Will's Spring Break Trip to Boston (Mar 2009)

Will's Freshman Spring Break Trip was delayed by one year. He selected Boston for our March 18th thru 22nd trip. The surprise was the upgrade to First Class - Will's first! It's a 4 hr flight so I was happy as well.

Will's Freshman Spring Break was delayed by one year. He selected Boston for our March 18th thru 22nd trip. Day 1 - Highlight for today was the Boston Celtics game! Our flight was delayed but we had plenty of time to get to the game after our T subway ride from the airport to the Holiday Inn Beacon Hill. We walked to the North End (Italian neighborhood), ate at The Daily Catch and stopped at Mike's Pastry for take-out dessert. The Celtics won the game in overtime.

Will's Freshman Spring Break was delayed by one year. He selected Boston for our March 18th thru 22nd trip. Day 1 - Highlight for today was the Boston Celtics game! Our flight was delayed but we had plenty of time to get to the game after our T subway ride from the airport to the Holiday Inn Beacon Hill. We walked to the North End (Italian neighborhood), ate at The Daily Catch and stopped at Mike's Pastry for take-out dessert. The Celtics won the game in overtime.

Will's Freshman Spring Break was delayed by one year. He selected Boston for our March 18th thru 22nd trip. Day 1 - Highlight for today was the Boston Celtics game! Our flight was delayed but we had plenty of time to get to the game after our T subway ride from the airport to the Holiday Inn Beacon Hill. We walked to the North End (Italian neighborhood), ate at The Daily Catch and stopped at Mike's Pastry for take-out dessert. The Celtics won the game in overtime.

Will's Freshman Spring Break was delayed by one year. He selected Boston for our March 18th thru 22nd trip. Day 1 - Highlight for today was the Boston Celtics game! Our flight was delayed but we had plenty of time to get to the game after our T subway ride from the airport to the Holiday Inn Beacon Hill. We walked to the North End (Italian neighborhood), ate at The Daily Catch, and stopped at Mike's Pastry for take-out dessert. The Celtics won the game in overtime.

Will's Freshman Spring Break was delayed by one year. He selected Boston for our March 18th thru 22nd trip. Day 1 - Highlight for today was the Boston Celtics game! Our flight was delayed but we had plenty of time to get to the game after our T subway ride from the airport to the Holiday Inn Beacon Hill. We walked to the North End (Italian neighborhood), ate at The Daily Catch, and stopped at Mike's Pastry for take-out dessert. The Celtics won the game in overtime.

Will's Freshman Spring Break was delayed by one year. He selected Boston for our March 18th thru 22nd trip. Day 1 - Highlight for today was the Boston Celtics game! Our flight was delayed but we had plenty of time to get to the game after our T subway ride from the airport to the Holiday Inn Beacon Hill. We walked to the North End (Italian neighborhood), ate at The Daily Catch, and stopped at Mike's Pastry for take-out dessert. The Celtics won the game in overtime.

Will's Freshman Spring Break was delayed by one year. He selected Boston for our March 18th thru 22nd trip. Day 1 - Highlight for today was the Boston Celtics game! Our flight was delayed but we had plenty of time to get to the game after our T subway ride from the airport to the Holiday Inn Beacon Hill. We walked to the North End (Italian neighborhood), ate at The Daily Catch, and stopped at Mike's Pastry for take-out dessert. The Celtics won the game in overtime.

Will's Freshman Spring Break was delayed by one year. He selected Boston for our March 18th thru 22nd trip. Day 1 - Highlight for today was the Boston Celtics game! Our flight was delayed but we had plenty of time to get to the game after our T subway ride from the airport to the Holiday Inn Beacon Hill. We walked to the North End (Italian neighborhood), ate at The Daily Catch, and stopped at Mike's Pastry for take-out dessert. The Celtics won the game in overtime.

Will's Freshman Spring Break was delayed by one year. He selected Boston for our March 18th thru 22nd trip. Day 1 - Highlight for today was the Boston Celtics game! Our flight was delayed but we had plenty of time to get to the game after our T subway ride from the airport to the Holiday Inn Beacon Hill. We walked to the North End (Italian neighborhood), ate at The Daily Catch, and stopped at Mike's Pastry for take-out dessert. The Celtics won the game in overtime.

Will's Freshman Spring Break was delayed by one year. He selected Boston for our March 18th thru 22nd trip. Day 1 - Highlight for today was the Boston Celtics game! Our flight was delayed but we had plenty of time to get to the game after our T subway ride from the airport to the Holiday Inn Beacon Hill. We walked to the North End (Italian neighborhood), ate at The Daily Catch, and stopped at Mike's Pastry for take-out dessert. The Celtics won the game in overtime.

Will's Freshman Spring Break was delayed by one year. He selected Boston for our March 18th thru 22nd trip. Day 1 - Highlight for today was the Boston Celtics game! Our flight was delayed but we had plenty of time to get to the game after our T subway ride from the airport to the Holiday Inn Beacon Hill. We walked to the North End (Italian neighborhood), ate at The Daily Catch, and stopped at Mike's Pastry for take-out dessert. The Celtics won the game in overtime.

Will's Freshman Spring Break was delayed by one year. He selected Boston for our March 18th thru 22nd trip. Day 1 - Highlight for today was the Boston Celtics game! Our flight was delayed but we had plenty of time to get to the game after our T subway ride from the airport to the Holiday Inn Beacon Hill. We walked to the North End (Italian neighborhood), ate at The Daily Catch, and stopped at Mike's Pastry for take-out dessert. The Celtics won the game in overtime.

Will's Freshman Spring Break was delayed by one year. He selected Boston for our March 18th thru 22nd trip. Day 1 - Highlight for today was the Boston Celtics game! Our flight was delayed but we had plenty of time to get to the game after our T subway ride from the airport to the Holiday Inn Beacon Hill. We walked to the North End (Italian neighborhood), ate at The Daily Catch, and stopped at Mike's Pastry for take-out dessert. The Celtics won the game in overtime.

Will's Freshman Spring Break was delayed by one year. He selected Boston for our March 18th thru 22nd trip. Day 1 - Highlight for today was the Boston Celtics game! Our flight was delayed but we had plenty of time to get to the game after our T subway ride from the airport to the Holiday Inn Beacon Hill. We walked to the North End (Italian neighborhood), ate at The Daily Catch, and stopped at Mike's Pastry for take-out dessert. The Celtics won the game in overtime.

Will's Freshman Spring Break was delayed by one year. He selected Boston for our March 18th thru 22nd trip. Day 1 - Highlight for today was the Boston Celtics game! Our flight was delayed but we had plenty of time to get to the game after our T subway ride from the airport to the Holiday Inn Beacon Hill. We walked to the North End (Italian neighborhood), ate at The Daily Catch, and stopped at Mike's Pastry for take-out dessert. The Celtics won the game in overtime.

Will's Freshman Spring Break was delayed by one year. He selected Boston for our March 18th thru 22nd trip. Day 1 - Highlight for today was the Boston Celtics game! Our flight was delayed but we had plenty of time to get to the game after our T subway ride from the airport to the Holiday Inn Beacon Hill. We walked to the North End (Italian neighborhood), ate at The Daily Catch, and stopped at Mike's Pastry for take-out dessert. The Celtics won the game in overtime.

Will's Freshman Spring Break was delayed by one year. He selected Boston for our March 18th thru 22nd trip. Day 1 - Highlight for today was the Boston Celtics game! Our flight was delayed but we had plenty of time to get to the game after our T subway ride from the airport to the Holiday Inn Beacon Hill. We walked to the North End (Italian neighborhood), ate at The Daily Catch, and stopped at Mike's Pastry for take-out dessert. The Celtics won the game in overtime.

Will's Freshman Spring Break was delayed by one year. He selected Boston for our March 18th thru 22nd trip. Day 1 - Highlight for today was the Boston Celtics game! Our flight was delayed but we had plenty of time to get to the game after our T subway ride from the airport to the Holiday Inn Beacon Hill. We walked to the North End (Italian neighborhood), ate at The Daily Catch, and stopped at Mike's Pastry for take-out dessert. The Celtics won the game in overtime.

Will's Freshman Spring Break was delayed by one year. He selected Boston for our March 18th thru 22nd trip. Day 1 - Highlight for today was the Boston Celtics game! Our flight was delayed but we had plenty of time to get to the game after our T subway ride from the airport to the Holiday Inn Beacon Hill. We walked to the North End (Italian neighborhood), ate at The Daily Catch, and stopped at Mike's Pastry for take-out dessert. The Celtics won the game in overtime.

Day 2 – We started with our breakfast buffet at the hotel and then hopped on the Beantown Trolley which took us all around the city. This was a good thing as the weather was cold and the threatened rain finally started when we were waiting at the Boston Harbor for the tour to continue. After a quick rest in the hotel, we headed back to the North End for lunch at Pizzeria Regina and dessert at Mike's Pastry. We needed to "walk off" our food so we started the Freedom Trail walk and saw the Old North Church, James Rego Square (Paul Revere Mall), and the Paul Revere House before heading back to the hotel for a nap! We walked UP Beacon Hill and had dinner at Cheers.

Day 2 – Old North Church (Christ Church) - This beautifully proportioned brick church, designed in the style of Sir Christopher Wren, fairly overflows with historic assocations. It contains the oldest American church bells (cast in Gloucoster, England, and installed in 1745), the Revere family's pew, and a bust of George Washington that's believed to be the first memorial to the first president.

Day 2 – Old North Church - The strongest link is with Paul Revere, who arranged for sexton Robert Newman to hang two lanterns in the steeple on the night of April 18, 1775, signaling to the rebellious colonists that British troops were leaving Boston by water ("two if by sea"), bound for Lexington and Concord.

Day 2 – Old North Church - The original weather vane tops the current steeple, the church's third, which is a replica of the original.

Day 2 – Old North Church

Day 2 – Old North Church - Will was impressed with the individual pews.

Day 2 – Old North Church - the oldest church building in Boston, dates to 1723.

Day 2 – Old North Church - Pipe Organ

Day 2 – Old North Church

Day 2 – Old North Church

Day 2 – James Rego Square (Paul Revere Mall) - usually called the Prado - this tree-shaded plaza links the commotion of Hanover Street and the serenity of the Old North Church. One of the best photo ops in the city is here: focus on the equestrian statue of Paul Revere, then allow the church steeple to stray into the frame.

Day 2 – James Rego Square (Paul Revere Mall) - Will imitating Paul's demeanor!

Day 2 – North End - St. Stephens, one of three Roman Catholic houses of worship in the tiny North End, is the only standing church building in Boston designed by Charles Bullfinch. The design bears the hallmarks the architect's iconic style, including the symmetry that makes Federal architecture so pleasing to the eye.

Day 2 – North End - St. Stephen's Church - Rose Fitzgerald (later Rose Kennedy) was baptized here in 1890, and her funeral took place here in 1995.

Day 2 – North End - St. Stephen's was Unitarian at its dedication in 1804; it changed with the neighborhood's population and became Catholic in 1892.

Day 2 – North End - St. Stephen's Church - A refurbishment in 1965 restored the building's original austere details, including clear (not stained) glass windows. The bell, installed in 1805, came from Paul Revere's foundry and cost the congregation $800.

Day 2 – North End - St. Leonard Catholic Church - Founded 1873 – First Roman Catholic Church in New England built by Italian Immigrants

Day 2 – North End - St. Leonard Catholic Church

Day 2 – Mike's Pastry in the North End - we only stopped there twice for their cannolis and cookies.

Day 2 – North End - Very old cobblestone street - and it is still in use!

Day 2 – Paul Revere House - With its good water supply and easy access to the harbor, the North End was one of the first areas of Boston settled by Europeans. The Paul Revere House, the oldest surviving house downtown, was built around 1680, inthe wake of a huge fire in 1676.

Day 2 – Paul Revere House - A talented silversmith who supported a large family - he had eight children with each of his two wives - Revere played an important role in the fight for independence. As tensions between British troops and colonists escalated in the last years of colonial rule, he monitored the royal soldiers' activities and helped to keep the Americans apprised of the progress of the rebellion.

Day 2 – Built around 1680, the Paul Revere House in the North End is a reminder that for Boston's first 2 centuries, buildings were mostly made of wood, and huge portions of the town regularly burned to the ground. The house is colonial in age but Tudor, rather than typically "colonial", in style. The casement windows and overhanging second floor are medieval features, and when the Reveres moved in, in 1770, the house was no longer fashionable.

Day 2 – Paul Revere House

Day 2 – Paul Revere House

Day 2 – On our way back to our hotel we see Faneuil Hall in the distance and decide to wait until tomorrow to see it up close.