New England States Road Trip Part 10: Boston and traveling home

The final installment of our New England States Road Trip, almost 2 years later. On this day, we were traveling home, but first we were going to see a bit of Boston since we left later in the afternoon. On the pages tab at the top of the blog, tap trips and scroll to the bottom to find all the other days of our vacation.

We woke up and worked out for just a bit in the hotel gym. Then we got ready, checked out and headed to the North End of Boston. Our first stop was the Freedom Trail. You can do a guided tour or a self-guided tour where you can access information via your phone through their App. However, we were short on time, so we literally just walked it, stopping now and then. We walked about 2.5-3 miles. If I went again, I would definitely do the self guided tour using the app. 

I absolutely love old buildings and this city did not disappoint. I did discover that if I lived in the area we were in, I would NOT own a car. WOW. It was tricky navigating. I'd buy a bike, moped or just walk. 

Paul Reveres Home

It has been two years since we've gone, so my memory is a tad tainted. The above photo, I grabbed a screen shot off of a video. This was looking into an old printing company. 

The Freedom Trail is marked with a double brick path. 

Old churches are also favorites on my list when visiting cities and towns. 

City Square Park was along the trail, located in the Charleston area. 

Bunker Hill Monument! I wish we had more time to spend at some of these spots. You can read more here about the key locations along the trail. 

We parked in the Italian area of Boston. I really wanted to visit this side of town since my moms family is Italian. We grabbed a few things from Salumeria Italiano an Italian market that has been in business for over 50 years. I loved walking in and hearing the people speaking Italian or english with a strong accent. Then we ate lunch at Isabella Ristorante. I had porcini ravioli and we shared a caesar salad, and Kevin had a bowl of meatballs. So good. Highly recommend. We then stopped for gelato at Dolces and Lobster tails from Mikes pastries, and my hubby tried a slice of pizza at Rina's. 

The remaining photos are simply because I love the buildings, area and architecture that goes along with old cities. 

The fronts of these buildings really stood out to me with their elaborate fronts. Much of this area consisted of tenement housing that was build in the early 1900's as immigrant house and not well built, but have stood the test of time. I'd love to see what they look like inside, but that could take me down some rabbit trails. 

Then it was off to the airport. We had a moment of panic when we got through TSA and a few minutes later my husband realized he forgot a large picture he had bought and was carrying it on. Thankfully it was there where he had left it. We had time to relax before taking off. I finished some of my postcards, and a nice lady at one of the shops said she'd mail them for me after she was off work. 

We were so pleased with how this trip went. 10/10 recommend! 

My top takeaways:

* Plan ahead. Especially if you plan to go during leaf peeper season. Things book up quick. See my first post for a great website to follow to find the right time.

* Use the Roadtrippers app

* Take the back roads. If you're not crunched for time, slow down and take back roads. You'll find some great places. 

* Try foods that are local to the area and each state

*Sure, you could put notes on your phone of what you did each day, but it's more fun to purchase a postcard from an area you are in every day, write on it what you did and mail it home. So fun. 

*Do google searches to find things to do. I visited several travel blogs, trip advisor, etc. AND asked on social media what friends enjoyed doing if they had visited those areas. Ultimately we found "our" things, but it's nice to have an idea of the options out there. 

I hope you enjoyed the installments for our trips and hopefully got some great ideas. 

With Joy Unquenchable,

Kirstin