Ms. Shuttergirl's dreaming of a White Christmas...Days 28-32 done, Boston & Washingto

[PrincessInOz]

Loving the pictures. It really makes your trip come alive for me. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Since work is still inconveniently dominating my time I am limiting myself to a treat of reading one or two days a night!! Enjoying the as always stunning pics and reread. I think with characters, when kids are older and for adults, its easier meeting the "animal" type characters-like Winnie the Pooh and co, Stitch, Monsters Inc etc rather than the princesses. That said DD enjoyed meeting Mulan (but Mishu more) last visit to WDW and we were both tickled to meet Prince Caspian and would like to meet the princess whose name escapes me right this minute (totally fail in Disiness I know) from Tangled.

Sounds like you had a lovely relaxing visit and lots of great food.

Well that's my fix for tonight-at least I have lots more days to look forward to plus I have to catch up with Karen's report too!

 

[dabecs]

Love love love the photos! Another amazing and memorable trip for your family - with the next approaching fast

Quebec looked so sweet, would love to visit there one day. And your photos of NYC made me want to be back there tomorrow

The candlelight processional and Christmas stories around the world must have been fantastic to see, WDW in December looks like a blast!

 

[Aussiefamof5]

OMG!!! Your photos are amazing you truly have captured some gorjuz shots!! May i ask what camera you have been using?

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Pics from EPCOT Illuminations are amazing. You were so lucky with the table at the Rose & Crown. Must remember that!

 

[viaggiamo]

Shuttergirl, I just spent the best part of two hours reading your TR.
Awesome! We are thinking of going to WDW or DL and NYC in December this year and it was so great to see what it is like in the Winter!
Thankyou.

 

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

Wow!, Shuttergirl, your photos are amazing! Those pics of Quebec city in the snow are simply stunning! Thank you so much for taking the time to upload them

Andona

Glad you liked the Quebec pics Andona. It's such a stunning place.

Loving the pictures. It really makes your trip come alive for me. Thanks for sharing.

Hope you particularly enjoyed the Quebec pics since you were the one who inspired me to go.

Since work is still inconveniently dominating my time I am limiting myself to a treat of reading one or two days a night!! Enjoying the as always stunning pics and reread. I think with characters, when kids are older and for adults, its easier meeting the "animal" type characters-like Winnie the Pooh and co, Stitch, Monsters Inc etc rather than the princesses. That said DD enjoyed meeting Mulan (but Mishu more) last visit to WDW and we were both tickled to meet Prince Caspian and would like to meet the princess whose name escapes me right this minute (totally fail in Disiness I know) from Tangled.

Sounds like you had a lovely relaxing visit and lots of great food.

Well that's my fix for tonight-at least I have lots more days to look forward to plus I have to catch up with Karen's report too!

I agree the animals are easier to meet when you are older than the face characters. I still love me some Snow White though

Love love love the photos! Another amazing and memorable trip for your family - with the next approaching fast

Quebec looked so sweet, would love to visit there one day. And your photos of NYC made me want to be back there tomorrow

The candlelight processional and Christmas stories around the world must have been fantastic to see, WDW in December looks like a blast!

I want to go back to NYC right now too

OMG!!! Your photos are amazing you truly have captured some gorjuz shots!! May i ask what camera you have been using?

Glad you enjoyed the pics. For the most part I used my Canon 5D MKII camera but inside at night and on some on the go stuff I just used my little P&S Canon S95, awesome little camera.

Pics from EPCOT Illuminations are amazing. You were so lucky with the table at the Rose & Crown. Must remember that!

I told the lady at the check in desk that it was our first time at Rose and Crown and first time seeing Illuminations. I don't think that hurt in getting the good table.

Shuttergirl, I just spent the best part of two hours reading your TR.
Awesome! We are thinking of going to WDW or DL and NYC in December this year and it was so great to see what it is like in the Winter!
Thankyou.

You won't regret going at that time of year. So lovely.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Hope you particularly enjoyed the Quebec pics since you were the one who inspired me to go.

Beautiful!

I'm loving the trip down memory lane.

 

[jenshell75]

WOW WOW WOW

I have just gone through all 27 pages and I am blown away at all the gorgeous pics you have taken and all the amazing things you have done and the amazing memories you have created for your children.

I have just spent an hour telling my DH what we are going to do on our next holiday to NYC and I informed him that we are going to CANADA, and BOSTON!!!!!!!!! I think he is freaking out ( me and my big to do list ) heheheheheh

Thanks again for taking the time to write your TR and add the photos. I also wanted to say have you thought of saving your TR and photos as a document and making them into those photo story books. I think this would be an awsome idea and a great way to keep your memories safe for your children.

I have loved every page
Jen

 

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

Beautiful!

I'm loving the trip down memory lane.

Good, I'm glad.

WOW WOW WOW

I have just gone through all 27 pages and I am blown away at all the gorgeous pics you have taken and all the amazing things you have done and the amazing memories you have created for your children.

I have just spent an hour telling my DH what we are going to do on our next holiday to NYC and I informed him that we are going to CANADA, and BOSTON!!!!!!!!! I think he is freaking out ( me and my big to do list ) heheheheheh

Thanks again for taking the time to write your TR and add the photos. I also wanted to say have you thought of saving your TR and photos as a document and making them into those photo story books. I think this would be an awsome idea and a great way to keep your memories safe for your children.

I have loved every page
Jen

I'm glad I am enabling your travel to do list .

I did begin a coffee table book from my last TR and it's about half finished, . I will get to it I keep telling myself.

As for this trip, I still have the rest of Boston and then Washington to go with the TR and once it's done I shall think about doing a coffee table book with it. With our Europe trip less than 3 weeks away it's likely all going to have to wait but hopefully I can get it all done later in the year.

 

[zanzibar138]

Well I've just gotten caught up on your photo additions You've sure got some great ones in there, and you must have been really thrilled to get all that snow

 

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

Well I've just gotten caught up on your photo additions You've sure got some great ones in there, and you must have been really thrilled to get all that snow

Thanks Zanzibar - yes I was very happy with the snow. It was gorgeous.

 

[OziJo]

Wonderful Pics!! Thank you so much for taking the time

Your TR is the top bookmark for my White Christmas research...

 

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

Today we did the Hop on Hop off Trolley tour through Boston. We got an amazing deal on this because it was winter. Buy 1 day, get the whole week free which I loved .

We got to see so many wonderful areas of Boston and the tour guide was super cheesy - just like I like a tour guide .

Lovely Brownstone street in Boston

The Old State House was my favourite because that is where the Boston Massacre occurred. It wasn't my favourite because people died , just that it was a beautiful building and I enjoyed hearing about it.

For lunch we jumped off the trolley at Fanueil Hall/Quincy Market to have a wander around and then eat. Lots of great shops here, DH and DD were particularly happy and then I spied the best Christmas decoration shop in the history of the world. I left the family to do whatever the hell they were doing and walked like a zombie under the spell of "Christmas" over to this shop. The inside of the shop was like a "tardus", it just went on and on over 2 levels. I kind of had shoppers block because choosing a decoration would've been like choosing a "favourite child". It was amazing. I walked out of there with only 1 decoration, it is a despicable thing to even say because there was so much stuff I wanted. . I am as confused as you as to why I didn't get more. I think I was just overwhelmed.

Then we went to Cheers for lunch. The confusing thing about Cheers in Boston is there are 2. Yes 2. One is in the Beacon Hill area and the outside of this pub was the inspiration for the exterior for the show. The one at Quincy Market is a recreation and the inside is supposed to look like the set of the show. I have to say I didn't really think it looked like the set of the show but it was a fun place to have lunch. We had beers and enjoyed ourselves. The food was average but hey, it really doesn't matter. You are ticking something off "your list" aren't you.

Awwww classy aren't I

More wandering and shopping this day, then we walked back to our hotel and can I mention again how awesome the location of our hotel is, and how awesome the ACTUAL HOTEL IS . We were tired today so we wandered around to a bit of an Irish type pub nearby that I had researched before going on holiday, had a medium meal at great prices in a lovely atmosphere, a few beers, a relax and a nice evening overall.

 

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

Today we decided to catch the hop on hop off bus around to Beacon Hill. This was an area I was excited to explore more. It is where all of the beautiful Brownstone buildings are, where the "old money" wealthy Bostonians live. And since I would so love to live like the "rich Bostonians" I wanted to spend some time wander around their streets pretending I was one of "them" and shopping where they shop. . Some wonderful Trip Advisor Boston people had given me an idea of what streets were the "ideal" streets so I had devised a little walk around Beacon Hill.

The kids were just like "meh" about it all. But DH and I were drooling walking past some of these houses. They were everything you would dream about and more. And the Christmas decorations were still up so everything was extra pretty. This was really awesome.

Afterwards we headed towards Boston Common (Boston is so walkable) and enjoyed a brief walk through. It is beautiful but no match to our beloved Central Park of course. So many people out and about enjoying the sunshiny day even though it was cold and it was squirrel central. We saw tons and tons. Cute.

We the walked over to the Boston Public Gardens to see the gorgeous Duckies made famous in the book "Make way for the Ducklings". DS absolutely adored them.

Afterwards we walked to the "real" Cheers. The old Bull & Finch Pub has the facade that matches the show and we weren't expecting the inside to be similar but we were lucky enough to head "downstairs" rather than upstairs and the downstairs had a real feel about it that I guess is what the producers originally fell in love with when they visited here when writing the pilot. We enjoyed lunch here very much and were so glad we visited both because this one was so much better.

After lunch we jumped back on the hop on hop off bus and headed towards the harbour because we wanted to visit the Boston Tea Party Museum - http://www.bostonteapartyship.com/.

It's funny, this place gets mixed reviews but they pretty much had me at hello. I didn't know anything indepth about what the Boston Tea Party was about and meant so I was enthralled. And surprisingly - so were the kids. They loved it. And since they were the only kids on the tour they got extra special attention. It was excellent and worth it definitely. Actually to be honest, we got in free because of our Trolley tour tickets. Even better .

I would still pay to see this museum though.

The actors were UNBELIEVABLY good. It was cool and my kids got to throw "tea into the water". Pretty fun stuff once they understood what it was all about.

DS was so funny. After learning about the British warring with the Canadians over Quebec and then hearing about the Boston Tea Party stuff, he said "wow, the English have wars with everyone mum". Now he can't wait to go to England to hear more about their wars .

Tonight I think we just had a quiet night and dinner in our hotel.

 

[zanzibar138]

Boston looks great Can see why DH wants to go there.

 

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

Today was my DH's 41st birthday so I had organised for us to go and visit Fenway Park today. It is the oldest baseball field in the US and although we are mad Yankees fans you can't go past history like that. He was super excited.

I was absolutely surprised to see snow covering the field. It was not what I was expecting but it did make it look extra pretty. As much as I loved our tour through Yankee Stadium - it didn't have the history and passion that the tour guide conveyed on our Fenway Park tour. This crusty old gentleman was wonderful and his love of the history and the game was evident with every word out of his mouth. I had a kind of "grandpa" crush on him. He was awesome. You just truly can't go past the Fenway Park history and I know DH loved it. It was an awesome way to spend his birthday.

Afterwards we caught a cab to the Prudential Centre so he could do some serious shop shop shopping. We had been craving asian food while in the US as our whole family loves any type of Asian. The problem was it wasn't all that easy to come by so when we spied a Wagamama in the shopping centre we ran inside, hugged them and started to giggle with delight. Finally, asian flavours. We all loved this meal.

Afterwards we shopped but I think the kids and I were slowing DH down. I was developing a sore foot - most particularly in the achilles reason (I have no idea why) and the kids were over shopping so we wished DH luck with his never ending quest to shop and caught a cab home for a rest haha. We left the man to it.

The best bookshop in the world

He came home about 4 hours later, a giggling fool because during his wanderings back to the hotel he had found Macy's and a some other cool nearby department stores. I should've guessed leaving him unsupervised with a credit card on his birthday in a new city wouldn't end well - and I would've been right .

We then got ready for dinner. I had agonised over where to go for dinner for his birthday but after reading many many reviews on Trip Advisor I decided on Davios, http://davios.com/bos/. This place was a perfect choice. The decor and atmosphere was divine, very "white linen" upmarket and the service was perfect. The food was incredible, everyone loved what they ordered and DH was suitably impressed which was all that mattered.

A great day in Boston.

 

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

I for one was super excited for today. A realisation of another dream come true - visiting Harvard University. I had long been wanting to bring the kids here, hoping to inspire them on to greater things. Who knows whether this visit would have this affect but it was worth a try .

We caught the T train out to Harvard and I was surprised how relatively easy it was to work it all out. Again thank you to Trip Advisor and to my extensive research for this.

I don't know about everyone else but I felt "awed" by the feeling of even being in this town. Once we crossed into Harvard I was like a giggly school girl. How amazing. Seeing "Harvard Yard' for myself, sigh, it was heaven. I had gotten a map from the Harvard tourist centre and we followed the trail, with the kids reading out the historical information etc at each stop. I loved it.

Of course once I heard that the first year at Harvard costs $53k which doesn't include accom/food etc and that the last year costs $128k, well I was a little less keen to send the kids here but I still wanted them to come away inspired by the tradition and history within the Harvard walls.

What an awesome place.

We had decided we couldn't leave Boston without trying the Boston Cream Pie at our hotel. It was invented here for goodness sake, it was a not to be missed experience. I wondered if it would live up to the hype and I am pleased to say it 100% did. Soooo delicious and light and amazing.

Packing done and ready to move on to Washington tomorrow.

 

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

Our trip to Washington was fairly uneventful except for the cool dude that sat beside DD and I on the plane. He was a young man, probably about 25 who was enroute to meet his girlfriend in New Orleans. He was just such a great young man, I found myself thinking "now this is the kind of man I would like my daughter to eventually marry". I don't normally talk to people on the plan but he was just so friendly and wonderful my DD and I nearly wanted to "inhale" him .

We arrived into Washington, grabbed a cab and headed towards the city. The hotel was probably the most "budget" of them all but I have to say it was excellent. We stayed at the Embassy Suites Downtown Washington DC and the room was incredibly spacious. We had a separate living area which was super handy. The massive foyer with fish pond was a hit with the kids too.

View from our room

After settling in we had lunch in the restaurant in the hotel, Nicola's. An extensive menu with something for everyone at cheap prices - our family was happy.

Afterwards it was time to head towards our prebooked walking tour. We decided to walk to the meeting place near the National Monument. This walk took about 25 minutes from the hotel, through downtown and near the White House. Because the Inauguration was going to be happening the following unfortunately the White House on the "close" side was closed off with lots of outdoor seating being erected etc. It was a little disappointing but hey, I love Obama so what are you gonna do.

Finally we arrived at the National Monument and waited for our tour guide to arrive. We had booked a "free" walking tour for our first night in Washington. Something completely different from what we normally do. There were probably about 20 people doing the tour and I wondered how a "free" tour would work, would it be good, how informative etc. I didn't want to have regrets about dragging the family along on this tour but the reviews had been great so I had my fingers crossed.

Our whole family loved this tour. It began at twilight so much of the tour was in the dark and I have to say, seeing all of the monuments at night is the way to see them. I'm so glad this is the way we chose to spend our first night in Washington. It really was the highlight of our whole stay in Washington. Teh tour guide was amaze-balls and really I can't rave enough.

For me the best things about the tour were the amazing and funny stories we heard about past presidents of the United States, especially for the kids, this brought the history alive. Next I love love loved the Lincoln Memorial. This was something I had wanted to see my whole life and it did not disappoint. Again, I am so glad we saw it up close and personal at night, it created a really beautiful glow to the whole thing.

The kids on the "I have a dream" spot

We also enjoyed seeing the Vietnam Memorial. There was a bronze scuplture that was truly astonishing. So life like you thought the men would start walking away.

This tour is purely tips based and is incredible value. What a way to start our visit to Washington. Loved it.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Love your pictures in Boston. Looks like you had a great time there. We found it to be an amazing city with so much history. Looks like you did too.