Perfect Accessible Activities and Hotels for my 5 Days in Boston.
In June 2024 I gave a presentation about my Accessible Travel Experiences at the International Women in Travel and Tourism Forum in London. There I met a lady called Terri McCollin, she lives in New York. She contacted me in October and asked me if I wanted to visit Boston in November? I haven’t heard much about Boston and I was surprised that I didn’t have much time to prepare. I was a little bit nervous and felt a little bit stressed ha ha ha but I also felt excited. I’d been to America 12 years ago, so this would be my second time. This would be an All Expenses Paid Trip organised by a company called Meet Boston. They were going to sort out all the flights, hotels, meals and activities for me and my 2 PA’s, so I did not need to worry.
On Saturday the 17th of November I arrived at a hotel near Heathrow Airport called the Courtyard and I had some lovely Indian food there. The next day, early in the morning I arrived at Heathrow Airport. Everything was easy however it was a little bit rushed getting through the airport and onto the plane. Great news I managed to get tickets for Glastonbury whilst at the airport ha ha. Anyway I watched 3 films on the 7 hour American Airlines flight ha ha. When I arrived at Boston Airport, I felt really strange as the different time zone made me confused. I was so impressed how fantastic the accessible taxi was, thank goodness my wheelchair was the perfect size for it. I was a little confused driving to the hotel as Boston looked a lot like the UK and not like a different place in the World ha ha.
I arrived at the Element Hotel in the Seaport District of Boston, it was a lovely modern hotel. It had great accessibility but the room was a little bit small, however the bathroom was the perfect size for my wheelchair. On the first night I went to a place called Woods Hill for something to eat. There I met Dave O’Donnell from Meet Boston, Sassy from Blind Girl Adventures and her partner. Unfortunately for me the choice of food was not great because there was a lot of meat and unusual creative ingredients. I am a Vegetarian and don’t really eat this type of food.
On the next day, Monday morning I went on the Innovation Trail around Boston and Cambridge with Daniel. This was an interesting subject with lots of information and new things for me to learn. After I had a lovely lunch with Jessica at the Museum of Fine Arts, she showed me the 3D exhibits they have in their sensory room for Blind people. I thought wow! how amazing and inclusive for everyone. In the afternoon I met George at Fenway Park Baseball Stadium, home of the Boston Red Sox. It was a brilliant experience and although it was an old building it was really accessible for disabled people. It was a beautiful place to watch the sunset. After I went to eat at a place called Time Out Market, which had many different options for food.
On Tuesday morning I arrived at Boston Harbour to meet the lovely people from Save the Harbour, Save the Bay project. The boat had a ramp but there was a challenge with its accessibility, as there was a step to get onto the ramp and a gap to get onto the boat. However, Chris and Jason had great awareness and managed to find a solution and I was able to get on the boat safely. I would like to say thank you to them. After the cruise I went to Meet Boston’s office and I met many lovely and interesting people. I had a panel meeting with Hilina Ajakaiye, Executive Vice President at Meet Boston. She interviewed me and four other people about our lives and travel experiences. After the panel meeting, I checked into the Boston Harbour Hotel, this was such a posh hotel and the people were lovely. The room was brilliant with a beautiful view of the harbour and the bathroom was perfect. I had the best breakfast ever at the hotel in the Rowes Wharf Sea Grille. The last few days had been difficult for me because some of the restaurants had limited vegetarian options. In the evening I went to a Christmas Market called Snowport. It was a brilliant place with lots of stalls and it was really accessible for my wheelchair. I had a wonderful vegan hot chocolate from a company called Clarke’s Cakes and Cookies ha ha ha.
On Wednesday morning I met Sylvie at the Museum of Science, she was lovely. She interviewed me about my AAC and how I use it. The museum was brilliant, really accessible and interesting. For lunch a went to a restaurant called BarTaco, it was really cool inside and the food was very tasty and unique. After I went to the Boston Children’s Museum. I really enjoyed it there, I liked it. The team was lovely and they told me all about the disability access at the museum. Later that day I went to View Boston, it was such a beautiful view and I stayed to watch the sunset. The accessibility was fantastic for my wheelchair. This is a new building that has been open a year, I was so surprised. I have a great meal there at a lovely restaurant called The Beacon. I also had a very nice cocktail ha ha.
On Thursday morning I had some trouble with the battery on my wheelchair, it wasn’t charging properly because of the difference in the voltage in America. Dave managed to hire a charger for me from a company in Boston and thankfully it worked. I would like to say thank you for letting me borrow the charger. I really appreciate it and thank goodness my wheelchair battery didn’t die on me. In the afternoon I went to the WNDR museum, this was one of my favourite things, I loved this so much, the access was brilliant. They had an exhibition by the famous artist Yayoi Kusama’s called “Let’s Survive Forever”. In the evening I chose to go and see an immersive lightshow called Genesis at The Temple Ohabei Shalom. The colours were so beautiful and it was relaxing listening to the music. After I picked an Irish Bar called the Black Rose to go for something to eat. The food was lovely but unfortunately there wasn’t much vegetarian options, so I was a little bit disappointed. Anyway I really enjoyed listening to the Irish music, it was great entertainment.
On the last day, unfortunately the planned activity of Whale Watching was cancelled because of bad weather so I decided to visit the New England Holocaust Memorial. It was really interesting and very emotional. I then went for lunch at the Boston Public Market, I had some lovely food from a stall called The Popover Lady. After this I went to Mount Auburn Cemetery, this was the weirdest place I’ve visited ever in my life!! Here I met Beth, she gave me a really interesting talk about the tree they have there. I learned some strange information but it was funny ha ha. My last activity was a tour around the campus at Harvard University. This was really interesting and it was a beautiful place, but it was cold. I would like to say thank you to the young student who showed me around. After I went to do some shopping at Cambridge Side mall, I also had a great meal at a lovely restaurant called The Cheesecake Factory.
I left Boston early on Saturday morning and I arrived back in the UK at 7pm. Unfortunately, I had landed at Heathrow Terminal 5 but my car was parked at Terminal 3. However getting between the Terminals was really easy and free on the Underground.
I would like to say thank you again to Meet Boston and Terri for organising this trip. I definitely think it is worth visiting Boston sometime. I hope you have enjoyed reading my Blog.
Geordie Travels, Josh Grisdale and tabifolk2 Comments
Sounds amazing! Too bad about the meat!
I’ve never been to Boston, but want to go now!
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Thanks for sharing your Boston experience, Nadia! It’s great to hear how accessible the city was and how welcoming everyone made it feel. Super helpful!
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