There was something very familiar about Boston and it wasn't
just the Irish bars dotted all along the main street. It felt very
European, a little less structured than other major American
cities... and I liked it.
With cities like New York and Chicago there is a
carefully-thought-out grid system of street planning which makes it
very easy to find your way around. Boston was built for cattle, not
cars and so is full of winding streets that criss cross and make
life difficult for anyone who doesn't live there. For me, it felt
just like home.
The showcase picture above is taken down at the waterfront where
there seemed to be a lot of segwaying going on, although they were
likely tourists this picture stood out for me, with the arch as a
frame and the harbor as a backdrop.
A bike tour is always a good way to get a grip on a city so I
got on my saddle for a 3 hour tour of Boston, which as it turns out
is all you need to see a large chunk of the city. It is a lot
smaller than I thought. With a population of about 600,000
people you can get a good idea of it reasonably quickly. The main
area's to visit being Downtown/Boylston and Boston Common, the
waterfront, Cambridge and Harvard/MIT. I also went to the JFK
Presidential Library and Museum which was really interesting if
you're that way inclined.
I paid a visit to the tourist mecca that is the original Cheers
bar. Something I'd seen a thousand times growing up and hummed the
theme song to when I couldn't get it out of my head. For those that
are expecting to be greeted by the same bar that you are used to
seeing on the TV show you might be disappointed. It was only the
outside of the bar that was used for the opening credits, the
inside was all a TV set, most likely never pulled a real pint and
the interior looks nothing like the real one. Not to get you too
disheartened though the kind Bostonians have recreated the TV
cheers as a real bar for you to gush nostalgic down near the
harbour-front. Don't count on anyone knowing your name though.