self-tour

We walked around Boston today, just checking out the town. After a stop at the Starbucks across the street from our hotel, we headed out to check things out, not having a CLUE as to where anything was. We quickly found ourselves in front of the State building, where tour trolleys pick up people for tours of the city. Sarah and I, while trying to avoid looking like tourists, figured what better way to see the city since we didn't know our way around. However, when the driver of the trolley told us that it was $28, we were like, "Um, we'll think about it." We figured we could probably figure out a decent self-tour. He did however leave us with a parting gift, which became our treasured item of the day - a map of all the sites that we would have see on the tour. We were set for the day...



The first thing we came across is this first picture - Boston Common. All these little kids were playing in the fountain, and I found myself with a deep desire to just sit and watch their uninhibited playful spirits. We watched all the people enjoying their Sunday afternoon, and then continued on our way.



The next thing we came across - the Public Gardens. It was so beautiful. There were trees, flowers, statues and fountains everywhere. I took a bunch of pictures while at the gardens, but this one was my favorite. Now, if you were to ask me what the monument was actually for, I'm not sure that I would be able to tell you... But I just really loved this statue for some reason.

We went saw the original Cheers, some amazing churches, went to a pretty cool local bookstore/cafe, and ate at Stephanie's on Newberry, this semi-fancy restaurant where we had Sunday brunch on the patio. A great relaxing afternoon. Unaware of just how early things shut down in Boston on Sundays (most everything is closed by 7pm), we headed towards Quincy Market for dinner and evening activities. We got there just as things were starting to close down, but were lucky enough to have SOME entertainment - the Yo-Yo Man. This young guy was out in the square, doing yo-yo tricks. He attracted quite a crowd. While my initial thought was, "This is kind of cheesy" the guy was pretty humorous, and it was actually a pretty entertaining show. And all the little kids adored him! It was so cute! Here's a picture of him doing one of his tricks:



Because most things were shut down, Sarah and I decided to eat some dinner in our hotel, and make it a night to just relax in the hotel wathing movies. All in all - a very relaxing day. Lots of things to see, lots of pictures taken, great food, great sites (the architecture here is gorgeous)...

Tomorrow should prove to be pretty fun... I'll post more tomorrow about the MA happenings. Ok, I'm going to take off. I feel like I should have some sort of "sign off" signature, like "Seacrest Out". Any suggestions?