9/17/2022
After breakfast, we took the Silver Line back to the city center.
We didn't have a particularly wild program planned for today because we were already pretty tired. The Boston Tea Party boat and the museum were our plans.
This place is a 20-minute walk from downtown. We passed Macy's department store, where street musicians were playing, and there were many people.
When we arrived, we bought our tickets, which were $63.90 for the two of us.
Just a few minutes later, a guided tour began. First, everyone was led into a meeting room where a lady in costume arrived first and handed out cards to everyone (the room was full) with the names of people who had participated in the famous Boston Tea Party. This makes you part of the game.
Let's look briefly at what we learned about the Boston Tea Party in history class.
The Boston Tea Party took place on December 16, 1773. The protest escalated into the American Revolution.
By the second half of the 18th century, Boston had become a place of protest against British colonial policies. The number of European settlers had multiplied, and the British, seeking to profit, increased taxes and import duties. The colonists disagreed with the fact that they had to pay taxes without being represented in the British Parliament.
On December 16, 1773, settlers disguised as Indians attacked three British ships in Boston Harbor and threw the tea cargo into the sea. The immediate reason was that the British government had abolished the duty on tea shipped to London but had left the price of tea in the North American colonies unchanged.
This was a significant event in the growth of the American Revolution, which eventually led to secession from England and forming the United States.
After this historical overview, we return to the museum. So everyone was sitting there when another man in a costume came in and basically reenacted what might have happened back then. And we always reacted accordingly at the right moment. 😀
Afterward, we went out on the boat to look around and throw our tea in the water.
This is very nicely done. We could have been given a little more time to look around and take pictures, but we had to go to the next place, the museum building.
From here, unfortunately, it is not allowed to take photos or videos. I will try to tell you about it because it is very well done. First, you can hear the conversation of two ladies in historical costumes projected like a hologram.
The only thing that could be better here is that the scene takes place to the right of the door, and those who enter the room last see little of it. This is precisely what happened to us.
In the next room, the story of the only remaining tea crate is projected on the wall. It was founded by a family and has served a variety of functions. For example, it was a game table, a dollhouse, a kitten house, and someone painted flowers on it.
Then the figures on the painting on the opposite wall "come alive" and start talking. An Anglo-American dialogue takes place. We liked this solution very much. Very original!
The tour ends in another room, where we take a seat, and a movie is shown. We see the story of the midnight ride of Paul Revere. Again, the tour guide warned that it would be loud, so the ears of the young children were covered by the parents next to us.
As Revere rides through the utterly dark night to inform the settlers of the arrival of the English. And then, the short film ends with the clash.
Outside, of course, there is a gift store and a tea store.
We left the museum and walked along the harbor promenade. Looking around the programs, we saw an interestingly shaped house on the map, but unfortunately, we couldn't find it. We believe it was part of a temporary art exhibition.
Instead, we watched a wedding (and later another one). By now, we were getting hungry and searching for a restaurant. There was a Panera Bread across the street from us, but unfortunately, it was closed. There was an Irish pub nearby, so we went there. I would say it was more of a restaurant and sports bar than a classic pub.
We had lunch, and then Csibi looked for a café nearby. But before that, we wanted to go to Christopher Columbus Waterfront Park again because we couldn't find the Columbus statue last time. Not by accident.
Well, as it turns out, it's not there…
This has happened frequently in recent years with statues of great explorers. This figure was deliberately destroyed several times and removed in 2020. In the past, negative criticism also said Boston had no connection to Columbus.
The statue is undoubtedly gone and will not return (a monument to Italian immigrants is to be erected in its place).
Having cleverly figured that out, we headed back for our well-deserved coffee. On the way, we discovered a monument with a Hungarian connection.
But the café was closed when we got back. In fact, we arrived 5 minutes after closing time.
This made us a little sad, so we went home.
We returned to Silver Line 5, where we saw a big crowd waiting, and the bus would be late.
We waited for a while and then decided to take the subway and the number one bus instead.
Just before we got off the bus, Csibi spotted a Dunkin'. He said, "Now we're really going in here."
At this point, I'll tell you that here in the birthplace of Dunkin', the town is really full of Dunkin' stores. There's one (or more) on every corner, but they're either closed or out of donuts. We went in here, but there wasn't much of a selection of donuts. Okay, it was already evening, but still! 😀
Only two people were sitting in the cafe.
Csibi chose a muffin, I think, and we bought a coffee. I didn't ask for anything. We were about to leave when someone followed us. It was a Chinese woman sitting inside. She heard us speaking a European language and wanted to know what it was. We talked with her; I mean, she was talking mainly. 😀 She was straightforward. She told us that her husband is Hungarian.
We chatted for almost an hour. From there, we just went to the hotel to get ready for the next day's program.
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