A GoSeeIt People Interview with the Catherine, Laura and their Mother, Barbara about their nostalgic trip to Barbara’s childhood hometown to celebrate her 75th birthday.
Catherine, Laura and Barbara with the “Minuteman” Statue in Barbara’s hometown of Lexington
Editors Note: It’s often said that when you hit milestones, especially big birthdays ending in “5” or “0”, that it’s a time to take stock, to think about and prioritize what is most important in life. Barbara did just that when she chose to spend a special weekend with her two adult daughters revisiting her childhood hometown in Lexington, MA and following a nostalgic itinerary of classic and historic Boston highlights, that she either hadn’t experienced in many years or had always longed to go!! She shared a special collection she had been saving for years with her girls, and her daughters took it and planned an amazing trip that I thought could be easily recreated by readers who might like to visit historic Lexington and Boston.
I do hope you enjoy this GoSeeIt People interview and I thank Catherine (and her family) for sharing their story and photos. Catherine has a really fun, comprehensive itinerary here, hitting the classic tourist experiences as well as some under the radar spots. I think you’ll also enjoy the humor she brings to her descriptions! Enjoy! Kathleen Klofft - Publisher and Editor Go See It Travel
GSIT: How did you decide on this destination? Why did you want to go?
Catherine: Our Mom Barbara was turning 75 in May. My sister Laura and I wanted to plan a special trip in celebration. We had the idea of spending time in Lexington (her hometown, to learn more about her story) and Boston (to see all the sites she visited as a little girl).
GSIT: How did you plan your trip? Did you use a travel agent or tour?
Catherine: Our first stop was Google to create a fun itinerary for Mom. But then something funny happened.
Mom shared with us that over the years she's created folders of newspaper articles, online printouts, and tri-fold brochures from hotel lobbies from when she's visited various cities. These folders have ideas for what she would do next if she'd visited a particular city. While she’s had several visits to Boston over the years, she still had several things left in this folder that she has wanted to check out. The trick then was to plot them out on a map and determine which to see and in what order.
North End Tour
The Itinerary
Day 1
We visited her hometown of Lexington MA, driving around town to see her old house, the field that used to be flooded for ice skating, her beloved middle school, the recreation building where she took sewing lessons for the first time which that empowered her to be able to design and stitch her own clothing as a young woman, and more. We walked through the stacks at the Cary Memorial Library where she worked in high school and college, and visited the Lexington Battle Green, Minute Man Statue and Visitors Center to see the excellent diorama of the Revolutionary War fighting in Lexington. She remembered it being unveiled during her time in town.
From there, we drove into Boston and attended a North End Pizza Tour, which was a walking history tour of the area, combined with slices of pizza and cannolis. To end the day, we visited a speakeasy, Carrie Nation Cocktail Club, which was not on her list, but seemed like a trendy way to get off our feet and talk about our day.
Day 2
We started our day at Milk Street Café, just between Downtown Crossing and Post Office Square. It’s a cute quick serve café, but most importantly, it had seating. So many counter service restaurants have closed dining rooms due to Covid, so this was a gem. We hopped on the Red Line of the T over to Harvard Square and walked a rather circuitous route (sorry Mom) to the Museum of Natural History, which my Mom had remembered visiting with her father. We saw the whole museum, watching where the school field trips were heading and then going in the opposite direction for a little peace and quiet. We got to see it all, and found it fascinating – the wildlife specimens, the rock and gems, the glass flowers and more. It’s attached to the Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology, which we visited as well. After the museum, we relaxed in the outdoor courtyard at Henrietta’s Table for a light farm-to-table lunch in Harvard Square.
Barbara checks out Kronosaurus at the Museum of Natural History
In the late afternoon we did the student-led, tongue-in-cheek Hahvahd Tour. It was a leisurely one-mile tour around the campus, steeped in history and fun facts. Our tour guide was great. I did feel bad though, as at the end, we tipped her in cash and others weren’t carrying cash to do the same. It’s a reminder to always carry cash. On the flipside, we also noted a panhandler near Harvard Square with a sign saying she accepted Venmo.
John Harvard Statue during the “Havahd” tour
After a quick respite back in our room we rallied and went to the Irish pub and restaurant, The Black Rose situated near Faneuil Hall, to enjoy some pub burgers, shepherd’s pie, and a pint. We capped off the evening at The Green Dragon Tavern (est 1654), a favorite haunt of Paul Revere and John Hancock. While we were hoping for Irish music at one or both establishments, we were met with TVs aglow with Boston Bruins in action.
Day 3
Mom’s actual birthday! We started our day with a late breakfast at Parker’s Restaurant, the birthplace of the Boston Cream Pie. While we didn’t intend to order dessert with our breakfast, the kind waitress brought the signature dessert with a candle and a song, all unprompted, when she heard about Mom’s milestone birthday.
The birthday girl on her birthday enjoying brunch with legendary Boston Cream Pie!
In the late morning, we were off to the incomparable Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, another request of Mom. Isabella was a fascinating woman and the museum houses her collection of paintings, sculptures, tapestries, and other arts, along with a beautiful atrium garden. While significantly smaller than its neighbor the Boston MFA, the museum feels more like a visit to European galleries and homes, than a sterile white-walled quiet building. There’s something exquisite in every room.
It was a gorgeous day, so after the museum we casually strolled Faneuil Hall Marketplace for some window shopping and ice cream.
Faneuil Hall
For dinner that evening, we got all gussied up and visited the Old City Hall along The Freedom Trail, now the home of Ruth’s Chris Steak House.
We ended our evening back at the Omni Parker House Hotel, at the appropriately named The Last Hurrah. Another chance to unwind and have some girl chat before calling it a day.
Old City Hall building…which now houses Ruth Criss Steak House
Day 4
On our final day, we checked out of our hotel and drove to Jamaica Plain, home of Forest Hills Cemetery. We must admit, we were a bit surprised to see a cemetery on Mom’s list of must-do’s, but we were glad we made the trip. It is an active cemetery, yet so steeped in history. The grounds, greenery, bronze statues and varied headstones and sculptures were quite interesting. We chose to visit this cemetery with a 10 mph drive around, as it was quite large.
Forest Hills Cometary
After our visit there, we had one final lunch of appetizers together out of the city and along the Mass Pike for easy access to head home in our various directions. We chose Burton’s Bar & Grill in Framingham for two reasons. One, they are very good with accommodating food allergies. And two, most importantly, they had spinach artichoke dip on the menu – Mom’s favorite! She even said it was among the best she’s ever had, allowing us to end the trip on a high note. Post lunch, everyone returned home, full and happy with great food, great sites and great (new) memories!
GSIT: What surprised you about this place? Is there a "don't miss it" attraction?
Catherine: The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is a must do. If you are local to Boston, you can also use you’re the library museum pass program to reserve $5 tickets (down from $20). The Museum of Natural History was fascinating too – and next time I’ll return with my kids who I think will enjoy it as well. We all quite enjoyed the Hahvahd Tour too – a great way to see the campus and learn more about the unique student experience at this ivy league institution.
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
GSIT: What tips would you give for someone who wants to visit? Anything special you should pack?
Catherine: We would recommend packing really good walking shoes. Boston is a walking city, and you can expect to be walking up and down stairs both in museums and around the city, navigating cobblestone sidewalks, and from one site to the next. The Boston weather can also be unpredictable. One day we had on hats and warm fleece jackets, and two days later we were wearing tank tops and capris. It's always best to pack and dress in layers.
GSIT: Is there anything else you’d like to tell us about your trip?
Catherine: The three of us ladies have done several eating tours in Boston (and other cities) over our years together – an Italian North End tour, a Chinatown tour, a Chocolate Lovers tour, and now this one which focused on pizza. Honestly, the places they brought us for pizza were okay, but not fabulous, and the tour guide/script was just okay as well.
We should mention that on this pizza tour, we were in a group of eight. Two of our fellow tour participants (a 20 something from the Netherlands, and a 60 something from Florida) both were raving about a tour they took that morning. It was The Revolutionary Story Walking Tour. When we looked it up after that fact, we see it does get fabulous reviews. Might be worth checking it out on another trip.
Also, we were very pleased with our selection of the Omni Parker House Hotel for our stay. It was steeped in history, and was conveniently located within walking distance to several T stops which would allow us to get throughout the city easily. They also had many different room configurations, and we were able to choose our room they had two beds and a sofa bed giving us each room to spread out. When the sofa bed returned to a sofa, it also gave us a nice living room feel with the two armchairs on either side. We saw online that they even had family rooms too – with bunk beds for kids.
Laura, Barbara and Catherine toast Barbara’s milestone birthday at Ruth Criss Steak House.
Forty-something Catherine lives in Framingham, MA, and teaches fitness classes but still her feet got tired walking through Boston. Her slightly younger but definitely taller sister hails from Rochester, NH. Birthday girl Barbara resides in East Longmeadow, MA, just outside of Springfield. She enjoyed her 75th birthday celebration and is ready for her girls to get cracking on planning her 80th!