Day Twenty Seven Boston here we come
Up nice and early to get ready to drive to Buffalo airport. Im not sure whether we can claim going to Buffalo since we only drove through the city directly to the airport but hey, we did technically go to Buffalo hehe.
I have never crossed from one country to another via a road, always through air travel so it was a different experience crossing the border. Our driver said we werent allowed to be silly or too friendly. We would be asked some questions and if asked whether we had bought anything to just say the word souvenirs or we could be held up and have our bags searched. I must admit he had me a little rattled before we got to the border. I was thinking hey man, we arent going into Mexico, its just boring old Buffalo for goodness sake hahaha. Im being all tough now but I was shaking in my boots at the time haha. Of course it was fast, friendly and no problems.
Flight took off on time, we had a connection in Philadelphia, again, can I claim that I was in Philly if I only went to the airport hehe. Soon we were arriving in Boston. Im really excited to explore this city with so much history.
There was a fair bit of snow on the side of the roads and in piles along the footpaths. They had a big snow storm about a week ago and although the roads are all clear now, there are still big piles of snow everywhere. Its kind of strange that everything looks normal and unsnowlike (is that a word) but just big mounds of snow along the streets that have obviously been swept up into piles.
This hotel was the one I was most excited about. Omni Parker House is the oldest continuously run hotel in America, opening in 1855. John Kennedy proposed to Jackie O in the restaurant there at table 40, he also announced to the press in the foyer that he was running for congress and had his bucks night there. Charles Dickens lived there for a few years and did the first public reading of a Christmas Carol there. Malcolm X and Ho Chi Minh worked there in their youth and last but not least, the Boston Cream Pie was invented in the kitchen here.
Oh and apparently the hotel is haunted but it remains to be seen if we are lucky enough to meet a little ghosty.
So you can see the place oozes history and I have to say the hotel did not disappoint. It was so beautiful and dare I say stately. All dark wood panelling, lush furnishings, exquisite carpets, fabulous staff and the lifts they were so unique with pressed metal doors and these cool things above the doors to tell you what floor the lift was one. The kids loved the lifts so much.
We then got to our room and wow!!!! The curtains were stunning, the beds were so high I needed to run and jump to get up on it (let me tell you that made for some fun and games in the dark in the middle of the night hahaha), we had the most spacious living area and the icing on the cake a dressing room. I have never seen such a thing in a hotel room. There was a quaint dressing table with a lovely stool and mirrors, a second double door robe and lots of space to dress. I could just imagine women staying here in the 1800s needing all of that space for their hooped skirts etc. I felt very la-de-da. I don't imagine we fitted into the place all that well with our Aussie travel style but I didn't care, I loved it.
The location of the hotel was absolutely ideal. We could essentially walk everywhere Beacon Hill, Boston Common, North end, Fanueil Hall and many of the major historic sites. Once we arrived, we quickly unpacked and decided to pop downstairs to the very classy bar there as we had to get organised to get to TD Garden to watch the Boston Celtics versus Indiana Pacers play basketball. A quick and easy dinner and a drink were just the ticket. The food here was delicious and surprisingly reasonably priced. Such lovely decor in the bar also and the staff were incredibly warm and helpful. I felt super relaxed here and have great plans to come back hehe.
We decided to walk to the basketball, Id found it on the map and figured we would eventually find our way there. It was fairly easy to find, only about a 15 minute walk and we were soon there. Santa had not only given DS tickets to the game but also a Boston Celtics jersey so he was all decked out like a local. Alas Santa hadnt seen fit to cough up quite as much money on these tickets as on the Knicks tickets so the seats had a certain nose bleed feel about them. We didnt have our backs on the back wall, there were likely 20 rows behind us but there were alot more than twenty between us and the court hahaha.
The game was really good, Boston won by heaps but I have to say, it lacked alot of the excitement and hoopla that we experienced at the Knicks game at Madison Square Garden. I cant quite put my finger on it but the crowd wasnt as engaged and because the scores werent close the tension and excitement wasnt there. It was just a "good" game, whereas the Knicks game was fun on wheels and so stressful and amazing haha.
We walked home amongst the crowds, climbed (or catapulted for the height challenged aka me) into our majestic beds for a good nights sleep.
Loving Boston already!
Highs our hotel, its amaze-balls
Lows none today that I can think of
Weather high of 3, low of -6