Charlestown

Thought you might like to see some pictures of Charlestown, the area of Boston we live in.

It's the oldest and highest part of the city, where the Pilgrims first settled. It's also the scene of the first battle for Independence from the English.

The Americans erected the Bunker Hill Monument to commemorate their victory. We live right next to it.

The funny thing is....... the Americans actually lost the battle.

But defeat being inimical to the American psyche, they like to pretend they won it instead.

Here's the stunning view from the top.










As Charlestown is right next to the Charles River, there is a lovely harbour with lots of yachts.....





... and the USS Constitution, which is a massive tourist attraction. Known as "Old Ironsides," she is the oldest working ship afloat in the world, and has a wooden hull. They fire her cannons every day at dusk, and take her out on the 4th July, as in this picture.
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Here are B and A on board, admiring the rigging.



Charlestown has many beautiful old New England homes, characterised by pastel wooden panelling and lots of small windows. Residents go to great efforts to make their homes look good, with pretty window box displays which they change every season, and flower arrangements on all the front doors.

Many of the streets, which have old-fashioned gas lighting, are really gorgeous.

B's workplace is a 5 minute cycle ride from our home, and we can drive into the heart of Boston in less than 10 minutes. We couldn't work out why, when we arrived, the rents were so much cheaper than everywhere else, but we just signed our lease.

Later on, we discovered it's because Charlestown is notorious for housing a lot of armed bank robbers, who occasionally shoot each other over 'turf' disputes!

But apparently, unless you embark on your own career in crime, it is a pretty safe place to live.

That's good then.