travelgirl2

Trip Report – 3 Nights in Boston with Family

We love to travel to cities. We are a family, with kids aged 13 and 11. We were looking to have a nice long weekend, while spending the least amount of money possible. To do this, we used Hilton Honors points for 3 free hotel nights and breakfasts, researched cheap restaurants in Zagat’s, used our annual Science Center pass to visit Boston’s museum for free, got half priced show tickets and used public transportation whenever possible. We went in November and were lucky to enjoy unseasonably warm weather.

Hotel – Back Bay Hilton

We redeemed Hilton Honors points for 3 free nights at the Back Bay Hilton. We were given a non-smoking room with 2 double beds on the 26th floor. Very nice view. Room was fine, but carpet was very dirty, with stains all over the place. (Unfortunately, this turned out to be a good thing, as we accidentally spilled a whole cup of hot chocolate all over the carpet. We made our apologies to the front desk and also to housekeeping.)

Very tiny bathroom (clearance between the open bathroom door and the toilet seat was less than 1 inch), but clean and didn’t seem so small when the door was closed.

They just re-did their fitness center, at a cost of $2 million, and it is very nice. It is an L-shaped room, with the pool on one side and the fitness center off to the other side.

Breakfast in the hotel restaurant was complimentary for the 4 of us (Hilton Honors gold members). It is usually $15, I believe. The buffet was very complete and the food was pretty good (not excellent, but pretty good). They had everything you could want. Breakfast was very enjoyable.

Everyone we met at the hotel was extremely nice. The man checking us in, the concierge, the bellman, the housekeeper, etc. The servers at the restaurant, in particular, were very friendly. We asked for a late checkout (2 pm, instead of the usual noon) and it was no problem.

Getting Around – Riding the T

We easily took the T. It is old and cute, resembling trolley cars. It cost $1.25 for adults and $0.60 for children. What a bargain. It was a little challenging figuring out where the trains were headed. The line branched off into three different lines. The last stop, listed at the front of the train, was not usually the end of the line (as we are used to), but seemed to be a point where the line intersected another line. You sort of had to know the stops along the various lines in order to know where your train was headed. Also, at larger stations, you could board at any of the train’s open doors, while at smaller stations you have to board at the front of the train.

Attractions – Museum of Science

Did you know that you can join a local Science Center (with an annual family pass) and then get reciprocal free admission at tons of other science museums? It is called the ASTC Passport Program ( http://www.astc.org/members/passlist.htm ) We have done this a few times and always find that it is a great deal. We tend to join at a science museum while on vacation (this time, Tampa’s MOSI - Museum of Science and Industry). That way, we can go to museums near home without any restrictions (museums within a certain distance from the purchasing museum are sometimes excluded). The annual pass for a family often costs just a little more than purchasing 4 individual daily tickets. It may pay to compare prices and search out a museum with a less expensive annual family rate.

Our main goal was to see the Body Worlds 2 exhibit. It was fascinating in a strange way. Hard to believe they are actual human bodies. The cost to get into the Body exhibit was $24, discounted to $16 with our MOSI (ASTC) annual pass and $11 for museum members.

The exhibit was fairly crowded, even though we had a timed entry, so there were lots of people crowded around the display cases. The exhibits show sections of healthy and diseased organs. The healthy lung, smoker’s lung and coal miner’s lung made quite an impression on my 13 year old, with the smoker’s lung being close in appearance to the coal miner’s lung. The complete bodies, dissected and posed, were amazing. There was a room with fetuses, of varying ages, which were sobering. There was a mother with a partially developed embryo still in the womb when she died. Very powerful stuff.

Once outside the Body exhibit, we also toured the Museum of Science for a little while. We got in free, just flashing our annual pass from Tampa’s MOSI. Being mathematically inclined, we enjoyed the large section on mathematics, probability, etc. There was a big electricity demonstration, which concluded with lots of crackles and sparks.

Attractions – The Tomb

This is a 40 minute adventure, which feels like you are in the middle of an Indiana Jones movie. With a small group and a guide, you enter a series of rooms, where you have to solve mysteries in order to proceed to the next room. It is targeted to older kids and adults. We all thought it was fun and a new experience. But, we thought it could have been much better. Also, the execution strongly depends on your guide. We found that ours rushed us through the rooms, giving us too much help in solving the puzzles, in order to keep us on schedule. It is near Fenway and cost $20 per person (it’s less during the week, I think). Our hotel concierge gave us a coupon for a free admission with 3 paid admissions, which we appreciated.

Attractions – The Unofficial Harvard Tour

Some enterprising Harvard students started giving unofficial “Harvahd” Tours and it seems to have turned into a nice business. We found it on the internet. We enjoyed the tour, though it was a bit unpolished and there were way too many people in our group, making it hard to hear (especially as the guide talked while we were walking).

The kids were engaging and earnest and told amusing anecdotes about the school and the surrounding community. Harvard was a beautiful campus. I was surprised that Cambridge was so charming and that Harvard felt so urban. It was good to get our kids seeing a college environment and thinking ahead towards college. There was no set cost for the tour. They asked for whatever tip you would like to give.

Show – Twelve Angry Men

We went to the half-price ticket booth in Copley Square, hoping to get tickets to this limited-run show. It was a Thursday, so there was no line at the ticket booth and we were lucky to score good seats. It cost $180 (I think) for the 4 of us (cash only). The cast included Richard Thomas (John Boy from the Waltons) and George Wendt (Norm from Cheers) and many excellent actors. The story is somber and thought-provoking. I thought they did a good job of updating the storyline, while still making it seem set in a nostalgic time.

I thought it might be too heavy for the boys (aged 13 and 11), but we all enjoyed it very much. The story unfolds bit by bit and the audience gets to examine the evidence along with the actors. It held everyone’s attention throughout. Afterwards, it was interesting to discuss as a family whether we thought the defendant was indeed guilty or innocent. Lots of different opinions within our family.

Show – The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

Once again, we got tickets at the half-price ticket booth in Copley Square. On a Friday at opening time, there was quite a line. Still, we got good seats at half price (cash only, $180 for the 4 of us, I think). This musical was engaging and funny, with so many laugh-out-loud moments. We all had a great time. [Warning about appropriateness: There was a part of the story where a spelling contestant saw a pretty girl and had an erection and forgot how to spell a word. Lots of singing about his erection.]

The cast of this show was just adorable. The story was funny and also touching. We loved it.

Restaurant – El Pelon Taqueria

Using the Zagat guide to find inexpensive restaurants with good food, we found our way to El Pelon. Located near Fenway, it is a very tiny, very casual, Mexican food restaurant and take-out place. We went at around 9 pm and found it crowded with college students. The atmosphere was fun and the food was great. Fish tacos with cabbage, tostadas with pork, guacamole, burritos, fresh pico de gallo, refried beans, etc. My only minor complaint was that they served thick and hard chips, whereas I prefer light and crispy. Our entire bill was $44, for about double the food we should have ordered for 4 people.

Restaurant – Brown Sugar Café

Once again using the Zagat guide to find good, cheap eats, we ambled over to Fenway for Thai food. This is a pretty little place with extremely nice servers. We indulged in pad Thai and a wonderful coconut curry dish. Our bill for 4 people was $52 plus tip.

Restaurant – Mr. and Mrs. Bartley’s Burger Cottage

Another cheap Zagat find, this place near Harvard serves excellent hamburgers. There was a huge line when we passed by on Saturday at lunchtime, so we returned at around 4 pm to find only a small line outside. A friendly waitress took our order as we stood in line. Once inside, there are rows and rows of wooden tables, with communal seating. There are old posters covering the walls. The atmosphere is old-fashioned and charming, though very bustling. Burgers, fries, sweet potato fries, onion rings, shakes and malts were very good. They only accept cash: “Real food for real money.”

Restaurant – Cheesecake Factory

Down the street from the Back Bay Hilton is a Cheesecake Factory. Having heard about this place for years, and never having eaten here, we had to stop at the take-out counter for some slices of cheesecake to bring back to the hotel. Chocolate raspberry was the best. We also enjoyed tuxedo cheesecake, carrot cake and chocolate cake. Not so cheap though, at almost $45 for 5 pieces of cake and some hot drinks.

Conclusion

I love weekend getaways to the city. This was our first time in Boston (except for a wedding a long time ago) and we loved it. We’ll be back! We have to walk the Freedom Trail.

Anonymous

Nice report, travelgirl!

"It is old and cute, resembling trolley cars. It cost $1.25 for adults and $0.60 for children. What a bargain. It was a little challenging figuring out where the trains were headed. The line branched off into three different lines. The last stop, listed at the front of the train, was not usually the end of the line (as we are used to), but seemed to be a point where the line intersected another line. You sort of had to know the stops along the various lines in order to know where your train was headed."

That's definitely the Green Line -- the other lines use more typical subway cars. The reason for the apparent midpoint stations is that some Green Line trains don't travel all the way to the ends of the line, but really do terminate at those in-between stations (Government Center, etc.). No Boston visitor should be without a good street map that shows the subway stations ( and preferably the lines).

socialworker

Hi t-girl--after living in Boston for 30+ years, your report is so lively and charming, and made me feel as if I were reading of a place that was new to me, that I started wondering if you rent out your services for other cities?

travelgirl2

Thanks anonymous and social worker. I'll rent out my services, as long as I can go too!

stellablue

We skipped the Body Worlds 2 exhibit last weekend as our son is too young. But I remember the lungs from when I was a kid. When I couldn't find them I knew they had been moved to BW2. I wonder if they have "new" lungs to show a mondern-day smoker vs. the smoker of the 70's, before today's pollution...

escargot

glad you enjoyed ! great report -
and I am so glad someone finally went to the Tombs - several people have asked on this board about it and even those of us in town had not been and couldn't help -

come back soon !