16 Apr 09

Today we had a burrito breakfast at the posh shopping mall attached to our hotel and decided to go for a land and water tour of Boston to find that the cost was about $15 more than the book said so we decided against it. Instead we decided to head to Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Socks. Of all the places we visited, all with several different sports teams I was suprised that very few people wear clothing to show their affiliation as much as they do here, until Boston that is, hundreds of people have the red socks emblem on jackets, jumpers, t-shirts and mostly, baseball hats. The tour was the first thing we have been on that was busy and it was actually completly full!! The stadium had a fab atmosphere even tho it was empty, helped a lot by a fab 76 year old tour guide who had even worse jokes than S (no joke, it turns out it is possible!).
After that we popped a couple blocks down to the Isabella Garner Stuart Museum. This is the sole collection of Isabella and housed in a purpose built gallery. Unfortunately you cannot take any pictures in the museum which is a HUGE shame because the biggest feature of the gallery is an amazing three storey courtyard in the middle of the building which houses some of the collection (mostly Roman, including a mosaic) and stunning plants and flowers. The gallery is very interesting and user friendly as she designed each room so that the look of the different pieces go together rather than going by style, period or artist. Very little is labelled so it is all about just getting the general feel, therefore it doesn't really matter that the most famous pieces were all stolen in the 1990's.
We also stopped in at the museum cafe for some afternoon tea, S was English Breakfast and a Chocolate Gateaux Tort, for M, Earl Grey and Apple Crisp (i.e. Crumble) with Burnt Sugar Ice Cream both of which were delicious.

We then headed back to base for a quick recoup before heading for a seafood resturant called The Barking Crab. We started off a little astray by choosing the wrong bridge but when we found it, it turned out to be a very busy marque with loads of people chatting and laughing and a live music act. We opted for sharing a bucket of crab claws, then for mains S had a crab burger and M the fisherman platter (prawns, scallops, clams and haddock).
We had also ordered a pitcher of the local seasonal beer which we finished at the bar watching the Bruins beat Montreal again.

We then wandered home through the heart of the financial district.