Monday was Memorial Day, so a day off for the boys and my husband. A warm day, but with grey skies, it lent itself perfectly to a day out exploring.
The wee girl had been asking to go on a train and visit Boston for weeks. We’re not quite sure if she actually knew what/where Boston is, or if she’d just heard us say that you can get the train there, but she was certainly persistent in her requests!
A leisurely wander and lunch in Boston seemed a nice way to spend some of our day together, so we went to our nearest T station (the subway) and hopped on a train.
Arriving into central Boston, we walked out on to Congress Street, and started our stroll. Passing the Holocaust Memorial always gives me pause, although we chose not to walk through it on this occasion.
We had no plan, no agenda and no deadlines. We were free to see where our feet took us, and they very quickly found the Boston Freedom Trail (a historic walk through the city, marked by a red-brick trail).
Our first stop was the Old State House and the site of the Boston Massacre, a violent clash between the occupying British Redcoats and the local population, which resulted in the deaths of five men on March 5, 1770.
One of the things that I love about Boston is the mix of new and old buildings, and the Old State House is a wonderful example of this, surrounded as it is by modern high-rise office buildings that highlight the old building, even as they dwarf it.
From here we took a small detour to the Irish Famine Memorial, located on Washington Street. The potato famine of 1845 resulted in the arrival of 1.5 million Irish in to the US, with Boston being a favoured location.
This was the site of the 6yo’s first rest, which was by no means his last… The end of term can’t come soon enough for this boy!
We got ourselves back on the Freedom Trail and continued our wander, ending up at the Granary Burying Ground.
At the entrance we were handed a folder by a very enterprising individual who has created a really useful guide to the more famous residents of the cemetery, and probably receives a tip from most who use his folders, as they return them on leaving :)
Some of America’s most famous citizens are buried here including three signatories of the Declaration of Independance; Samuel Adams, John Hancock and Robert Treat Paine.
The victims of the Boston Massacre rest beside Samuel Adams.
Paul Revere, famous for his midnight ride to warn of the coming of the British is also buried here. Although, he was not in fact the only rider that night and according to eye witnesses, and his own accounts of the night, he did not shout ‘the British are coming’ as commonly attributed to him, as his mission that night depended on secrecy!
Other notable burials include the parents of Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, and Mary Goose who, despite evidence to the contrary, has been claimed as the original Mother Goose.
The 8yo was fascinated as he has learnt about many of these figures in Social Studies, so we continued our tour until we had found all the notable graves.
However, as can be seen from the 6yo’s expression in some (most!) of these photos, he was tired and hungry by this point.
It was time for lunch!
We retraced our steps, and ended up in a Panera Bread near Faneuil Hall, overlooking a popular spot for street performers. A tasty lunch, with ideal kid friendly options and an interesting view, was just what we needed before heading back home.
We were only in Boston for a couple of hours, but I love that we are close enough to be able to do that, and a successful trip this week bodes well for more visits over the summer vacation, and perhaps we can complete more of the Freedom Trail next time!
I’m linking up with the wonderful Country Kids at Coombe Mill, as always. Click on the badge to see what everyone else has been up to and be inspired to get outside!
What an interesting walk along the Freedom Trail and so fascinating to read about some of the notable people who are buried in the Granary Burying Ground. Cemeteries are such fascinating places to explore. I love your photos of the Old State House surrounded by modern high rise buildings too. Hope you have a lovely weekend :-)
Thank you Louise, it’s the first time we’ve attempted any of the Freedom Trail with the kids, and they enjoyed it (especially the 8yo!) x
Your post makes me miss Boston and want to visit with my kids. I never did the Freedom Trail when I was living and studying nearby (Harvard) – actually I have to admit I didn’t know they had it – but what a brilliant way to learn about US history and some of its famous players. And I can’t leave without saying I love the hats!
It’s a fascinating walk, this was only a small part of it, and I have done more of it on my own in the past. Looking forward to doing other sections with the kids :) The hats are great, although the straw one is actually the wee girls, she just decided her brother had to ‘hold’ it while we were on the train!
I love Boston. We found it a really easy city to explore. Your photos make me want to visit again. How funny she had picked up on there being a train to Boston. Great excuse to go. #CountryKids
It is such an easy city to explore, one of the things I love about it x
It looks like a really interesting place to explore. Love the contrast between the skyscrapers and the Old State House.
How big and grown up does your 8yo look now?!
It is a beautiful city, and full of interesting places. He is suddenly looking much older, isn’t he?!
Seeing this is making me want to go back to Boston-such a lovely city. Your eldest and my eldest are around the same age I think-they both seem to have grown up all of a sudden don’t they?! x
They really have. My son will be nine in two weeks, and he just suddenly seems so much older than the other two x
The freedom trail looks like it will be fascinating to explore with the kids, nothing better than exploring a city to learn about it. The old state building is beautiful, it’s interesting to see how contrasting Boston is with the old buildings and new buildings all piled around each other. The kids looks like they’re enjoying their first tour of Boston, I’m sure they’re looking forward to more trips there in the future. Thanks for linking up with me over on Country Kids.
I was so glad they enjoyed it, gives me the excuse to take them back to do other parts of it!
What a wonderful place to explore with so much history to it. That State House is so beautfiul.
It is a beautiful city, and it really is full of history, lots of interesting places to visit x
Ahh…thank you! I used to walk to work past most of these sights and miss it! I used to work in the Prudential Tower. I adore Boston and there really is so much to do. Did you manage to see Cheers? You were right near it. Also ice skating in the winter in the Commons is so much fun! Great photos! xx
Boston is lovely, I’m glad I could take you on a trip down memory lane :) We didn’t do the Cheers bar this time, but we have been there, and I have skated on Frog Pond too :)
This looks like a brilliant day out! I would love to visit Boston, it looks beautiful. I love the city contrasts of old & new buildings too, Liverpool is very like that too. The boys look dapper in their hats and the wee girl is funny for asking for such a trip x
Boston is definitely worth a visit :)
Looks like a nice day. I love the no agenda and yet everyone is so into the walk vibe! #countrykids
Yeah, having no agenda was great :)
It sounds like such an interesting city, with so much to see and learn about. That’s my kind of place and somewhere I think my kids would love.
It really is, there is so much to do, and it’s really accessible too x
I was in Boston a few years ago (pre-daughter) and loved walking round. The Freedom Trail is such a great way to explore. #countrykids
The Freedom Trail is a great way to see the city. I’m hoping to do more of it with the kids over the summer x
Really interesting to find out more about Boston and the trail. Great idea to have a walk like this, and the graveyard folders.
I really enjoyed doing this with them, a great way to see a bit more of the city than we normally do when we go into Boston x
We had a great time in Boston, though only spent a full day in the city. We did walk around the whole city centre really easily, which made for great sightseeing. Looks like your 8yo got a lot from it, my 3yo was also very tired and we ended up (as always) spending a fair bit of time in the children’s museum ;)
It’s such an easy city centre to walk around! We generally end up in the Aquarium :)
Looks like an interesting place to explore! Love the photo of the back of his hat! x
It’s a great city to wander around. I love his hat too!
Looks like a lovely day out together and very interesting too. Love the hat! #CountryKids
Thank you, it was great fun. I love the hat too :)
I love a day out with no set plans. It certainly looks like you had a fun day!
We did, having no agenda was great x