On Tuesday I started my post on the topic of how the city of Boston has stolen my heart. I have already told you about the awesome few things I visited: the aquarium, the Museum of Science and Harvard (the campus and the Natural History Museum). I’m back with more today!
BOSTON – PART II
On our third day in Boston, we woke up early again to make sure to take advantage of the entire day (with our Go Boston cards). We headed out early to go get our baseball ticket. Afterwards, we headed into Fenway Park for a tour. I don’t remember much from that tour, as this was over three years ago, but I remember thinking it was worth it! I loved it! It was so cool to learn of the history and the rivalries surrounding the Red Sox. We got to go on the field as well – although we were warned not to bring back sand or grass with us, which I found to be a funny detail. 
The tour was about 45 minutes and afterwards we got slightly lost on our way to the Museum of Fine Arts. I had a map of the city with me and saw that it was relatively close by so we tried to walk there, passing by the Fenway Gardens. It was a lovely walk, although the temperature was increasingly hot!
The Museum of Fine Arts is another one of my favourites of the visit in Boston. It was amazing! And it really had something for everyone! You go through history and through the world! From the ancient world (papyrus and mummys) to impressionist paintings. As you can see below, I’m a massive fan of Monet! He is by far my favourite artist to be honest and I was mesmerised in front of the paintings!
After that stunning visit, we took the T back toward our hotel and after another well-deserved lunch, we passed by the Old State House, which was right in front of the hotel, to see what it was all about. It’s an absolutely gorgeous building smack in the middle of the financial district and they offer lots of tours.
We then headed on a walk towards the North End, which is one of the oldest parts of the city and also known for its Italian American population. It was one of my favourite parts of the city! It had small winding roads, lots of restaurants that looked mouth-watering, and so much history! We didn’t visit anything, but walked around for an hour or two. It was lovely! Great place for gelato as well!
In late afternoon, we headed to the Mary Baker Eddy Library. I’m far from being a religious person, so I couldn’t really fully appreciate this place, but I really wanted to see the Mapparium! I had read about it in a story in my America Lit class the year prior and really wanted to see the giant globe that gives a three dimensional perspective of the world in the 1930s. Although I enjoyed the time we had in there – it was gorgeous – I wouldn’t recommend going out of your way for it! Pictures inside the Mapparium are forbidden, so sadly I do not have pictures.
Finally, we headed to the Skywalk Observatory near Prudential just before sundown. A friend from Boston had told me it was the best view of Boston one could get and he was right. It was amazing to see the city from up there! And we witnessed the sunset and saw the city light up in the dark! Gorgeous! It was not included in our Go cards, however you can apparently add it if you buy a customised card. If not, it is $13 for students ($15 for adults) and it’s totally worth it!
In the next few days, we took things more slowly to relax a little after the first two intense days of visiting. We went to see a movie, did some shopping and went to the Red Sox game on Memorial Day. We went on a self-guided tour (I sort of always had the ambition to be a guide, I just like spitting facts out to people …) of the Freedom Trail. If there is one thing I regret is not taking the time to do the full tour! It’s very impressive to learn about all the history and monuments of Boston and although it is easy to do a self-guided tour (you can pick up brochures to do it by yourself), I wished we had taken the time to do the whole thing!
Red Sox game at Fenway
I also got to visit the campus of BU, which I was very intent on attending before my interview with them – but that’s a story for another time…
* * * *
SOME FINAL THOUGHTS ON : Go Boston Card
It was absolutely worth it! I highly recommend it!
We went to:
Aquarium $24.95 // Harvard Natural History Museum $12.00 // Museum of Science $24.00 // Fenway Park Tour $17 // Museum of Fine Arts $25 // Mary Baker Eddy Library $6 // Old State House $10
Total = $118.95
Minus the card fee of $75, it bring the total savings to = $43.95
That is not counting the discounts for restaurants and museum shops included with the card. We went to have dinner at a restaurant that was in the Go Card booklet and even though our cards had expired, they gave us a free appetizers. I like that kind of savings!
* * * *
It was a great six-day vacation and I have wanted to head back to Boston ever since! Obviously the marvellous weather helped, and so did the cosy and conveniently situated hotel that made it super easy to walk everywhere! Also, when we got lost, there was always some nice local to help us find our way! Thank you Bostonians!
Hopefully I have convinced you that Boston is completely worth the visit! xx
