If we do, we shall be sure to give them a proper English greeting.
I know- not quite the right quote for this week, but it was as close to the Pilgrims as I could get.
One thing I do love about Boston is the fact that you can get a dose of culture and history without trying hard at all. In fact, at some points it is positively impossible to avoid it. This week I needed to head down to Washington Street for some essential shoe shopping. This inevitably means a trip past the Common, the New State House and in search of food a short walk to Faneuil Hall. Having bored you before with all these details I will merely mention the Old State House this week; which is passed on the way to the Mexican.
The Old State House is a quaint, Dutch style building that originally served, as the State House, and was the center of Government for Colonial Boston. In fact it was in front of this building that James Otis gave his famous speech against the Writs of Assistance and first sparked thoughts of independence fifteen years before the Declaration came in 1776. It was from the balcony on the Old State House that on July 18, 1776 the Declaration of Independence was first read to the Boston public. It was on that night that the Lion and the Unicorn statues adorning the front entrance were set ablaze, and by 1790 the New State House had been built, with the help of Paul Revere (that name again!) In 1880 it was nearly demolished-serving no particular purpose- but the City of Chicago intervened and offered to buy it and move it to Illinois, which of course meant the Bostonians decided to keep it and they set about a restoration project. It was from here then that Queen Elizabeth II (the first British monarch to enter Boston since the revolution) read a copy of the Declaration of Independence to celebrate America’s bicentennial in 1976.
The weather on Sunday was back to blue skies and bright sun shine, although a little on the blustery side, so a trip out to Plymouth was planned. I have to say Plymouth Rock, the landing point for the pilgrims in 1620, is a touch disappointing. Not only is it enclosed in a pseudo Greek monstrosity, it is actually very small and cracked. I did do the tourist thing and lean over the barrier to take the obligatory photograph, but I was expecting something a little more substantial, and after the vagaries of the Lexington Rock I was kind of hoping I could stand on top of it and adopt some form of enigmatic pose. Alas, it was not to be.
In the harbor is also a replica of the Mayflower, called appropriately enough, the Mayflower II. It was built in Britain in 1957 following plans from the original and sailed from there to Plymouth in the same year. I have to say I am shocked that people survived the voyage in ships that small and primitive.
The big part of the day was Plimoth Plantation, just outside the town of Plymouth itself. It contains a recreation of the British settlement as the village stood in 1627, and Wampanoag Indian Settlement from the same time period. The whole site has been developed using traditional techniques and actors and guides are dressed in traditional and period costumes in order to try and answer questions. Unfortunately the childish side of me emerged and having been given a list of “offensive” questions, and questions you may not ask, I was of course desperate to ask nothing but things on the list.
All in all a great weekend.
I know- not quite the right quote for this week, but it was as close to the Pilgrims as I could get.
One thing I do love about Boston is the fact that you can get a dose of culture and history without trying hard at all. In fact, at some points it is positively impossible to avoid it. This week I needed to head down to Washington Street for some essential shoe shopping. This inevitably means a trip past the Common, the New State House and in search of food a short walk to Faneuil Hall. Having bored you before with all these details I will merely mention the Old State House this week; which is passed on the way to the Mexican.
The Old State House is a quaint, Dutch style building that originally served, as the State House, and was the center of Government for Colonial Boston. In fact it was in front of this building that James Otis gave his famous speech against the Writs of Assistance and first sparked thoughts of independence fifteen years before the Declaration came in 1776. It was from the balcony on the Old State House that on July 18, 1776 the Declaration of Independence was first read to the Boston public. It was on that night that the Lion and the Unicorn statues adorning the front entrance were set ablaze, and by 1790 the New State House had been built, with the help of Paul Revere (that name again!) In 1880 it was nearly demolished-serving no particular purpose- but the City of Chicago intervened and offered to buy it and move it to Illinois, which of course meant the Bostonians decided to keep it and they set about a restoration project. It was from here then that Queen Elizabeth II (the first British monarch to enter Boston since the revolution) read a copy of the Declaration of Independence to celebrate America’s bicentennial in 1976.
The weather on Sunday was back to blue skies and bright sun shine, although a little on the blustery side, so a trip out to Plymouth was planned. I have to say Plymouth Rock, the landing point for the pilgrims in 1620, is a touch disappointing. Not only is it enclosed in a pseudo Greek monstrosity, it is actually very small and cracked. I did do the tourist thing and lean over the barrier to take the obligatory photograph, but I was expecting something a little more substantial, and after the vagaries of the Lexington Rock I was kind of hoping I could stand on top of it and adopt some form of enigmatic pose. Alas, it was not to be.
In the harbor is also a replica of the Mayflower, called appropriately enough, the Mayflower II. It was built in Britain in 1957 following plans from the original and sailed from there to Plymouth in the same year. I have to say I am shocked that people survived the voyage in ships that small and primitive.
The big part of the day was Plimoth Plantation, just outside the town of Plymouth itself. It contains a recreation of the British settlement as the village stood in 1627, and Wampanoag Indian Settlement from the same time period. The whole site has been developed using traditional techniques and actors and guides are dressed in traditional and period costumes in order to try and answer questions. Unfortunately the childish side of me emerged and having been given a list of “offensive” questions, and questions you may not ask, I was of course desperate to ask nothing but things on the list.
All in all a great weekend.
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