw Farnheuil hall and the surrounding markets. Thought about visiting the Aquarium but 29 USD for the ticket was a little bit too much.
Two o'clock the ship left and as they told us they hadn't seen any whales in the morning we went towards Cape Cod. For that we had to pass the oldest lighthouse in the United States and I have to say that I found it looked very romantic. It was rather cold on the open water as the wind was cold but the sun was shining and I had bought a Boston-sweater in addition to my other clothes so I stayed on the upper deck.Finally we saw ONE whale. It was a right whale (I didn't even know whales with such names existed) and were told that there are only 320 of them left. I googled yesterday to find out what a whale this is....
After the return to shore I went to have dinner at Farnheuil hall and it's really a great place not only for eating but for watching people too. After that I went back to the hotel to sleep.
Next morning it was whale watching again (I had booked that tour before I went to the States). It was funny as I was the second in line and began chatting with the first in line. She was an italian and we sat on the boat together. In front of us and behind us were a texan couple with their son and his russian wife. It was a nice day as the texan couple directly sort of adopted the italian woman and myself for the trip and we had lots of fun. In the end we even saw a whale!
I had hoped for more whales (I had dreamed of pictures of jumping humpback whales
) but that's how it goes when you watch animals in their natural surroundings. I still prefer seeing one whale who is free than five which have been trained and live in a protected area.
After the tour it was time for me to go back to New York as other colleagues from Europe were coming in that day and I had to meet them in the evening...
So I didn't have a lot of time to spend in Boston and as yet I haven't made up my mind of whether I like it or not.
Regards
Andrea