FROM THE DESK OF SARA: Boston Part III

The final leg of our Boston trip.... we got up on the Monday morning, with some fog & mist in the air. It was overcast, but it did not deter us from more sight-seeing.

We checked out of our hotel, but were able to leave the car there for the day, so we set out on foot and using the T, to get around the city.

First stop was for breakfast. The previous day we wandered into a place called Buerger's. It looked like good little sandwich shop. PC fell in love with a breakfast sandwich there... he said he would eat it everyday if he lived in Boston. So... the next morning he wanted to return to the same place (which we did), but I had my eye a little place down the street called Finagel a Bagel. We compromised... he had his Buerger's special (because he didn't want to have regrets if Finagel a Bagel wasn't good), but agreed to accompany me to my bagel shop.

Arriving at Finagel a Bagel, I experienced the BEST breakfast sandwich ever. They had every kind of bagel you could imagine, and you could basically ask them to make any concoction you wanted. I opted for the French Toast Bagel (tasted exactly like it), with egg n' cheese on it. Sweet and salty all in the same bite.

OMG... It was sooooooooooo good. The coolest thing about the place, was that when you selected your bagel they dropped it down on this conveyor belt that had a saw blade going at mach 10 speed... it sliced your bagel in half in the blink of an eye, and whipped it down to the toaster guy - HOW COOL IS THAT? (see photo below of the saw).

Anyways... after I got over the sheer joy of breakfast, we hopped on the T and headed out to Harvard University. The T goes underground through the middle of the city, but then is above ground when it gets outside of the downtown core. We crossed the Charles River, above ground, and the view was absolutely beautiful.

PC and I were both interested in seeing Harvard. It seems we have seen so many movies that were shot there, and it's a bit of a historic landmark for Boston, and of course, the educational world! We got to touch the famous golden shoe on the statue of John Harvard himself, and since then we've felt pretty darn lucky!

We spent some time in the Harvard Bookstore, known as The Coop. We bought a few souvenirs, and then just toured around the campus a bit. I was highly impressed with the school and their love of tourists. As soon as we exited at the T stop, there were Harvard reps right in front of us, asking us if they could help us get around. We got pointed in the right direction, and were able to maximize our time there. It was great.

As early afternoon approached, we jumped on the T, and headed back to Faneuil Hall for lunch, and into parts of the Boston Harbour, which is beautiful. I love that Boston is so accessible to the water, it's gorgeous! We walked around Christopher Columbus park, and just took in the scenery for most of the afternoon.

As the day progressed, we decided we should make one final stop at Fenway Park (again), just to see it without all of the crowds. We hopped back on the T, got off at Fenway, and took some time to see the history in and around the park. That was our final stop for the day, before walking back to the hotel to get the car.

It was nearing 5 o'clock when we decided to hit the road, which was right in the middle of rush hour, but we managed fine (my directions to the driver were the bomb this time around). We got stuck sitting on the Leonard Zakim Bunker Hill bridge for about 10-15 minutes... for me, it was scary and beautiful all at the same time, but it gave us a chance to see the last of the city, from an interesting perspective.

By 6, we were outside of Boston, and crossing back into New Hampshire: Live Free or Die!

The day couldn't be concluded without a short stop at some outlets in Tilton, NH, that we had noticed on our way down. We were able to drop a few dollars at several stores, and capped off the night with a late dinner at Applebee's: shake n' bake baby!

When we finally arrived back to our resort, we were exhausted, however, we enjoyed every moment of the trip into Boston.... it's a nice city, that feels very safe, and has friendly people that make you feel right at home when you are there.

Here are a few pics from our final day in Boston... enjoy.

Next post: the rest of our week in New Hampshire... stay tuned (probably won't be until next week though, as we are taking in the 60th Highland Games this weekend in Maxville. Hope all the faithful readers headin' to the Th-dot for Community Weekend, have a great time... I will be there in spirit!).

The T