Day 3 - The Boston Trolley Tour
Got started a little late today. I suspect that the heat affected me more than I realized yesterday.
Went to Somerville to Kelly's Diner. It is a very simple place, and the food was quite good. DDD #4.
Next, I drove into Boston and parked near the start of the Trolley Tour first stop.
The tour of the whole route took just shy of 2 hours. I learned a lot about Boston and its history. Over 90% of the city is made of land fill. It took almost 50 years to build it. It had been my plan to do the tour loop once, then start getting on and off at different stops. This, of course, was based on arriving somewhat earlier at the first stop. Still needing to have lunch, I decided to visit the Old North Church. It is a very interesting place. There are no pews. Instead, there are "cubicles" lined up in rows. Each one has the name of the person/family that it belongs to. When seated, no one in the church can see anyone else. The only person you can see is the minister, who is in the pulpit, which is elevated about 15 or 20 feet above the floor.
For those who do not know the history, the steeple of the church was used to warn militia who supported independence how the British troupes were coming. He was to light lanterns to indicate how. One if by land, and 2 if by sea. This happened in 1775.
Next stop was to Sam LaGrassa's. It is a famous, and highly rated sandwich shop. Everything they do is from scratch. I had an Angus Roast Beef sandwich which was incredibly good. Guy Fiery was right about this place. DDD #5
By this time, there was really no time for any other stops. I returned to my car and came back to the motel. Finding my way to a DDD restaurant in Boston during rush hour would be nuts. The person who designed the place really loved one way streets, and didn't believe in parking lots.
I researched restaurants in Bedford, and found an Italian place that had really good reviews. It was just a short trip down the road. The place was very busy (a good sign). The food was really good, and so was the service.
Now, I am heading next door to the ice cream shop, which is extremely popular. After that, I will be planning out tomorrow. Not sure at the moment what I will be doing. Stay tuned.
Thursday, July 18, 2013
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Day 2
This day started off well, and for the most part, was a good day.
Went for breakfast at the Little Depot Diner in Peabody. It is a small diner car, with 15 stools at a counter. Quite small, but the food was up to expectations. DDD restaurant #1.
Headed for Salem, and, after having some trouble finding parking at my first destination, went to my second destination, the Salem Wax Museum, and its sister attraction, the Salem Witch Village. I had a guided tour of that location, which covered the history surrounding witches beginning in Europe after the end of the crusades. It was very informative. One thing I learned was that there were 5 men executed as well as 15 women. I had never known about the men before.
At the wax museum, it was a self guided tour, with wax figures made, I believe, at Madame Tousseau's in London.
From there, I went to the Witch Dungeon Museum. They put on a dramatization of part of one of the witch trials. It was quite well done. They also gave some historical information. Some of it was new. After the trial, we were taken into the dungeon. It is a replica of the real one. It seems that back in the 1950's, a new building was being built. The dungeon was discovered on the build site. Unfortunately, since there were no protections in place for historical sites, it was demolished. Fortunately, the builder did take measurements, which were used to build the replica.
Next is lunch. I went to the Lobster Shanty. There was no air conditioning, and I sat outside in the shade. It was somewhat comfortable. I enjoyed an extremely cheesy Lobster Macaroni and Cheese, as well as a locally made beer. The Lobster Martini, which I had hoped to have, was a bit too pricey for me. DDD #2
By this point, it was almost 2:30, and the heat was really getting to me. In Salem, you need to park your car and walk everywhere. I decided that I would forgot my third destination and return to my hotel for some cool time. This also meant not going to Essex for next DDD restaurant on my list.
After a nice quiet afternoon, I headed to Somerville, just west of Boston, to the Boston Burger Company. The burger spotlighted on DDD has a huge pile of macaroni and cheese on it. It looked really good, but I went with what they call the Green Monster. It had guacamole and pico de gallo. It was amazing, and very messy. I had a different local beer with it.
Well, that is about it for day 2. Tomorrow I will be heading into Boston for the trolley tour. Not sure what I will be doing about meals, since none of the Boston DDD restaurants are anywhere near the trolley route. I guess it is time for some research.
Back at ya tomorrow.
This day started off well, and for the most part, was a good day.
Went for breakfast at the Little Depot Diner in Peabody. It is a small diner car, with 15 stools at a counter. Quite small, but the food was up to expectations. DDD restaurant #1.
Headed for Salem, and, after having some trouble finding parking at my first destination, went to my second destination, the Salem Wax Museum, and its sister attraction, the Salem Witch Village. I had a guided tour of that location, which covered the history surrounding witches beginning in Europe after the end of the crusades. It was very informative. One thing I learned was that there were 5 men executed as well as 15 women. I had never known about the men before.
At the wax museum, it was a self guided tour, with wax figures made, I believe, at Madame Tousseau's in London.
From there, I went to the Witch Dungeon Museum. They put on a dramatization of part of one of the witch trials. It was quite well done. They also gave some historical information. Some of it was new. After the trial, we were taken into the dungeon. It is a replica of the real one. It seems that back in the 1950's, a new building was being built. The dungeon was discovered on the build site. Unfortunately, since there were no protections in place for historical sites, it was demolished. Fortunately, the builder did take measurements, which were used to build the replica.
Next is lunch. I went to the Lobster Shanty. There was no air conditioning, and I sat outside in the shade. It was somewhat comfortable. I enjoyed an extremely cheesy Lobster Macaroni and Cheese, as well as a locally made beer. The Lobster Martini, which I had hoped to have, was a bit too pricey for me. DDD #2
By this point, it was almost 2:30, and the heat was really getting to me. In Salem, you need to park your car and walk everywhere. I decided that I would forgot my third destination and return to my hotel for some cool time. This also meant not going to Essex for next DDD restaurant on my list.
After a nice quiet afternoon, I headed to Somerville, just west of Boston, to the Boston Burger Company. The burger spotlighted on DDD has a huge pile of macaroni and cheese on it. It looked really good, but I went with what they call the Green Monster. It had guacamole and pico de gallo. It was amazing, and very messy. I had a different local beer with it.
Well, that is about it for day 2. Tomorrow I will be heading into Boston for the trolley tour. Not sure what I will be doing about meals, since none of the Boston DDD restaurants are anywhere near the trolley route. I guess it is time for some research.
Back at ya tomorrow.
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Day 1 - Trip to Boston
Well, I really hope that today's experience is not indicative of the rest of my trip.
The day started off with me leaving about 1 hour late. Then, when I was getting close to Belleville, traffic came to a complete stop. After moving about 200 yards in 20 minutes, I saw a sign on the shoulder flashing that the highway was closed at exit 538, about 8 kms from where I was, and that we had to exit to a detour. Not good. We kept creeping forward, and eventually, we got to exit 538. Cars were continuing past it, and gradually, it picked up. Whatever had happened (the highway had been closed since midnight), it was cleared. There went over an hour. Oh, joy.
Continued on, and got to the border. 30 minutes to get through.
The rest of the trip went ok. By the time I arrived at my destination, it was almost 9:00. Took forever to park. DDD restaurant #1, Rino's Ristorante, was packed and the wait was 1.5 to 2 hours. So much for my Lobster Ravioli.
Went to my hotel and checked in. Room is simple and nice.
Tomorrow, it's off to Salem. DDD plans are for the Little Depot Diner in Peabody, the Lobster Shanty in Salem (will try their Lobster Martini), then JT Farnham's in Essex, before returning.
Stay tuned.
Well, I really hope that today's experience is not indicative of the rest of my trip.
The day started off with me leaving about 1 hour late. Then, when I was getting close to Belleville, traffic came to a complete stop. After moving about 200 yards in 20 minutes, I saw a sign on the shoulder flashing that the highway was closed at exit 538, about 8 kms from where I was, and that we had to exit to a detour. Not good. We kept creeping forward, and eventually, we got to exit 538. Cars were continuing past it, and gradually, it picked up. Whatever had happened (the highway had been closed since midnight), it was cleared. There went over an hour. Oh, joy.
Continued on, and got to the border. 30 minutes to get through.
The rest of the trip went ok. By the time I arrived at my destination, it was almost 9:00. Took forever to park. DDD restaurant #1, Rino's Ristorante, was packed and the wait was 1.5 to 2 hours. So much for my Lobster Ravioli.
Went to my hotel and checked in. Room is simple and nice.
Tomorrow, it's off to Salem. DDD plans are for the Little Depot Diner in Peabody, the Lobster Shanty in Salem (will try their Lobster Martini), then JT Farnham's in Essex, before returning.
Stay tuned.
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