h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hi PaulH!

I have been pointed in your direction as I am planning a trip to New England this summer and you appear to be one, maybe the only, hootoo expert on the area

So - any nuggets you wish to throw my way, feel free! At the moment it is so far off I haven't got many questions or much of a plan, except that I know I will be in Boston for a few days before setting off on a driving tour of the wider area.

Maybe we can converse in more detail nearer the time but I wanted to come along and plant a seed...

Jules

Hi, Jules.

Are you arriving from elsewhere in the U.S., or from that place where people drive on the wrong side of the road? You see, we drive on the right side of the road , though some Boston drivers don't bother with the road at all if there's a good sidewalk . (Okay, that last bit was a joke ).

Oh, and take what I say about the subway system with a grain of salt. I dreamed one night that I was showing Queen Elizabeth through the Boston subways, and I managed to lose her. I expect that that might tip the balance between Heaven and Hell when I show up at the Pearly Gates. I guess I'll have to hope that God is not a monarchist.

I will be flying in from the future, yes

You haven't said anything about the subways yet, have you ?

There seems to be a lot to see in Boston. Being a drinker I will no doubt have to look at the Tea Party site and the 'duck tour' sounds popular (always fancied doing the London one but haven't, so I think I'll vote for that when we make our plans ).

Jules

Be careful, or you'll arrive in Boston *before* you leave the U.K.

I haven't been on the duck tour, but I expect that it will be great. There are more than a few real ducks and swans in Boston Common. Over at the Public Gardens, there are swan boats. The squirrels are brazen little varmints, not at all afraid of anybody. I used to have a boss whose mother-in-law lived near the Common. Every week she'd lay out serious money to buy nuts for the squirrels.

Spring and Summer in Boston are wonderful times. There are flowering fruit trees along Huntington Avenue and Massachusetts Avenue. The Christian Science Center is near the intersection of the two roads, and there's a great reflecting pool and outdoor plaza there. Symphony Hall is just down Huntington Street from the Christian Science Center, and just past Symphony Hall is the New England Conservatory of Music. For some reason, there are about a hundred milliion major hotels along the stretch of Huntington Avenue between Copley Square and Symphony Hall. Chances are, many of the hotels that you might stay in will be among them. Copley Square has Old South Church, the Boston Public Library, and Trinity Church. All three buildings are major landmarks which I recommend seeing. What's really neat about downtown Boston is that pretty much every major site you might want to visit is within walking distance. I've walked from Downtown Crossing (the major downtown shopping area, one block from Bostoh Common, and two blocks from the gold-domed Massachusetts State House)
to Copley Square many, many times, and the walk down Huntington to Symphony Hall/Christian Science Center is less than fifteen additional minutes. Really, if you like to walk, you can see almost everything important.

Copley Square sounds very familiar - I reckon I am staying somewhere there

Sorry - you wrote loads and I just whizzed in and out!

It's going to be pretty warm when we go, I reckon - July/August - around 27'C my spies tell me. Is it a humid warmth or a more bearable type?