Where should I buy wine prior to sailing out of Boston and more suggestions please...

[Kimjergen]

Hi there,

 

We will be arriving in Boston the morning prior to sailing out of Boston. We will be staying at the Omni Parker House because we thought it had an amazing location for exploring the city on foot and my son knew that JFK proposed to Jackie O there and he wanted to try and sit at table 40 at least once during our short stay.(my kids love trivia like this, and enjoy the hidden history in our vacation adventures)

 

We are an active family with a 13 & 11 year old sons who love history, architecture, food, and culture so we know we are going to love Boston but realize it will be difficult to see everything in a day and a 1/2.(We arrive at 10 am on a Friday 5/29 and our ship sails out at 5pm on Sat 5/30) Although we plan on seeing as much as possible:). We definitely plan on doing the freedom trail and the USS Constitution but what other must sees should we definitely try to fit in?

 

My younger son wants to drop by a Lego store in Braintree? How far is it from where we are staying and should we take a cab, walk, or public transportation?

 

Any fun or unique restaurant suggestions appreciated for an authentic or cool boston experience or I've heard there is great indian food there and we love ethnic food too so we're open to good value, awesome flavors, or just charming mom & pop type places. So family friendly is good but my kids are well behaved and enjoy variety of foods although my one son is allergic to shellfish.

 

My husband and I want our own souvenirs too -some bottles of wine to carry on the ship:D. Can anyone recommend a grocery store or wine store with good prices and a nice selection in Boston and tell us how to best get there? (we like cabs & shirazs, cheers!)

 

Thanks for any and all help and suggestions for making the most of our short time in Boston!

[138east]

Here's the big Boston wine discussion - http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=954761

 

With your limited time, I would not spend it going to Braintree. Too bad your son is allergic to shellfish - I guess we won't be recommending Legal Seafoods or the No Name restaurant. However, you might enjoy a meal in Chinatown, which is about 6 blocks from your hotel. Lots of restaurants there and very reasonable for downtown. You might also enjoy eating Italian food in the North End.

[dlb237]

Braintree is a suburb, and the Lego store in Braintree is in South Shore Plaza (suburban mall), 10-15mi from Boston. Taxi fares in Boston run almost $3/mile and you'll need a Braintree taxi back from the mall (we're very parochial about taxis around here - most taxis cannot pick up outside of the city or town that they're licensed for).

 

South Shore Plaza is accessible via public transit, but not easily - take the Red Line (subway) to Braintree, then the 236 bus to South Shore Plaza. Plan ahead - the bus only runs hourly, and the mall is just far enough from the station to make walking not a good idea.

 

For an unusual "ethnic" restaurant, try The Elephant Walk (Cambodian and French): http://www.elephantwalk.com/ . Their Boston location is at the St. Mary's stop on the Green Line "C" branch. There are lots of good restaurants of all sorts in Boston - I'd suggest a discussion with your hotel concierge about what might interest you.

 

Enjoy,

--David

[Kimjergen]

Braintree is a suburb, and the Lego store in Braintree is in South Shore Plaza (suburban mall), 10-15mi from Boston. Taxi fares in Boston run almost $3/mile and you'll need a Braintree taxi back from the mall (we're very parochial about taxis around here - most taxis cannot pick up outside of the city or town that they're licensed for).

 

South Shore Plaza is accessible via public transit, but not easily - take the Red Line (subway) to Braintree, then the 236 bus to South Shore Plaza. Plan ahead - the bus only runs hourly, and the mall is just far enough from the station to make walking not a good idea.

 

For an unusual "ethnic" restaurant, try The Elephant Walk (Cambodian and French): http://www.elephantwalk.com/ . Their Boston location is at the St. Mary's stop on the Green Line "C" branch. There are lots of good restaurants of all sorts in Boston - I'd suggest a discussion with your hotel concierge about what might interest you.

 

Enjoy,

--David

 

Thanks so much David!

 

My son will really appreciate the lego store info. I have a friend who lives in Brookline who has a car, maybe she can drive him or us there. She's been out of town and he was dying to ask here about braintree after visiting the lego store site. We only have one lego store in Florida near Disney and we live about 4 hours south of it. These stores carry exclusive lego items not found in regular toy or dept stores and he has been saving his money for months to go to one. At least he is goal oriented and willing to save.

 

Also the Elephant Walk restaurant sounds quite interesting and yummy, thanks!

 

Best,

Kim

[138east]

The Lego Store is open from 10 am to 9 pm - http://stores.lego.com/en-us/Braintree/LandingPage.aspx. If you had access to a car, it would not be more than 20-30 minutes just as long as you don't try to do it at rush hour Friday night. If your friend is willing, perhaps she could pick you up Saturday morning, take a run to Braintree, and drop you back at the cruise terminal.

[02143]

Hi there,

Any fun or unique restaurant suggestions appreciated for an authentic or cool boston experience or I've heard there is great indian food there and we love ethnic food too so we're open to good value, awesome flavors, or just charming mom & pop type places. So family friendly is good but my kids are well behaved and enjoy variety of foods although my one son is allergic to shellfish.

 

Have you had Ethiopian food before? If your kids are open to new things, I think you would love Addis Red Sea on Tremont Street in the South End. Ethiopian food is somewhat similar to Indian food, minus the cream. All of the food is served family style on a giant piece of spongy flatbread and you use that and other pieces of bread to pick and eat the food. The setting is casual but interesting. If you look at the menu and it isn't appealing, there are many other restaurants on Tremont St. My partner likes Mela, an Indian place a block or two further southwest on Tremont. From the Parker House, the best way to get there is by cab. It's probably competitive with all four of you taking the Orange Line and walking from Back Bay.

 

P.S. Based on your sons' interests, I don't think you're missing any "must-sees" in Boston beyond your list. The Freedom Trail will give you your fill of history and architecture, particularly if you stop to explore Paul Revere's House, the Old North Church, and the Old State House and museum. There are other worthwhile destinations in the city such as the Aquarium, Copley Square (with Trinity Church and Newbury St.), and Charles Street in Beacon Hill, but it's a question of priorities.

[mygyky]

Swan Boats in the Public Garden are a fun thing to do for a little while. You could head over to the location where Cheers the television show is based on. You could check out Faneuil Hall and spend some time there. There is a night time haunted ride that I will try to look up. It seems pretty cool to get an unusual tour of the city. If they like sports take a tour of Fenway Park. Touristy things are also the Boston Duck Tours. It is fun to do once many locals will tell you not to do it, but you could try it.

 

http://www.ghostsandgravestones.com/boston/

 

http://www.swanboats.com/

 

http://www.bostonducktours.com/

[DiTomCruisers]

Hi there,

 

We will be arriving in Boston the morning prior to sailing out of Boston. We will be staying at the Omni Parker House because we thought it had an amazing location for exploring the city on foot and my son knew that JFK proposed to Jackie O there and he wanted to try and sit at table 40 at least once during our short stay.(my kids love trivia like this, and enjoy the hidden history in our vacation adventures)

 

We are an active family with a 13 & 11 year old sons who love history, architecture, food, and culture so we know we are going to love Boston but realize it will be difficult to see everything in a day and a 1/2.(We arrive at 10 am on a Friday 5/29 and our ship sails out at 5pm on Sat 5/30) Although we plan on seeing as much as possible:). We definitely plan on doing the freedom trail and the USS Constitution but what other must sees should we definitely try to fit in?

 

My younger son wants to drop by a Lego store in Braintree? How far is it from where we are staying and should we take a cab, walk, or public transportation?

 

Any fun or unique restaurant suggestions appreciated for an authentic or cool boston experience or I've heard there is great indian food there and we love ethnic food too so we're open to good value, awesome flavors, or just charming mom & pop type places. So family friendly is good but my kids are well behaved and enjoy variety of foods although my one son is allergic to shellfish.

 

My husband and I want our own souvenirs too -some bottles of wine to carry on the ship:D. Can anyone recommend a grocery store or wine store with good prices and a nice selection in Boston and tell us how to best get there? (we like cabs & shirazs, cheers!)

 

Thanks for any and all help and suggestions for making the most of our short time in Boston!

 

I live in Braintree. Taxis are expensive around here. You could take the T (red line) to Braintree or Qunicy Adams and catch a taxi from there, but as 138 (a wealth of good info BTW) said with your limited time it may not be worth the trip.

 

Faneil Hall has more souveniers than you could pack away. It's also on the Freedom Trail (or very close).

 

There are a bunch of liquor stores on during your walk (note, they may have wacky hours or not opened at all on Sunday).

 

The Northend has some great mom & pop resturants.

 

Have fun