Hahvard, Chawge Cward, Chowda....

MON OCTOBER 15
...were just some of the phrases I was just dying to ask native Bostonians to say when speaking to them, but I didn't have the nerve (although I did hear a guy talking about his 'Chawge Cward' in one shop, which nearly made me laugh out loud!). It's kind of like asking a Kiwi to say 'Fush and Chups', and actually I did feel like I was entitled to after my lovely US hosts kept asking me to say 'Crikey!' and 'Brilliant!' all the time :)

Took the T out to Harvard in the morning and wandered about the campus which was very pretty indeed. Scanned the student notices and posters strewn about; noticing that no matter where you are in the world - a university is pretty much the same when it comes to student unions, societies and the like - 'An Evening with Andy Garcia' for example, could have been posted on the Phil notice board in Trinity.

On my way back into town, I hopped off the T at the far end of the Freedom Trail and visited the Brunker Hill monument, swiftly (and foolhardily!) climbing 294 steep stone steps(!) to the top to admire the cityscape.

After a brief photocall at the top I whizzed down the steps and gingerly, quads and hamstrings screaming, continued on my trail via the very nice suburb of Charlestown, past the Paul Revere house (restored to it's original specifications) in the North End and back to the Quincy market. I was most put out to realise that Revere on his famous midnight ride did not shout 'The British are coming!', but in fact uttered 'the regulars are coming out' - far less dramatic I think, but so often history is such.

Completing the Freedom Trail, I decided I should at least do some window-shopping in case I spotted any last minute purchases before heading for the airport and homeward bound :)