38th parallel: Boston and Cape Cod here we come…….

After a four and a half hours bus ride we arrived in Boston. We checked in to our hotel and went out for a stroll, a bit of shopping and a bite to eat.

Friday was dedicated to sightseeing around the city, we enjoyed a marvelous guided trolley tour and ”relived” The Boston Tea Party, something I surely can recommend to do if you´re visiting this beautiful city. It’s interesting and fun! Hazard!!!

Boston is the capital of the Commonwealth of Massachuchetts, and the state's largest city with an estimated population of 626,000. The city is the anchor of a substantially larger metropolitan area called Greater Boston, home to 4.5 million people. It’s also one of the oldest cities in the United States, Boston was founded on the Shawmunt Peninsula in 1630 by Puritan colonists from England. It was the scene of several key events of the American Revolution, such as the Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party, the Battle of Bunker Hill and the Siege of Boston. After the coming of American independence the city became an important port and manufacturing center, and a center of education and culture as well. Its rich history helps attract many tourists, with Faneuil Hall alone attracting over 20 million every year. Boston's many "firsts" include the United States' first public school (1635), and first subway system (1897).

The area's many colleges and universities make Boston an international center of higher education and medicine. Its economic base includes research, manufacturing, finance, and biotechnology, and is considered highly innovative for a variety of reasons.

I surely enjoyed the many beautiful sights and of cause the wonderful company of Anne. Later that afternoon Anne’s sister Nell joined us and took us to her home at the Cape where we stayed for a few days. Also here I enjoyed the many beautiful sites throughout the Cape. We did some serious shopping, enjoyed the wonderful cooking of Nell had cocktails, snacks and a lot of fun.

Cape Cod is a cape in the easternmost portion of the state of Massachusetts. Today it is co-extensive with Barnstable County, and is defined by the towns along the Cape Cod Canal, and those to the east on the peninsula all the way to Provincetown. The Cape's historic and maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer months.

Cape Cod was formed as the recessional moraine of a glacier, resulting in a peninsula in the Atlantic Ocean. Cape Cod is one of the biggest barrier islands in the world, shielding much of the Massachusetts coastline from North Atlantic storm waves. This protection erodes the Cape's shoreline at the expense of cliffs, while protecting towns from Fairhaven to Marshfield.

On our last day at the Cape Anne’s oldest sister Roz came too and we toured with her from 08:30 until 18:00 while giving me background about the area, history and family roots.

During the past days I’ve been told many times how beautiful this Peninsula is during the summer and I could gather that, however, I must say I found it very attractive now, and did not miss the crowd and absolutely loved the shopping :) (maybe a little bit too much)

Beautiful Boston!