Taken in March 2006, at the Castle District of Budapest. |
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Vera Murphy |
| Gender: | Female | | Age: | 41 | | Lives in: | Cork Ireland | | Registered: | 28 January 2003 | | Last visit: | 29 January 2008 |
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| Boston Travel Guide: Boston-every need and age catered for!!!!!!!!
| | Written by Vera Murphy on 07 Sep 2006 about a trip in Aug 2006.
Trip was for a family on holiday. Vera Murphy would definitely visit again.
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Baseball! can't understand it, but well worth going to a game. |
The Bewitched statue in Salem. Well worth a visit. |
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Boston shopping |  10.0 | | Whatever time of the year you should choose to visit Boston, the shopping is great, especially if you go at the end of a season and buy for next year (great for people with children). For anyone planning a wedding, my 17 year-old daughter bought a fab graduation gown for a fraction of the price you'd pay in Ireland in a shop which is part of a chain called David's Bridal in Dedham (wedding gowns were so cheap!!) In Boston, for bargains go to Marshalls where you'd find Tommy Hilfiger jeans for 18 dollars. This shop has everything from childrens wear to household. Also, pay a visit to TJ Mac's which is a similar type of shop, you'd find all the big name shops in Boston with all of the sports shops being very cheap. Its usual to pay about 20 dollars for Wranglers and Levi jeans so don't pay any more. My advice is to spend a day just browsing shops and go back to the cheapest. One thing to look-our for is the liquour stores which are very cheap so stock up on the rare whiskeys etc. |
Boston nightlife |  9.0 | | Most of the Irish Bar's are great especially South Boston, Shinnanigan's on West Bradway do great food and the night life there is great, but the staff could be a little friendlier. If you are open-minded and especially out for a special occasion eg a Hen night, go to Jacques which is a drag club and was the funniest night-out I've had in ages, word of advice though, the toilets here are probably the dirtiest I've ever seen. J J Foley's seems to be a very popular pub for younger age group maybe 20-28 but be prepared to feel like a sardine later-on in the night as it gets pretty crowded to the point of feeling very uncomfortable (don't know if they have crowd restrictions here, but they should) One thing I did like though about most of the pubs and clubs I visited, once the bar closes and the crowd leaves, there is no hanging around, the staff take it upon themselves to usher customers away in cabs and the sidewalk is cleared in minutes. |
Boston restaurants | 10.0 | | If, like me you like food, then you'd go to Boston just for this. For a fantastic chinese go to P.F Chang's China Bistro in the Theater district, its amasing, book in advance and be prepared for a little wait for your table. Another fantastic restaurant, if your prepared to drive a little bit out of town is The Vintage Restaurant in West Roxbury, steaks are a MUST here, desserts are only ok. If you like seafood, most of the restaurants and pubs serve Clam Chowder which is delicious, so is the lobster, prawn's and every other type of seafood, it is so cheap everywhere. If you would like a late breakfast some day definately take a trip to The 50's Diner in Dedham, the wait for a table is well worth it and they have fantastic pancakes as well as omelette's, my children loved it here and the staff are so nice. A must have is The Cheesecake Factory, lovely decor, tremendous food. Boston is spoilt for fantastic food, portions in nearly every place are huge, so share starters and desserts. |
Boston attractions | 10.0 | If you've got kids there are none stop attractions in Boston. My children are 6 and 17 and they always loved where we went. Their favourite place was The Childrens Museum. They just adored it here, spent the whole morning, went for lunch, then went back for the rest of the day. Everything on display can be tried-out by visitors like the hairdressing salon and supermarket.
The New England Aquarium is also a great way to spend an afternoon, with the usual attractions including a huge 3 or 4 storey high 'fish tank' including turtles, sharks etc. Children also get learn about conservation programmes and the sealife in nearby areas like Cape Cod.
We took a trip to a Science Museum for a day. I absolutely loved it here and would have spent 2 days here, however, my 6 year old got very bored, so maybe its only for older children, or those who are into science, especially those kids who like to know how things work.
Another great attraction and I'd say great all year round is The Franklin Park Zoo. If you've got a nice day, go here, its great for every age and they have all the attractions a zoo should have, lions, snakes etc.
Walk around Harvard for a few hours. The buildings are lovely and the whole campus is huge, my 17 year-old was very impressed with this tour.
If you and your family like sport, then visit Fenway Park, the home of The Boston Red Sox or better still, try and get tickets to a game to see them or the B Team, The PawSox its well worth the experience. |
Boston day trips | | Book a stretch limo and tour Boston for a few hours or an afternoon. We did this while there for my birthday and it was a great afternoon. We toured the Marina Bay area and stopped off for drinks and photographs every now and then. Its quite cheap but price around.
The Duck tours are a great day out and loved by all. The 'Duck' vehicles are a great lazy way of sight-seeing including Bunker Hill and Boston Common. Just when you think its over, the driver drives the vehicle into the Charles River and sails down it where you get beautiful views of the Boston skyline.
If you decide to rent a car, Salem is an amazing day trip. The town is lovely, quite like some of the little towns in the U.K. Great for buying souvenirs and tee-shirts in relation to witches and The Famous Witch Trials. One word of warning though, you will spend nearly a whole day here, so take time to shop around for souvenirs, there was a huge price difference in them the further down the town we walked, so take note of what you like and the name of the shop and buy it in the cheapest place.
Not far from Salem is a little fishing village called Gloucester. If you've seen the movie The Perfect Storm with George Clooney, you'll recignise the name, so you should take a trip here. Visit the pub featured in the movie which is still called The Crow's Nest. Don't expect much though, they don't take advantage of a very famous movie being made here and you'd hardly notice as its a fishermans pub. The pub sells lovely tee-shirts, which I was told, have been selling long before a movie was made. They have a nice photo album,behind the bar, of all of the cast of the movie and the cast of The Andrea Gail. If you ask to see it, the staff are happy to show it to you. There is a poignant monument on the waterfront dedicated to all the lives lost at sea and another monument dedicated to all of the widows and orphans. If that doesn't bring out the goose bumps, nothing will. If your there at lunchtime, find The Captains Table for lunch, delicious seafood! |
Getting to Boston | 8.0 | We travelled via London Heathrow with one of the most reputible airlines. As it was our second year in a row going to Boston, we tried the other most popular airline. To be honest, I was not at all impressed with either airline, and felt that if your travelling economy class, you are treated by some of the staff like second class citizens. One of the airlines gave my 6 year old daughter a puzzle book fit for an adult, unlike the year before where she got a backpack filled with all sorts of goodies from another airline. Eventhough we travel economy class with our children, a return flight to the U.S.A from the U.K or Ireland is quite expensive, so I expected to get value for money, but wasn't at all impressed.
Keep an eye out for airline sales to get the best value and don't be afraid to complain to the revelant people in an appropiate manner if you feel you are not getting good service. |
Getting around Boston | Hire a car anywhere, its cheap and the roads are a pleasure to drive on.
We travelled into Boston via the T, which was always on time and arrived in Back Bay Station which is very central to all areas of downtown. All public transport is very reliable and never let us down. |
When to visit Boston | | We travelled to Boston in September in 2005 and August in 2006. I would prefer September as the weather was actually nicer, sunny days and cooler nights. July can be very humid, but whatever summer month you go, there's no guarrantee that Boston won't have a rainy one. The winter is very very cold, so unless for Christmas shopping, leave out the winter months. Autumn is fantastic, and the foliage is breath-taking. |
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