There may be cities with a broader mix of diversions and there are, without a doubt, plenty of cities with more charm but speaking as a person who covers a lot of ground in the U.S. I can say with authority that there are precious few cities in America with a better balance than Boston, Massachusetts.

Having been born and raised in an isolated town in central California where our historical claim to fame is the first sub-franchised McDonald’s, what immediately struck me on my first trip to Boston was how difficult it is to walk through some parts of the city without tripping over a piece of architecture somehow directly related to the birth of the nation. You can literally stumble out of The Green Dragon Tavern (also known as the “Headquarters of the Revolution”), steady yourself on Paul Revere’s house and totter past the Old North Church (where two lanterns were hung to inform Charlestown the British were coming by sea) to make your way to the oldest continually operating restaurant in America (The Union Oyster House) for a sobering late night snack.

Quite a step up from the bronze plaque hidden away at the McDonald’s on Blackstone and Shields in Fresno, CA.

Also known as “The Walking City,” Boston feels more like a “town” than a comparably sized metropolis. Between the surprising density and the unparalleled public transportation system it is not only convenient but often preferable to explore the city without personal transportation. Granted, my definition of “walking distance” is slightly skewed from most people’s reasonable standards but for the most part, if you’re not within walking distance from your next destination then you are at the very least within walking distance of a “T” stop which will get you within blocks of where you’re headed.

The transit system is so ubiquitous that it provides the perfect setting to spark conversations with the locals. It would not be unusual for an outgoing traveler to end up playing pub trivia one evening with a group of locals met in passing aboard the subway.

I account a great deal of the general friendliness to the huge student population, which year after year, brings in “new locals” eager to make connections. As a stranger wandering into the city for the first time just over a year ago it was still only a matter of hours before I was in the midst of a personal tour of the North End, offered a delicious authentic cannoli and claiming VIP tickets to the next Red Sox game…all with locals I would now count amongst some of my best friends.

I’m done.

This is an entry for January’s Your Favorite City - Blog Contest. Brett is the author of the amtrekker blog.

Only in Boston, I ran into this minuteman while we were both waiting for the T on the green line. This is not a great image from photo quality as it is taken from my iPhone, but one of the tricks with travel photography is having a camera ready to take a picture at a moments notice. This is one of the reason that while I love a good SLR camera, the best camera is the one you have with you and the one you can get out in time.

Not every park in the United States national park system is as large as the grand canyon. This unassuming house outside of Boston is the original Kennedy compound and in this house future president Kennedy was born. The house takes less than a half hour to tour. And in another half hour for the film that they show about Kennedy and you can easily add a visit to this park to a day in Boston.

John F. Kennedy NHS preserves the birthplace of America’s 35th president. In 1967, the president’s mother returned here, where Kennedy spent his boyhood, and restored the house to her recollection of its 1917 appearance. Each year, thousands of visitors join NPS staff to share Mrs. Kennedy’s memories in a tour of the house and neighborhood that, in her words, hold “many happy memories.”

It might not make sense to you (it does not to me) that when it seems like the U.S. economy is melting down the dollar is getting stronger but that is just what has been happening. Since mid-Summer the dollar has risen against many other currencies including the British pond and the Euro.

Fans of the mouse can give themselves a birthday present in 2009 by getting free admission to one of the Disney parks.

Free Disney Admission on your Birthday

Start your birthday off right with the most magical birthday present of all: free admission on your birthday during 2009 to one of the Theme Parks of Walt Disney World&reg or Disneyland® Resort.

A 750 Mile Taxi Ride for a Beer

The 2008 Oktoberfest in Munich finished up over the weekend, and one English man was extremely glad to be there. We’re thinking he needs a few travel tips because to get to Munich from Portsmouth, England, he decided to catch a taxi.

To be fair, he did try to catch a plane first but missed his flight. Not wanting to miss the beer (and his buddy’s buck’s night), he persuaded a local cab driver to get him all the way to Munich for a fare of £1,700 (almost $3,000). And he paid in cash.

After flight delay, man accused of spraying powder in plane

A man whose original flight was delayed seven hours is facing disorderly conduct charges today because he allegedly sprayed fellow passengers with foot powder after landing in Boston.

Young people are very knowlegable about the internet right? So why is it that a new survey in England found young men were the least likely group to book their travel online?

Travel agents seem the safest bets

Contrary to expectations, 16- to 24-year-olds are more likely to book a holiday through a travel agent than any other age group, according to Abta’s 2008 British Holiday Survey.

Mexico tourism boom kills coral quicker than climate change

Dainty blue fish still dart around coral shaped like antlers near the Mexican resort of Cancun, but pollution is threatening one of the world’s largest reefs. Parts of the reef, nestled in turquoise waters, have died, and algae – which feed on sewage residues flowing out of the fast-growing hotels in the tourist city – has taken over.

Other news items:

Las Vegas has dog-friendly hotels? You bet
The Economy is Falling Apart, Should I Travel?
TSA proposes screening private jet passengers