Category Archives: Hotel

Cambridge and Boston

New England

New England

Last Fall we had wonderful trip to Cambridge and Boston to visit our daughter and son-in-law.  We left Kentucky in the afternoon and drove until about midnight.  We spent the night in Pennsylvania.  The next morning I decided not to bypass New York.  After all how bad could it be driving through the city?  Thousands of people do it every day.

New york

I’m not sure at what point in the journey through New York that I came to realize I may have made a mistake.  We crossed the George Washington Bridge with several lanes of traffic on both sides of us and then we were in the city.  Luckily the lane I was in took me through the city and to the place I was wanting to go.

After our escape from New York, the journey became much more enjoyable and relaxing for me.  Instead of driving the shorter route toward Hartford, Connecticut, we continued east on 95 along the coast.  We stayed on 95 North to Boston where we hit 90 to Cambridge.

Our drive through southern Connecticut and then Rhode Island was beautiful.  We stopped at a service plaza near Milford, Connecticut and tried a fast food place that was new to us.  It’s called Cheeseboy and if you look at the menu you will see why.  We were looking for something different but good and we found it at Cheeseboy.  My wife had a Tomato Basil melt, which is American cheese, fresh basil, and tomato on artisan white.  I had the Cheeseboy Classic melt, which is   American and muenster on artisan white.  Both were great, and we will be watching for the Cheeseboy sign again.

Turning off the interstate into Cambridge was an interesting adventure in itself but we soon found our way to the Homewood Suites by Hilton in Arlington, Massachusetts.

The Homewood Suites by Hilton is a great place to stay.  The suite is made up of two main rooms, a bedroom and a sitting room.  The sitting room has a couch which pulls out to make a bed, a full size refrigerator, sink, microwave,  a two-burner stove top, coffee maker, dishwasher and a fireplace.

Another nice amenity is the free breakfast that Homewood Suites offers as well as a free dinner.  Free dinners are served Monday through Thursday. This can be both a great time saver as well as a dollar saver.  Homewood Suites is located near a bus stop as well as a subway station making travel around Cambridge and Boston much easier.

 

Lexington Gratz Park Inn UK Wildcats

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Undefeated Season

Saturday was game day.  The University of Kentucky was playing Florida in the last game of the regular season.  The Wildcats were attempting to go undefeated.

We arrived early at our hotel the Gratz Park Inn, which is located on West Second Street in the Historic District of downtown Lexington.  Stepping into the Gratz Park is to step back into time.  You can feel the charm of the old South, but turn a corner and you are in the 1920’s, the Inn is a stroll through time.

When staying at the Gratz Park Inn, you must allow yourself time to explore and enjoy all the Inn has to offer.  Enjoy the many works of art as you talk to the well informed staff.  Go to the library and sit in a leather chair, sipping a cup of coffee while  scanning a wonderful selection of books.  Walk outside to the courtyard and enjoy the beauty of nature.  The one thing each guest should do is to visit The Distilled.  The Distilled is a restaurant and bourbon bar located in the Gratz Park.  You will be amazed at the selection of bourbons available to you.

All rooms at the Gratz Park are different, with their own decorations and style.  Rooms at the Inn are furnished with 19th century antique reproductions, mahogany furniture and interesting artwork. The only thing the rooms have in common are the modern comforts of a nice bathroom, cable TV, and internet access.  If you can’t get a reservation at the Gratz Park Inn stop by anyway for a visit to the Distilled.

 

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After checking into our room we walked down the street past the old John Hunt Morgan house and near the Mary Todd home to Rupp Arena.  We had good seats at mid court, where we enjoyed watching the University of Kentucky Wildcats as they ended their season undefeated.