The Boston Harborwalk & North End

A waterfront scene along the Boston Harborwalk, Rowe’s Wharf, Boston, MA.

It's 8:45 am and I am in my room at the Intercontinental Hotel Boston wondering whether to order room service or not. I open the curtains and a huge burst of sunshine greets me. Gotta get outside. But first a quick breakfast downstairs at the Miel Restaurant inside the hotel.

Miel Restaurant at the Intercontinental Boston fashions itself after a traditional Provençal bistro. The inside is bright and sunny. And breakfast was both quick and delicious!

I throw on some clothes, head downstairs and get a table for one. My waiter appears instantly and I order an orange juice and a skim latte. The juice is fresh squeezed and delicious. I know exactly what I want and get some scrambled eggs with chicken-apple sausage, grilled asparagus, fresh fruit and multi-grain toast. Yum. It appears in short order and I nibble on it all before paying the check and heading out. It is the first day of spring in New England and the sunshine is calling me!

The Boston Tea Party Museum is just outside the Intercontinental Hotel in the midst of Fort Point Channel.

Right out the back door of the hotel is the Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum in plain sight. Tours have started for the day and I can hear the recorded fiddle music in full swing. I grew up in Massachusetts and have been on many a field trip as a youngster, the Tea Party included. I'm sure it has changed in the past few years, but I want to take a walk. So no Tea Party for me today. Gotta bust a move.

A map of the almost-completed Boston Harborwalk, which will span 43 miles when done. Map courtesy of the Harborwalk web site, link provided below.

The Intercontinental sits right on the Boston Harborwalk, so how perfect is this? The Harborwalk spans close to 43 miles from North Shore to south and points in between. I am picking it up at Fort Point and will end when I run out of time and have to turn around. Gotta be back at noon. So away we go. I head past the Boston Harbor Hotel on Rowe's Wharf, the New England Aquarium, Long Wharf, Commercial Wharf and arrive at Columbus Park, the gateway to the North End in Boston, an historic Italian neighborhood. It is calling me. But first, a few pictures of the Harborwalk, with views of the Moakley Federal Courthouse where James "Whitey" Bulger was famously tried, Logan Airport, and the Boston Customs House Tower. It is March 20th, but a few Irish flags are still on display. It is Boston, after all. The first picture is of the James Hook Lobster Company, selling the best quality seafood since 1925.

A stroll through a small piece of the Boston Harborwalk from Fort Point Channel to the North End (Italian District), where I take a detour and then head back to the hotel. It is the first day of spring and sunny, but brisk, which makes me walk fast!

I am now detouring to the North End of Boston, through a few side streets to its legendary Hanover Street, where most of the trendy and revered restaurants and shops are. Speaking of revered, Paul Revere's house is here, as well as the North Church, where he hung his infamous lanterns. The Bunker Hill Monument, site of the Battle of Bunker Hill, is a three minute walk from here. So cool! I've attached another slide show, primarily of my favorite restaurants on this street. Two bakeries, Mike's Pastries and Modern Pastry, duke it out for the best cannoli in Boston and I am a solid Mike's Pastry girl. They both have lovely displays, but ask for one that is freshly filled and they will go in the back and fill one up to order. No soggy cannoli shell. I like chocolate chips and pistachio on the ends. I bought no cannoli today.

Views of the North Church and some of my favorite restaurants and bakeries in the North End, Boston’s iconic Italian district. It is hard to get a bad meal here. There are so many more great restaurants and historic sites that I did not capture. Spend a day here.

It's time to head back to the hotel to pack and then head home. My phone runs out of power and my camera has no memory card, so my story telling is over. Boston is a great walking city, one of my favorite things to do wherever I go. You never know what adventure will find you. Don't plan, just walk and see what finds your fancy. By the way, I liked the Intercontinental Hotel, but am hard-pressed to find it in the top 25 luxury hotels in the United States. Upon further research, the rankings came from TripAdvisor, whose followers tend to lean towards value, which is fine, but I could name 4 - 5 more luxurious hotels in Boston, including the Mandarin Oriental and the Ritz Carlton. It was a great stay, however, with excellent restaurants and bars, exceptional service, great prices (comparatively) and is in a prime location. So props to the Intercontinental! Thanks for following Ann, more to come soon!