Disney Fantasy June 22-29th 2013: Boardwalk, Boat, and Boston! 2nd Wedding Annivesary

[disneybarbie]

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Then we headed out for a walk to get our bearings and some dinner.


The weather was beautiful, about 80-90 degrees every day, and just a tiny bit of rain one afternoon. I had imagined Boston would be more like the UK in summer, being further north, so It was a pleasant surprise to still be able to wear shorts and flipflops.


We walked to Newbury and Bolyston Street, then down to the Charles River...



I'd already noticed several runners around, and continued to see more each day – I didn't run while we were there, but next time we visit I definitely would.. especially along the river.



We walked back through Beacon Hill, through the Common and the park–



and then we started to look for somewhere for dinner, we agreed something quite simple would be fine after our big Mexican lunch at the airport. We found a busy bar that was serving food – DH had fish tacos and I had a steak & blue cheese salad. DH decided to try a Sam Adams beer.. and we got ID-ed, pretty normal, I gave the server DH's driving licence – she said she'd accept it, however normal policy is passports only for international visitors. After that, I carried our passports with us everywhere – we find this happens at Disney World too.. I'd rather just have our licences with us, I'm always scared I'll lose the passports.. which would make getting home a little tricky

We had a nice meal, and then found a Walgreens near our hotel to buy some water, soda and snacks for the room.
We got back to the hotel and had a pretty early night, it had been a long day and we were excited to start sight-seeing the next day!


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[disneybarbie]

Sunday 30th June 2013

I woke about 8am..



We headed out of the hotel about 9am, looking for somewhere for breakfast.



We found a Starbucks on Bolyston Street, it was a beautiful day so we sat outside in the sunshine.



We wanted to do the trolley tour, and found out that we could buy tickets and board the trolley from the Four Seasons hotel. We walked over there, and very soon were onboard a trolley! (We realised there are several different trolley tour companies in Boston, as well as the duck tour). We got two day tickets which allowed us to get on and off the trolley wherever we wanted. The tour guides were informative and we learnt a lot about the city over the next two days.





We got off the trolley a couple of times, including near the Aquarium. We walked around Quincy Market, and I bought a tree ornament from a Christmas shop (I like to buy a new one each year from somewhere we've been).




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[disneybarbie]

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We decided to get some lunch and sit near the water, where the whale-watching boats were sailing out.



I got to try something that was on my 'must try while in Massachusetts' list... a lobster role!



We got back on the trolley and spent another hour or so touring around – it really helped us get our bearings and understand where everything was that we wanted to visit on other days.



Crossing the river... the tour guide played 'Dirty Water' as we drove over – we hadn't heard this song before, but it is now on my iPod!




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[disneybarbie]

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Beacon Hill...



A fancy Starbucks...








We got off the trolley near Bolyston Street, and walked back to our hotel (via the Apple Store.. DH bought a Nike Fuel Band, the customer service was amazing, it was the first time we'd bought something directly from an Apple store!)



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[MEK]

All caught up again. Your meal at Remy looks absolutely fabulous. What a wonderful way to end your cruise.

Nice that you didn't have to rush to get back to the airport. I'm sure your hotel room did feel huge after your stateroom.

Loving the Boston pics. I live about 6 hours from Boston and I have never spent much time in the city. You are giving me ideas for a quick trip. zLooking forward to more!

 

[Dugette]

Great Boston updates. I've never been there, but looks like there's a ton of cool stuff to see!

 

[disneybarbie]

All caught up again. Your meal at Remy looks absolutely fabulous. What a wonderful way to end your cruise.

Nice that you didn't have to rush to get back to the airport. I'm sure your hotel room did feel huge after your stateroom.

Loving the Boston pics. I live about 6 hours from Boston and I have never spent much time in the city. You are giving me ideas for a quick trip. zLooking forward to more!

Thanks for reading - Remy was a great meal for our last night on the ship, so glad we went there again
Hope you do get to visit Boston in the future! There was so much to do, lots of history there

Great Boston updates. I've never been there, but looks like there's a ton of cool stuff to see!

Thank you - it is a great city, we absolutely loved our stay there!



Emma x

 

[disneybarbie]

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We rested for a while back at the hotel, and then went back out for a walk and to find some dinner.

We stopped at The Globe bar on Bolyston for a drink and so that DH could watch some of the soccer game that was on (England were playing).

Then we went to a restaurant called The Salty Pig. It was quite unusual – we had to choose some meats, some cheese and some sides, and it was all beautifully presented on a board.





The check came in a black notebook, that other guests had written in.. such a unique idea! One page said “will you marry me?” .. and the next page said “she said 'yes'!”



Back to the hotel, ready for another day of sight-seeing tomorrow.

 

[disneybarbie]

Monday 1st July 2013

We woke up about 8am again, and went to a nearby cafe for breakfast, and then walked towards Bolyston Street to pick up the trolley bus for our second day of touring.



We got off the trolley at Fenway Park – we'd already booked tickets for a baseball game the next day, but decided to do the tour while we were there... so glad we did!





It was only about $10 each for a 2 hour tour. Our guide was excellent, he knew absolutely everything about the Red Sox (he said he used to be a teacher, but now worked at Fenway and had his dream job!) - my only knowledge really was from the movie 'Fever Pitch' (with Jimmy Fallon & Drew Barrymore ) so I learnt so much!






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[disneybarbie]

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We got to see nearly all of the seating areas, including the Green Monster... our guide pointed out the place were Ted had fallen from in the movie.



I really recommend this tour – the price was fantastic and even if you're not a Red Sox fan, most of the people on our tour were not, I think most people would appreciate the history of the ball park.



We spent some time in the gift shop (and made some purchases, we also had a 10% discount coupon in our Trolley tour guide map!)



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[disneybarbie]

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Then we made our way back to the trolley bus stop to continue on the route...




We next got off the Trolley on the other side of the river, at MIT.



I'd heard a lot about the fast food chain Chipotle, and noticed there was one here – so we got some lunch there!



We both really liked it, tasty food and good prices. Plus.. the server noticed my Dooney & Bourke bag and said “have you been on a Disney cruise?!”


Next we got on the subway and made our way to another famous University.... Harvard!

The journey on the T was really easy, and a good price too – we bought a multi-journey pass and used it again the next day.

Cambridge was a really nice area, and the University buildings were beautiful..



I sent this photo to my sisters with a quote from 'Legally Blonde' … “You got in to Harvard Law School? … What... like it's hard?”







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[disneybarbie]

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We got back on the subway, back to MIT – then got the trolley bus back to the city, and got off it in the downtown area.

I noticed a Skechers shop and wanted to have a look at the running shoes …. and made a purchase!



This was my first pair of 'proper' running shoes – they are so light (7 ounces per shoe) and I love them for running. Sadly, I've now replaced this pair as I've done 400+ miles in them, but I'm glad they were purchased in Boston

We headed back to the hotel for a rest, and then headed out later for dinner.

Some pictures of the hotel...



DH had noticed an Asian restaurant not far from our hotel, we assumed it was Chinese, so we decided to go there for a meal.
It looked a bit worn down from the outside, but inside – it was lovely! Very modern, dark wood and nice lighting.
They had a private party booked that night, so we could only sit up at the sushi bar (turned out it was Japanese!) - but we didn't mind.



We ordered a couple of appetisers and then a sushi platter – everything was excellent.

 

[klacey1]

I love reading about your time in Boston! I went to college near there, so I have some great memories of hanging out in the city.
Boston does get HOT in the summer-- and since Massachusetts is a coastal state, it does get quite humid, too.
Chipotle is a favorite lunch spot of mine. Love those burrito bowls!
I've been to a few Red Sox games but never taken the stadium tour-- glad you enjoyed it so much!
I love your Harvard/Cambridge pictures! The old architecture is great

 

[Dugette]

Very cool. Those hop-on/hop-off tours are sure great for seeing a lot of things in a short time. Looks like you found some fun places to eat too. I really like hearing about these non-Disney parts of your trips. I actually am going to go back to re-read your NYC one soon, as we will be there in April and your report may give me some good ideas/tips for our time there.

 

[pepe3penelope]

Oh my goodness! I just started reading your report tonight & can't stop! I had to stop at the beginning of page 4. We ALSO were on the exact sailing! It was our 2nd cruise as well. Our 1st was on the Wonder Oct 2012. I loved reliving the memories and your WDW pretrip. We signed up for DVC while on this cruise. Our plan is to do the DVC Member Cruise 2015 & pretrip to WDW. Thinking of AKV or BLT or OKW. After reading your trip, I'm intrigued about BCV & BWV. Just saw your YouTube about the cruise horns! Whenever I hear them, my face lights up with joy! We had booked the family stateroom & loved the space, huge seating on the porthole window& split bath. Hopefully we can do the same room with verandah. Didn't do it this time cuz we think our kids are still too young (at the time almost 2 & almost 6). Loved seeing the two if you in the adult only areas! Lived vicariously thru you! My Arab was able to do 3 alcohol tastings/classes, but I wasn't able to view the clubs at night. The one night we had date night, the kids club called that our DD wanted to be picked up. Poking forward to reading the rest of ur report!

 

[pepe3penelope]

Oooops! Last sentence was supposed to say DH not Arab (guess I must have typed too fast!).

 

[Linda67]

I am loving your Boston pictures!
We visited the city a few years ago and had an amazing time. Looks like we did virtually the same things
We went to Fenway Park for a game and loved it. We also did the trolley tour for two days and headed over to Harvard
What a cute idea for that restaurant to put the cheque in a little notebook

 

[RGirl]

I just found your TR and read through the whole thing. I enjoyed it so much - we did the BW at WDW prior to the same cruise you did only in August this year! It looks like you two had such a great Disney time!

I am loving hearing about your time in Boston and seeing all the pictures too. I lived there years ago, so it's neat to "revisit."

 

[Leshaface]

Just caught up on Boston!

I LOVED looking at all your Boston pictures. Took me back instantly from when we went in the Summer of 2011. Everywhere you went, we went too, so it was like reliving my trip all over again

The picture from the stadium - any idea what's up with that single red seat amongst the sea of green seats??

Can't wait to hear about the game and what you thought of it! Also, please tell me you got a real cannoli from Boston?!

 

[georgiasmom]

The picture from the stadium - any idea what's up with that single red seat amongst the sea of green seats??
!

The lone red seat in the right field bleachers (Section 42, Row 37, Seat 21) signifies the longest home run ever hit at Fenway. The home run, hit by Ted Williams on June 9, 1946, was officially measured at 502 feet (153 m)— well beyond "Williamsburg". According to Hit Tracker Online, the ball, if unobstructed, would have flown 520 to 535 feet (160 to 163 m)