Boston Trip Part III: Plenty to See

On Saturday it rained all day until late afternoon. The weatherman had been right. I was glad that I brought a baseball cap and rain coat. I walked so much that by the evening I was worn out! Boston is a great walking city.

One of my stops was the New England aquarium and

one of its prime attractions, the little blue penguins. They are incredibly cute creatures – especially when they wiggle playfully in the water. For a bird that can’t fly, it’s interesting to note that Penguins have more feathers per square inch then any other bird.

Equally intriguing is the fact that some types of penguins can hold their breath underwater for up to three minutes. The aquarium was terribly crowded and overrun with baby strollers and toddlers, so after a quick tour, I grabbed a few gifts for nieces and nephews and got on the trolley.

The intention was to get off the trolley in Little Italy, but that stop on the route was cancelled on that particular day because they were repaving some roads along the route. I took the trolley through downtown, past Boston Common, up Beacon Hill (where the wealthy folk prosper in their brick million-dollar townhomes), and across the Charles river. Just before crossing the river we passed a prison that is being converted to condominiums. That was something I'd never seen before!

I saw the MIT campus and, on the way back across the river toward Back Bay, the famous 40-foot neon Citgo sign, which happened to be a big news item that night thanks to Hugo Chavez’ anti-American remarks at the U.N. the previous day.

In Faneuil Hall I ate at a fun place called Dick's Last Resort. I gotta admit that I was skeptical at first, but it turned out to be one of the best burgers I've ever had. One of the young waitresses made hats out of paper table liners and put them on the heads of eating patrons. Everyone was having a good time.

I eventually made it to Little Italy on foot where I bought a Boston t-shirt for seven bucks (one-third the price they sell for in Faneuil Hall). Little Italy is neat, but you have to watch your step on the very old cobblestone sidewalks. I toured Paul Revere's house, built in 1680, and learned that he never said "The British are coming!" to John Hancock and Sam Adams after his midnight ride from Boston to Lexington on April 19, 1775. What he really said was "The regulars are out!"

Then I stood in the very crowded must-see Mike's Pastry for some yummy treats to take home on the plane. (The pistachio macaroons are to die for!)

I made my way back to Boston Common on the subway and toured the beautiful Public Gardens before walking up to Beacon Hill. I briefly went in the Cheers bar on Beacon Street, only to find it looks nothing like the bar on TV. After a quick gander at price tags in the gift shop, I left and went for a walk through the beautiful Beacon Hill neighborhoods. What a nice place to live - if you can afford it.

At the end of a long walk after that I found myself at the Museum of Fine Arts. Unfortunately, the Paris show was sold out, so I took the subway back to the hotel to rest for an hour before getting back on my feet. I had done a lot of walking that day and realized just how old I am these days if I actually need to stop and "rest" - something I'm not known for doing.

Before dark, I walked down the ritzy Newbury Street to have dinner at a good Indian place called Kashmir, recommended by my friend Rashmi. Sitting at an outdoor table, I was shocked to see the young girls at a table near me smoking out of a three-foot bong that also doubled as the table's center piece.

"What are you smokin'?" I asked one of the girls after she took a toke off the end of a hose connect to the thing. "It's tobacco," she smiled. I'd never seen anything like it and, apparently, niether had any of the passers-by on the sidewalk above the little patio where we sat. Several people stopped to gawk. Note that they all had smiles on their faces as they did, as if to say, "I want some of that!" :)

I walked back to the hotel down the busy Newbury Street. Boston has quite the night life. That's one of the things I miss about being in the suburbs - the liveliness of the streets and sidewalks at all hours.