Boston Day 3: Duck Tour + Seafood

Hey, hey everyone! How is your week going?

I am excited to say it is actually starting to warm up here in Detroit. Hallelujah! But enough about this place.

If you have been paying attention this week, then you already know that Scott and I recently came back from out of town. While I normally do not spend more than a day or two covering a trip, my focus on writing this week has been everything Boston!

If you are not the slightest bit interested in the city, then I apologize, because the two of us have become completely smitten.

Since our arrival, we spent every hour exploring as much as we could which is really the only way to travel, according to Scott. I can’t say I disagree though… this trip is one we will remember and think about for a long time.

We spent Saturday and Sunday exploring the North End, the Boston Marathon Finish Line, and several other famous city spots along the way. Monday was Memorial Day, and it could not have a better day to spend entirely outside!

Boston Duck Tour

Anyone we ran into who found out we were tourists all said the same thing, “you have to do the Duck Tour!” Booked and ready to go, we started our walk over to the starting point around 9:30 a.m Monday.

On our way, we saw a lovely little Australian coffee shop called CuppaCoffee, and I suggested we give it a try.

Some of you may not know that Scott worked over in Australia last summer. He loved it there and in fact, we were pretty darn close to accepting a job offer over there. (Shh – don’t tell the families!) Obviously, we didn’t, and instead enjoy the Aussie culture whenever we get a chance.

One thing I remember Scott saying is how thorough they are in making coffee drinks. Unlike a traditional Starbucks or Dunkin’ Donuts, they take extra time to make every drink special and the results are delicious.

Check out Scott’s iced mocha latte!

Yum. But enough about coffee…

I was excited to spend the morning exploring the city on a Duck Tour! Say hello to our chartreuse wheels and our informative conDUCKtor, Quackinmack. (<- or something similar).

The DUKW (colloquially known as Duck) is a World War II inspired amphibious landing vehicle, able to travel by land or sea for a complete tour of the city! With a full truck, we set off with our camera ready to capture the sights.

Since Scott and I had already done a lot of exploring on our own, we knew this tour would be a good gauge on how well we did finding what there is to do! First major land mark: Trinity Church. You can see the beautiful reflection of it as well as our DUCK off of the John Hancock Tower.

Quack quack!

As we made our way around the city, we saw a lot of familiar spots, including the Kings Chapel + Burial Grounds.

The last forty-five minutes or so were my favorite. We traveled into the Charles River and enjoyed a view of both the cities of Boston and Cambridge.

What separated the two was the Longfellow Bridge, also referred to as the “Salt-and-Pepper-Shaker Bridge”.

With a slight breeze and the sun out in the 70s, it was my absolute favorite hour of our trip! Slowly, we floated across the river and soaked in the view. Towards the end, we spotted our future place of residence if we ever decide to move here. (Right on the river, no big deal!)

On our way back to land, we passed a few other Ducks and acknowledged them with a few waves and a lot of quacks.

Loved our Duck Tour!!

Revisiting the City

While quacking, we also took some notes on things our guide pointed out to revisit. One notable building was right across the street from our hotel! The Old State House held the first reading of the Declaration of Independence back in 1776. Actually, it was right there on that balcony.

So cool!

Starting to get hungry for lunch, we did a quick search of where to find the best clam chowder in the city. According to ratings on Zagat, it was right here in Quincy Market. We had briefly passed through it the first day here, and were excited to give it a full visit with hungry bellies, as our concierge suggested.

This time, the crowds were here as well as a bunch of street performers!

After watching a few shows, we made our way through the hallways a few times without any luck finding our destination.

We eventually asked for help and made it to Boston Chowda Co. with clam chowder on our minds! Wanting to try other things, we split a large bowl and it sure was “a pretty good bowl ‘a cowda!”

For lunch, we made note to visit Dick’s Last Resort. Things have been known to get pretty rowdy here, with full blame on the servers as instigators.

Around the restaurant you will hear yelling, whining, and jokes from servers and staff with you as their punchline.

Anyone could be a subject of embarrassment, so Scott and I felt that starting with two Angry Orchard Ciders might be a good idea.

I have to admit that I was not very impressed by our server. I don’t know if he was having an off day, but he was actually nice to us, and did not make fun of us in any kind of way. We were at least expecting hats with embarrassing messages on them, but that was also a no-go.

Instead, we made our own.

I ordered the Southwest Salad, and Scott ordered the Wrap It Up Sandwich. Both were pretty good, and the best part was the side of jalapeno ranch dressing!

We enjoyed everything else about the restaurant, and hope that the next time we get to visit one that the server will play more into the environment. Not everyone can be a “dick,” I suppose.

😉

We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening walking around and enjoying the sights. I could not tell you how far we walked, but I if I had to guess I would say at least ten miles. No joke!

From the North End to the South End, from China Town to Little Italy, we just kept walking and walking.

Eventually, our appetites were back and it was time to find dinner.

We first tried to get into Giacomo’s Ristorante in Little Italy, but the line was literally out the door with at least an hour wait. Everyone around assured us the wait was well worth it, and we only left with an understanding that we would try for lunch the next day instead. It was a total bummer when we went back to find they don’t open until 4:30 p.m. on weekdays. Next time!

Legal Seafood

With a plan of returning to Little Italy the next day, Scott and I headed back towards the water for the next best thing… sea food. As the sun set, we stopped to take the scenery of the shore in and enjoy a few moments waterside.

So pretty!

Everyone kept telling us to go to Legal Seafood. Since we were in Boston, we used that as an excuse to load up in fresh sea food and order up the menu. (Oops!)

Our plans to split one appetizer and one entree changed when our waiter somehow talked us into much, much more. We started with Rhode Island style calamari, which was out of this world.

I ordered the crab cake combo that included scallops, shrimp and a side salad. The crab cake was very chunky and didn’t have an ounce of breading on it. Everything was dreamy!

Scott went with an old faithful of steamed lobster. He got the “small” 1.5 pound portion with a side of white rice and sauteed spinach. Bib on and hands up, he was ready to go!

By far, the best lobster I have had in a while.

“If it isn’t fresh, it isn’t Legal!”

Ugh, I could just go on and on. By now you realize we absolutely loved our time in Boston, and instead of rambling on for another few paragraphs, I am going to separate our Day 4 adventures into a post for tomorrow.

Have I lost you guys yet?

Questions of the Day

• Have you ever been to Boston? What was your favorite thing to do/see?

• What is your favorite type of seafood?

My favorite seafood is everything you see in the above photos. Shrimp, lobster, calamari, crab, scallops… all fantastic in my eyes. Oysters, mussels, tuna, and fish on the other hand, I am still trying to get used to. I have to say this trip has helped conquer my fears, and I am now open to trying more!