Exploring Boston and nearby towns in Massachusetts

Having heard a cousin of the boyfriend was getting married, we were both super excited for the wedding. The boyfriend was a groomsman for the first time and the lovely couple live in Boston, MA so it would be our first American wedding and a chance for me to spend some quality time with his family.

So we packed our suitcases along with two groomsmen, a cousin and the best man. We headed over in October, just before the Halloween season and managed to stay for two days in New York so be sure to check that post.

Note to anyone who has families and friends who have emigrated to America from the UK, they will love you forever if you bring lots of teabags, cadburys chocolates, jammie dodgers, ribena and jaffa cakes!

We stayed with the beautiful couple in Tewksbury who were kind to let us all stay for two weeks and even organised an itinerary which involved visiting lots of places, eating a lot of food and meeting a bunch of cool people.

I have listed the main places we visited on the trip.

The view from the aeroplane

(can you spot the other plane?)

First American Breakfast - half eggs, hash brown, toast (with a side of pancakes not shown in the picture).

Topsfield Fair 

This fair is one of the oldest agricultural fairs in America and there was so much to do that we spent the day here. There was a flower show, honey competition, vegetable competition, chickens, hens, rabbits, goats, elephant rides, fairground rides, live country music and lots of stalls selling food including chocolate covered bacon. My favourite part was watching the baby chicks hatch from the eggs and I even got to hold one! There was also the biggest pumpkin I had ever seen!

Flower Show

Baby chicks hatching

Giant Pumpkin

Honey Competition

We spent some time looking for the Queen Bee here.

Gloucester 

Gloucester is a coastal city in Massachusetts, north-east of Boston. It is a fishing city and is a popular destination in Summer because of its coastline. 

We walked through the main park admiring the beautiful views and raced up a few of the gentle hills in the park. 

Clam Chowder

For dinner, we had our first taste of clam chowder and it was tasty! The flavour is similar to a thick broth or a creamy soup with potatoes, onions and clams, it was really filling so it was good we had shared a bowl. Afterwards we ate lots of clams in garlic! Fresh seafood tastes soooooo..good!

Salem 

Salem is the birthplace of the national guard and known for the witchcraft trials of 1692. There is the Salem Witch Museum where you can find out more about the trials and hear about some of the people's stories. It was really interesting learning about the history. There is a memorial located at the entrance of the cemetery to remember the victims of the trials.

There are a mixture of shops and boutiques including a wand shop. We also stopped for pumpkin pie in a coffee shop.

Boston 

One of the oldest cities and the capital of Massachusetts, Boston is full of history and played a big part in the American Revolution. The Freedom Trail is a walking route that takes you around 16 historic sites, just follow the red brick or painted line around the city. 

Boston Common

In the past, this park was used by British troops who camped here prior to the revolution.
Celebrities including Martin Luther King Jr have given speeches at the Common.

Massachusetts State House

We also visited:

- Park Street Church, the site of the old town granary. The steeple was the first landmark travellers saw when coming to Boston. 

- Granary Burying Ground, the resting place for war patriots including signers of the Declaration of Independence; Samuel Adams, John Hancock, Robert Treat Paine. 

- Old State House, the centre of all political life dating back to 1713 and was occupied by the British during the revolution. 

-Faneuil Hall, a government meeting place is still used today. On the fourth floor, there is a collection of artillery maintained by the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company. 

Old State House Museum and Boston Massacre Site

Samuel Adams Statue

He is portrayed with folded arms which is the same look when he demanded Governor Hutchinson to remove the British troops from Boston after the Boston Massacre in 1770.

Check out my next post where the fun continues in New York.

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