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| Boston |
Yesterday as I left New York for Boston, I will have to
admit that New Yorkers have a few things down to a science. They have a daily
rate for your subway card that is always good, extra savings on that one.
They are green in the fact that they
recycle everything here & it’s nice to see recycling binds on the streets.
Come on, wake up a plastic bottle doesn’t go into the trash, it goes into the
recycling bind.
Don’t you want to
reduce the waste of plastic in our oceans? It’s sad when you see it first hand.
It’s nice to see the blue letter “A” when you go into a restaurant to know that
the sanitary board to has checked it out so it’s safe to eat there. Even with
food carts they have been checked out too, so you know that it’s safe when you
eat there. It’s a great thing. Getting around is very easy peasy with the
system of planes, trains, automobiles, bikes, ferries & walking. You just
got to a wee bit of digging to find the real hidden gems of the city that it’s
not rocket science. Go on embrace the present moment with the situation that is
right in front of you, get rid of negative thoughts & just let it be.
There are some great things unfolding
before your eyes.
I grabbed some sushi from Penn Sushi on the Amtrak level at
Penn Station. This place is massive & it’s just as easy to get lost in it
like Grand Central Station. I went
crazy looking for it on the subway level, but note to self you got to go up one
level. For some reason it reminded
me of the underground like in Japan that I would get lost in Osaka, Hiroshima,
Kyoto & Tokyo to get some shopping done. Mega Bus was my way back to Boston. I bought the ticket
online & caught the bus on 34th Street between 11th
& 12th Avenues that is directly across from the Javits Center. Just get off at Penn Station & head
west. Don’t be tempted to head East to Herald Square or else you might not make
the bus. It’s about a twenty minutes walk give or take from Penn Station. I say
give or take, depending on how heavy your load is to carry. It’s best to get
there an hour before hand to wait in queue to give the Mega Bus representative
your reservation number. It’s easy like that, very easy. I was there extra early cos I didn’t
want to go shopping anymore. It’s always advisable to bring a book. I just sat
on the curb & read away. Hoosh
was excellent by the way, a novel into the life of cooking on McMurdo base in
Antarctica. A Maine author who spends like eight seasons down there wrote it.
It spoke to me in the sense that I could relate very much from taking seasonal
jobs that are awesome, but in desolated areas. It’s more about the experience;
an open mind & a positive attitude that gets you threw the experience. I
made my way to my sisters flat very easy peasy from South Station on public
transportation. Apparently that would have been the safest bet last night with
the insane traffic in the city due to the Bruins game.
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| Haymarket |
Now to navigate Boston, it’s not too hard to have a
“wicked good” time in the city.
The
Boston Subway is not your bang for the buck tho.
There is not a daily pass like New York or other major cities I have been in.
Your Charlie Card cost $2USD for each trip, but when you purchase one from the
machine your options are one for $5USD or $10 USD, basically about $2.50USD for
a single ride.
It’s best to know
where you want to go & how to get there. To save money, the Charlie Card is
the best option & than there’s always walking too. Boston is like a smaller
version of New York in a way.
Bostonians can be challenging at times to deal with & might come
across with a hard shell. Just remember that it’s the old New England energy of
the land of the Purtains that you are in. Don’t get me wrong Boston is a great
city. It’s home to the most universities worldwide & the largest population
of Irish outside of Ireland. There’s endless things to do from watching the
Celtics or Red Sox’s play, the Museum of Science is great, the Children’s
Museum has a house from Kyoto inside of it (Kyoto & Boston are sister
cities), the Museum of Fine Arts is excellent, shopping on Newberry Street in
the Back Bay, walking through Boston Commons & possibly taking a ride on
the Swan Boats. There’s so much to do. However, with me it’s home to me in the
fact that I’ve spent my childhood exploring Boston the most cos my family is
from the city.
My family claims
that you can’t get good ethnic food back in Maine. However, that is untrue cos
there’s some great places in Biddeford & Portland. Again, you just got to know
where to look for the deals. It’s always best to ask a local & be open to
new & exciting ideas. Just don’t go into a place with a fixed set of ideas
cos it doesn’t work like that.
Being open for what the day has to offer is best way to get a feel for
the authentic self.
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| Entrance to Chinatown |
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| Boston Marathon Memorial |
Well, my wanderlust took me to my usual spot Back Bay to run
some errands. I did notice some cool things on my walk over to Back Bay. Yes, the city has some recycling binds on the streets. Nice to see the green side of living for Bostonians. I
found the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Parkway to be charming. It’s actually a set
of public parks that are in place where the highway used to go threw the city
as part of the Big Dig. It’s nice to see green spaces in the city. As in New
York & other major cities of the world there was a public bike share
program.
Hubway is Boston’s bike share program. It’s great for locals &
visitors to put in their credit card or debit & hire a bike & to return
it to any other location in the city. It’s a fun way to explore. On my way, I
actually decided to do some exploration in Chinatown. However, I wasn’t too
impressed cos San Francisco’s, New York & Queens Flushing Street is much
more impressive. Boston’s is just small to begin with & you can easily see
it from driving threw. I did find an excellent place to score some Dim Sum’s.
Chau Chow City Dim Sum & Seafood Restaurant on 83 Essex Street was brilliant. It reminded me of being back in
Hong Kong with the ladies pushing the carts showing you what you they had to
offer. I will admit that they were very friendly & accommodating for
special diet needs. I was impressed with how outgoing the staff was to offer me
items that they didn’t have on their carts. The Phantom Gourmet & Boston
Magazine both have recommended this place as a great place to eat for no
money.
I was shocked how
inexpensive my bill was today & I left the restaurant full. I tend to eat
too much when I have dim sum’s.
I did take a nice walk threw Boston Common on a beautiful
crisp New England spring day with blue sky & cumulous cloud coverage. The
Common’s had beautiful flowers & lush green spaces. I did find the famous
Swan Boats to take in the moment & reminiscing about my childhood of riding
them with my dad & throwing peanuts to the ducks. The Swan Boats only cost
$3USD to ride, but I choose not to ride them today. I did find a mother & a
couple of duckling’s as my wildlife viewing & quite enjoyed their
peacefulness before they decided to jump back into the lake. The Commons’ are a
great place to relax & to forget about the world for a while.
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| John Hancock Tower & Farmer's Market |
Back Bay was up to full swing after the traffic event from
last month. I was shocked how positive this part of the city was. There’s a
park right across from the Boston Public Library that has a memorial for all
the victims of the Boston Marathon Bombing.
You could definitely feel the love in the air with so many
tributes of well wishes, gratitude & hope for the victims. It was
beautifully done.
It reminded me
of taking a walk threw the Peace Park in Hiroshima in a way.
I couldn’t believe the ribbons &
origami cranes hanging from the trees.
After paying some respects at the memorial I walked along the
farmer’s market. There was so much heavenly goodness there. It was much smaller
than the one that I attended in Union Square, but there was still something to
offer everyone. Its great to see people coming together to show support for
locally made items. I did stumble into the Boston Public Library that was very
impressive to see. The inside of the building reminded me something you would
see in London with the lions. They do have a café inside on the lower level. The
courtyard in the middle of the building is something to take a peak in.
On my way out of the city, I decided to make a stop over at
Haymarket to check out the produce venders. If your looking to score a deal on
fresh produces this is the place to go. You can buy a box of big Central
America mangos for $5USD.
Blueberries can be found from $1.50USD. The prices here are excellent & you are going to save
much more rather than buying the items at the supermarket.
Well, I’ve had a non stop week from exploring the nooks n’
crannies of New York to new finds in Boston. I must admit that I had fun, well
a little too much fun. I’ve walked for miles upon miles & saw some great
things. Of course, I never set out to do everything that I would have hoped to
do, but that always leave room for the next visit. Settling in Maine, “The
Way Life Should Be”. Who knows
where my travels will take me next…
