Super Fag: Fly Boy Adventures!

I think i mentioned towards the end of the last blog that i was sleeping on a boat, that's correct! I arrived in Boston at 8 in the morning feeling sufficiently groggy and sleep deprived. I'd arrived in yet another time zone and was now keeping track of four different ones, which is slightly confusing. I got my luggage and managed to find a bus to the trains. The office for the boat is was staying on didn't open til 10 so i sat and waited trying to catch up on some sleep. I finally checked in, left my bags in the office and headed off. This boat situation was interesting. Because the boat sailed during the day so people could take cruises, the overnight guests weren't allowed on board during the day unless they'd paid for the cruise this meant being out all day until the boat docked usually at 9 in the evening. Couple this with tiny cabins, showers in closets and no wifi, i'm not sure if the boat adventure was the right choice. But it was at least an adventure.

My first day in Boston i mostly wandered around trying to get my bearings. The city is quite old worldly, i think the idea of Boston is mixing the old and the new. Old town and national heritage meets high rises. This is pretty much the vibe of Boston. It's the most condensed city-like place i've visited so far and unlike Seattle and San Fran is not a grid city. This makes getting around a little more difficult. The old architecture is really pretty, lots of red brickwork, churches and vines. There are two major parks in the middle of the city. The Boston Common and the Public Gardens. The Gardens are well kept with a pond and the commons are more expansive. I stayed in the common for a little while before heading on. I wandered through the theatre district and inside the public library, which is huge and has painted ceilings and lion sculptures. They had an exhibition of old tourism posters that i had a look at. Probably the tallest building is the John Hancock tower.

This massive high rise made entirely out of reflective glass so when you look at it from certain angles it almost looks like a continuation of sky, weird. The end of my first night in Boston, i sat at the pier and literally waited for my ship to come in.

On my first day in Boston my camera battery was dead and so i had to spend some time retracing my steps and taking photos the morning of my second day, i also had to stop into Starbucks for free internet to blog. Today i also ventured down to the Charles River and walked along the promenade. That night i watched a really god production of Othello in he Boston Common, it was free and really good. Also Othello is an idiot and the guy playing Iago sounded a lot like Jack from Will and Grace, which was kind of hilarious.

Day three and I was off to Harvard!! It's only a short train ride from the city. I wandered around and looked at the library. There's a sign on the door stating that only those with Harvard student ids will be et into the building, i guess otherwise it would constantly be filled with tourists. The campus is smaller then i expected it to be, but with some awesome old buildings. I'd removed it from my iPod but i distinctly felt like listening to Legally Blonde while i was there... Cambridge, the area around the campus itself is very kool. Similar college town vibe with lots of little shops and a good place to sit down. I think i had lunch but i can't remember. That night i walked some more and unknowingly stumbled into the North End. I had no information about this area but it must be highly populated by Italians because there are heaps of little Italian restaurants and today there was a festival happening in the streets. I bought some pasta andwandered. These guys were lifting a statue of the virgin mary on poles and dancing to a marching band, strange but entertaining.

On my last day in Boston i started the day exploring the Quincy markets. I ate Chowder! Which is really good. And watched a bunch of buskers. These two guys with guitars who called them selves Cahill were really good and this guy was juggling swords on a tightrope held up by audience members, petty kool. Possibly the most exciting thing about the market was finding a Christmam store. It's open all year round and sells Christmas decorations and plays carols! Best idea ever! I also walked down to the end of Pearl St, supposedly (according to Wikipedia) the site where the Boston Tea Party is suppose to have happened... I dunno. I hung around in the city til late trying to soak up the atmosphere, also because the boat didn't dock til 11pm that night, sigh. When i got back on I had a surprise roommate in my cabin. I probably won't stay on the Liberty Tall Ship again. I enjoyed Boston although I'm glad i wasn't staying any longer i sort of ran out of things to do very quickly and couldn't find a bar i wanted to go into... oh well... The next morning i de-boated (?) and headed for the bus terminal where i hopped on a Greyhound headed for New York!

Josh...