Double, double, toil and trouble

So, what have we been up to in Boston?

Yesterday, we walked some of the freedom trail with a guide starting from Boston Common. It was interesting, learning about all of the main protagonists of the American Revolution - Samuel Adams, John Adams, Paul Revere etc and the truth behind the Boston "massacre". Our guide, Brian, was very funny and really knew his stuff. At one point he stopped outside a bar, opposite a cemetery and said it was the only place in Boston where you could drink a cold Samuel Adams whist watching over a cold Samuel Adams.

After watching a bit of the Liverpool vs Wigan match (Suarez on fire) we had a walk around the seafront and docks but it was just too cold, so we begin to head back through the Quincy Market area. A quick "warm up" in the hotel and we then had dinner at "Rock Bottom" which is a chain of sports bars/restaurants. It was excellent - BJ rating of 4. Will have to check this out next time we are in the US.

Today, the final day of our travels, we visited Salem to view Nikki's legacy and find out how she managed to escape the trials. Salem is around 15 miles north of Boston and we had to take the commuter train, which was an experience in itself - like going on a train from the 50s! The Yanks just don't invest in public transport and it shows. The train looked like it was falling apart, with no automation whatsoever but bizarrely, it had WiFi. We were convinced the conductor was powering the train himself in a hamster wheel.

Anyway on to Salem. The town itself seemed typical of "small town" America which I have always wanted to see, although it also reminded me of Ormskirk in many ways. Typical New England coloured houses, lots of churches and as you would expect, given the town's history, a bent towards "witches" and the occult. Some of it a bit tacky, some not. We headed to the visitor centre to view a film explaining the events of the Salem witch trails from 1692 which was interesting and helped to provide some context. We also visited the memorial garden to view the list of names of the 19 women who were hanged and the one guy who was "pressed to death" on suspicion of being witches. Given this past, the town retains a somewhat eerie feel, although they are trying to promote themselves for other things now. Bloody terrible what happened though and a lesson on the dangers of getting caught up in mob mentality and pre-judging anyone or anything, without due cause. A lot of the town is shut for Winter but it was good to see. I've always wanted to come ever since watching Salem's Lot, which scared the living crap out of me. Didn't see David Soul knocking around, unfortunately.

Back to Boston, final walk around and then to the airport for our flight home via Iceland. Sad that our adventure is over, but happy to come back to home comforts as well. On the flight I will write up a summary of the trip - our highlights and low points, using the now established (and highly regarded) BJ ratings system.

See you all soon.