By Jordan Taffet

To start off our last day in New York, we woke up nice and early. We headed towards the subway and made our way to the famous H&H bagel shop. Just standing outside you could smell the intoxicating aroma of authentic New York bagels. It was hard for most of us not to eat them immediately.

In the morning, Jonah walked us around some streets and spoke about how zoning laws work and the thought that goes into creating a neighborhood of buildings. He also pointed out different types of architecture. We ended in Central Park and heard how that was designed. After eating our bagels, Billy gave us two options. One was to stay on the Great Lawn in the park and just hang out, or we could walk with him to Strawberry Fields. Being a Beatles fan, I went with Billy and 3 other kids. Strawberry Fields, the park dedicated to John Lennon, was very interesting. On the ground was a mosaic with the word “Imagine” in it. We walked over to the Dakota apartments where he was killed in 1980. We then went back to the hotel and met up with everyone else, collected our bags, got on our bus and headed to Boston.

Our first stop in Boston was to walk the Freedom Trail and see the sights associated with the beginnings of our country and the Revolutionary War. Billy spoke at each stop about how revolutionary ideas are created and “sold” to the people. Sites we saw included the spot where the Boston Massacre occurred, graveyards, Ben Franklin’s school, the Boston Commons, and others.

beginning the Freedom Trail

After the Freedom Trail, we stopped at Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market to get dinner and shop. After dinner we visited the outdoor Holocaust Memorial right next to Faneuil Hall, and discussed how and why it was designed and placed in such a touristy area. We then walked into the North End, which is the Italian neighborhood, for some amazing desserts at Mike’s Pastries. We also saw the Old North Church where Paul Revere began his famous ride. We ended the day by going back to the hotel.

reading the plaque at the Holocaust memorial

walking through the memorial

at the Paul Revere statue