Labour day (or should that be, ‘Labor Day’?) is the only day we get off during the 14 week training programme, so I was keen to make the most of the long weekend. Many people have spoken very highly of Boston, and being just four hours from NY, catching up with a friend currently working as a post-doc at Harvard seemed like a good plan.

I arrived in Boston around lunchtime (I slept for the vast majority of the bus journey as catching the bus involved getting up earlier than I do on a weekday!), and met up with Peter who introduced me to an excellent crèperie in Harvard Square. Feeling suitably refreshed, we set off on a tour of the major sights of Boston: Harvard Yard (the equivalent to a court in Cambridge terms), the city’s early cemeteries where many pioneers and treasonous traitorsrevolutionary heroes are buried, Boston Common (like Central Park, but a lot smaller!), the Massachusetts State House (and its elegant 18th century predecessor that is now dwarfed by the surrounding buildings), Quincy Market, and the very pleasant waterfront. Having seen about as many places of historical interest as we could take in one day, we then headed for the more modern part of town for a bit of a change of pace, and wandered down this lovely tree-lined avenue of outdoor restaurants and eateries.

In the evening we headed for the very studenty area of Davis Square, and wandered into a pub called ‘The Burren’ that by chance happened to have an live band playing. They were a ‘cover band’ so most of the stuff they played we recognised, and they were pretty good too so we were most disappointed when they stopped playing (and stopped serving beer) at 1am!

It was probably a good thing they did finish then though as we had another early start the next morning as we had to catch a ferry to Provincetown (aka ‘P-Town’) on Cape Cod. This is a bizarre little holiday village with some excellent eateries, lots of interesting little art galleries, and a beach… and not a lot more! Suffice to say it was the most wonderfully relaxing day: eating, drinking, ambling around a few galleries, and sitting on the beach reading the New York Times from cover to cover…

After two early starts, the next morning featured something of a lie-in, and then a gentle stroll down to the Charles river. This was a beautiful spot with people enjoying the public holiday in the sunshine (a rare sight for a Brit given how our weather seems to delight in doing its worst on bank holiday!). Alas I failed to take my camera with me on this walk, but Peter took some photos which he has promised to put online soon.

I left Boston with a glowing impression of the place, particularly the Harvard Square area as it was a lovely contrast to the density and bustle of NY. Many thanks to Peter for being such a great host and tour guide!