I think of this past Labor Day weekend as the 'not afraid to be a tourist in your own town' weekend. Living just steps from the Bunker Hill Monument and walking over a good part of the Freedom Trail every day make it nearly impossible to avoid joining the map and guidebook-clutching visitors. But until Sunday they had seen sites I'd walked past many times but never bothered to visit. In the North End, we finally stopped in at the Paul Revere House on North Street, at the Bulfinch-designed St. Stephens Church on Hanover Street, and then walked through the mall, past the statue of Paul Revere, to see the interior of Old North Church. Besides these well-known tourist stops, just up the block a bit from the Paul Revere House, we admired the Mariners' House from top to bottom . It's been a refuge for seafarers and their families since 1847, and is still an active inn for those who can show proof of maritime service. Everywhere we went there were throngs of people, walking into Quincy Market, looking down from the balcony, and even at our favorite Cafe Graffiti. But the view out to the harbor was still peaceful and relaxing.
