Beautiful Boston and ‘F’abulous Philly

BEAUTIFUL BOSTON AND FABULOUS PHILLY

by Trish and Sadie

Hi Becca and Charmaine

Thank you for arranging another fabulous holiday, everything was perfect. It could have been a little cooler as we arrived in a heatwave (90 in Boston and 93 in Philadelphia!) which was, we were assured, unusual. Refreshment breaks were mandatory and fine with us - any excuse!

Boston: The Midtown Hotel is an old style hotel in the perfect location for restaurants, shopping, tours. The staff are wonderful, always smiling and exceptionally helpful.
Boston is an elegant city with so much history. We can recommend a bus tour of the city and stop off at Quincy Market / Faneuil Hall. Also, stop at the 'Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum' which is a must. Take the opportunity to become one of the Sons of Liberty and 'dump' the tea overboard. Great fun and highly recommended. It was too hot for walking the Freedom Trail this time but I walked the 'red line' many years ago in cooler weather and it is well worth doing.

The Skywalk on the 50th floor at the Prudential Building is very interesting with historical information and great views of the city; we followed it by watching the sunset with cocktails / dinner at the 'Top of the Hub' on the 52nd floor.

Do take a bus tour to Cape Cod, it is excellent and well worth investing a day to see the JFK memorial and the harbour cruise taking in the 'Kennedy Compound'. There are great places to eat and to shop for something different in the area. We lunched at Columbo's and then off for ice cream at Katie's - heaven!

Amtrak to Philadelphia: thank you for another great suggestion Charmaine, as the train provides a very affordable and comfortable way to travel from one city to another passing through Rhode island, Connecticut and New York on this journey and with lovely views of the countryside.
Philadelphia: The Double Tree Hotel is the perfect location on Broad St, (The Avenue of the Arts). This is an exciting city with wonderful museums and art galleries (and 'Rocky') but of course the main places of historical interest are the Liberty Bell and the State House. Both attractions are free and tours of the State House are provided at regular intervals. We were able to walk to shops and restaurants from the hotel and again the Big Bus Company provided an excellent tour of the city which is in the throes of preparing for the pope's visit later this month.   There is another bus - The PHLASH which is only about $5 but there is no on board commentary, it basically picks up / drops off and we weren't that impressed with it. We felt the actual tour buses are much more informative and better value.
We love our 'two city' breaks and look forward to setting you another challenge for next year's adventure.

Another roaring success and our thanks to you both for everything.

Trish and Sadie

Ps... Hope the party went with a swing and we did raise a glass(or five) to you!