We didn’t finish the freedom trail on day one since we looked at everything. We decided the main things we wanted to see of what was left was the Copp burial ground, Revere house, and Old North Church. Sadly nothing much opens before 10. We got to the Copp’s Burial Ground at 9am when it opened. It was a bit small and less famous people and notable tombs, so it went pretty quick.
Old North Church was just down the road in sight, so mom sat at the entrance and I walked around. The neighborhood looked nice and had some Halloween decorations. Turns out Paul Revere square is just behind the church with his statue. Promptly at 10 we were the first to enter the church and got tickets for everything. A very nice girl with an amazing smile led us and two others up the stairs to where the bell ringers work. She gave us a nice history lesson that wasn’t really worth the price, but it was kind of cool. We walked around the church with a walkytalky kind of audio guide. There were 19 spots around the church to play the audio messages. Took over an hour plus reading posters in the pews. Very interesting stuff. That was more than worthwhile, but took way longer than we allotted for. The crypt was real and neat, but not worth the separate admission price… it was a very small, plain crypt. All-in-all great stop.
Paul Revere statue was on the way to his house so we saw that together and carried on. As we approached the house, the air smelled delicious. The restaurant Mamma Maria is there with a bunch of other Italian joints. Sadly that one is reservation only, so maybe next time. Everything in the area smelled like garlic and was amazing. We saw the Paul Revere house which was very neat and historic and totally worth the $6 price tag. Pictures not allowed inside.
Immediately after that we got a Lyft to Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum since we had a 1pm entry and it was now 12:25. After yet another long silent ride in a Sienna, we got to the weird looking museum. No water or large bags allowed so mom checked hers in the free coat check. Had to go back and check the go pro stick too since they hate selfies. A worker said maybe start at the 3rd floor and work our way down. Holy crap the place was awesome. It was just tons of amazing and expensive classic art pieces of paintings and statues and knickknacks from all over the world. The three hours we allotted was not enough to read and listen to all the stuff that was there as thoroughly as I would like. Will need to go back someday. It was exhausting to go around it all. This was the unexpected highlight of the trip we only learned about from a Harvard grad that we sat next to in New Orleans airport with an unsolicited tourist opinion.
