Boston

We left Cape Cod early in the morning and set off for Plymouth, the first permanent English settlement in the New World. Here's (part of) Plymouth rock - the rock first broke into two when it was shifted from its original resting place, and part of it was also used to create a seawall. Over the years, the bits of the rock were chipped off for souvenirs and it's estimated that about a third of it remains here.



At least it has a fancy resting place!



Here's the Mayflower II, a replica of the 17th century sailing ship that carried the Pilgrims over from England.



There are costumed 'interpreters' here who represent historical characters. Dave discussed the eventual fate of the original Mayflower with the ship's captain. There is a possibility that some of the timbers were used in the building of a barn in Bucks back in the UK...



Heading towards Boston, we parked the car at Alewife station and took the subway into Cambridge. We joined the official Harvard tour, again lead by an enthusiastic sophmore. The tour is definitely worth taking as it brings the campus to life with interesting stories and a student's perspective.









We made it over to the USS Constitution, 'Old Ironsides' for a tour guided by active US sailors. They had a varying length of time in the Navy, ranging from someone fresh out of bootcamp to another sailor having five years experience.



There's still a bit of restoration to be completed, but it's supposed to be completed by 2011.



We did an abbreviated stroll along the Freedom Trail to save my feet...



..hopping along the subway taking some sights in along the way.



I spotted these chimney tops in the neighbourhood of Beacon Hill - I think they look a little like the ones from La Pedrera, a Gaudi building in Barcelona (the bottom photo, for comparison!).




Here's the old State Building:



We made it to Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market just in time for dinner. Mmm, lobster bisque and clam chowder!



We finished off the day with a stroll down by the waterfront.



The next morning, we drove through Concord, Massachusetts and stopped by the Minute Man National Park to see an audiovisual presentation about the Minute Men. I also got to see Louisa May Alcott's family home - she wrote Little Women, one of my favourite childhood books.





Then onwards to Salem, famous for its witch trials. It brought back memories of studying The Crucible by Arthur Miller in high school English class. This is a house belonging to one of the judges.



There are some simple memorials next to the graveyard.





We didn't have time to look inside the Salem Witch Museum as we were booked for an afternoon of whale watching, but I bet this is a good place to find some inspiration for Halloween!