Anne, Hugh, and I decided to spend Sunday of the three-day Presidents’ Holiday weekend in Boston.  After all, today marks the beginning of the Chinese Year of the Tiger, so what better venue for celebration could there be than Boston’s Chinatown?  Accordingly, we met up in Charlton around 9:30 and were soon on the Pike heading east.  We parked at a garage in Cambridge, walked to the Lechmere stop on the Green Line, figured out the Charlie Ticket business, and were soon on our way downtown.  We exited the T at Boylston, then walked the few blocks to Chinatown, a small area of shops and restaurants around Harrison and Kneeland Streets.   Here is the photo all tourists take:

Chinatown Gate

By this time, we were all hungry and decided to eat at Pho Pasteur, a Vietnamese restaurant with a decidedly Eurasian name.  My noodle dish and the spring rolls I shared with Anne were vegetarian and quite tasty.

After lunch, we wandered into a few shops and then headed back toward the Theater District and Downtown Crossing.  It was sunny but rather windy, so I was glad I was bundled up.  Boston, of course, is rich in colonial history, and we were happy to stroll through a part of it.  Here is a view of headstones in the Granary Burying Ground on Tremont Street near the Common:

Granary Burying Ground

Paul Revere is buried here.

Paul Revere Headstone

Across Tremont Street near King’s Chapel is the King’s Chapel Burying Ground:

King's Chapel Burying Ground

After we had contemplated some of the epitaphs, we continued on our way toward Government Center, Faneuil Hall, and Quincy Market.  The Steaming Kettle is not on the Freedom Trail, but it’s part of my personal history: when I lived in Boston in the early 80s, I loved coming here.  Alas, it has become a Starbucks!

Steaming Kettle Landmark

Anne had not been to the North End ever, and I hadn’t been there in years, so we crossed what had been the old Southeast Expressway, modernized as part of the Big Dig, to Hanover Street.   The Freedom Trail continues through these narrow streets on its way to Charlestown; here is the Old North Church and the Paul Revere statue.

Old North Church

The North End is Boston’s Little Italy and abounds in restaurants, over a hundred of them, and quaint little shops.  Almost hidden on a side street was this odd decoration honoring St Valentine:

Today is Valentine's Day

There were lines out the door of a couple of Hanover Street bakeries, and not wanting to feel left out, we joined the one leading into Modern Pastry.  There I bought a half dozen cannolis, one of my favorite desserts.

On our way to the T-stop at Government Center, we visited the New England Holocaust Memorial:

Holocaust Memorial

This is one of the six glass towers, each etched with numbers and lit internally.  We walked along the black granite path between the towers; it’s rather eerie, as steam continually rises from the chambers under them.  The towers represent the six primary Nazi death camps: Majdanek, Chelmno, Sobibor, Treblinka, Belzec, and Auschwitz-Birkenau.  From the website, I discovered that this memorial was dedicated in October 1995, years after I was no longer living in Boston; I was not aware of its incorporation into the Freedom Trail.

On our way out of Cambridge, we stopped at Trader Joe’s near Central Square for a few groceries and some wine; by dinnertime we were back in Central Mass, tired but content.  And to all my faithful readers: enjoy the Winter Olympics, Happy Valentine’s Day and Happy New Year today, Happy Presidents’ Day tomorrow, and best wishes for Mardi Gras on Tuesday.