Do's and don't's in Boston (that's a question)

[Andiline]

Thanks for all the tips so far. I'm leaving the office in an hour to go to Boston and will let you know what happened.

Softy, I might come back within a few weeks as it turned out that I will be in New York longer than I expected to. So this leaves me more weekends to explore the US.

Regards
Andrea

[cuffedlinks]

Andrea,

Drop us a note and let us know how you found Boston!

...~I know - go NNE from NYC...
I mean what you thought of Boston the CITY, etc....
Just thought I'd clarify myself...

[tmp]

if you are just going to stay "in town", make sure you hit the christian science center..no religion involved, girl, but the building & fountains are gorgeous..also beat feet to the north end, best local color, and italian food to die for..don't miss mikes bakery on hanover...worth the walk from any where, also not to be missed is filene's basement @ downtown crossing..what a place like no other, from THERE you can walk up winter st to china town..smaller than nyc but some great shops(don't forget the pawn shops, good bargains) AND then take the red line to harvard square at "cocktail hour" so much to see on the street your head will spin..have a ball & don't look like a tourist(wear black,no sneakers- flat sandals & NO fanny pack) grew up 7 miles north of boston, so ask away...t

[Andiline]

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

[Bumper]

Congratulation on spotting the whales you did see, Andrea. I haven't had any experience with whale watching on the East coast, but I know getting "skunked", and not seeing any at all, is not uncommon. We were out to the West coast a few weeks ago, and on the ferry from the mainland to Vancouver Island. We were lucky enough to see three separate pods of Orcas during the crossing. I used to live out there, so the idea of seeing whales is not unique, especially during migration, but three groups in that short a time is really a treat. They were breaching and rolling and put on quite a show. I agree that having them in captivity makes me a bit uncomfortable, but it's the only way some people will ever be exposed to them live, and being up close and personal with these magnificent creatures is a fabulous experience. Welcome back, Andrea.

[Andiline]

Well, I learned in Boston how lucky I have been two years ago when I went whale watching in San Francisco. That was a day I will never forget, we saw lots of whales (blue whales and humpbacks) and we even watched seven (or more, I didn't count) humpbacks having dinner at a very close distance to our boat. That was an experience which impressed me more than I can tell.

I am not back to stay at home though, have to go back to New York for at least another three weeks next weekend so you will not hear much from me again in that time...

[Critter]

When we went out of Bar Harbor last October we saw 3 humpback. In 87 we went from Cap Cod in August and saw several Humpbacks and Sperm wales. We stayed out for hours, as we were the last trip of the day. We came back after dark, but no one complained.

[Andiline]

I heard on one of the boats that the water was still too cold for the humpbacks (although on the other boat I was told the humpback season had already started). I could go back to Boston in two weeks to try again but I don't know yet what I'll do as there are other places to explore which are nearer to New York. But I might go to the beach on the weekend and just relax, I don't know yet. I'll have an appartment in New York next time and I might as well just sit on the terrasse on the roof and hope that some whale shows up near the Statue of Liberty

[Critter]

Now that would be a site. And there is a lot to do in the city as well. have you been to the Bronx zoo yet? The cloisters? or had lunch at the Jekyl and Hyde (or Hyde & Jekyl) ?

[cuffedlinks]

Andrea,

you have some great photos from your travels!

...at some point, you should try to get out here to the Black Hills and check out Mt. Rushmore and the surrounding area...
This area was, at one point, under consideration as a permanent site for the U.N. before they settled on NYC....

[Andiline]

Originally Posted by Critter

Now that would be a site. And there is a lot to do in the city as well. have you been to the Bronx zoo yet? The cloisters? or had lunch at the Jekyl and Hyde (or Hyde & Jekyl) ?

No, haven't been to the Zoo yet and neither to the cloisters. There were always so many things to do, sometimes parades (Halloween, Christopher Street Day or the NY Marathon), sometimes I went to Museums or shopping or to Coney Island or showing around colleagues who had never been to New York. My favourite place is the Southstreet seaport.
Still have to do the Harlem Gospel Tour and visit the American Museum of Natural History...

[Andiline]

Originally Posted by cuffedlinks

Andrea,

you have some great photos from your travels!

Thanks! I will put the pics from my trip to Playa on my website too but due to my frequent absences in these days it might be september before I find the time to do that.

Originally Posted by cuffedlinks

...at some point, you should try to get out here to the Black Hills and check out Mt. Rushmore and the surrounding area...
This area was, at one point, under consideration as a permanent site for the U.N. before they settled on NYC....

Yeah, I thought about going on a daytrip on the Hudson river or somewhere near NY on the countryside. But there are other options as well like going on a daytrip to Washington or Philadelphia. But I don't know yet. Depends a little bit on how tired I am and on the wheather and my mood... But thanks, I will keep Mount Rushmore in mind!

[Softy57]

Just glad you at least saw 2-whales Andrea. Wish it had been nicer in "Beantown". When you only have 1 1/2 days,it's hard to get in much,& still relax.From what I read in local paper,Whale sighting will be more prevalent in July & Aug. Also seeing more tuna,which my son fishes for on his boat. You have an open invite if you come to Massachusetts' no. shore. bye...Gail

[Andiline]

Hey Gail

you are really too nice! Thanks a lot! If I should decide to come back in July I'll PM you. And you are right, I had the impression that I should have stayed longer in Boston to decide whether I like it or not. Unfortunately that wasn't possible.

I forgot to tell that on the sunday-whalewatch, while we were waiting for 'our finwhale' to surface again we saw something jump. I thought it was 'our' whale but we were told that this had been a shark. If my reflects were better I'd have him on a pic (the finger was there it just didn't move fast enough)...

Regards
Andrea