Boston walking tour brought to you by....

...Insight Guides Boston Step by Step! I owe a huge thank you to the authors of the Boston walking tour book I used. It had such helpful tours, tips, and maps that got me from historical site to historical site in Boston and the surrounding area. Much of my blog posting must be attributed to their insight (ha! get it, insight?) and information. Thank you, Insight Guides!

Click here for more information about the book I used.

A few more points of interest in Boston:

Public Garden: the oldest botanical garden in the United States, with expertly manicured flower beds and lots of squirrels scampering from place to place. As I walked through the garden, I saw a woman with her dogs, a leash in each hand, her arms held out, as each dog tracked and stared down a separate squirrel. I was afraid (and I think she was, too) that she would be drawn and quartered by her two terriers! In the Public Garden, you can take a swan boat ride (popular since 1877) around the lagoon. There is also a rather magnificent statue of George Washington on horseback. According to Thomas Jefferson, George Washington was the finest horsemen of the age (thanks, again, Insight Guides!).

Hatch Schell, Charles River, Esplanade: On our Friday night in Boston, my husband and I found our way to a pedestrian bridge to take us across the busy Storrow Drive to get to the Charles River. As we were crossing, we saw that there was a movie playing in the Hatch Shell. On Fridays in the summer (from what I surmise), they play free movies in the Hatch Shell for the people of Boston. People were scattered about the green on their blankets watching Happy Feet 2. What a fun Friday! The Hatch Shell is also where the Boston Pops play their concerts, most notably on the Fourth of July with accompanying fireworks show (which you can watch on TV from Phoenix, too!). We walked to a dock on the river where a number of other couples and families were enjoying a picnic dinner as the sun set across the river. It was quite lovely. On our way back to our hotel, we wandered through the Esplanade, a treed, grassy riverside park equipped with a lagoon and gondolas!

Photo taken from the top of the Green Monster

Back Bay Fens and Fenway Park: Looking for a spot for dinner, my husband and I wandered down Beacon Street until we stumbled onto Boston University and busy Commonwealth Avenue. While dining on some tasty pizza, I noticed the unmistakable lights of a baseball stadium -- Fenway Park! While we didn't take a tour that evening (there wasn't even a game that night, but the lights were on...), we returned on our last day in Boston to take an inside peek at America's smallest and oldest major league stadium (it is celebrating its 100th birthday this year, just like the state of Arizona!). From Fenway we walked along the Back Bay Fens, a "reedy marshland along the Muddy River," as my guide book states. The Fens are a part of the Emerald Necklace, nine green spaces in Boston designed by the same man who designed New York City's Central Park.

While I wasn't able to see every part of Boston, I did see a lot. I definitely know which areas I'll hit up next time I'm in town!