Day 2 in Boston:

Day 1 in Boston was concentrated in a single spot. We parked our car early in the morning and didn’t return until late in the night. Day 2 in Boston wasn’t so. We planned to visit 3 distinct places. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Harvard, and the Prudential Center. Luckily Day 2 happened to be a Sunday which means free street parking in Boston!

Fenway Park

Our first stop was supposed to be the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. However, someone forgot to look at the museum hours and just assumed it opened at 10am like a normal museum. We soon found out that it doesn’t open until 11am! What kind of museum does that? But luckily, Fenway Park is only a short stroll away. So that is what we did. We walked over to Fenway Park. It wasn’t a game day, and it was morning, but the area was bustling with activity. Some people were walking around looking at the statues outside the stadium. Others were grabbing breakfast or a coffee.

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

When the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum finally opened, we made our way back. It was perfect timing too because it started to rain as soon as we entered the museum. If you don’t know who Isabella Stewart Gardner is, don’t worry. I didn’t either. Evidently, she inherited a bunch of money ($1.6 million in 1891 to be exact) from her father. And, she was very well educated with a love of art. So, when she and her husband traveled through Europe and Asia they started collecting artwork. Isabella knew her art was museum worthy, so she built her own museum in 1901 and arranged the pieces herself.

[Entrance Fee = $15, included in Go Card]

While the artwork is interesting, the real beauty in the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum is the courtyard. It is absolutely breathtaking. My favorite part of the courtyard is seeing Isabella’s sense of humor though. In the very center, there is a mosaic of Medusa, and stone statues are scattered all around the rest of the courtyard. (In case your Greek mythology is rusty, those who look at Medusa are turned into stone.)

Another section of the museum that caught my eye was the Spanish Cloister. Perhaps because Isabella and I share a similar interest here. How cultures become tangled together. Here Spain’s Islamic ties mix with African panels and tiles from Asia and Mexico. And, of course, you can see the luxurious courtyard through the arches.

 

And, you can’t leave without seeing the Long Gallery on the 3rd floor. The corridor leads to a French Gothic stained glass and treasures cram the walls along the way. It shows how art marks the time period and also makes you reflect on how much art and religion relied on each other.

Harvard University

After the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum, the rain had cleared. Yay! So, we headed for an outside adventure at Harvard University. Parking was a bit tricky with the million other tourists wandering around, but we found street parking a few blocks away. The university is open for anyone to walk around on their own, but we took ‘The Hahvahd Tour.’ Our guide was an undergrad theater major, so he gave us an entertaining tour to say the least. Stops included the Harvard Yard, John Harvard Statue, The Widener Library, and surrounding areas and dorms. Be sure to rub the John Harvard Statue’s toe for good luck even though he’s not the person that actually started the university! It lasted just over an hour, and I think it was an excellent way to learn about the school. Highly recommend!

[The Hahvahd Tour = $10, included in Go Card]

All the walking around had us hungry for lunch., and we found a fast food Indian restaurant called Chutney’s. I had to check it out. Maybe it would be like a roti roll. (I’ve been dreaming of Bombay Frankie’s Roti Rolls since my last visit to New York city in 2011.) Unfortunately, they weren’t the same. It was like a Chipotle burrito with Indian fillings. I ordered a Paneer Wrap, and they piled it with rice and little paneer. Then I got to chose burrito toppings. Huh? Lettuce? Cucumber? On Paneer? That’s just weird, so I skipped the toppings. The burrito was alright, but I wouldn’t go back for another. Nisheet tried to order a naan sandwich and they were out of naan. What Indian restaurant runs out of naan? He ended up with a bland Chicken Tikka wrap. Even the hot sauce couldn’t bring it up to an acceptable spice-level.

[Chutney’s Paneer Wrap = $7.49, Chicken Tikka Wrap = $7.49]

After lunch, we were in the mood for some ice cream. The lines were too long for us, but guess what? There is a Mike’s Pastry in Harvard Square too! We considered trying a new place, but we just couldn’t resist a peek inside. There weren’t any lines! And then the cookies caught our eye, and we couldn’t leave empty handed. If the cannoli we had the previous day were excellent, these were out-of-this-world delicious. Just try them. Don’t deny yourself.

[Cookies = $15/lb]

Duck Tour at the Prudential Center

Next on our list was a Boston Duck Tour. We had the option of one premium attraction with our Go Card. The choices were a Red Sox game, a whale watching tour, or the Boston duck tour. Our first choice was a Sox game, but unfortunately the didn’t have any home games while we were in town. I’d been on a duck tour before and thoroughly enjoyed it, so we decided on that. Plus the whale watching tour was over 3 hours long. Ain’t nobody got time for that!

The duck tour leaves from 3 locations, and we chose the Prudential Center because it was a new area of town. We also wanted to walk down Newbury Street (shopping area) to the Public Garden afterward. Anyways, when you get there, you should immediately put your name for the next possible tour. We walked around and just missed the cutoff for the next tour. Oh well, that just meant we got to walk around for another hour before our assigned tour.

Once on-board, get ready for cheesy jokes. Starting with your “conDUCKtor.” ha-ha-ha… But seriously, the tour is pretty good. The driver started off with a history of these WWII era styled vehicles that could switch easily from land to sea mode. During the first part of the tour, you drive through the city looking at famous landmarks and hearing famous stories. We drove past the public gardens and the Boston Commons. Then, you splash into the Charles River and get stellar views of the skyline. This part is also fun for the kids (and kids at heart) because the guide lets the passengers drive the duck. On our tour, one of the kids got too button happy and turned the vehicle off. Oops! After the river, we drove past a portion of the freedom trail, which gave us a different perspective from the day before. I recommend the tour even if the jokes are corny. Perhaps it would better to do this tour on your first day though since it offers a great overview of Boston.

[Ticket = $37.50, included in Go Card]

Boston Public Garden

After the Duck Tour, we walked down Newbury Street to the Boston Public Garden. A lot of the stores were closing, but the street was still bustling with people. We eventually made it to the park (it isn’t that far, but we were slow), and it was gorgeous. There are fountains and flower gardens everywhere.

[Price = FREE]

Towards the center of the park is a pond with swan boat. You can pay to ride on these during the day, and they are even included in the Go Card, but they closed before we got there. The ride can’t be that long though since they pond is small. I think it would be better to rent a paddle boat or row boat. But that’s just my opinion. Supposedly they have a long history, and it is tradition to take a ride on them. There is also the world’s smallest suspension bridge spanning the pond, and standing on it reminded me a little bit of St. James’s Park in London.

My absolute favorite part of the park is the duck statues. I’ve never read the book, Make Way for Ducklings, that led to the statue’s creation. But who cares. It’s just so stinking cute.

Dinner Time

For dinner we headed back along Newbury street towards the Prudential Center and our car. There are adorable cafes, restaurants, and bars, but our goal was Luke’s Lobster. We saw it on the way to the Public Gardens, and nothing else seemed to compare to its casual charm and great prices. We weren’t terribly hungry, so we split a lobster roll and chips, and each ordered a Maine made drink. I had root beer, of course, and Nisheet had blueberry lemonade. They were the perfect accompaniment to our light dinner. The lobster roll was lightly smeared with mayo and butter and stuffed with huge chunks of fresh Maine lobster. No filler. Just lobster. The way it should be.

[Lobster Roll = $17, Combo (+ chips & drink) = +$3, Additional Drink = $3]

After dinner, we needed a little something sweet to end the night. *Start rant.* I’m getting quite tired of portions size in America. I know you might disagree with me, but when I order a small scoop of ice cream, I don’t need 3 large scoops. *End rant.* JP Licks gets a +1 in my books for this. They have a kiddie size which is actually a small scoop of ice cream. Score! And the flavors made this place even better. They had everything including Cinnamon Churro ice cream, Pineapple Sherbet, and Pistachio hemp based ice cream. You get the picture. We settled on Salty Caramel ice cream. It was creamy, salty, and sweet all in one bite. The perfect ended to a great day.

[Kiddie Ice Cream = $3.50]