Friday, August 26, 2016

Where Everybody Knows Your Name

Today we started out bright and early looking for another meal. No ... The beer comes later.  

Actually we wound up an Panera. I know ... We come all the way to Boston for a bagel at Panera. But hey ... it was a quick stop ... and plus I had to find a bathroom. 

Ready for a little TMI? Our toilet in the room is about the size of teacup. A full size man (like yours truly) can't even  ... Well let's just say that I'm not sure how a person who is 4'10" fits on it.  

So I was happy to see the Men's Room sign at Panera. I hurriedly grabbed the handle and noticed the sign "Enter the four digit code from your receipt". Darn, I threw away my receipt. How was I to know that this clever foil to keep away street people from relieving themselves would now inhibit my ...

"Ain't got your code?" One of the Panera housekeepers asked. 

"I'm ... I must have thrown it ..."

"0641"

"Thank you so much. I really ..." He was gone. 

Deb and I hit the trail looking for our next adventure. So much stuff to see in 90 degree heat with a 60% chance of rain. 

"Hey! How about a bus tour?" I said to Debbie. She stopped dead in her tracks. It took her a minute or so to regain consciousness. 

"Wait. Are you My husband? Are you asking to take a tour? You hate tours!"

"I know. But it's hot as hell and the sky is turning black."

Trolley tour it was ... Not quite Gilligan's three hour tour. More like an hour and a half. Met a nice couple from Cincinnati (the guy became my best friend because he was three years younger than me and thought I was three years younger than him). 

We saw lots of graveyards. Not sure how many we saw but there are hundreds of them in this city. 

I noticed that Paul Revere, Ben Franklin, and most of the presidents were buried in each one. Ben Franklin slept around a lot so possibly his body parts were scattered. 

Saw the Meeting Hall where the Declaration of Independence was announced to the crowd from the balcony. 

The driver said they just repolished and replated the gold and silver ornaments of the building and placed a round brick paver below the balcony to mark where the Boston Massacre happened. (During the reading of the Declaration? I got confused on this point). 

Lots of churches here. Catholic, Protestant, Episcipal ... You name it and there's a church for it. 

The driver said every time one was built, people left and moved on. Not sure why but perhaps they kept moving so they didn't get too chummy with the neighbors. The other thing that seemed commonplace was hangings for important stuff like gossiping or taking a sheep to the school dance.


Fenway Park was on the tour. It is the oldest baseball stadium in the US and has quite a history. Been around for over 100 years. 

We saw a couple of college kids trying to get a mattress up some stairs. 

Finally came back to Quincy Market and had a drink at Cheers. See ... Came back around. Norm knew my name. And all was right in the world. 

Tonight we head to the North End and a cool Italian restaurant named Limoncello. 

More tomorrow!

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