Boston | Paul Revere | Faneuil Hall | Freedom Trail

New England Patriot

by Mark Seal
My mother and father are huge sports fans: baseball, football, hockey - just all of it. My mother took us to Fenway Park to see a baseball game, and that was fantastic. I mean, what a great stadium! That's a huge Boston highlight. I don't think my dad was there; he was probably working or something. Faneuil Hall is the market there, which is actually even more of a highlight than the aquarium. I feel like I went there when it was brand-new. I mean, you come from running around in the woods and having a quiet life, and you go in there, and there are three huge aisles of food from everywhere you can imagine and, of course, tons of things that you want to buy. Just off the market is Durgin-Park, which is a must-visit restaurant that goes back to Revolutionary days. It's famous for New England cooking: chowder, Boston baked beans, and Indian pudding.

I guess Bree, being perfect, would take her kids on the Freedom Trail, right?

Oh, absolutely. Especially now, if you're in California, you realize that L.A. does not have that kind of history, and you realize how important Massachusetts was and the historic value of the state. That's a fantastic thing to do - to take that tour and then wind your way over to Faneuil Hall. Don't miss the Old State House - lots of treasures inside, including tea from the Boston Tea Party. And the Old North Church is where Robert Newman climbed the steeple and hung two lanterns, as arranged by Paul Revere, to signal the start of the Revolutionary War. The Paul Revere House is where Paul Revere was living when he set out for Lexington in 1775. It's on the Freedom Trail, and it's the oldest house in downtown Boston, built around 1680. I really do think if you are going to Boston, that's the stuff to see. You know, shopping and whatever is great, but the historic stuff is really fantastic. For example, you have to see the Gibson House Museum, a totally intact ­nineteenth-century town house, one of the first houses built in Back Bay. It tells the story of ­nineteenth-century Boston and how people really lived.

Let's talk in contemporary terms. Where do you stay when you go back now?




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ISSUE: Nov 15, 2006
American Way Cover - 11/15/2006