In 2007 I took my first solo trip to the USA. I included a trip to Boston, Massachusetts, to visit my sister, Janet, who has lived in that area for over forty years. Due to the distance between us, we don’t see each other very often. My decision to cross the Atlantic that year was also fuelled by the desire to meet up with a number of my e-mail friends, a lot of whom I had first met via MySpace. Janet and I spent a week together during this month-long trip.
My Arrival
I had arrived in Orlando in April and, during my three days stay in Sanford, I met successfully up with five Florida friends. I then headed back to Orlando airport and flew up north to Boston. Janet met me at Logan airport. This was actually my second trip to Boston as I had been once before, in 1996, with my husband, Frank. That trip was the one and only trip to America my husband ever made, as his disability rendered him unfit to fly after that.
Janet drove me to her house, where I got myself settled in and had a nice meal with her. At this time she was living in Charlestown, just across the Charles River from the main city of Boston, much nearer the city from where she had lived before. Her house was near the top of the hill and, from there, she had a panoramic view of the Boston rooftops and skyscrapers.
Views over the rooftops from Janet’s Charlestown home.
Going Dancing
While in Boston, Janet twice took me contra dancing (something I had not tried before). It is a difficult style of dance to describe, but this video will show you how it’s done. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsvBiTfY7lI. There is a lot of spinning round in this style of dancing and by the end of a dance I was having trouble staying upright, as I was so giddy. They tell you that, to reduce dizziness, you should look straight into your partner’s eyes … slightly embarrassing when you are dancing with a total stranger. Alternatively, you can fix your eyes on the middle of their forehead, but even this didn’t work for me.
Contra Dancing in Boston
Apologies for the photo being a bit blurry, but my camera couldn’t cope with the speed of the whirling dancers.
One evening I managed to persuade her to take me to a local line dance class instead. We enjoyed the evening, even though Janet wasn’t as keen on line dancing as I was.
Later that week she took me to the North East Folk Festival Association (NEFFA) folk festival about 30 miles away, in the town of Mansfield, southwest of Boston. It was held in the buildings belonging to Mansfield High and Middle Schools. The festival has a long history, having run every year since 1944. There were many craft stalls available, where one could browse through their colourful wares. Various groups of musicians were set up in different classrooms for the listening audience and there was dancing in various styles in the main hall. There were also some workshops available for anyone interested.
Folk dancing at NEFFA festival 2007
Craft Stalls at the NEFFA folk festival
Exploring Boston
Janet was still working part-time, so while she was at work I explored the city on my own. Some of the places I went to were the Museum of Science, Quincy Market and nearby Faneuil Hall. This was not my first visit to the Museum of Science. Frank and I had been there during our 1996 trip, but there is so much to see there it was well worth another visit.The shear number of exhibits takes my breath away. Have a look here …
Quincy Market and Faneuil Hall are also fascinating places to wander round. The variety of wares sold there is huge, something for everyone. Apart from the extensive indoor markets on two floors, there are the outdoor market stalls between the two halls. Hours could be spent there browsing around. A poster says there are now more than 70 shops, 10 pubs and restaurants and 40 pushcarts in Faneuil Hall Marketplace.
The bustling scene at Quincy Market
Colourful pushcarts at Quincy Market, Boston
Down by the Harbour
The New England Aquarium can be found down by the harbour. It features a gigantic glass tank, with a multilevel walkway spiralling around and up the side of it. From this walkway I could get a good view of many types of fish and other water creatures in the tank. I could also look down and see the penguins, which were in pools on the ground-floor level. The aquarium claim to have about 600 species on display here.
Penguins at New England Aquarium, Boston
Nearby there were boat trips around the harbour on offer, but I didn’t take one on this trip.
Part of Boston Harbour
At the end of that week with my sister in Boston, I flew down to Nashville for my first visit there. More trips were to follow, but I will write about those in in future posts. Please Sign Up to be notified of future posts.