This Yahoo photo collection will inspire you not only to visit Boston, but maybe to redecorate a little too. Some Boston scenes are amazingly beautiful and would look great decorating your home. Actually I just read a blog entry about visiting an antique car show in Andover (near Boston) - there’s another place you need a camera.

Depending on how much walking you plan to do (if you’re backpacking, I like this big pack) in Boston (the subway or T is great) you might need to prepare as if you were going to do some real hiking.

There you will find the graves of John Hancock, Samuel Adams, and Robert Treat Paine. These three have signed the Declaration of Independence. Other headstones you can find at Granary Burying Ground are those for the parents of Benjamin Franklin, Paul Revere, and Peter Faneuil. Here are also the burial places for all the Boston Massacre victims. Richard Bellingham, James Bowdoin, William Dummer, James Sullivan, the Lydes, Wendells, Byfields, and the Checkleys, along with Increase Summer, William Eustis, Uriah Cotting, Judge Samuel Sewall, James Otis Jr., John Hull and Thomas Cushing are also buried here.

Granary Burial Place was once called the South Burying Ground. This is because before Boston became as it is now, the burial place was south of the settlements. As the place grew, the burial place was named Middle Burying Ground. The current name of the burial ground came from the storage building for grains that used to stand in the place of Park Street Church before.

The whole place is protected by an iron fence. The gateway is located in the center of the enclosure. The place is riddled with beautiful trees making the burying ground somewhat picturesque. The paths around the burying ground are narrow and winding as well. The graves and tombs are somber. The pictures and images carved on the tombstones are also worth examination. If you really want to know about the history of these images, you will find interesting Boston religious beliefs of old.

As mentioned, admission is free. It is also very accessible for handicapped individuals. As for what hours the Granary Burying Ground opens, you have to call their number or visit the official web site of the city of Boston.

You can get to Granary Burying Ground by looking for Park Street Church as the two are across each other. Granary Burying Ground is situated on Tremont Street. It is at the head of Boston’s Bromfield Street. Aside from the notables buried here along with the victims f the tragic Boston massacre, people who have been victims of plague and fire are also buried at Granary Burying Ground. Also, the first victims of the revolutionary war are buried here.

There is also a lot of speculation as to which other notable personas in the US are buried here. One recurring speculation is that Granary Burying Ground is the burial place of Mother Goose. This is yet to be proven though. But no matter, visit Granary Burying Ground and honor all those buried there.

My sister chose this hotel for her wedding guests because it was 20 minutes from the reception area and reasonable at $92/night. It’s a Hilton, so you know the rooms are nice. They are 450 square feet and have marble bathrooms.

Some important amentities are Wireless High-Speed Internet, Complimentary Parking, and a Commuter Train to Boston on Site. The train takes about 20 minutes to reach Boston.

The website gives confliction information, on one page saying “Pets permitted with Management’s approval” and on another saying “No pets allowed”.

Be sure to visit the cyber library and the rooftop garden. There’s also a bar and a restaurant.

There are 16 historical sites along this 2.5-mile national trail that covers two and a half centuries of America’s history. The sites are connected by a red brick painted line that takes us through Revolutionary Boston and Charleston. Each link to the past represents the events and courage of the patriots who fought for freedom and their rights in the earliest history of our nation. At the first stop where the Freedom Trail meets the Black Heritage Trail, visitors see the Robert Gould Shaw and 54th Memorial, honoring the first black regiment of the Union Army. Next on our walking tour is the State House, a magnificent gilded-dome structure built in the 18th century. The oldest building on Beacon Hill, it still serves as the seat of the Massachusetts’ state government.

From the State House, we arrive at the Park Street Church, where the song “America” was first sung on July 4, 1831, and where William Lloyd Garrison spoke against slavery in 1829. Continuing along the Trail, the next site is the Old Granary, the burial place of patriots such as Paul Revere, John Hancock, and Samuel Adams. From here, we come to the King’s Chapel, the oldest Anglican Church in New England, designed by Peter Harrison. The interior of King’s Chapel is considered to be the finest example of Georgian architecture in North America. Adjacent to the church is the burial ground for some of the most prominent members of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, including John Winthrop, first governor, and Mary Chilton, the first woman to enter Plymouth Colony from the Mayflower.

Further down the path, we pass the statue of Benjamin Franklin, the first portrait statue in the U.S. and the site of the first public school. On the corner of School and Washington Streets is the Old Corner Bookstore, which began as a medicine shop and was subsequently leased to nine different booksellers, the most famous being Ticknor and Fields.

The Old South Meeting House, a Puritan house of worship, is where Samuel Adams gave the signal to proceed with the Boston Tea Party. Further on, we pass the Old State House, now a museum, open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., where the first Declaration was read to the people of Boston from the balcony in 1776. Marked by a ring of cobblestones, this site is also recognized as the scene of the Boston massacre, where the patriots met the redcoats in 1770.

Faneuil Hall, built in 1742 and given to the city by Peter Faneuil, is next on the Freedom Trail. Town meetings and forums were held in the Hall, which also served as a marketplace for the townspeople to sell their goods. It was here that the doctrine of no taxation without representation took form in the famous tea meetings. Faneuil Hall was also the site of the numerous speeches by the abolitionists including Douglas and Garrison during the time of the Civil War.

Nearing the end of the Trail, we come to Paul Revere’s House, built in 1680, the oldest structure still standing in Boston. From here, our tour takes us to the Old North Church, or Christ Church. It is from this very church that sexton Robert Newman hung the lanterns to warn of the approach of the British in the War for Independence and Paul Revere began his midnight ride. Today, Christ Church, with a large and active Episcopal congregation, remains the oldest church building in Boston.

One of the last sites along this historic trail is Copp’s Hill Burial Ground, the burial place for many prominent colonial Bostonians, the artisans and merchants who lived on the North End, as well as the many free African Americans who lived in the New Guinea Community nearby. At the very end of the Trail stands the national monument to Bunker Hill, dedicated on June 17, 1843. This 221-foot granite obelisk commemorates the first major battle of the American Revolution where a unified Colonial army faced the British troops.

Tours/Prices/Hours:

Visitors can take a self-guided walking tour, which lasts for two to three hours, or take the trolley, which stops at various sites along the Trail. Ninety-minute tours, arranged through the National Park Service, leave daily at 11:00 a.m., 12 Noon, 1:00 p.m., and 3:30 p.m. from the Visitor Center, at 15 State Street opposite the Old State House, in the Boston Common. Walking tour prices: adults $12.00, seniors $10.00, and students 12 and under $6.00.

Admission to the majority of the historical sites is included in the price of the tours, or with a nominal fee, and are open daily. Currently, visitors can also experience the Freedom Trail by using a digital hand-held player for a two-hour audio tour. Audio players can be rented for $15.00 and picked up at the Visitor Center. Informative and educational guided tours, led by professional actors and historians in colonial costumes, are offered by the Freedom Trail Foundation for groups.

Visitor Center is open Monday – Saturday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Sunday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Maps, guides, and information are available, as well as a book and souvenir shop at the Center.

The Boston Marathon is held every Patriot’s Day, the third Monday of April. It was started in 1897 and as the world’s oldest annual marathon, the Boston Marathon is one of the most prestigious road races in the world.

First Night begins at 1:00 p.m. on the 31st of December and most activities and events end at midnight or shortly thereafter on New Year’s Day. The celebration features the best in theater, film, dance, music, and the visual arts, with museums, theaters, churches, and historical sites open for the celebration. Popular attractions on First Night include the Family Festival at the Hynes Convention Center, ice sculptures on Copley Square and the Boston Common, ice skating in the parks, and two spectacular fireworks displays, at 7:00 p.m. on the Common and at midnight over Boston Harbor. The highlight of First Night is the colorful Grand Procession through the streets of downtown Boston. Led by the Mayor of the city, the parade of clowns, puppets, floats, acrobats, and bands begins shortly after sunset in front of the Hynes Convention Center, turns left on Charles, and ends at Charles and Beacon Streets. A laser display countdown marks the seconds to midnight when fireworks light up the sky over Boston Harbor for the crowds on the banks of the Charles River.

Outdoor festivities during the First Night celebration are generally free, and admission to indoor venues is included with the purchase of a First Button for $15.00. In addition, the First Button entitles the visitor to various discounts such as on parking, tickets for sporting events, theater, and concerts, commuter railway transportation, and cover charges at nightclubs. First Buttons are available at numerous retailers and locations in Boston, as well as online. Children under 4 are free.

Although the tradition of First Night celebrations was established in Boston, more than 200 similar celebrations are now held worldwide, including the U.S., Canada, Great Britain, and New Zealand.

In addition to paying for tickets, you should expect to buy dinner if you sit at a table. If you sit in one of the chairs along the wall I don’t think there’s any pressure to buy dinner, but I’m not sure. I’m not sure because I always have dinner at Club Passim - the club is connected to a unique pizza place. Give one of these interesting pizzas a try. I usually get the Thai style pizza, but the other ones I’ve tried have been good too.

To get to Club Passim, get on the T and take the Red Line to Harvard Square T stop. If you exit via Church Street entrance, walk one block down Church Street past Harvard Square Theater to Palmer Street on left. Club Passim is in the basement just around the corner on the left.

If you exit via Harvard Square main entrance, cross Massachusetts Ave. to Harvard Coop building. Stay left by newsstand on Brattle Street to first right (Palmer Street) which is 200 feet from the corner. Turn right and walk one block. Club Passim is on the right in the basement just before you reach Church Street.