Last week, for the first time since I arrived in the U.S. in July, I left the beautiful State of Tennessee. I went to Boston, Massachusetts. Fortunately, I was invited there, and, I have to say, my hosts took very good care of me in terms of room and board.

I arrived in Boston around noon. From the airport I took a cab downtown, which brought me to the Langham Hotel. All the smaller rooms being occupied, the receptionist had no choice but to offer me a suite, what I thankfully accepted. After a short walk through the Financial District, first down towards the Fort Point Channel, then back up north again on Congress Street, I had a ridiculously overpriced crab & shrimp sandwich at Quincy Market next to Faneuil Hall.

Having eaten, I extended my walk towards the North End. At the Christopher Columbus Park, I discovered an amazing view on the port entrance. Afterwards, I went back to my hotel room to take a rest. On the way, I grabbed a half-dozen donuts, and an, as expected, way below average café latte from Dunkin’ Donuts.

At six in the evening, I headed towards State Street, where I was invited for dinner. On the menu were, amongst other things, a butternut squash bisque – the soup of the season – and an incredibly tender herb crusted beef tenderloin with a lobster risotto on the side. The particular circumstances of the nature of the diner barred me from taking any pictures of the food, it would not have been appropriate, I believe. However, the food was pretty awesome and I had lots of fun.

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On Thursday, I started out with a relaxed breakfast in my hotel room, since it was equipped with a coffee machine and I had donuts leftovers from Wednesday. Then, although it had started to rain, I took a walk towards the Seaport District, where I discovered the Boston World Trade Center. The rain began to increase, and so I went back Downtown to meet a local attorney for lunch. 

Heaving eaten, I set out for the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum. Although I am not sure whether the term museum is the best to describe this venue, because it struck me more like a show but as a mere exhibition, I enjoyed it a lot. If you get to visit Boston, or if you are already there: go see it. The story of the Boston Tea Party is carried to the visitors basically by actors dressed in late 18th century clothes, who explain the whole operation from the point of view of Tea Party participants. They do a great job in illustrating the background and preceding events. The museum conveys the 18th century feel through – momentarily two – replicas of the vessels which were attacked, the Eleanor, and either the Beaver or the Dartmouth – I don’t remember which one it was. But, to my knowledge, the third replica ship is to be built next year.

Subsequent to a tour on the Eleanor replica, the show goes on land, i.e., on the platform in the Fort Point Channel. Inside, it has great videos and some surprising special effects awaiting the guests. I don’t want to reveal too much – just go and see for yourself, it’s awesome.

After around an hour and a half, the tour was over, and I went back to the hotel to pick up my luggage. I was sorry that I had to leave town and that my stay was so brief. However, I got a glimpse at one of America’s oldest cities, and it was long enough for me to be sure that I’ll come to Boston again.