I just returned from a long weekend in Boston with my wife. Before returning to work for Microsoft back in October 2001, I spent about 15 months working for a company based in Boston and travelled to the city many times on business.
Boston is one of my favourite cities in the world. Comparatively speaking it is quite a small city, and it has a great community feel to it. Unlike in London, where people keep themselves to themselves, you will often find conversations in the most unlikely places, and the people of Boston are very friendly and welcoming.
This time around, we managed to actually take in some of the more “tourist-y” things the city has to offer. We spent an hour touring the city and the river Charles on a Boston Duck Tour. If you are not familiar with Duck Tours (a lot of cities are now doing them) this involves riding around the streets of town in an amphibious vehicle before plunging in the river and taking a cruise in a local body of water – all narrated as you guy by an eclectic driver. The name “Duck Tours” comes from the military code for the vehicle – the DUKW. As well as being great fun, it also filled in some of the knowledge gaps I had in my head about Boston’s heritage.
We visited the Museum of Fine Arts, which was excellent. I was most impressed with the display of art owned by collector William I. Koch. This is a man who buys art and antiques based purely on his love of the piece. There is no specific “genre”, or “era” or partiucular artist that he favours – it simply has to be art that triggers some emotion in him. In a small collection I saw works by artists such as Dalí, Picasso, Matisse, Monet and Renoir, sculpture by Degas, as well as a collection of historic firearms. Not being *hugely* educated in matters of art, it was fantastic to spend a small time viewing many different pieces of art, by very famous artists, that were both thought provoking and emotive in nature.
The highlight of the trip was an impromptu tour of Fenway Park. I am a big Red Sox fan, having been converted to a baseball lover after my first couple of live games at Fenway. We went over to visit the merchandise store to buy some typically tourist oriented souvenirs and luckily timed it just right to join the end of a tour. We sat in the “old” seats for a while, listening to stories about the park and it’s current renovations before moving up to the monster seats on the top of the Green Monster for a great view of the park. In a weird twist of climate, it was snowing pretty hard, but no-one seemed to care – not even the few Yankees fans that had come along for the view. My friend John is a Mets fan. For the first time in quite a while, the Mets are playing at Fenway next June in a 3 game series. I am going to have to talk to him some more about a possible field trip! My feeling is that we should be looking to get some seats close to left field…
I found a new drink in Starbucks. Sadly they are only available in New England right now. Maple Lattes. A regular Latte, with maple syrup and whipped cream. It is like drinking a pancake. BRING IT OVER TO ENGLAND PLEASE STARBUCKS!
We stayed in a hotel called the Charlesmark Hotel, on Boylston Street right opposite the Public Library. The location is excellent, really convenient for all of Back Bay, as well as being right by Copley T station on the Green Line. The hotel was refurbished a couple of years ago, and the new bar area was being prepared for a November 1st opening. As a “boutique” hotel, the rooms were a little smaller than some I have stayed in, but the personal service and room quality was worth the money I think. I would definitely look at staying there next time I visit.
Here is a picture of me at Fenway, atop the Green Monster. In the snow.
