Monday, November 2, 2015

Boston Trip Recap!

Greetings and Happy Monday!  Life has been chaotic lately with lots of travel so I am finally getting around to posting about our Boston trip!  The craziness doesn't seem to be subsiding anytime soon as I fly to Mississippi today for some client meetings.  But I'll get to cross another state off the list of states I've visited - bringing the total to 3 over the past 2 weeks (Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Mississippi) bringing the total states visited to 36! 

But back to the subject at hand!  Our trip to Boston was so much fun. It was great to check out a new city!  We flew into Boston on Thursday morning and were picked up by our friend, Matt. His wife, Crystal, had classes at Harvard all day but the 3 of us headed into the city right away to do some exploring. We decided to do a duck boat tour to get a feel for the lay of the land.  Duck boat tours are pretty cheesy, but we thought it was really fun and we learned a ton about the history of the city of Boston!  Plus it was an unseasonably warm day as it was close to 70!

My love and I at the waterfront in Boston

Matt, Phil, and I on the duck boat
On Thursday night we stayed in and hung out with our friends in their apartment.  It was nice to have a low key evening in after a day of travel and exploring.

On Friday morning we headed back into Boston to check out the Freedom Trail. It was much cooler and very windy that day but still a beautiful day for exploring. I love how easy the city has made it to follow the freedom trail. There is a trail of bricks that weaves through the city and shows you the most famous sights.

The park in the Boston Commons area was beautiful!

In front of the Massachusetts State House. The dome is covered with real gold!

The Paul Revere Statue with the Old North Church in the background. The Old North Church is where the lanterns were hung to indicate if the British were coming by land or sea.
We worked up quite an appetite with all of that walking and enjoyed a late lunch in the North End, which is the Italian area of the city. This was definitely my favorite area of Boston. The streets were lined with Italian restaurants. We chose a place called La Famiglia Giorgio's that had an extensive gluten free menu as both Matt and I have a gluten intolerance. I had the most amazing gluten free pasta which was made with fresh pasta.  The portion was massive - I got 2.5 meals out of it!

Not pictured is the Italian sausages I had on the side
On Friday afternoon, Crystal had to go to Harvard for a group meeting so we went over there with her so we could see the Harvard campus. I failed to take any pictures, though!  That evening we stayed in and were treated to a delicious meal of grilled swordfish, squash and brussel sprouts. Phil and I get so burned out on eating out so we really appreciated the fact that we only ate one meal out each day during this trip.

On Saturday, Crystal had a conference to attend at Harvard, so the 3 of us hit the road and headed up to Salem.  We met up with Matt's coworker for lunch and her and her husband gave us a walking tour of the city.  I did not take many pictures in Salem but it was a very charming little town. It was swarmed with people, though, as Halloween is huge in this city.  I would like to go back again some day when it's less crowded but I am glad we got to check it out. I thought the memorial to the women who were hanged during 1692 witch trials was really interesting.  I want to read more about that time and luckily a new book on that period was released this week that's getting great reviews so I plan to check that out. 

At the water front in Salem
After saying goodbye to Matt's coworker, we headed further up the coast to the Rockport area to check out Halibut Point State Park. We only saw one other group of people while we were there so almost had the place to ourselves. It was so beautiful and peaceful.

Phil and I in front of the quarry

The fall colors provided a beautiful contrast!

My favorite photo of the day!  There is no filter on this photo!
On Saturday evening we had another low key evening in. We had leftovers and played a couple of games of Wits and Wagers, which is a favored game in our group of friends. Phil came down with a cold on Friday morning so these low key evenings in were good for him as he was really not feeling well.

On Sunday morning, we headed to Kelly's area of the city to meet up for Brunch.  It was so great to see Kelly and Eric and to meet their adorable son Max!  It had been over 3 years since we had seen each other which really boggles my mind!  I really hope we don't go 3 more years before we see each other again.  If only teleportation existed!

URL turned IRL friends!

I headed out that afternoon as I had to fly to New Jersey for work. I was sad to see the weekend come to an end!  We really miss our friends and hope that they will find their way back to Minnesota when Crystal finishes her program at Harvard.  I would love to return to this area of the country again, though, as I'd like to visit Cape Cod and I'd love to do a road trip from Boston to Maine and stop along the way at all the charming seaside towns!

Have you been to Boston?  When you travel, do you like to eat all of your meals out or do you prefer to have the option to eat in 1-2 meals a day?  Due to my sensitive stomach and gluten intolerance, I really prefer to limit meals out to once/day if possible!

16 comments:

Gracie said...

I love Boston - the history, the architecture, the food - it's one of my favorite cities. I agree with you that it's nice to have the option to eat in on vacation. It seems like some trips all we did was hunt for the next meal!

Charis Faith said...

I love Boston so much!!! It's crazy to me that it's been 11 years since I visited! My friend Margaret was in grad school at Harvard and I went up to see her the last weekend in October 2004. I got really lucky that the time changed that weekend because otherwise I totally would have missed my flight home!

We ate so much yummy food!!! I would love to go back and visit again!

Marlys said...

I have never been to Boston so really enjoyed the recap! You are so fortunate to be able to visit all of these states and take in the history and sites they behold.

I love eating out but once a day is plenty for me, also! We did enjoy our Saturday evening dining at "Stella's" in Battle Lake, as it is our favorite local establishment. Their Greek Chop Salad is the best I have ever eaten. The close for the season on Nov.21st, so hope to eat at least one more time before we bid adieu!

I hope you have safe travels this week and get the rest you need!

Amber said...

I just requested The Witches at the library yesterday, I can't wait to read it! That's so cool you spent some time in Salem. Sounds like a really fun trip where you got to see some cool new things but also spend lots of time catching up with your friends. I didn't realize that all of your traveling also included three states you've never been to before, that's pretty cool! The fall colours in Boston look so so pretty!

I definitely prefer to make meals at "home" when I travel if at all possible. When we went to Maui we only ate out about once a day and it was so great. Worth the small extra cost of renting a place with a kitchen for sure!

Amber said...

PS: Your post totally makes me miss Kelly!!!!! I can't believe three years went by so fast either. Hope we can all rendezvous together soon. I think a destination race in the Cape Cod area should be in our future :)

Nora said...

Glad you had such a lovely time! I haven't been to Boston but it is definitely on my list of places to go and visit, hopefully soon. Plus, seeing/meeting Kelly would be an added bonus :) My mom spent summers in the Cape Cod area when she was younger so I'd love to visit there, too.

San said...

I simply LOVE Boston (as you know!) and I am so glad you spent such a nice time there exploring and meeting with friends! :)

Jenny said...

Oh wow, Boston looks like a beautiful place! I've never been, but perhaps the opportunity will arise some day. Trying local cuisine is always part of the fun of travelling for me but it's not something I can do for every meal so I always try to pick accommodation that we can cook in or at the very least have cereal, fruits and simple snacks.

Jeanie said...

Boston is one of my favorite cities in the world and I was pleased to see some of my favorites (North End, the Common) in your post along with visits to Salem and Rockport!

I tend to try to eat breakfast "in" and the rest out, but maybe only one major meal a day when I'm on the road. It depends on if I'm traveling solo or with someone. (Rick requires regular meals!) Boston is a great city for eating out, that's for sure! But not inexpensive!

Leigh said...

Sounds like you guys had a great trip! I've never been to Boston, but would love to go one day. So fun that you got to meet up with Kelly too!

Caroline said...

So fun to read about you exploring my city! Sounds like you had a great trip :)

Vanessa Meads said...

I've never been to Boston and would love to go! It is definitely on my list of places to visit.

Stephany said...

Boston is one of those "must-visit" cities on my list. It seems as if you went at the perfect time of year, too. Such beautiful photos!

Kyria @ Travel Spot said...

I am glad you got a chance to visit such a fun city! It was the perfect time of year too, as it can get really hot in the summer and really cold in the winter! My grandmother lives just outside of Boston, so I remember going to the Commons to look at the "Make Way For Ducklings" ducks, reading books at the Buck a Book, and eating clam chowder with her when I visited. Only recently (maybe 8 years ago) I went and did all the tourist things: the duck tour, the Freedom trail, a game at Fenway...it was really fun as well!

When I travel alone, I almost always eat food in. I do like to try the local cuisine, but my wallet and my stomach both like me best if I get some easy to fix meals for the road / the hotel/guesthouse.

Abby said...

Wow! What a beautiful area! Boston is definitely on your "5 year plan"!!!

Glad you had such a great time! That's cool you got to see some of the surrounding areas of Boston, too. Amazing!

I am with you on liking to not eat out as much when vacationing. I'm just not big on eating on in general, because I, too, have quite the sensitive stomach and prefer to know where my food came from!

Jolene - EverydayFoodie said...

What a great trip!! What is Crystal studying at Harvard? I'd love to check out the campus one day :-)

I've never been to Boston, but it's on our list. We usually eat all of our meals out when on vacation.