Orlando City faces off against New England Revolution for the second time this month, but this time they will be the away team. But since the Revs plays in Foxborough, population: less than 20,000, do yourself a favor and make the 22 mile trek to Bean town for the remainder of your trip because it’ll be wicked awesome.
The Venue
Gillette Stadium may be known for housing the New England Patriots, but this is also the home of the Revolution. With a capacity of 68,756 Gillette has hosted a number of high-profile matches including: CONCACAF Gold Cups, Men’s and Women’s national team games and international club friendlies.
The Revs have three supporters groups: The Midnight Riders, The Rebellion and La Barra and they all sit in what is known as ‘The Fort’ aka sections 141-143.
Directions from Boston:
Interstate 93 South (S.E. Expressway) to Interstate 95 South; Take Interstate 95 South to Exit 9 (Wrentham) onto Route 1 South. Follow Route 1 South approximately 3 miles to Gillette Stadium (on the left).
Sights to See
Freedom Trail
You have to plan on visiting at least some of the same sites you would if you were chaperoning an 8th-grade civics class. You are, after all, in Boston, the City on the Hill, the Cradle of Liberty, and so on and so forth, thus there's no point or pride in avoiding historic landmarks. The Freedom Trail is a 2.5-mile stretch hosting 16 sites pertaining to the Revolutionary War. You could take a costumed guided tour, or more appealingly, download a map and follow your own itinerary.
Fenway Park
The New York Yankees will be in town to play the Boston Red Sox. That’s all I need to say about that.
Samuel Adams Brewery
You’ll no doubt learn about Samuel Adams and the role he played in the American Revolution during your visit to MA. Of course, you should also know he was a brewer, and his namesake brewery put American craft brewing on the map in the 1980’s. When you visit the Samuel Adams Brewery, you literally sample a taste of history. Let’s face it, how many opportunities (outside of college) do you get to learn about history and drink beer at the same time?
Bars and Restaurants
Legal Sea Foods
Chicken soup might be good for the soul, but in Boston it’s all about clam chowder. Not that red garbage, which is so undignified there’s no need to even name it. With plenty of littleneck clams, potatoes, onions, and salt pork flavor-melding in clam broth, fish stock and light cream, Legal’s much-celebrated version is everything that everyone imagines New England clam chowder to be.
Drink
This place has no cocktail menu, which means you’re engaging with the learned bartenders who coax you through the mixology process (favorite spirit? Bubbles? sweet or sour?) to come up with a customized cocktail you could have never conceived at home. You may have to wait a bit, but the space is alluring and the ice-chipping process is mesmerizing: all the drinks come with freshly chipped ice that the bartenders crack off using ice picks.
The Silhouette
Much like Nicholas Cage, this hole-in-the-wall has been around since 1964. Home to an assortment of well-used arcade games, a pool table, darts and most importantly, free popcorn. The Silhouette has some of the cheapest pitchers around and topflight people watching, hence the popcorn.
