Boston & Cape Cod Road Trip - October 2016 - Day 2 - Boston Duck Tour & Freedom Trail

**Erial** · 3 Jun 17, 10:16 PM

Boston & Cape Cod Road Trip
22nd October 2016
Day 2 - Boston Duck Tours & Freedom Trail

Previous: Travel Day

One of the advantages of having had a late flight the day before was that we weren’t up at the crack of dawn this morning like we normally would be in Florida. It had been gone 10pm Boston time and 3am UK time by the time we’d got to bed

Breakfast consisted of a few snacks in the room that we’d brought with us like brioche rolls and cereal bars. We made a few quick calls home to let them know we’d arrived safely and then got ourselves ready for the day.

We had pre-booked the Boston Duck Tour for the first Duck of the day at 9am which left from the opposite side of the road to the hotel.

We looked out of the window and could help but think how ‘English’ it all looked. I know, I know…it’s New England!

The weather was still a bit drizzly but nowhere near what it had been when we arrived. At least we’d be undercover in the Duck and we made sure we wrapped up warm with lots of layers.

The Ducks were all lined up when we arrived and looked fab! Izzy’s spending money was already burning a hole in her pocket and before we even boarded she’d bought herself a big yellow fluffy duck!

The tour itself was fab. We had a crazy driver who doubled as a hilarious comedian.

The tour was just short of 2 hours. Most of the tour was on the roads with about 30 minutes in the Charles River. It was a great and informative way to see some of the key sights and learn more about this beautiful city. It also didn’t take a big chunk of our day like the hop on hop off buses had in New York.

Once we had finished the Duck Tour we were all ready for a drink and a snack so headed into the Prudential Centre which is where the Duck Tour went from. We soon found a Dunkin Donuts and were tucking into coffee, milk and donuts.

We then had a litte bit of a look around the Prudential Centre which is a magnificent building full of offices, apartments, posh shops, high street shops, restaurants and even a church! You really could live in this building and never need to leave!

Having explored the Prudential Centre we decided to walk to Boston Common and do a bit of the Freedom trail. It was still a bit wet but not too bad at this point with just an odd shower. After all we couldn’t sit in doors all day. We only had two full days in Boston so had to make the most of them!

We made our along Boylston street towards Boston Common. We stopped to look in lots of shop along the way. We stopped at a Starbuck so I could get my ‘You Are Here’ Boston mug to add to my collection. At this point I didn’t get the Cambridge one as I wanted to get this when we went to visit Harvard so that it was actually bought in Cambridge. Spoiler alert: I would regret this later!

We continued to amble along Boylston Street taking in the sights.

The building below is one of the few modern very tall buildings in Boston. It is completely covered in mirrors. This is so that it is constantly reflecting the beautiful surrounding architecture rather than shadowing it.

All around Boston there were lots of copper animals from nursery rhymes or kids stories. Izzy loved them and we always had to stop to take a photo.

Continued below...

**Erial** · 3 Jun 17, 10:29 PM

Eventually it stopped raining and I even ended up carrying my coat as the walking was making me warm.

We made our way to the Boston Common Visitor Centre. This is the starting point of the 2.5 mile long path through Boston that takes you past 16 locations that are key to the history of the US. They do guided tours or you can self walk it. We decided to self walk the trail as we weren’t sure we’d make the full walk there and back. We made the decision to just do half of it which would take us as far as Faneuil Hall Marketplace which we really wanted to visit. We also knew that near here was a Hard Rock Café which we fancied doing for tea.

As we started to walk the rain started again and got progressively heavier and heavier. At one point we had to seek shelter on some steps outside an office block to review where we were on the map and reassess our options as by now we were really quite wet, cold and getting tired. However, the unsympathetic receptionist came out and told us off for loitering and moved us on!

We figured as we were probably within 10 minutes walk of Faneuil Hall that was where we’d carry on to despite the rain. Eventually we arrived and crammed inside with everyone else who was also taking shelter from the rain.

We had a little look around and decided to make a run for it to the Quincy Market behind where we knew the Hard Rock Café was. Even though we knew it wasn’t dinner time yet we just wanted to get out of the rain and dry off a bit. The key mistake here was that we went totally the wrong way around the building and so instead of a quick nip across the front of the Market we did a complete loop of it! By the time we arrived at the Hard Rock Café we were totally soaked!

Fortunately, as it was only 3pm so neither lunch nor dinner time it was really quiet and we were seated straight away. I was very excited to be seated right next to their New Kids on The Block wall. I was a massive New Kids fan as a teenager (and must admit to having seen them as an adult on a reunion tour too). I’d forgotten that they originated from Boston so this was a lovely surprise. Our waitress saw me admiring their memorabilia and told us how she used to know the Whalbergs when she was little and before they were famous! I don’t know if this is true or if it’s a story she tells all tourists but I was suitably impressed!

The waitress further impressed me when she saw me looking at the cocktail menu and asked me what I wanted. I was looking for a strawberry daiquiri but couldn’t find one on the menu. It wasn’t a problem though she went away and made me one anyway.

Spot Jeff’s Hard Rock Orlando t-shirt in the background – he hadn’t planned this though. Honest!

The food was good, the service was great and we were all grateful for rest and to dry off.

Of course you can’t visit the Hard Rock without a bit of shopping in the Rock Shop. Jeff got a t-shirt (clearly to add to his collection). Whilst I got in the queue to pay Jeff ushered the girls outside (it was now dry again) whilst I secretly also bought a pair of pyjamas for Abi to put up for Christmas

As it was now dry we took the opportunity to explore the area a bit more and could look around Quincy Marketplace without it just being rammed with people hiding from the rain!

We found a very lovely but incredibly expensive Christmas shop so unfortunately came out empty handed.

Once we were done we caught a taxi back to the hotel. We didn’t want to risk it starting to rain again and getting re-soaked. Once back at the hotel we took it in turn to have hot shower and baths and change into fresh clothes.

Later in the evening we walked across to the supermarket in the Prudential Centre for some snacks and drinks.

By the time we got back to the hotel it was 9pm and so we chilled out a bit in the room before all heading to bed.

Tomorrow: Boston Common & Harvard

Thanks for reading.
Claire
x

**Sparksy72** · 4 Jun 17, 09:04 AM

What a great start to the trip - you managed to fit loads in despite the very 'English' looking weather! We have a trip planned for August and it's lovely to see what can be achieved in a day with kids in tow. Thank you 😊

**Erial** · 4 Jun 17, 11:13 AM

Originally Posted by Sparksy72

What a great start to the trip - you managed to fit loads in despite the very 'English' looking weather! We have a trip planned for August and it's lovely to see what can be achieved in a day with kids in tow. Thank you 😊

Oo are you just doing Boston or other areas too? We had a fabulous holiday and I'd love to go back in the summer months.

Thank you for reading.
Claire
x

Melbatb · 4 Jun 17, 08:11 PM

The Duck tour looks fab - I have heard lots of good things about it!

Well done for not giving up in the rain! One advantage of being from the NW is that a bit of rain doesn't put us off!

Pussycat Doll · 5 Jun 17, 01:08 AM

We're thinking of a return trip next year and staying a few days in a Boston this time. Looking forward to the rest of your trippie!

**Erial** · 5 Jun 17, 01:11 PM

Originally Posted by Melbatb

The Duck tour looks fab - I have heard lots of good things about it!

Well done for not giving up in the rain! One advantage of being from the NW is that a bit of rain doesn't put us off!

Lol! Yes, we're certainly used to the rain! It's chucking it down here now as I type!

Originally Posted by Pussycat Doll

We're thinking of a return trip next year and staying a few days in a Boston this time. Looking forward to the rest of your trippie!

I'd definitely go back to Boston. It such a clean, chilled city and the people were so friendly.

Thank you for reading.
Claire
x

**tocpe321** · 5 Jun 17, 01:26 PM

Another great day. We did the Duck Tour too and enjoyed the informative and funny commentary.

disney owl · 7 Jun 17, 09:40 AM

a good 1st day apart from the rain!

**Erial** · 25 Jul 17, 02:41 PM

Originally Posted by tocpe321

Another great day. We did the Duck Tour too and enjoyed the informative and funny commentary.

The Duck Tour is a 'must do' I think!

Originally Posted by disney owl

a good 1st day apart from the rain!

Fortunately we only saw rain twice in our entire holiday so wasn't too bad in the end.

Thanks for reading.
Claire
x

5 Jun 17, 01:26 PM	#8
	5 Jun 17, 01:26 PM tocpe321 VIP Dibber ✓Premium Member
tocpe321 VIP Dibber Join Date: Apr 12	Another great day. We did the Duck Tour too and enjoyed the informative and funny commentary. __________________ tocpe