Boston

Tues 13th Oct
Another early start, to get back to Boston in good time. Woke to find about 2 inches of snow and still snowing heavily.


Good drive back to Boston on roads that were only moderately busy. Lots of difficulty finding way to Irving House B&B (one-way roads!!). Nice B&B in Cambridge, adjacent to Harvard University. in a very pleasant, quiet suburban area with good subway connection to Boston.


Widener Library, Harvard University

Drove into Boston to return car. (Advice to future visitors: DO NOT ATTEMPT TO DRIVE IN BOSTON - even the locals don't recommend it!) Very difficult to find rental return site - it was on 9th floor of a parking building, with no signs or information to indicate the fact! However, it is easy and reasonably pleasant to walk around the city, which seemed less brash and noisy than other US cities. The locals were very helpful and polite. We had dinner in Mr Bentley's Burger Cottage in Cambridge - a Boston institution, renowned across the US for its excellent "gourmet" burgers and its many humorous signs and posters, many politically inspired.

Wed 14th Oct
Lovely sunny day, but extremely cold. Walked on Boston Common and Public Garden in morning - both attractive, restful areas, though not large. In pm went on guided tour of elements of the historical "Freedom Trail" with a National Park Ranger.

The Old State House, dwarfed by tall modern buildings

(Curiously, most of Boston's heritage sites constitute a US National Park). We learned much about the causes and course of the American revolution and War of Independence - the stupidity and arrogance of the British establishment and George III in particular, and the equally arrogant and somewhat fascistic rebellious leading lights in Boston who, amongst other things, didn't want their comfortable lives and privileges (granted by the Crown) to be disturbed. Their concept of democracy may have been revolutionary at the time, but it was carefully circumscribed and extremely limited. The fine words in the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (the model for the later Constitution of the USA) appear to have been honoured more in the preaching than in practice. Tolerance seems to have been a relative concept, as the Salem witch trials and the persecution of Quakers (were they really much different from the Puritans?) suggest. Of course,the Revolution occurred nearly 150 years after the Puritans first established themselves in Charlestown, so perhaps the authors of the Constitution, and those who approved it, were more ready to embrace the lofty ideals, though the continuation of slavery for some years after the Declaration of Independence casts some doubt on that.

Also learned much more about Paul Revere then we already knew about his ride to warn the "patriots" that the British army was mobilising to confront them. As well as being a highly competent horseman, he was also well-educated and was a silversmith and an engraver by trade. He produced an engraving of a drawing of the "Boston Massacre" (of American patriots by the British army) which wasn't a massacre at all. Even the guides and National Park Rangers we encountered graciously admitted that it was a propagandist message which was disseminated widely by printing from Revere's engraving, with the (successful) aim of fomenting revolutionary fervour.

In the evening, we enjoyed a production of Pinter's "The Caretaker" at the Central Square Theatre, though it was a slightly odd experience hearing the English working class language occasionally delivered with an American accent or an attempted upper-class English one!


Thurs 15th
Went across the river to Charlestown on a harbour ferry to the Navy Yard (dockyard) to see USS Constitution ("Old Ironsides"), dockyard museum, and Bunker Hill monument (all 294 steps to get to the viewing platform, though the view wasn't particularly interesting). Later visit to the viewing platform on the 26th floor of the Old Custom House (now largely a Marriott Hotel) was more impressive. We visited a couple more historical buildings (Old State House and the Old South Meeting House, which was the scene of many historically important speeches, after one of which the signal was given for the dumping of the tea in Boston Harbour).

Families purchased box pews in the Old South Meeting House where they sat during religious meetings, or to listen to debates, hear political speakers etc.

Early evening to the Institute of Contemporary Art, the highlight of which was an exhibition of interesting deconstructionist and somewhat subversive artwork by Damian Ortega, Mexican artist (hint of Dali: eg a pickaxe with a floppy handle), in an impressive new building overlooking the harbour in an area undergoing redevelopment.

We have made frequent use of the MBTA ("T") subway - quite good, but stations about a mile apart and no indication of time to next train. Interestingly, the Silver line to ICA and Logan Airport uses electric trolley buses underground instead of trains. Weather still cold (max 9 deg)and windy with onset of showers today. Apparently very unusual for this time of year - more typical of December.

Friday 16th Oct

Walked to Henry Longfellow's house on the other side of Harvard Yard. Again, this is run (in part) by the National Parks Service and we took a guided tour by a Park Ranger (with only two other visitors). The house actually has two claims to fame. George Washington used it as his military headquarters in 1775-76. Subsequently, rooms in the House were let to lodgers, one of them Longfellow, who was an academic at Harvard and a proficent linguist who translated Dante, amongst other things. Later, after marrying into a wealthy merchant family, he bought the house as a family home. It contains much original furniture from the Longfellow family and is full of books, works of art from Europe, and many items from Japan and the Pacific islands (brought back by Longfellow's eldest, adventurous and rather eccentric son). We found the visit to the house also to be very instructive re Longfellow's impact on English language and literature - did you know that he wrote 'beneath the spreading chestnut tree, the village smithy stands' ... in fact we saw the chair made from the wood after THE chestnut, referred to in the poem, was chopped down.

In the afternoon, we left Boston by train for New York. It was an interesting and moderately scenic 4-hour journey, initially along the coasts of Massachusetts and Rhode Island and later in the more industrial landscape of Connecticut. Arriving in Penn Station, New York, in the rush hour and having trouble finding working elevators and escalators, we decided to take a cab to the apartment of Carolyn's cousin, Ralph, and his partner Micky, in Queens. As they were out at an important baseball game, which went on late, we had the slightly odd experience of arriving in a strange apartment (with the prearranged assistance of the doorman) and going to bed, not entirely certain that we were in the right bedroom!