”If a building becomes architecture, then it is art.” Arne Jacobsen
On our last day in Boston … we just walked and walked … in awe of the historic colonial and modern architecture, a robust combination of old and new. As one of the oldest cities in North America, Boston has accumulated buildings and structures ranging from the 17th century to the present day in wild and harmonious juxtaposition with one another. The synergy is a wonder to behold around every corner.
Boston Common (or just the Common) is the central public park in downtown Dating from 1634, it’s the oldest city park in the United States. During Memorial Day weekend miniature American flags are planted by volunteers on a grassy knoll below the Soldiers and Sailors Monument. They commemorate the 37, 000 Massachusetts lives lost from the Revolutionary War to the present. The sight is imposing and somber as the corresponding number of flags flutter in the wind.
In our walk to the Common, we suddenly came upon the profound, outdoor New England Holocaust Memorial … six glass towers which we walked through aligned in a single line. Each tower represents the name of a major extermination camp. Engraved on the outside walls of each tower are groups of tattooed numbers representing the six million Jews killed in the Holocaust. Inscribed on the inner walls are quotes from survivors of each camp. Underneath the towers, steam rises up through metal grates. This was another somber site to behold and between the adjacent Freedom Trail and this Memorial, you have to stop and reflect on humanity – the good, bad and ugly.
Where there’s food, we seek it out. Today we came across the Boston Public Market that opened in 2015. It houses more than 35 year-round vendor stalls and is open seven days a week with a Tianguis on Fridays (outdoor market). All sellers must sell food and other products that are produced or originate in New England. That being said, this is where/how we ran into Marilyn’s Jam Session stand. A lively conversation quickly ensued with Marilyn and her husband, Scott; followed by delicious tastings.
We found that they are both retired school teachers. Scott sold me on their Crabapple Jam because he swore it was peanut butter’s soul mate. Marilyn’s Rhubarb Gingerly, Apricot Habanera, and Chokeberry all excited our tastebuds enough to purchase. We felt about both of them that we could have continued talking right into dinner time. This is what’s so great and wonderful about traveling ~ the fascinating and interesting people one meets up with.
Back at the hotel, while I began packing up two weeks worth of purchases (lots!), I shooed David back out to visit the USS Constitution, the oldest commissioned ship in the United States Navy … officers and crew still serve aboard her. She is moored just a few steps from our hotel. He also took a hike up nearby Bunker Hill Monument in Charlestown. It commemorates the battle fought in 1775, during the Siege of Boston in the early stages of the American Revolutionary War.
Tonight’s dinner: had a tasty chowder #4 … very good, but still missing that creaminess I crave. It’s Pike Place Chowder in Seattle that I compare all chowders to and this one didn’t quite match up to it here in New England. Our dinner at Chef Barbara Lynch’s B&G Oysters in the South End comprised of: Charred Spanish Octopus and Lobster, Crab, Clams with Tagliatelle in a butter wine sauce for David; my Crispy Whole Branzino was delicate and sweet; as I savored every morsel, our waitress commented that she had never seen someone strip every inch of flesh off a fish before ~ she was in front of a professional. Dessert was the best banana bread pudding ever.
