Exploring Boston

Upon arrival in Boston, I went a Delta counter to ask where to check-in for our next leg of the trip. He looked at my information and said our baggage was only scheduled to go as far as Paris. I guess Mr. Baggage Clerk in Indy didn’t get it totally fixed. We had to go downstairs to the Baggage Service desk where they intercepted our luggage and got it retagged to make it all the way to Venice with us. Good news. With that problem solved, we made our way to the information counter for suggestions on what to do with our 9 hour layover. The lady in her thick Boston accent said, “Here’s what you’re going to do” (no question of what we wanted to do) and directed us to the correct buses and subways to take to see the two locations she said we needed to go. That sounded like a plan for us and off we went in search of the first bus that would take us to the South Station in the city. At this location was an office where we could pay to have our carry-on luggage stored for the day. We figured out the city’s subway system and made our way to the recommended stops. Thursday was a cool, foggy, and misty (not quite rainy) day. We walked down the streets of Boston, looking at the cool buildings, peeking in shop windows, and searching for a place to eat. Boston is a really neat city because of the mixture of old and new buildings. Finagle a Bagel looked like a good restaurant choice for brunch. At the counter there is a really cool system where the employees toss your selected bagel onto a small conveyer belt. It reaches a certain point where it is shot through a slicer and launches it to an opening at the other end of the counter to be prepared for your sandwich or toasted.

We spent the rest of the day exploring the streets of Boston. One of my favorite stores had all sorts of unique light fixtures. One was a chandelier created with hanging pieces of notepaper, each with its own sketches or random notes written. We were stopped on a sidewalk for a bit, where they were filming a scene of a movie. The scene was on the patio of a café and the extras were walking across the sidewalks in the background of the scene. We stopped next to the line of extras and watched for a few minutes until the filming stopped and we were allowed to continue across the sidewalk. Boston Commons is a large area where quite a few historical sites are located. There was a large monument of the Declaration of Independence and many other statues. Tour guides dressed in colonial outfits were giving tours to groups and school children. We walked past a cemetery where Paul Revere and other historical figures are buried. After a few hours of exploring, our feet were getting tired and the lack of sleep was kicking in. We made our way back to pick up our luggage and returned to the airport. Once we made it through security there were only two hours left until our plane would begin loading. Houlihans, one of my favorite restaurants, is in the airport and we spent the remainder of our time there eating dinner.