Saying Cheers to Boston!

A visit to the Massachusetts capital promises to be a wonderful travel through time.

What can nine women from Charm City do for three days in Beantown? Just about everything!

We’re a group of good friends that loves to travel and go to museums, photography exhibits and more. With three of the women having milestone birthdays this year, we agreed that Boston would be a great city for a collective celebration. We created our own itinerary, blending sightseeing, culture, history, great food and, of course, lots of shopping.

We arrived in Boston with plenty of time to check into the lovely boutique Lenox Hotel in the picturesque neighborhood of Back Bay. We walked over to the Prudential Center from where the must-do Duck Tours depart. It was a fabulous way to see the entire city and learn its history in only 90 minutes.

We boarded our “Duck,” an amphibious landing vehicle, and met our “ConDUCKtor,” a funny, feisty and thoroughly informed guide. He shared facts about Boston as the city of firsts and the birthplace of freedom. We drove past the stunning, golden-domed Massachusetts State House, Bunker Hill, Boston Common, Copley Square and then splashed into the Charles River for an amazing view of the Boston and Cambridge skylines. Then, we taxied over to The Beehive restaurant for a fun evening of cocktails, great food and live jazz.

The next day, we headed over to the Boston Common Visitor Center. There, dressed in 18th-century garb with a tri-cornered hat and walking stick, was “Ben,” our private tour guide for the famous Freedom Trail. We were instantly drawn back in time to the late 1700s as Ben regaled us with stories of his life as a young colonist. The 2.5-mile walking tour highlighted many historic landmarks of the American Revolution.

Standing in the Granary Burying Ground, Ben shared little-known facts about the war. We learned about the key players in the Boston Tea Party and the Boston Massacre. Ben — who in actuality is a drama student named Zach — was entertaining and enlightening. He ended our tour at Faneuil Hall, where America’s first town hall meeting was hosted in 1770. It’s since been converted into a lively marketplace filled with scads of shops, attractions and fun restaurants.

Then, on to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. Again, we were transported back in history, this time to “Camelot” of the early 1960s. The museum tells the story of President Kennedy’s life through theater, displays and multimedia exhibits. His leadership and legacy resound throughout the museum and are highlighted in the special “JFK: 100” exhibit, filled with 100 artifacts from his short but eventful and productive life.

What’s a trip to Boston without a meal in Little Italy! The birthday girls’ celebration dinner was at Ristorante Limoncello in Boston’s North End neighborhood. Lots of wine, pasta and laughter. And, of course, a visit to famous Mike’s Pastry for 18 flavors of cannolis. So many calories never tasted so good!

We were told not to miss the Mapparium at the Mary Baker Eddy Library, so we squeezed it in on our last day. We were so glad we did! It’s a huge, three-story stained-glass globe. You walk inside and find yourself on a 30-foot glass bridge with a dazzling inside-out view of the world. Created more than 70 years ago, the globe is a historic snapshot of what the world looked like back in 1935 — the Soviet Union still existed, Alaska and Hawaii were only U.S. territories and modern Israel was not even born yet.

We couldn’t leave Boston without shopping on famous Newbury Street, which is chock-full of designer stores, funky boutiques and art galleries. And a quick visit to the Public Garden for a swan boat ride across the Charles River.

While our three days flew by so fast, we had a fabulous getaway that was filled with culture, history, food and friendship. It was a celebration of life!

Karen Sitnick is a Baltimore-based freelance writer.