You had me at "Welcome to Boston"

Whew!  We're back from our whirlwind tour of Boston.  Well, whirlwind for Alex and me.  I kept forgetting John had been there for a week.

When I was waiting to get on our flight on Saturday, I talked with a woman who used to live here and now lived in Boston.  She told me it was the best place in the world and I would love it.  You know what?  It is and I do.  I absolutely loved it.  From the second I set foot in Boston, I felt like I was home.  I can't put my finger on it, but there is something special about that city.  I think I was expecting something more like New York.  Big and bustling, smelly and sticky...  It was none of that.  Well, it was big, but it didn't feel big like New York.  The streets were clean and wide, and surprisingly light traffic.  The buildings were tall, but not overwhelming, in fact most of them were older with beautiful architecture and character.  Even the subway surprised me.  It didn't smell like pee and there wasn't a single rat to be found.  I don't know why I was so surprised at how clean the city was, but that's almost all I talked about all day on Sunday.  My hat goes off to Boston Public Works because DAMN they keep a nice city.

Our big day was Sunday when we went to see a Red Sox v Giants game at historic Fenway Park.  We sat in the most uncomfortable chairs in all creation for nine very long innings.  They had to be original to the 95 year old stadium.  Despite the literal pain in the ass, we had a wonderful time booing Barry Bonds, and even I, a die hard Yankee's fan, cheered for the Sox.  Sox won, we saw Bonds hit a home run (Yea, boo and all that, but it is Barry Bonds, and it is pretty cool to watch him do his thing).  I think the highlight of the day was the fact that Fenway allowed all the fathers and kids to go down on the field and play catch.  Wow, I mean, it was John's 30th birthday AND Father's day and he got to play catch with Alex on the grass at Fenway.  I know John will remember that forever.  Alex won't, but we've got pictures to show him when he can appreciate it.

Monday we did a walking tour of Boston along the Freedom Trail.  We saw a lot of the historic sites (though we couldn't find the site of the Boston Massacre, even though we walked past twice.  You'd think they'd have a sign or something, I mean it's the Boston Massacre!).  I was in awe of the beautiful stone streets and historic buildings.  We also spent a lot of time both Monday and Tuesday in Boston Common and Boston Garden feeding squirrels, pidgeons and ducks.  We went to both of the Cheers bars, the original Bull and Finch Pub at Beacon Hill and the replica at Faneuil Hall.  Tuesday before we left we ate various forms of lobster (Lobster quesadilla and a lobster sandwich) on the pier at the harbor.

In the end, my first impression of Boston is a good one.  A great one.  I would go back for a visit in a heartbeat.  Bostonians may have a reputation for being rude, but we found them to be very warm and friendly.  Oh, and I totally dig the accent.  "Lets go get beeah and lobstah at the bah"