#I had a cheap little chapel wedding because city hall told me that's what people did in this town

[chainslobber]

My saddest flex is that my sister's entire wedding photoshoot had me cut out of every picture. I'm not the prettiest, that's understandable, but it's the fact I dressed up and wore makeup when I'm allergic to basically everything to try and look better for her special day and was basically given the impression I wasn't.

And I still got taken out of every photo lol

And yet all of her BILs, our entire side of the family and his side, etc are all in the photos. In the album. The expensive printed ones they got framed and on the wall. Even my young brother and half brother are in photos. I still dunno what I did but it still stings whenever I go over lol

Of course it's HER wedding, HER special day, but it's been years and it's still upsetting.

[travelsponzfamilyof5]

Boston in 4 days

My husband and I took a trip to Boston for our 15th wedding anniversary in September 2016. We went without kids, which of course made it easier, but I think it can be done with a kid or two. I would recommend older kids, maybe 10 and up. There is a lot of history involved and some interest in early America would help! I planned a short trip to see some highlights in Boston. After researching areas to stay I settled on the North End, or “Little Italy”. First, it is near many of the sights we’d like to see. Second, it is a very interesting and pretty area to stay in. Third, we are surrounded by Italian restaurants and bakeries!

Day 1-

We flew into Boston, and took an Uber to the North End where we are rented an apartment. There are many hotels in the area but we found that an apartment was less money and more convenient for us. We were right in the middle of Little Italy and just a block from the historic Old North Church, as well as many other sights.

The Freedom Trail, a 2.5 mile trail with 16 Revolutionary war sights, is what we walked around the last couple days. First, we walked over to the Paul Revere mall, which is right behind the Old North Church. The highlight is the Paul Revere statue, but it is situated within a stone courtyard with a fountain and other interesting facts about the North End. The church is a beautiful 18th century church and is Boston’s oldest surviving church. This is where Paul Revere lit the lanterns on the top of the church to signal the British are coming.  It is a big tourist attraction with people going in and out. The surrounding neighborhood have cafes, restaurant, gift shops, etc. A very quaint “little” neighborhood that takes you right back to the 18th century. Right up the street from the church is the Copp’s Hill Burying ground. This is the second oldest cemetery in Boston. The graves are dated from the 1600’s thru the late 1800’s. An interesting place to walk around. In the evening we walked over to the Boston harbor walkway, not more than a 10 minute walk. We ate at The Boston Sail Loft, and had beer and a Lobster Roll. The harbor is filled with boats, and it a nice place to sit in the evenings. We were able to do much sightseeing the day we arrived, thanks in part to where we were staying right in the middle of it.

Day 2-

We started our day at a small cafe across from the Old North Church, which is right in front of you considering the streets are very narrow! Then we walked a couple blocks to Paul Revere’s house. This house is the oldest building in downtown Boston. He and his family lived here in the years of 1770-1800. You can walk through the house on your own, with guides placed in rooms to answer questions.  Then we continued on the Freedom trail (which is marked on the sidewalk, but a bit hard to follow without a map!) to Faneuil Hall. Faneuil Hall was a good 10 minute walk from the Paul Revere house. This Hall is currently the Government center in Boston, and has been known as a meeting hall and marketplace since 1743. There are several tours you can go on that start here, as well as a museum and marketplace. We took a guided walking tour which took us by several historical landmarks: Old South Meeting Hall and the Old State House. Most of the tour was stopping at certain places in the downtown and hearing a story of what happened there. One of them being the Boston Massacre. It was an hour long tour, not too long we thought.

Continuing on…we kept on the Freedom trail to Granary Cemetery, which is the oldest cemetery in Boston. This is next to Kings Chapel, which we did not go into because of a service being held. The Granary cemetery is home to many famous people such as: Paul Revere, Benjamin Franklin’s parents, Samuel Adams, John Hancock, and Peter Faneuil.

A little further up we come to Boston Commons, a big park with a pond and picnic areas. The Massachusetts State House is located here as well. While we were there a big event was being held so it was massively crowded. We just walked around and over to Boston Public Gardens right next door. This park is beautiful with its paths by the lake. It is home to the famous Little Duckling statue and the Swan boats. Also many pretty gardens along the way.

We walked back to the North End for dinner. We checked out the much recommended Mike’s Pastry! A long day of walking but we saw so much in one day.

Day 3-

Today we off to cross the harbor over to Charlestown. We took the Charlestown Inner Harbor Ferry at the Boston Harbor. It is a also a good way to get on the water for some sightseeing. The ride is only 15-20 or so, but I cheap way to get around. The ferry brings us right to the Navy Yard where we will see the Navy Yard museum and U.S.S Constitution or “Old Ironsides” in the dry dock.

We then walked over to the Bunker Hill monument, a short walk nearby. On the way there you walk through a colorful neighborhood of houses up to the hill. The Bunker Hill Monument is quite impressive! There are 294 stairs straight up once inside the monument. It is quite steep and a workout to get to the top! Be warned! At the top is a small area to look out over the area and to the harbor. There is small museum right next to it as well. 

Walking back down the hill we had lunch at The Warren Tavern. This is the most historic tavern in America, and was visited often by George Washington and Paul Revere. it was built in 1780 and the first building built after Charlestown was taken by the British.

After lunch we decided to take an Uber to Salem, Massachusetts. This was an interest to me especially since I’ve read quite a bit about the Salem Witch Trials. The Uber ride over was about 30 minutes. We went to the Salem Witch Museum and saw the Trials presentation. This includes sets showing the story of the Witch trials in 1692. I thought it was the extra 30 minute trip over to Salem. We also went over to the cemetery in downtown Salem that honors the 18 people who were put to death for being told they were guilty of witchcraft. 

We walked a little through downtown Salem with its shops and restaurants. The train station wasn’t too far so we took that back to Boston.

Day 4-

Our last day of trip! We stayed in Little Italy today. We had been inside the North Church but we have not been on a tour. The tour includes going up to the bell tower of the old church and down below into the crypts. The staircase going up is the same one Paul Revere ran up to light the lanterns to signal the British are coming. We also saw the Bell system they used to use, and still do. It is several ropes that are connected to the bells up on the top of the church. The guide also explained about the history of the church and how the bell playing was learned and used. Next, we journeyed down to the basement or the crypts of the church. From 1732 to 1860 the church used the space in its church to bury the congregants of the church. It has 37 brick vaults that can accommodate 20-40 coffins. We enjoyed this 30-40 minute tour of the parts of the church most people do not see! Very much recommended…

We saw a lot of history in 4 days. We didn’t see the whole city of course, but we did see some of the most popular and historic for sure. We would stay in the North End if we visit again. Such a nice area and close to everything!