This morning after waking up Maria discussed how we were awakened in the middle of the night once we saw my mom when got up to go to the bathroom, and we weren't able to go back to sleep for about two hours after. Maria and I both let the haunted hotel ghost stories get the best of us, and we thought for a moment that's what the figure we saw was. My exact words were, "I thought it was a ghost coming towards us and I was like ohh shoooot." Michael, Maria, and I spent the rest of the morning saying that and laughing.
We all got dressed and ready and headed Brueggar's Bagels for breakfast. It was such a good decision. There were so many different options and combinations possible. Everyone enjoyed what they ended up choosing. I ate my toasted blueberry bagel and cream cheese while watching the differences among the people around me- the tourist families like my own, the lady on her mac, the business men in blue shirts, and the man dressed in uniform going over papers with a professionally dressed lady.
Then we excitedly walked down to the aquarium. Before even going in, we saw a tank of seals that I fell in love with. But they didn't compare to what was beyond the doors we were about to enter!
We saw many different types of penguins and fish and sharks and turtles and jellies. The penguins were first. My favorite was the littlest ones, but the sign assured me "these are not babies!"
It's so insane how much lives in the water. Also I thought of Finding Nemo so much while we were there. I saw so many animals resembling the characters of that movie. The main tank was really big. It was round and went all the way to the top. The different level floors circled around it and we could see so much. Then each floor had individual tanks with specific creatures.
At the end we got to go to the touching tank. We patiently waited among any as we held our hands in the water. We got to touch rays and sharks. They felt so cool-so smooth and somewhat slimy.
After the aquarium we road the trolley a few stops before getting off around Paul Revere's house. We couldn't see it from where we were so Dan and I went inside Starbuck's to ask for directions. Somehow he came out empty handed. But I didn't. I got a carmel frappe and a good look at the young guy that helped to give us directions. Walk straight until we turn left on Moon Street then follow the cobblestone basically.
Paul Revere's house was nothing like the mansions. There wasn't even really a tour, and it was very small. I could not imagine 16 children living and growing up there! It sure was cozy though. We left and walked through the Italian neighborhoods and the memorial rose garden until we got back on the trolley.
On the trolley, again we saw lots of historic sites. We saw the graveyard that inspired The Scarlet Letter and the public library and an old beautiful church and the TD garden.
We rode the trolley a little ways then got off to eat lunch. We ate at Joe's something and whatever it was called, it was delicious. Dan and I shared a margherita pizza that was really tasty.
Then we stopped in Nike town across the street. Dan and I just went in to retrieve Michael, but I couldn't help it and ended up buying a pair of sneakers.
We met up with my mom and Maria and got back on the trolley for a very long ride. We drove past a lot of sites and had a great tour guide/driver to explain them to us. They included Cheers, Fenway Park, MIT, the mother church, the fire station that was so old it's firemen/ fire carriages? were pulled by horses, and the harbor. One of the buildings of MIT was designed by Frank Ghery. I was so excited. Not only is his work super super cool and creative, but it was what I based one of my ceramic projects off of this year. It was so cool to see a building of his in more than just a picture.
Once we got back to the hotel it was rest time. I took a short nap then explored with mom. We went downstairs to get a sample of Boston cream pie flavored ice cream. When we were down there mom got really excited and wanted to check out the ladies room. Until I told her it was just the bathroom. We walked around while I ate the ice cream. We rode the elevator to the 14 floor and checked out the gorgeous roof top ballroom. Then came back and got ready for dinner.
We walked down towards the harbor and ate at Legal sea food. The guys got lobster, Maria and I split steak, and my mom got trout. It was really funny watching Michael master the lobster and Dan struggle with it, both while wearing bibs. Then for desert we had strawberry short cake. The best strawberry short cake my mom and I have ever had. While we ate it, we observed the large party that had recently sat down beside us. From their voices, apparel, expressions, and appearances we speculated they were somewhere form Europe. It was really cool to watch them. Especially while eating that strawberry short cake!
After dinner, the rest of the night was spent walking around and exploring. We walked in the lobby of the Marriot and realized we preferred our hotel much better. Then we did a little more shopping at the quincy market and headed back to the hotel for the night.
