Thursday Thirteen #217

MY VALENTINE TO BOSTON

This week, we're all Bostonians. Here's my tribute to one of my favorite cities.


1) It was founded in 1630.


2) It has a rich heritage of education. In 1635, it became home to America's first free public school, Boston Latin.


3) Today it can claim more than 100 colleges and universities. That doesn't include the two most famous -- Harvard and MIT -- which are actually located across the river in Cambridge.

4) Boston Public Garden, designed by Frederick Olmstead, is America's first public garden. Nature lovers can enjoy literally hundreds of varieties of trees and flowers, and families enjoy the famous swan boats.

5) Right next to the Garden is the Boston Common. The Frog Pond provides relief from the summer heat and during the winter it's frozen for ice skating.

6) Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox, opened 100 years ago and is the MLB's oldest ball park and has an honored spot on United States' National Register of Historic Places. 

7) It's a terrifically easy city to navigate. Trust me, I have done it as a tourist with no problem at all. The MBTA (or "The T") carries more than 165,000,000 commuters annually.

8) Every year more than one million visitors see works by Monet, John Singer Sargent and Gaugin at Boston's famous Museum of Fine Arts.

9)  For more than 100 years, shoppers looked for deals at Filene's Basement, which was a Boston-born phenomenon. It got started, literally, in the basement of high-end Filene's Department Store and gave birth to the term, "bargain basement."

10) Newbury Street is 8 blocks of retail delight. You can find jewelry, clothes, books, art ... all in beautiful buildings from the late 1880s.

11) The TV show Cheers made Boston's bars famous. Today drink aficionados recommend the sophisticated Avery Bar at Ritz Carlton Boston Common for the best martini in town.

12) It's also home to the Boston Marathon, which has been held every year since April, 1897. And make no mistake -- there will be a Boston Marathon next year, too!

13) Governor Deval Patrick and Boston Mayor Tom Menino have announced the formation of The One Fund Boston to help the people most affected by the tragic events that occurred in Boston on April 15, 2013. It raised more than $6 million in just 24 hours. But that doesn't mean your donation wouldn't be most welcome.

LOVE YOU BOSTON!

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