Through the porthole

Day one of Boston times, and Mo and I achieved lots. We found groceries, a SIM, and familiarised me with town. After a slightly later than intended start we went hunting and gathering for food, then went into town. She lives just outside Boston, within easy travelling, but in nice suburban surroundings. We set off to find a SIM, but all the phone shops had long lines outside, so we had to hunt around a little before we could find somewhere that didn't involve a long wait. All sorted, eventually. A walk down to the site of the Boston Massacre, Fanueil Hall, and then Quincy Market for lunch.

I had clam chowder, apparently what one eats in these parts, and thought it was pretty nice indeed. A random man seemed to be laughing at it (in a bread bowl) when he walked past us, but perhaps he was just sneezing. We decided we needed exercise to earn a cannoli for afternoon tea. This involved a walk down to the harbour, a short ride on the ferry, a walk up a hill, and then up and up and up and up the 294 steps of the Bunker Hill Monument. Mo and I travelled through Germany a couple of years ago, and our mission was always to find towers to climb in every city. The tradition lives on. This was a tougher tower than some others I've climbed recently - the flatness of Norwich and Norfolk hasn't kept me in good climbing shape, but the steps were also very steep and airless. Every person who reached the top while we were there, from a couple of seniors to a gym junkie, took a few moments to recover before admiring the view. It was a great view, although the windows were very small and it wasn't a space to spend lots of time in. It did give a good idea of the spread of the city, and how some parts fit in. I'll try to get up the Prudential Tower at some point this week as well, to compare.

We wobbled back down the stairs, and found our way back to the ferry. After admiring the seals at the aquarium (their enclosure is half open to the non-paying public) we walked to Little Italy for some cannolis. I didn't know what they were, but my pistachio and caramel one was delicious and definitely deserved. By this stage we'd had pretty much enough for the day, and planned to head back for dinner and a quiet evening in. This ended up being after a detour via a market and the Holocaust memorial. We were fairly drained by the time we were back at Mo's, collapsed with cups of tea.

Dinner was simple - cheesy mac, cucumber, corn, with chocolate, tea, strawberries and blueberries for dessert. These made a great accompaniment to Chocolat, and I know I was certainly asleep in moments after collapsing in bed.

That was actually yesterday, but now I need to go to bed for today, or I'll fall asleep on my keyboard. Tomorrow morning will probably be quiet, so I'll try to catch up on a few things then.