1,000 Places to See in the U.S.A. & Canada Before You Die by Patricia Schultz Page B
Book: 1,000 Places to See in the U.S.A. & Canada Before You Die by Patricia Schultz
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Authors: Patricia Schultz
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dancing in the street. Everyone’s Italian tonight.
Tutti siamo italiani!
P IZZERIA R EGINA: Tel 617-227-0765; www.pizzeriaregina.com .
Cost:
dinner $10. C AFFÈ V ITTORIA: Tel 617-227-7606; www.vittoriacaffe.com .
Cost:
$7. M AMMA M ARIA: Tel 617-523-0077; www.mammamaria.com.
Cost:
dinner $55. B EST TIMES: Patriots Day (3rd Mon in Apr) for reenactments and commemorations; weekends in late July and Aug for feasts; mid-Aug for 4-day Fisherman’s Feast ( www.fishermansfeast.com ).
Flowers, Trees, Swans, and Ducks in the Heart of the City
T HE P UBLIC G ARDEN
Boston, Massachusetts
Time seems to slow down in the Public Garden. Laid out in 1837, this was America’s first public botanical garden. It abounds with flowerbeds and ornamental trees as well as fountains and famous birds. Find a shaded bench and take it all in, starting with the legendary Swan Boats propelled by college students working the pedals that make them go. The Swan Boats and one of the world’s smallest suspension bridges dominate the lagoon at the center of the Public Garden, which encloses a delightfully miscellaneous statuary collection as well as four live swans. Near the corner of Beacon and Charles streets,
Make Way for Ducklings
is a string of tiny bronze waterfowl eternally following their mother toward the lagoon, as they did in Robert McCloskey’s book of the same name. Near the exit onto Commonwealth Avenue, George Washington gazes down from the saddle of his landmark equestrian statue. And on that historical note, imagine this: The Public Garden sits on a landfill site that was once the “sea” part of “One if by land, two if by sea.”
The Public Garden is also the front yard of two of the best hotels in all New England. The Taj Boston, until recently the Ritz-Carlton, opened in 1927 and occupies a special niche befitting its age. Decorated in traditional style and outfitted with all the latest perks (call the front desk for the “Fireplace Butler”), it’s the one truly legendary Boston hotel. Part of that legend is afternoon tea, a genteel and tasty ritual accompanied by live harp music, and part is the hotel’s location on Newbury Street, known for the city’s best shopping.
Robert Paget designed the Swan Boats in the 1870s.
It has a worthy competitor in the Four Seasons, which combines over-the-top luxury with a gorgeous setting and noteworthy dining. The Public Garden is a constant presence; it’s visible through huge windows from the lobby, restaurants, and swimming pool. The concierge will even give quack-happy youngsters duck food to take across the street. Aujourd’hui, the second-floor restaurant,offers sublime modern French cuisine. The genteel rivalry between the two hotels shows no signs of flagging, but the Ritz-Carlton has an ace in the hole: Louis the trumpeter swan, the hero of E. B. White’s delightful children’s novel
The Trumpet of the Swan,
stayed there when he was working in the Public Garden lagoon.
W HERE: Back Bay. S WAN B OATS: Tel 617-522-1966; www.swanboats.com.
When:
late Apr–mid-Sept. T AJ B OSTON: Tel 877-482-5267 or 617-536-5700, 617-912-3355 (dining reservations); www.tajhotels.com/boston.
Cost:
from $395; afternoon tea $25. T HE F OUR S EASONS: Tel 800-819-5053 or 617-338-4400, 617-351-2037 (Aujourd’hui); www.fourseasons.com.
Cost:
from $425; dinner $65. B EST TIMES: early Apr–mid-Oct for flowers in bloom; look for tulips in Apr, roses in June.
A College Community on Boston’s “Left Bank”
H ARVARD S QUARE
Cambridge, Massachusetts
No visit to Boston is complete without a side trip to “The People’s Republic of Cambridge,” the lively and unabashedly intellectual city across the Charles River. Founded in 1630, it is home to two heavyweight seats of learning, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University.
Exuding gentility and timeless academia, Harvard University is the very heart of Cambridge. Life here revolves around Harvard Square and the tides
Tutti siamo italiani!
P IZZERIA R EGINA: Tel 617-227-0765; www.pizzeriaregina.com .
Cost:
dinner $10. C AFFÈ V ITTORIA: Tel 617-227-7606; www.vittoriacaffe.com .
Cost:
$7. M AMMA M ARIA: Tel 617-523-0077; www.mammamaria.com.
Cost:
dinner $55. B EST TIMES: Patriots Day (3rd Mon in Apr) for reenactments and commemorations; weekends in late July and Aug for feasts; mid-Aug for 4-day Fisherman’s Feast ( www.fishermansfeast.com ).
Flowers, Trees, Swans, and Ducks in the Heart of the City
T HE P UBLIC G ARDEN
Boston, Massachusetts
Time seems to slow down in the Public Garden. Laid out in 1837, this was America’s first public botanical garden. It abounds with flowerbeds and ornamental trees as well as fountains and famous birds. Find a shaded bench and take it all in, starting with the legendary Swan Boats propelled by college students working the pedals that make them go. The Swan Boats and one of the world’s smallest suspension bridges dominate the lagoon at the center of the Public Garden, which encloses a delightfully miscellaneous statuary collection as well as four live swans. Near the corner of Beacon and Charles streets,
Make Way for Ducklings
is a string of tiny bronze waterfowl eternally following their mother toward the lagoon, as they did in Robert McCloskey’s book of the same name. Near the exit onto Commonwealth Avenue, George Washington gazes down from the saddle of his landmark equestrian statue. And on that historical note, imagine this: The Public Garden sits on a landfill site that was once the “sea” part of “One if by land, two if by sea.”
The Public Garden is also the front yard of two of the best hotels in all New England. The Taj Boston, until recently the Ritz-Carlton, opened in 1927 and occupies a special niche befitting its age. Decorated in traditional style and outfitted with all the latest perks (call the front desk for the “Fireplace Butler”), it’s the one truly legendary Boston hotel. Part of that legend is afternoon tea, a genteel and tasty ritual accompanied by live harp music, and part is the hotel’s location on Newbury Street, known for the city’s best shopping.
Robert Paget designed the Swan Boats in the 1870s.
It has a worthy competitor in the Four Seasons, which combines over-the-top luxury with a gorgeous setting and noteworthy dining. The Public Garden is a constant presence; it’s visible through huge windows from the lobby, restaurants, and swimming pool. The concierge will even give quack-happy youngsters duck food to take across the street. Aujourd’hui, the second-floor restaurant,offers sublime modern French cuisine. The genteel rivalry between the two hotels shows no signs of flagging, but the Ritz-Carlton has an ace in the hole: Louis the trumpeter swan, the hero of E. B. White’s delightful children’s novel
The Trumpet of the Swan,
stayed there when he was working in the Public Garden lagoon.
W HERE: Back Bay. S WAN B OATS: Tel 617-522-1966; www.swanboats.com.
When:
late Apr–mid-Sept. T AJ B OSTON: Tel 877-482-5267 or 617-536-5700, 617-912-3355 (dining reservations); www.tajhotels.com/boston.
Cost:
from $395; afternoon tea $25. T HE F OUR S EASONS: Tel 800-819-5053 or 617-338-4400, 617-351-2037 (Aujourd’hui); www.fourseasons.com.
Cost:
from $425; dinner $65. B EST TIMES: early Apr–mid-Oct for flowers in bloom; look for tulips in Apr, roses in June.
A College Community on Boston’s “Left Bank”
H ARVARD S QUARE
Cambridge, Massachusetts
No visit to Boston is complete without a side trip to “The People’s Republic of Cambridge,” the lively and unabashedly intellectual city across the Charles River. Founded in 1630, it is home to two heavyweight seats of learning, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University.
Exuding gentility and timeless academia, Harvard University is the very heart of Cambridge. Life here revolves around Harvard Square and the tides
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