Friday, September 11, 1998
Today is the last day of the conference. As usual, we left our hotel at just before
seven AM. When we were walking on the sidewalk of Western Avenue, on our way to the
bus at the Doubletree Hotel, a red Chrysler Neon stopped next to us. The driver asked us
if we were going to the conference. His passenger and collegue recognized our
conference bags :-)
They offered us a ride to the WTC so we got in the back of the car. After we arrived, we
had to take a bus to the Fleetcenter and then we has the traditional very good breakfast
and I went to the first keynotespeech.
I had a long lunchbreak so I went outside to explore the neighbourhood of the Fleetcenter.
Busses and a police escort bike
A nice old street in the old center
In the afternoon I attended the last few sessions of the conference and took the bus to
the WTC. In the bus I was sitting next to a nice lady, about 50 years old. We talked and
when se found out I had a bike, she told me she had a Kawasaki 750 Custom. After a short ride
we arrived at the WTC were Stanley was already waiting for me.
Policebike escorting the bus
Because our flight home leaves tomorrow in the evening, we have some time to play tourist now.
The Beaver II, the Tea Party ship
First we go to what must be America's most famous ship, the Beaver II, known as the Boston
Tea Party Ship and Museum, and one of the three ships stormed by patriots in 1773 as an act
of rebellion against British rule and in particular against the new tax laws imposed on tea.
Unfortunately it was closed for visitors so we walked to the center of Boston.
Here I am in the center of Boston
We had coffee at Starbucks. I ordered a capucino and I got a cardboard mug, like
what you get milkshakes in at MacDonalds, with coffee with milk. It's drinkable
but it is not a cappucino :-(
Then we walked past the State House with its golden dome. A very nice building.
Coffee at Starbucks
State House
The "new" State House
The State House is build in 1798 and is located across from the Boston Common
on the top of Beacon Hill. Charles Bullfinch, an importatnt architect in that time,
designed the building. The dome, made out of wood shingles, is sheathed in copper
and covered by 23 karat gold. In the House of Representatives chambers hangs a
wooden codfish that shows the importance of the fishing industry.
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We had dinner at cafe Cheers, famous from the TV series Cheers. The Cheersburgers
we had were very good but the inside of the real cafe Cheers is completely different
from the TV version that was recorded in a studio.
At the entrance of cafe Cheers
After dinner we walked on the banks of the Charles River to our hotel. I think we
walked eight or nine kilometer and it was dark when we arrived at the hotel.
After a beer at the bar, it was time to pack. Tomorrow we will go home again.
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