Monday 30 June - “La de dah!”

I wake up early, as usual – a reminder appears on my phone, telling me it's my friend Sandra's birthday today. When away on a long trip it's easy to lose track of what day, and date, it is. I decide to surprise her by giving her a ring. It's about 7.00 am here, 12.00 noon in England.

When I phone she tells me she's been busy chasing crows away from the garden, so that the smaller birds can get something to eat! We have quite a long chat, so Reg decides to check my “3” phone minutes. Once again my allowance has remained at 200 minutes; the minutes have mistakenly been taken off my “3” to “3” minutes, of which I have 2000 a month. We have phoned “3” several times from America to tell them what is happening; however nothing's changed, and “3” have assured me not to worry, I won't get charged if my minutes are not going down. This is the best phone deal we've ever had while abroad! (It would have been the best even without the technical error which is leaving my monthly minutes allowance intact). Reg is still wary, though, in case I get a large bill; however I have evidence that I have contacted “3” and they have assured me all is fine.

I write the blog, while Reg uses his tablet to search for where we can hire bikes; he discovers that they are available from a bike shop just around the corner from the hostel. It was difficult to decide what to do on our last day in Boston, as there's so much we want to do. We would have loved to visit the Museum of Fine Arts,, & to go to see the wonderful glass flowers in the Harvard Natural History Museum, across the river in Cambridge. However, we decide we will finish doing the “Boston Freedom Trail” by bike, as we're interested in finding out more about how Boston was the catalyst for American Independence; also, it will enable us to see more of this lovely city, and to visit the Faneuil Marketplace, also known as Quincy Market.

At breakfast we get chatting to a young couple from Quebec. We have a fascinating conversation about how Quebec differs from the rest of Canada – it's a bit like Scotland and England! - although of course Quebeckers speak French. We discover though that their French is different from “le francais que les Francais parlent” - in fact, French people can find it difficult to understand Quebeckers, just as we sometimes find it difficult to understand someone with a rich Scottish accent.

We discuss places we have travelled. When we tell them we are returning to England on Sunday on the Queen Mary 2, the young man quips,

“Oh! La de dah!”

We all burst out laughing, and we explain that actually we aren't posh at all – as illustrated by the fact that we are most often seen in very casual clothes, which we rarely iron! It's been great fun talking to this young couple.

Once again it's brilliant to be cycling again; it's very hot today, but riding bikes does mean you catch a slight breeze in the air. As usual with my pinkish skin that doesn't go brown, I've liberally applied factor 30 suncream to all exposed areas. Reg doesn't need to, as he has the sort of complexion that turns nut-brown and really makes him look as if he's been on holiday!

We enjoy following the “Freedom Trail” at our own pace; we take a look at Quincy Market, and all the delicious foods on offer there. Reg notices a Clark's shoe shop; he doesn't buy any shoes, but they give him some free laces from a box of miscellaneous pairs on the counter, as his current walking shoe laces are wearing out, and about to break any day now.

We stop for a “soup and fruit” lunch, then we cycle on through the Italian quarter of Boston to finish the rest of the trail. To reach the last place on the trail, “Bunker Hill”, we have to cycle across a bridge which spans the Charles River.

Bunker Hill is famous for the battle which took place between Bostonians and British troops in and around Breed's Hill (next to Bunker's Hill) on 17 June 1775, during the Siege of Boston, early in the American Revolution. The British Troops, although suffering much heavier losses than the Bostonians, did win the battle, but the Bostonians won the war ; and the rest, leading to the Independence of the USA, is history.

One of the things which sparked the revolution was that the British government, which ruled Boston and the other 13 American states in existence at that time, imposed taxes on various goods, including tea. This so incensed the Bostonians (“why should we pay takes to benefit Britain, not America?”) that they boarded a British ship under cover of darkness and threw the cargo of tea into the sea. This historical event is called “The Boston Tea Party” (16 December 1773).

Boston has erected a tall needle-like monument on the site of Bunker Hill to commemorate how significant the “Battle of Bunker Hill” was in the American fight for Independence from Britain.

We sit on the grassy area near the monument, catching our breath before cycling the 3 miles or so back to the bike shop. The traffic is quite heavy as it's going-home time for the city of Boston. The bike shop owner is pleased to have his bikes returned to him in one piece; hot and tired, we chat to him for a while, then walk the short distance back to the hostel.

This morning we purchased tickets at $10 each for dinner in the hostel (a choice of 2 evening meals only). It's lovely not to have to go out again to eat after our long day; and, we decide, the meals are good value, even including a dessert of ice cream!

Back in our room, I pack up; we're off to New York in the morning; our final American train journey.