Gettin’ Carried Away

What can I tell you about Boston, Mass? I’ll spare you the mundane details about the typical tourist attractions. You could pick up any travel guide book or a number of flimsy brochures, and either will tell you exactly what every one else in the world probably already knows about Beantown. I’m here to show you Boston as I saw it. And since there is so much to tell you, I’m going to do it in three separate posts.

Carrie’s Boston

Depending on the amount of time you have in Boston, I wouldn’t recommend seeing the city on foot. There is so much to see! It’s very easy to take the T (subway), and cab rides are just as fast, as well. A Charlie Ticket, which offers one-way rides, day trips and week-long passes on the T, only cost us $15 to travel at any time throughout the city center for our entire trip!

I was surprised to find that the hotel, located just outside of the city center, was only about 15 minutes from Logan International Airport. I was even more shocked to discover that the hotel had a complimentary shuttle service to several T stations, to an area just a few blocks from Fenway Park and more!

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Day 1

Arriving at 5 p.m., the night was young. There was still plenty to do and see in this unfamiliar town. Hotels usually give you maps of the city, but I suggest that you buy one prior to your trip. This way, you can decide what attractions you would like to see and where they are in relation to each other, so you will be able to map out your days accordingly.

One the first day, we headed to the Boston Athenæum, which is just a fancy way of saying that we went to the library. It’s located at 10 1/2 Beacon Street. Because we arrived later on in the evening, the library was closed. However, I still wanted to get a pic of the old haunted place. That’s right, I said haunted! It is said to have been haunted by the scholarly Reverend Harris, who had been seen often by author Nathanial Hawthorne in the 1800’s.

A very famous bar/restaurant happens to be situated on the same street, so we headed there after enjoying some photo ops of the State House, which is (you guessed it) also on the same street. Thankfully, I learned this by planning my trip around the locations of each attraction! Strolling past the charming brownstones, I couldn’t help but notice that one apartment was for rent! Although the rent was too high for my monthly income, I couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to live on one of the hundreds of beautiful, tree-lined streets in Beantown. As I stared at the FOR RENT ad on the front door, I imagined myself inside that apartment, living just a few minutes away from CHEERS!

I’m a sucker for famous landmarks. But I think what makes this place so special is that it really is like the bar in the T.V. show. I’m sure the wait staff doesn’t mind catering to the thousands of tourists they see each year, but I also sensed a very good relationship between the bartenders and a few of the “regulars” I saw sitting at the bar. If you live in Boston, and you frequent Cheers, chances are that everyone really does know your name