Boston

Date: 26, 27 and 28th, May 2007
Purpose: Fun, Sight seeing

The memorial day weekend called for some form of "break away" from the normal routine, so four of us Cheri, Rita Aunty, Chatura and I left Stanford Friday evening to Boston

Saturday
Boston is truly a beautiful place. For a New Yorker (damn I called myself a New Yorker) the first that catches your attention is how relaxed and happy the people here are. I guess maybe that is why most of the the main colleges in US decided to end up here.

Our first stop was the New England Aquarium. Highly recommended as one of the "must do things" in Boston comes with a price tag of $17.95 per person. Despite all the publicity I found this place to be much smaller than expected. But never the less it had some cool features to it. The penguins, the giant turtles, the jelly fish and the cylindrical tank are some of the things to lookout for. Can I justify $17.95 for this excursion? Hmnn.. I guess its something that you would want to do once when you are in Boston. Missed the Whale Watch rides and the IMAX theater experiences due to lack of time.


Quincy Market
Now this is a remarkable place. An open market with a very relaxed atmosphere with plenty of shopping and entertainment. Food, clothes, jewelery you name it. The street entertainers are a treat. All sort of circus acts, musicians, dancers can be seen on every corner of the Quincy market. People come here to shop and relax. Its one of the most popular tourist attractions in Boston and it definitely justifies its reputation.


By this time everyone (Cheri, Kesh, Rita, Ajantha and Shantha) had decided to call it a day. So I was set on my own to explore the streets of Boston. I decided to explore the western part of the "Freedom Trial" which I had carefully mapped on a piece of paper. But I discovered later on that you need not have a map, and that the whole path is mapped with stone on the pavement



Freedom trail
" There is no other place in the United States where you can take in the rich history of America’s Revolution — the events that lead up to the historic break from Britain and the brave people who shaped our national government. The Freedom Trail is a 2.5 mile red-brick walking trail that leads you to 16 nationally significant historic sites, every one an authentic American treasure. Preserved and dedicated by the citizens of Boston in 1958....."
Source - http://www.thefreedomtrail.org/

I don't know anything about American History and I don't think I really cared anyway, but this walk was one of the best walks ever. The architecture and the atmosphere in this city is absolutely amazing. People are so relaxed, and even the apartments give you a real sense of "I am home" feeling. Maybe its the colonial feeling style that creates this

Sunday
The main event for the day was a Cricket match organized by some Buddhist temple welfare committee in Boston. The tournament turned out to be a rather disappointment but never the less we had our own fun. The venue for the tournament was rather interesting. It was at a state park which on different circumstances would have been an great place to hang out

Harvard Square
The highly acclaimed Harvard Square was a big disappointment. Nothing was happening and I didn't find anything interesting. But i was assured by well informed sources that this was because it was a Sunday night. So maybe next time I will have better luck in being a part of the action

Monday - Memorial Day
After an eventful weekend we headed back home. Nothing of major significance happened along the way, apart from our stop at Bangkok garden in Yale for lunch. Good food for cheep - that is the place to be. A combination that is very rare in NY.