My Musings: Historic Sites of Boston

The next day we met up with our tour group and took tour of a few of the historical sites around Boston. We began at the Old North Church where the well known phrase, "One if by land, two if by sea" was coined. The oldest existing house of worship in Boston, the Old North Church is forever immortalized by the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem Paul Revere’s Ride. It was from the steeple of this church that the signal lamps signifying “one if by land, and two if by sea” were held aloft. This prearranged beacon warned awaiting colonial militia about the movement of British forces toward Lexington and Concord. On the night of April 18, 1775, church sexton Robert Newman and Captain John Pulling climbed the 154 steps to the top of the eight-story steeple while fellow patriot Thomas Bernard stood watch outside. They held the lanterns aloft for less than a minute, but it was sufficient to signal waiting riders like Paul Revere and William Dawes who then galloped toward Lexington and Concord alerting Minutemen along the way

A statue of Paul Revere stands tall outside the church commemorates his memorable ride.

Founded in 1722, the Old North Church, officially known as Christ Church in the City of Boston, is Boston’s oldest surviving church building and one of its most popular historic sites in the city.

The church is surrounded by several, small gardens, one of these is the Memorial Garden. In 2006, Old North Church and its neighbors created the nation’s first public memorial honoring American lives lost in the conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq, and the greater war on terror. Whenever an American serviceperson is killed in these conflicts, a dog-tag is hung by an Old North volunteer. The tags represent, as closely as possible, the total number of deaths. The thousands upon thousands of tags are a haunting reminder of the toll war takes on families and communities.

Our next stop was at the USS Constitution Museum. The USS Constitution, also known as Old Ironsides, is a wooden-hulled, three-masted heavy frigate of the United States Navy named by President George Washington after the United States Constitution. She is the world's oldest commissioned naval vessel still afloat. She was launched in 1797, one of six original frigates authorized for construction by the Naval Act of 1794 and the third constructed

The USS Constitution fought in numerous battles of the War of 1812. The ship earned the nickname “Old Ironsides” after it fought the British ship, HMS Guerriere, on August 19, 1812 during the early phase of the war.

During the battle, several cannonballs hit the USS Constitution and simply bounced off the ship’s sides. The crew noticed this and declared the sides were made of iron. The ship’s officers and several press publications started using the “Old Ironsides” nickname and the name stuck.

The USS Constitution defeated five British warships during the War of 1812, the HMS Guerriere, Java, Pictou, Cyane and Levant, and captured many merchant ships.

“Old Ironsides," is officially “America’s Ship of State” and one of the most popular and well respected military attractions in the country. The ship is open for tours throughout the year, but it was closed for a private event the day we were there so we weren't able to go aboard.

The rest of our morning tour was done from the bus. We had the afternoon free so Dad and I walked down to Quincy Market to find something for lunch, while Mom relaxed at the hotel. Quincy Market is a historic market complex near Faneuil Hall in downtown Boston. It was constructed in 1824–26 and named in honor of Mayor Josiah Quincy, who organized its construction without any tax or debt. The market is a designated National Historic Landmark and Boston Landmark, significant as one of the largest market complexes built in the United States in the first half of the 19th century.

Quincy Market is a great place to hang around with friends and family and enjoy some good food. There are 18 restaurants and 35 colonnade eateries of all cuisines.

Dad and I had a fun time wandering up and down the great hall, looking at all the delicious food and snack options. I ended up with bread bowl full of Boston's famous clam chowder

After lunch, we strolled through the fun little shops, enjoying the fun window displays and amusing souvenirs.

That evening, we walked from our hotel to the North End/ Little Italy for a tasty Italian dinner.

There are more than 80 restaurants and patisseries along the narrow, cobblestone streets of Little Italy, which makes it hard to choose where to eat. We had gotten several recommendations for Lemoncello, located on the Freedom Trail just a few doors down from the Paul Revere House in North Square, it is one of the few remaining neighborhood family-run restaurants.

For dessert, we got lemon sorbet in frozen lemons, just like I had when I was in Positano a few weeks before. The head chef of Limoncello is from the Amalfi Coast.