Boston's Spring Delights
Winter doldrums be gone! Sometimes spring in Boston can be so subtle; that you have to find it wherever you can. Here is a list of some only-in Boston signs of spring to look for in the coming weeks.
There is still snow on the ground, but dozens of improbably gorgeous display gardens and landscapes are in full bloom at The New England Spring Flower Show (March 8th-16th) and will make you forget that it is still winter.
Everyone loves a parade! Boston’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade steps off at 1 PM on March 16th from Gillette Park in Southie (the setting of the “Departed”) and ends at Andrew Square. There will be lots of pipes and drums corps, floats with Irish step dancers, and politicians too. Stake out a spot anywhere along Broadway —and wear green.
For legions of Red Sox fans the Fenway Park home opener on April 8th is a bonafide holiday. After two(!) World Series wins in four years, scoring tickets to any Red Sox game is next to impossible, but baseball fans of all denominations can take a Tour of Fenway Park. Tours are offered daily; year round.
It only takes a few warmish, spring-like days for the bistro tables and chairs come out at the sidewalk cafés on Newbury Street. The people watching is primo at Stephanie’s on Newbury where the food is eclectic –yet traditional. The lobster quesadilla is very popular; the open faced Thanksgiving sandwich has an unusual twist—squash mayonnaise!
The return of the Swan Boats on April 19th to the Public Garden is another sure sign of spring. The human- powered pedal boats carry 20 passengers for a leisurely ride around the Public Garden’s lagoon and is the quintessential Boston experience.
The city spruces up for the Boston Marathon on April 21st —banners are hung, the streets are cleaned of winter road salt, and flowers are planted. “Marathon Monday” coincides with Patriots Day; a Massachusetts holiday observed on the third Monday of April that commemorates the beginning of the American Revolution. The Boston Marathon is the world’s oldest annual marathon and attracts more than 20,000 runners and half a million spectators along the race route that begins from the town of Hopkinton and ends at Boston’s Copley Square.