America's Walking City is indeed a pleasant and likeable place which manages to blend its urban modernistic elements into the background whilst retaining the old-world charm of a small town, with lots of very English buildings and neighbourhoods. It is, after all, New England's most important city and despite the size, there is none of the alienating lost feeling that one gets in big modern cities - kudos to the preservationist efforts of the Bostonians.

One of the best ways to explore Boston's historic landmarks is to do the self-guided 3-mile Freedom Trail. Designated by a red painted line, the Trail starts from Boston Common, America's oldest public park, snaking through downtown, the historic city centre at North End, and crossing the Charles River over to Charleston where the Trail ends at Bunker Hill, the site of the first major battle and first British defeat of the American Revolution.

Well, at least that was what my friend and I set out to do, covering as far as the 1798 Massachusetts State House, with its distinctive gold-leaf dome, at the edge of Boston Common, when we got side-tracked by the beckoning charms of Beacon Hill, the most well-known and affluent

Other places of interest in the area include the Granary Burying Ground which is the final resting place of Paul Revere, John Hancock, Samuel Adam, the woman thought to be Mother Goose, and the victims of the Boston Massacre. Boston had been the first colony to be levied increased taxes by the British government to raise revenue for its impoverished coffers. This led to angry protests, culminating on 5th March 1770 when five American colonists were shot by English soldiers. Many taxes were repealed thereafter but not on tea. Resistance sentiments brewed again, this time at the Old South

For those with a love of eating, the North End or Boston's "Little Italy", brims with cafés, bakeries, delicatessens and Italian restaurants in its narrow winding streets. Notable stops on the Freedom Trail here are the 1680 Paul Revere House and the 1723 Old North Church, the

Boston was originally made up of three prominent hills, out of which only Beacon Hill remains standing. The other two hills were cut down and used as landfill. Today, the landfill area known as Back Bay has flourished into a prestigious neighbourhood with expensive houses, fashionable shops, first-class eateries and acclaimed landmarks, like the neo-Romanesque Trinity Church and the I.M. Pei mirror-facade John Hancock Tower at Copley Square. Happily, our hostel was located in this affable area with the lovely Back Bay Fens just nearby. From there, it was but a stroll away from the Institute of Contemporary Art, which has a good Impressionist collection.

This, being the centre of Puritan culture in the New World and the hotbed of its intelligentsia, we had to take a trip across the Charles River (easy enough via the T, the tourist-friendly Boston subway) to Cambridge - the home of both Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, no less.

Impressive college credentials aside, the place is a buzzing university hub, with the whole works of scholastic college buildings, fine statues, mega bookstores, cheap food joints, funky bars, cafés , restaurants, shops and wannabe performers, and teeming with students, professors and tourists alike, enjoying the easy atmosphere. Suffice to say, we loved the place, which reminded us of the days when we were students and filled us with envy for those who still are. Well, at least we don't have to take exams anymore and they do...

So much for sour grapes. It was actually a very picturesque place, especially with the fall colours decorating the grounds and the vine-covered buildings. Harvard Square turned out to be a triangle, branching out into the bustling streets of activity and crowds. We had yummy filling sandwiches and cool lemonade in a café with a pretty courtyard and soaked in the lively mood. A walk into the Harvard campus brought back further memories of old, not that I ever schooled there. But the seeds of idealism and rebellion are a common thread in institutions of learning and it is this feeling of abandon and freedom

concord

Inspired by our Harvard sojourn, we decided to venture further into the revolutionary and literary core of the region that is the town of Concord, 45 minutes away from

Stepping out of the cheerfully-painted railway stop into this idyllic rural town, with oak and maple trees lining the pretty avenues and houses, it was almost hard to imagine that this was the site of the beginning of the American Revolution when the command

It took another 20 minutes by foot to reach the Main Street, where the traces of tourism - that is, the usual souvenir shops - became apparent although the conservative air remained. The place retains a sense of self-importance in its history and culture, probably well-deserved given its pivotal roles in the American struggle for freedom and its distinguished list of residents which reads like a "who's who" in the American literary renaissance.

This was the home of Ralph Waldo Emerson, whose stature as writer, thinker, poet and philosopher, drew other intellectuals to Concord. The luminaries who made their abodes here include Henry David Thoreau, Nathaniel Hawthorne and the Alcott family. The

Given the rambling nature of the points of interests in the area, it was most inconvenient for those without wheels, including unfortunately moi, although the leisurely pace of walking did allow me to take in the beautiful cottages and enjoy the resplendent autumn splendour of multi-coloured trees

The Concord Museum is a worthwhile visit with interesting insights into the lives of Emerson and Thoreau, and also houses a good decorative arts collection. I especially liked the unusual collection of grandfather's clocks and antique timepieces.

The visit to this quintessential New England town left me in a contemplative mood as the train pulled out of the railway stop. Although it is now more of a popular tourist trail and

rockport

Our last stop was up north, to the relaxing seaside village of Rockport, again by commuter train from downtown Boston. After all the fascinating, albeit heady, stuff at the city, we figured it would be refreshing to enjoy the coastal views and the salty air for a change.

But first, we had to take a half-hour stroll from the railway station to the bay. It was a lazy afternoon and the weather was hot. However, the shining sun also meant lucid blue skies and a cobalt Atlantic Ocean when we arrived at the centre - a good stimulant which perked us up

Rockport is a vacation spot and there were plenty of holiday-makers, mostly families, merry-making on the beach. For the tourists, the rows of picturesque shophouses,

The avenue was buzzing with people and the ornamental and floral decorations of the buildings added to the revelry. To top it all, there were many enticing eateries. We had a swell time feasting on ice-cream and delicious snacks, and we quite believed

Sadly, time has a tendency to whoosh by, when one is in merriment. Dusk came quickly

For me, there was a poignant sense of closure, since this marked the end of the second half of my US trek. While the West was awesome for the natural wilderness of its national parks, the East is memorable for its historic and distinctive cities. Perhaps I will return yet again. One never knows, for there is so much more in this vast country that I have not seen.