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Boston is a beautiful and vibrant city, as many port cities are. It's
hard to beat the combination of sea harbors, historic architecture, ivy
league schools, beautiful parks, and fine food. Add to that Boston's long
list of "firsts" and it's easy to understand why Bostonians may be just
a wee bit uppity.
Boston is as close to the Old World as the New World gets, an American
city that proudly trades in on its colonial past, having served a crucial
role in the country's development from a few wayward pilgrims right through
the Revolutionary War. It occasionally takes this a bit too far - a faded
relic anywhere else becomes a plaque-covered tourist sight here - but none
of it detracts from the city's overriding historic charm, nor its
present-day energy. Indeed, there are plenty of tall skyscrapers,
thriving business concerns and cultural outposts that are part-and-parcel
of modern urban America. The city's cafés and shops, its attractive public
spaces, and the diversity of its neighborhoods - student hives, ethnic
enclaves, and stately districts of preserved townhouses - are similarly
alluring.
Not to leave out any other Boston firsts, the city had the first post
office, the first street light, the first use of Penicillin, the first
department store, the first lighthouse, the first public library, the
first subway, the first Christmas card, the first . . . well, you get
the idea.
Copyright Rough Guides Ltd
Copyright 1997 e-Scape Information Systems Inc.
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