BOSTON: Christmas Eve @ Union Oyster House, Quincy Market, The Freedom Trail & Cheers

February 09, 2016 • 1 Comment

~~CHRISTMAS~~ MY BIRTHDAY EVE IN BOSTON

So....the hubs asked what I wanted for ~~Christmas~~/My Birthday (yes, I have the unfortunate luck of being a Christmas baby) this year, and my response, "I just wanna go away. It doesn't have to be on a plane.... maybe just drive somewhere....Tremblant, Quebec City.... Boston.... wherever!"

We've been putting off Boston forever, because every single time we talked about going there, it was in the middle of winter with horrid temperatures and more snow than Montreal! This year however - an unusually warm Dec.24/25 - they were forecasting 20 C degrees for both days in Beantown! So, we Hotwired a hotel (ended up with a 4-star in Cambridge - 10-minute walk to Quincy Market - for just $114 per night) and off we went on our 5-hour drive for 2 days in Boston.

No metro for us, when I'm with the hubs, it's walking.....and walking....and more walking!

Signs of Christmas - though it's 20 C degrees outside

UNION OYSTER HOUSE

After checking in and dropping off our stuff, it's around 2 pm and we are starving! On good authority from a couple of foodies, we were told to head to Union Oyster House, and I'm so glad we did.

This iconic resto has the distinction of being America's oldest restaurant (serving up tastiness since 1826) and maintains a suitably old-fashioned tavern decor. This place has got the best Oyster House Clam Chowder I've ever had. They're Homemade Lump Crab Cake Sandwich was pretty effing good too! And as my hubs says, "Any place that starts off service with free fresh cornbread has gotta be good!" - and trust me, it was (so much so that we couldn't even eat dinner that night because we were so stuffed from all that deliciousness).

First stop - Union Oyster House for lunch

As the hubs says, "Any place that starts with serving you free fresh cornbread has gotta be good!"

To start - Oyster House Clam Chowder - Union Oyster House

Followed by a yummy Homemade Lump Crab Cake Sandwich - Union Oyster House

The cutest model of this historic restaurant

FANEUIL HALL MARKETPLACE - QUINCY MARKET

It's one those markets that you hear about time and time again, and I was afraid that it might not be open since it's Christmas Eve. It was open 9 am - 5 pm and it was packed with people doing last-minute xmas shopping. Even though it's the most touristy place in Boston, it's still very much a vibrant place - lots of places to eat, tons of entertaining street performers and what seems like zillions of people.

It consists of three large historical buildings smack-dab-in-the-middle of Boston and there's always something going on....and it's always crowded. While it is totally touristy, and the shops are pretty much the same as what you could find in any mall, it's still definitely worth taking a stroll through.

Following the footsteps of this guy to Quincy Market

Faneuil Hall Marketplace - better known as Quincy Market

It's Christmas Eve, and the market is popping

Always tons of peeps and performers around the market

December 24 and its 20 degrees (celsius) outside!

So glad that the market is open on Christmas Eve

Without the Christmas decos, you wouldn't know it's the holiday season from the mild weather

This kid - Bradley Bartlett-Roche - is only 12 years old and he's one of the youngest street performers ever to be selected to officially play at Faneuil Hall Market Place (aka Quincy Market)

Quincy Market - South Market Building Quincy Market - South Market Building

BOSTON'S FREEDOM TRAIL

Another thing that people kept telling me about is this Freedom Trail that is marked along the sidewalks. Having no clue where to find this trail, we were happy to see a plaque in the sidewalk with red brick paving the way. Following the red brick path, it's a 2.5 mile path connecting 16 historic sites that were significant to the American Revolution. Since we've picked up the trail somewhere in the middle (by Quincy Market), we pick a direction that takes us to the Old State House/Boston Massacre Site, Park Street Church, Old Granary Burying Ground, Old Corner Book Store, Old South Meeting House and the Boston Common (tomorrow we'll head in the other direction!).

Honestly not knowing too much about the history of the trail, I was all intent on looking up everything we'd seen today once we got back to the hotel, but it was an unreal coincidence that the History Channel was showing a marathon of Sons of Liberty - a mini-series (about a group of men fighting in the American Colonies for freedom - notably about Samuel Adams, John Hancock and Paul Revere) - basically telling the story of everything that we saw on the Freedom Trail that day!

Time to walk along Boston's Freedom Trail

Old State House on the Freedom Trail Old State House on the Freedom Trail

Old State House - Boston Massacre Site Old State House - Boston Massacre Site

Still on the Freedom Trail Still on the Freedom Trail - Old Corner Book Store

Old South Meeting House along the Freedom Trail

Old City Hall - Freedom Trail Old City Hall - Freedom Trail

Granary Burial Ground - Freedom Trail Granary Burial Ground - Freedom Trail

Samuel Adams' grave at Granary Burial Ground - Freedom Trail

Granary Burial Ground - Freedom Trail Granary Burial Ground - Freedom Trail

Park Street Church - Freedom Trail Park Street Church - Freedom Trail

The Trail brings us to the Boston Common

The Massachusetts State House overlooking Boston Common

Robert Gould Shaw & Massachusetts 54th Regiment Memorial to the first documented African American regiment

Frog Pond ice skating at Boston Common (though the don't know how they kept it frozen, it was 20 C degrees out!)

Time for quick stroll through the Boston Public Garden

CHEERS & BEACON HILL

Cheers....where everybody knows your name....well not really, it was full of a bunch of drunk strangers. But the former Bull & Finch Pub (now changed names to Cheers Boston on Beacon Hill) is probably the most sought after attractions in the Beacon Hill area, and even though the TV show only used the pub for the outside shots (the actual bar scenes were filmed on some lot in Hollywood), it's still a magnet for fans of the series - even those like me, who just barely remember it from my parents watching it when I was a kid. Definitely worth a stop for the photo op, but beware if you plan on going in - the interior looks nothing like the show - for that, you'll need to head to Cheers Boston Faneuil Hall which is a replica of the bar from the show.

Bordered by Beacon Street and Cambridge Street, Beacon Hill is a residential neighbourhood - one of the most beautiful in Boston, and one of the most expensive in the United States. Known for its detailed architecture and San Francisco-ish steep street layout, it's a super cute area to stroll around in, where you'll find row after row of brick houses with beautiful doors and decorative iron work and very old brick sidewalks (ladies - do not wear any type of shoes with heels here!).

Cheers! Cheers! Cheers!

Beacon Hill Christmas decos Beacon Hill Christmas decos

Super cute Beacon Hill area Super cute Beacon Hill area

Savenors in Beacon Hill Savenors in Beacon Hill

NIGHT TIME

The sun is setting and now we've got to retrace our steps back along the Freedom Trail and head back to the hotel. There's not much to tell - below are kind of the same photos of the buildings on the trail from above, just...at night!

Time for bed - tomorrow we check out MIT and the Harvard campus, and hit the other side of the trail!

Back across the Boston Common to head back to the hotel