Last Wednesday I Was in Boston, This Wednesday I'm Just Reminiscening!

Wow, time flies when you're working triple doubles! Hard to believe that it's already been a week since Jamie and I went up to spend the night in Boston and took a very chilly walk around Boston Common and the Boston Public Gardens where I took the picture above of the footbridge over the lagoon.  That scene looks a lot different in the spring/summer when the lagoon becomes the site of Boston's famed Swan Boats that paddle back and forth on the lagoon's water as depicted in the painting below that hangs in Parker's Restaurant at the Omni Parker House where Jamie and I spent one very nice evening last Wednesday.

Now that I'm done with work for the week I can work on my post for The Distracted Wanderer about the Parker House which is America's oldest continuously operating hotel and truly just as wonderful as I always thought it would be chock full of history and beauty and maybe even a ghost or two! Some of that history includes future President John Fitzgerald Kennedy proposing to Jacqueline Lee Bouvier right there in Parker's Restaurant at table #40 near the Press Room where friends threw his bachelor party and where he made his first speech when just six years old at a party for his grandfather, former Boston Mayor John "Henry Fitz" Fitzgerald.

To think, I got to dine in the same place as a former President and his wife .. or at least Fiancée! Ah well, no such high-brow antics tonight as I'll be dining here at home but at least it won't be in front of the dispatch console where dinner has been served for the past three nights so I'll take it! And even though there's no Boston Cream Pie either there's still this ...

A 14K Carrot Cake Cupcake from Sugar's Bakery & Sweet Shop in East Haven, Connecticut which one of my co-workers brought back for me yesterday.  Who needs pie when you can eat cake?!? 

Greetings from Boston!

Jamie and I are having a fine time visiting Beantown even though it's a little on the cold side (or as Jamie says, "it's freezing!") but there's no snow and the sun is shining so I'm not complaining in the least.  I took this picture of the very popular "Make Way for Ducklings" sculpture in Boston Public Gardens yesterday evening - Jamie thought she'd get behind the last duckling and follow along.  Today we're off for a tour of the Massachusetts State House, Boston Public Library, and maybe a few other places in between before we head back to Connecticut and "real life".  

An Early Christmas Gift for My Cousin - and Me!

Even though it's probably going to rain a bit, my cousin Amy and I are heading up to Boston today so that I can present her with one of her Christmas gifts just a little bit early.  Being a little stumped as to what to get a librarian who also has a love of history like I do, when I heard about The Freedom Trail's Holiday Stroll I thought it sounded like an excellent gift idea - plus I couldn't possibly send Amy by herself so I'm rather giving myself a gift also!


Even though I should probably be staying home working on my post for The Distracted Wanderer on my tour of the House of the Seven Gables or perhaps wrapping a few Christmas packages or maybe even doing laundry, I'm not going to do any of that. Instead I'm going to drive up to Boston with my cousin, spend a little time doing some Christmas shopping, and then take a nice stroll along the Freedom Trail learning all about how Christmas was - and wasn't - celebrated during Colonial Times. As a special treat, the tour ends at Boston's Omni Parker House where we'll indulge in a nice cup of coffee or tea and the pièce de résistance - Boston Cream Pie!

The Omni Parker House is, after all, where Boston Cream Pie originated - not to mention the truly delicious Parker House Rolls. The one time I was there to have breakfast several years ago the hotel was absolutely beautiful and I'm thinking it will probably be made even more so decked out for the holidays! I'm looking forward to finding out firsthand!

I sure hope that Amy will quite enjoy her early Christmas present but if by some strange twist she doesn't, she can't exactly return it!

Back to Boston But Not For Baseball!

For the second week in a row on what ended up being an absolutely beautiful August day here in New England, I set out for a trip to Boston yesterday not to see a Red Sox game like last week but this time to take Amanda to the Museum of Fine Arts so that we could catch Chihuly's "Through the Looking Glass" Exhibition before it was all carefully packed up and removed after Saturday's final showing. My friend Juli at the Hawthorne Hotel had highly recommended that we go and even though Amanda will no longer be an art student due to that whole disappointing lack of funding to go back to Montserrat thing, that doesn't mean she still doesn't enjoy a trip to a museum. Add on the fact that one of her friends that lived in the Boston area was going to meet us there and she was all for it.

Not being a big fan of driving in Boston I opted to park in Newton at Woodland Station and we hopped on the 'T' for our ride into the city.  I rather had to laugh as Amanda gave me instructions as to what to do like it was my first time on the Boston subway system.  I think she was just trying to show off her own expertise at getting around in the city but regardless, we found our way to the MFA without incident and pretty soon her friend Kait joined us for the afternoon. As you can see, they were more than happy to pose for the camera and ham it up a little bit in the process!

Due to it being the last few days for the Chihuly Exhibit, it was naturally a bit of a mob scene - but a well-behaved mob of course! - and it was very easy to see why once we entered the gallery at our ticketed time of 3:00 p.m.  To say that it was amazing would truly be an understatement - to say that it was magical would be much closer to the truth.  As I took well over 50 pictures of just the Chihuly Exhibit alone, I'm going to post just a few here but if you'd like to see the rest feel free to click over to my SmugMug page to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts Gallery.  Trust me, I think you'll be glad you did!

Pictures alone do not do this exhibit justice as it's really hard to grasp the enormity and brilliance of the works but it was really great that the MFA allowed visitors to take as many pictures as they'd like provided they didn't use a flash.  Of course there are always one or two people who don't think the rules apply to them ...

Prior to and following our tour of the Chihuly Exhibit, the girls and I explored some more of what is an absolutely gorgeous museum that contains all sorts of wonderful works of art (some of which you can find in the photo gallery link above). I'm pretty sure that we missed a lot of it but what we did see was pretty wonderful.

Claude Monet's "Morning on the Seine near Giverny"

Amanda's favorite artist - Vincent van Gogh's "The Ravine"

Pierre-Auguste Renoir, The Seine at Chatou

One of the Art of Europe Galleries

Part of the Maritime Exhibit in one of the Art of Americas Galleries

Abstract Art - something that I will never ever "get"

Thomas Sully’s masterpiece “The Passage of the Delaware’’

Not exactly art but ... ! 

After posing nicely on the third floor landing overlooking the Shapiro Family Courtyard and Chihuly's Lime Green Icicle Tower that the MFA hopes will become a permanent display, Amanda and Kait decided to get just a little bit silly for future pictures ...

With John Singleton Copley's 1760 painting "Henry Pelham"

Another Copley painting, the 1776 "Paul Revere" 

And once again with whoever this guy is! 

Leaving the museum, Kait posed with a really big baby's head!
Antonio Lopez Garcia's "Day"

After spending several hours walking around the museum everyone was getting hungry so we hopped back on the Green Line and rode down to the Prudential Center to hit up the food court where I was assured by both girls that they had "the best bacon cheese fries" anywhere. Errr ... okay ... sure.  I'd never been to "the Pru" as it's known by the locals and sitting down somewhere to get something to eat sounded darned good to me right about then so why not?  Turns out that the Pru really does have a very good food court and the prices were quite reasonable while the bacon cheese fries were obviously not healthy but quite tasty!

Following dinner we walked around a little bit to work off the bacon cheese fries while Amanda and Kait relived memories from their last time at the Pru for Anime Boston back in April. Reliving memories also involved posing for a few more pictures including this one:

While the girls went to check out Barnes & Noble, I went outside to the South Garden and took a few pictures of the Prudential Tower and the Huntington Building as well as a pretty fountain.  It really was a gorgeous night with a nice breeze, moderate temperatures, and NO humidity - we couldn't have asked for better!

Done with pictures, I sat and did some people watching for awhile - something that Lois would have loved I'm sure as there were all sorts of folks who walked by - and while doing so I couldn't help but think about what it would be like to live in a city like Boston where there was so much available right there at your fingertips - shops, museums, parks, restaurants galore ... Made me wish that I was younger and maybe had the opportunity to do things over again like live in such a place but alas, I'm way too old to be thinking about moving to Boston even though it would be really interesting!

After awhile I got to wondering what on earth had happened to Amanda and Kait so I took a walk in to Barnes & Noble where it appeared that Amanda was having a reunion of some sort.  Turns out that she had spotted two of her friends who in turn called over several of their friends and before you knew it, there was a hug-fest going on in the Arts & Architecture section of the store! Leave it to my kid to be in a big city like Boston and run into friends!

Unfortunately I had to break up the happy reunion as it was starting to get late and we had a bit of a journey to get back home including a 'T' ride back out to Woodland followed by a good 1-1/2 hour ride from there so everyone gave each other a big hug with promises to stay in touch on Tumblr and MSN and whatever other social media service they all use then we went to catch the subway home.

All in all it was a fun day and even though I was totally worn out by the time we got home sometime after 11:00 p.m. it was well worth it for both the chance to see some beautiful art and the chance for Amanda to see some of her friends.

As for making it three weeks in a row, to the best of my knowledge there shall be NO trips to Boston on my next batch of days off but you just never know!

Linda & Jamie's Excellent Adventure!

Even though I've been back from Boston since Sunday night, I'm still a bit worn out from the terrific weekend that Jamie and I had visiting Ms. Maggie Moo and the wonderful city she now calls home since moving there from her former place of residence in Connecticut. This was my second time going up to Boston since Mags moved up there - I first went in May when it rained on us and this time it was hotter than I would have preferred but Jamie and I still really enjoyed our weekend.

We started our journey on Friday by heading north to Shirley, Massachusetts where my cousin lives. My cousin's husband is my former brother-in-law which makes their two daughters Jamie's cousins so it also gave her a chance to see them. As a matter of fact, she stayed there on Sunday to visit for a few days while I came back to Connecticut to return to work. Amanda and I will be going up later in the week to pick Jamie back up and give Amanda a chance to visit her cousins for a bit.

Anyhow, I digress ... in Shirley we caught the commuter train into Boston which brought us into North Station and a hop, skip, and a jump to the "T" to then head out to Mags' apartment. We arrived there just a little before 6:00 with just enough time to hop back on the "T" and head up to Tasca, the tapas restaurant that Mags and I went to on my first visit to see her. I had really enjoyed it then plus they had graciously sent me a $14 coupon as they were celebrating their 14th anniversary in July. Who knew I would actually have the chance to use it?!? Woohoo! Mags and I ordered a small pitcher of Sangria and thought it rather odd that the waitress asked Jamie if she would be having some, too. Uh ... hello? Does she really look that old? Jamie ordered a ginger ale instead, more in keeping with her age of 14!

We ordered several different dishes to try and even though Jamie took a taste of everything her very favorite was the Albóndigas, which are tenderloin meatballs in a green peppercorn sauce. Surprisingly, she seemed to like the sauce the best. Her other choice of Gambas al ajillo, sizzling shrimp in garlic, turned out to be not as good as she thought so she graciously gave the rest to Mags. After dinner we walked back down the hill to Mags' apartment where we watched a little TV along with a fantastic lightning show out the windows before calling it a night.

Saturday morning had us up and heading off on the "T" into Boston for breakfast at the Omni Parker House Hotel, which is the oldest continuous running luxury hotel in the country having opened in 1855. Parker's Restaurant is the birthplace to Parker House Rolls and Boston Cream Pie and ever since learning that fact while overhearing a tour guide on my last trip to Boston, I've wanted to go check it out. The dining room was elegance at its best with a very courteous waitstaff and beautiful surroundings. When he learned that it was our first time there, our waiter was kind enough to bring us an entire plate of just-out-of-the-oven rolls with our own individual dishes of butter, Even if that was all there had been for breakfast, I would have been a very happy woman! They were absolutely delicious and the best I've ever had - bar none!

In addition to their breakfast dishes, Jamie and Mags had both ordered Boston Cream Pie (yes, it's on the breakfast menu!) but I figured I would just sample some of Jamie's which she didn't mind and it turned out to be fantastic. They prepare it unlike any other Boston Cream Pie I've ever seen before but I figure if they invented it to begin with, they can dress it up any way they want! All in all, it was a very nice breakfast and I really enjoyed the ambiance of the dining room - as well as my breakfast company! My next goal for the Omni Parker House is to actually be able to spend the night there as rumor has it the third floor is haunted and that totally intrigues me!

After breakfast we made a quick stop at Haymarket so that Mags could pick up some fruit and vegetables. The prices there just astound me and Mags walked away with a bag full of goodies - including strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries - for $7! I tell you, Haymarket alone is enough to make a girl want to move to Boston - never mind all the other great stuff there!

From there it was back to Mags' where we hopped into her car and headed out to Revere Beach and the annual Sand Sculpting Competition that they have there. After driving around lost through the streets of East Boston for awhile, we were finally able to find the place and miraculously a parking spot opened up right before us. At that point it was getting hotter than a June bride on a featherbed (I love that saying!) and being by the shore didn't make one bit of difference as there was no breeze helping to cool things off.

As we walked down to the area of the beach where the sand sculptures were, I was beginning to understand why the place is referred to as Freakin' Revere (or worse!). The traffic was terrible, there were people all over the place, and a good majority of those people had absolutely no business being out in public wearing what they had on. No offense to Boston but holy cats, there were some truly ugly people on that beach - or at least close to the beach because most of them were parked in lounge chairs and the like on the sidewalk which was nowhere near the water! I just didn't get it ...

We checked out the sand sculptures, which were all pretty cool, and then decided to forget trying to find Kelly's Famous Roast Beef where we had hoped to have lunch and try to find our way out of there instead. Leaving turned out to be much easier than getting there was - thank goodness! - and we eventually ended up at Panera Bread in Brookline for lunch. It was no Kelly's but it was good and gave us time to go back to Mags' to rest up a bit before catching the "T" back into Boston for our Evening Harbor Cruise that we had booked. Mags has this fantastic couch and I had no trouble drifting off for a nice little nap while Jamie spent a little time watching TV.

Our 90-minute cruise around Boston Harbor gave us some wonderful views of the city as it took us out past some of the islands in Boston Harbor including Georges Island where Fort Warren was built in 1847. The fort served as a prison for Confederate soldiers and is reported to be haunted by a Confederate prisoner's wife who is said to have been sentenced to death for aiding in an escape and hanged in a black robe made from the fort's mess hall drapes. Yet another place I need to check out more up close and personal!

Continuing our cruise, we went past the U.S.S. Constitution, aka "Old Ironsides", where we got to witness the firing of the guns - which turned out to be one gun! - at sunset. It went off a little earlier than expected and surprised most of the people on board but it was still pretty neat. Seeing Boston from the harbor was wonderful and a great way to spend Saturday evening as it was a little cooler out on the water than it was in the city itself.

We rounded out the night with dinner at the Boston Hard Rock Cafe which Jamie was definitely into. When an AC/DC song came on the video monitors around the room she couldn't have been happier as that's "her" band. It was at the Hard Rock that yet again Jamie was asked if she wanted a beer or glass of wine so I don't know if she looks a lot older than she is or if people in Boston are just used to college students and assumed her to be one. I guess if you're underage and want to drink, perhaps Boston is the place to go? Good grief!

When we finally got back to Mags' apartment, it was after 11:00 and even though I would have liked nothing more than to collapse on that comfortable couch and call it a night, Jamie wanted to watch a scary movie so we ended up watching Stephen King's "Sleepwalkers". It really wasn't all that scary as for some reason most Stephen King stories don't seem to translate well to film but Jamie enjoyed it and we didn't turn off the TV until after 1:00 a.m. What a long day!

Suffice it to say it was after 10:00 when we finally managed to wake up on Sunday morning! You would think that sleeping on a couch would cause a person to wake up early but not if that couch is the one in Mags' apartment! That thing is wicked comfortable and I want one of my own!

Around mid-afternoon Jamie and I thanked Mags for a wonderful weekend, bid her good-bye, and climbed on board the "T" for one final trip into Boston and back to North Station to catch our commuter train back to Shirley. While waiting for the train, Boston was hit with one heck of a thunderstorm that rattled the walls of the building around us while dumping gallons of water on the waiting trains. Good thing we didn't have to wait outside in that weather!

The train ride back to Shirley was uneventful though a little warm as the storm had knocked something out in the train that left us without lights and/or air-conditioning. By the time we got to Shirley, it was starting to get a bit warm and stuffy so I was glad we were at the end of the line for our adventure.

After leaving Jamie happily ensconced with her cousins in Shirley, I made the hour and a half drive home to Connecticut exhausted but happy. I think that Jamie had a really good time visiting both Boston and Mags and she can't wait to go back so we can go on the "Ghost and Graveyards" night tour that she saw offered. Perhaps that's something to think about for next summer when maybe by then I'll finally be rested up!

A big thank you and a cyber-hug to Mags for a truly fantastic weekend - it really was wicked awesome and you freakin' rock! Can't wait to see you in September!

Barely Back from Boston!

Just a quick post to let you know that I have returned from Boston but it's late and I've got to work a 16-hour shift on Monday so I'm afraid I won't get to a post of any sort until Tuesday. Until then let me just say that Jamie and I had a fantastic time visiting Mags and not only does she have the nicest apartment in Boston but she's most definitely got the comfiest couch in Boston, too!

Be back Tuesday with details and pictures - lots and lots of pictures!

Off For a Wicked Awesome Weekend!

Having hauled Amanda, Darci, and Cate down to New York City a couple of weekends ago, it only seems fair that I take Jamie someplace special while she's here this summer and what could be more special than a visit to Boston to stay with Ms. Maggie Moo at what has been described as "the nicest apartment in Boston"? To answer my own question - not much I'm sure!

We'll be driving up to my cousin's house in Shirley, Massachusetts outside of Boston and after leaving my car there we will then take the commuter train into North Station where we'll switch over to the Green Line to head out to Allston and hang out with Mags until sometime Sunday when we'll reverse the process a little bit!

We've got some really fun stuff planned for the weekend but I don't want to give any of it away just yet in case something changes along the way. You never know, something unexpected may pop up that sounds even better than what we have on the agenda! Even though it's going to be hotter than the hubs of Hades due to the darned New England summer weather and those miserable three H's - hazy, hot, and humid - I still think we're going to have a really good time.

Boston is definitely one of my most favorite cities in the United States and I think Jamie will enjoy her time up there even if she isn't into history like her mother is! This might, however, be a good time for her to start though, right?

Tapas, Tombstones, and Trains - Oh My!

Even though yesterdays' weather wasn't New England at its finest, I was holding firm to the adage that an overcast or even rainy day in Boston was infinitely better than a sunny day in dispatch and that proved to be correct as I had a great time visiting blogging buddy (and real life friend) Mags in her new home this weekend.

When I first met Mags she was still living here in Connecticut but after graduating from culinary school she decided to pursue a dream of hers, sold her house, and moved to Boston to live the life of a brave young woman in a big city. I teased her a bit about being our own real life Mary Tyler Moore and that she was only in need of a beret to toss in the air to make the picture complete but I have to say that I totally admire her greatly for having had the guts and determination to do such a thing. I also envy her greatly as it's such an adventure and something I would love to have done if my life had taken a different direction.

Anyhow, even if I can't live in a big city with all of the excitement that it has to offer, I can certainly go up and visit Mags, right? Right! To that end I climbed on board an Amtrak train in New London Friday afternoon and made the slightly less than 2 hour trip north. I had planned on making this trip completely on my own but much to my surprise while I was sitting on a bench outside of the Amtrak station waiting for the train to arrive, who should walk up but one of the EMTs I work with at American? Not just any EMT either, mind you, but one that I've mentioned in my posts before as being extremely cute - this one in the middle of this gang of guys.

Well, I certainly wasn't going to turn down an attractive travel partner just so I could listen to my iPod so we made the trip to Boston together. It was a great chance for me to get to know JM a bit better and find out why he went into EMS to begin with as well as some other things I'm not going to find out in a work environment. JM is always "on" at work and it was nice to talk to him when he wasn't in a constant joking mode. Besides that, it gave people at work something to gossip about as I couldn't help but call dispatch from the train and hand the phone to JM to tell them 'hi'! I know, I know ... I'm bad but what can I say?

Upon arriving at South Station we went our separate ways as JM went off in search of his friends and I continued on to Mags' apartment via the Red Line to the Green Line. I've only been to Boston a couple of times but I have always been impressed with their public transportation system and find it extremely easy to get around without getting at all lost. I don't mind feeling like a tourist but I'd rather not feel like a lost tourist, thank you very much!

When I got to Mags' part of the city she was sitting outside of her apartment building waiting for me and after a big welcome hug I got to see her new home on the 5th floor that has a very nice view of Boston itself from her living room window. For dinner, Mags had made reservations for us at a Tapas restaurant and I was really looking forward to trying something different. Tapas are a Spanish cuisine which are basically small appetizer-size servings of all sorts of different dishes. Because the dishes are small, you can order three or four of them and be able to try a variety of things rather than just one main meal. I had never tried Tapas before but they sounded delicious so we took off in the direction of the restaurant which was almost at the top of a rather high hill. By the time we reached the restaurant I was more than ready for the Sangria we were planning on ordering - or at least a big glass of water!

Dinner was absolutely delicious as I tried a Tortilla española (a traditional Spanish potato and onion omelette), Costillas de ternera (slow oven braised boneless beef short ribs over scallion mashed potato), along with Pollo curruscante del ajo (crispy garlic chicken) - all of which were fantastic! Mags ordered Gambas al ajillo, (sizzling shrimp in garlic), Albóndigas (homemade tenderloin meatballs in green peppercorn sauce), Empanadillas de queso de cabra (herbed goat cheese empanadas served on a roasted red pepper relish), and Bocaditos de tomate, queso manchego y anchoa (garlic toasted bread with tomato, anchovy, and Manchego cheese). Even though these were all small servings we were pretty full by the end of dinner and decided a walk to Brookline for dessert might be in order.

After stopping and changing my shoes (I will never get the whole proper walking shoes in a city thing right!), we hit the streets for a walking tour of the neighborhood of John F. Kennedy's birthplace. Brookline is, as they say in Boston, wicked awesome and I loved all the little shops that we passed along the way. The side streets were lined with very nice residences and homes that had probably been in families from one generation to another throughout many, many years. We stopped at JP Licks for ice cream and then walked back to Mags' where I had absolutely no problem falling asleep on her extremely comfortable couch!

Saturday was calling for a chance of showers but I was thinking positive as we headed out on the T towards the Boston Common and our day in the city. Being the history nut that I am, I wanted to drag Mags around to a couple of the local historical hot spots that she said she hadn't seen since moving to Boston. For some unknown reason I always think that because I enjoy history and learning about our country from its inception, other people will too so I sure hope that Mags wasn't bored to tears as we walked through the Granary Burial Ground, which is the 3rd oldest cemetery in Boston, as well as Kings Chapel Burying Ground which is also part of the Freedom Trail and Boston's oldest cemetery.

The Granary Burial Ground is the final resting place of such historical notables as Paul Revere, Samuel Adams, John Hancock, and the parents of Benjamin Franklin - who was born in Boston even though he's best associated with Philadelphia. At King's Chapel Burial Ground one can find the graves of John Winthrop, the first governor of Massachusetts, as well as Mary Chilton, who was the first woman to step off the Mayflower. Most interesting though is the gravestone of Joseph Tapping which depicts a skeleton and Father Time battling over death. Having not spent a lot of time in old cemeteries, Mags thought that a lot of the gravestones with their depictions of leering skeleton heads and the like were pretty creepy and I can't say that I blame her. People were just a lot more superstitious about death back in the 1700's and it showed on a lot of their tombstones.

After touring King's Chapel, which was built in 1754 and holds Sunday services to this date, we continued on towards Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market as the skies above us started to cloud up even more. We had a lovely lunch at The Purple Shamrock, an Irish pub with windows that open onto the street so you can watch the city as you enjoy your lunch. From there we continued on to Haymarket and the produce sellers that hawk their wares every Friday and Saturday. Mags picked up a few things for dinner and then we made a quick stop by the North End and Mike's for a cannolli to take back for dessert. At that point, the umbrellas that Mags insisted we take with us came into good use as the skies above us opened up and the 80% chance of rain the forecasters had predicted turned into 100%!

Back at Mags' apartment we spent the rest of the afternoon chatting and watching silly shows on MTV. Mags made a delicious dinner of pork chops topped with a delicious pineapple and cilantro salsa, mashed potatoes, and zucchini. She didn't go to culinary school for nothing and her skills in a kitchen are nothing short of amazing! I had learned this the first time when Mo and I visited her last September but it was certainly nice to have a tasty reminder of her talents with food! Had I done nothing else in Boston all weekend except eaten that dinner, it would have been more than worth it!

At the end of the evening I caught the Green Line back to the Red Line back to South Station and my awaiting Amtrak train to make the trip back to Connecticut and home. Not having any adorable company sitting next to me that time I spent the trip listening to my iPod and thinking about my next visit to Boston. I told Mags that perhaps I'd bring Amanda with me the next time and we'd take a Duck Tour as well as eat in one of the many cute little Italian restaurants in the North End.

Thank you again, Mags, for your hospitality and allowing me to drag you through the burial grounds of Boston! Next time we'll keep our fingers crossed for only a 20% chance of rain rather than the other way around!


Oh, and Mags - as to why people place stones on top of the graves, the best I could find is this - No one's entirely certain of the origin of the tradition, but most people believe that the tradition is borne out of the desire to mark your visit somehow -- to let the world know, "Someone was here. This person is not forgotten." If anyone knows where and or why this tradition started I'd love to know as there were plenty of stones left on top of the gravestones we visited!