Boston, part 2

After a great time at the Children's museum, the family C retired to our hotel.
for a nice afternoon nap. Instead of the whole production of taking the kids out trying to scope for food, we left them with Gmom napping while G and I tried to find get food. We found Thai Basil Restaurant. I was very encouraged by the amount of local kids (probably university kids) who were piling into the place. Lots of small families too.

The food was acceptable Thai. Of course, I made the mistake of ordering a lo mein, thinking that the kids might like that. Instead they took to the Mango fried rice. The lo mein looked a little sickly but everything else was just ok.

After an arduous swim in the hotel pool, it was time for fireworks or more accurately, it was time to wait for the fireworks which did not happen till almost 11:00 PM. For young families who want to watch fireworks, I think this might have been the best decision. I paid more than I would normally for a smallish hotel room but the view to the fireworks were amazing.

From my research, this is one of the few hotels in the area that actually has a view to the fireworks display from the rooms. We played the broadcast on TV to listen to announcements and watched the fireworks through the window of our climate-controlled hotel room. It was fabulous.

Some tips for those wanting to book a room for the 4th of July Fireworks in Boston:
1. The hotel that we used was the Westin Copley Place. There are other Westin properties in Boston, so make sure you have the right one.
2. Request a room on a high floor. We were on the 22nd floor and we are slightly obstructed by the roof of the building next door (check picture above). 22nd floor is the lowest floor to be on for a good view (I think).
3. Request a river view.

Was it worth the extra $$$? I think so. g really wanted to see fireworks. To try to bring the kids to the waterfront in the heat and have her waits HOURS just felt excruciating to me. It was a once-in-a-lifetime expense. She has these pictures. We can check this off the list.

The hotel was clean. The pool was also clean. The staff were easy to deal with. The hotel was also convenient in the sense that it is near the subway.

RIPOFF ALERT - the hotel has valet parking ($42 for the evening) and self- parking ($32 for the evening). Both prices are highly inflated. When we inquired about other parking options in the area, we were told that there weren't much. Driving around the corner to look for the hotel self-parking entrance, I saw another parking garage sign for $9. I parked there. Not knowing that metered parking is suspended because of the holiday. I found out the day after. So I could have parked for free. Lesson learned.