The weather forecast today threatened frequent heavy showers and possibly thunderstorms yet it was also too warm for heavy clothes so an umbrella was bought and we decided spending the morning exploring the Boston Museum of Fine Arts was a way to stay dry initially. The Museum was a treat with some fascinating special exhibitions we enjoyed including Hippie Chic which featured 60s fashions we both remembered and a juke box that Dave complained was playing songs from the 70s! Audubon's Birds, the John Singer Sargent Room and a collection of photographs, She Who Tells a Story, showcasing contemporary Arab women's photography were all enjoyable and in the case of the latter thought-provoking.

Our next stop was the International Poster Gallery which we were failing to locate and this provided another example of local hospitality. We knew we were in the vicinity of the Gallery but couldn't spot it so asked a couple of passers by for directions. We asked a guy who clearly worked locally but he didn't know so we thanked him and asked someone else. The next thing we know is the guy pops back up as he's looked the place up on his smartphone and it turns out to be just down the street. How kind of him to take the trouble! Sadly the gallery turned out to be a shop not the exhibition we had anticipated so after a short browse we were soon on our way.

Our plan for the rest of the day was to walk Boston's Freedom Trail which is a three mile plus route around historic buildings and sites. Jill having been to Boston before took on tour guide duties and added a side trip to the market area where we indulged in our first hot dog of the trip but if they are all as good as this Italian sausage version may not be the last. The trail provided a window into Boston's illustrious history which we won't bore you with. There were some interesting buildings including the Boston home of Paul Revere who we discovered had 16 children, several trades and managed to shoehorn in his famous soldiering exploits. Less illustrious was finding that the USS Constitution, the oldest surviving wooden fighting ship in the world, was closed due to the current US budget shambles!

We were wilting by the time we climbed Bunker Hill, the site of a famous battle of the American War of Independence and one where sadly both sides paid a heavy price in wasted human life. Down the hill we caught a bus back to the Italian North End where we'd seen numerous tempting places to eat. Given that we were weary we didn't look far before happily settling down in Rabia's Italian and Seafood Restaurant where we both indulged in Prosecco and delicious lobster ravioli. We also had a good chat to our Moroccan waitress about the opportunities for women in Morocco and her freedom to achieve her potential in Boston. Her view was that, despite recent unrest in Morocco, the King was doing a good job in modernising and increasing opportunity for everyone. However, clearly not moving fast enough for her, she'd used her get up and go and got up and went!