Beantown...

Elena and I woke up early, and we headed back to Cambridge for brunch. We ended up at Grafton Street across from Cambridge. It was a very cool place with a very chill vibe. They had a diverse menu and the portions were HUGE.

From there, we headed back toward Kendall Square and we wandered around the MIT campus. The stark difference between the traditional buildings and the more modern ones was fascinating. I cannot imagine getting much work done though, the view of the river was incredible. I could just sit there and watch the world go by all day long. Focusing on school would be impossible.

I got to the airport at 2:30, and I tried to go standby on the 2:50 flight. The standby list was 38 people deep. My flight was oversold, and I volunteered to give up my seat for a $300 voucher and an aisle seat on a flight an hour later. BIG mistake. We loaded, pushed back from the gate on time, and then they announced we would be sitting on the tarmac. We sat for 3.5 hours, and I am currently on route. There are over two hours left on this flight, so instead of getting home at 8:45, I am now getting home at 11:30. Sucks.

Beantown...

Saturday morning, we sleep in, but I am still awake before everyone. Of course. I'm showered dressed and ready to go.

We end up at lunch at a bagel place (Finagle a Bagle) across from the park which is awkward again. (I do the fruit things again, add a muffin, and drink some OJ. Awesome.)

We end up heading out to Cambridge from there. We ended up losing the boys at Harvard. Period. No idea. They just walked off while we were photographing campus. Elena and I wandered Harvard for a long time, looking for the law school, so I could take my Legally Blonde picture. We didn't find it.

We went down to Kendall Square and sat on the shore and watched the world go by... we headed back to the hotel and got ready for our gondola ride.

The gondola ride is the BEST kept secret in Boston. I looked FOREVER to find something really special... and that was it. The company uses true Venetian gondolas... and the package I booked included an accordion player who played some of my favourites like Moon River, strawberries, chocolates, cheese, and crackers... and of course, it was at sunset. We were told to take our shoes off, put our feet up, and enjoy the trip. It was SO relaxing. Absolutely incredible. Anyone going to Boston MUST do this.

Afterward, we photographed the night lights of Boston, walked along the Esplanade, and ended up having dinner in the North End at a fabulous little Italian restaurant called Piccolo Venezia. The North End made me really homesick for Italy. Elena also studied in Italy, so we love all things Italian.

We ended up pub hopping until 2:00, when we headed back to the hotel.

Beantown...

I woke up at 8:00 this morning. Everyone was passed out, and I was ready to GO! I showered, did my hair, put on the sweet little Tahari dress I bought specifically for the trip, did make up, etc... and NOBODY was moving! I left a note saying I was out exploring Boston and for them to call me when they got up. I sent Elena and Matt text messages... and headed to the JFK Presidential Library, which was only one stop up from our hotel. I am fascinated by Jackie. She is my idol. I am also fascinated by JFK's presidency and all he dealt with during a short term. I like his call to service.


I spent awhile photographing it and perusing the exhibits, when I get a text message from Elena around noon saying they are ready. I head back to the hotel, and we decided to do seafood for lunch. I find a place that was recommended by Horace, The Union Oyster House, and off we go.

Food seemed alright to me, though I feel as if most everyone was pretty lackadaisical about it. I had planned that we would do Freedom Trail and lunch in the North End, but they had visited a lot of the Freedom Trail before I arrived the previous day... so I was totally thrown. We ended up wandering downtown... photographing buildings, monuments, etc... and then we decided to explore the Boston Common. I even went wading in the Frog Pond. Don't judge me. Elena has photographic evidence of me wading in the Frog Pond, carrying my shoes, in a simply darling white dress.

We decide to head down to the Sam Adams Brewery tour, which would have a free shuttle to Fenwey for the game. Tour is sold out. Another one of my great ideas goes up in smoke. I'm bummed, but they let us go to the beer garden and try a few of their unreleased ales. Not at all the same... but... what can you do?


We take the subway back to Fenway, arrive shortly after the gates open, and the guys drag us into a sports bar for a pre-game beer. We head over towards the park, but Elena gets distracted by needing to buy a Sox sweater. I FOUND A YANKEES HAT... and YES, I totally rocked that hat with my sweet, little, white dress to the game.

I start photographing the game and I get over it. Big Papi has come back from the Sox, so it promises to be an exciting game. I finally find some common baseball ground with Elena by mentioning how HOT Derek Jeter is... so we talk Jeter and A-Rod. The Yankees win... and the boys are dragging us off to a sports bar.

We end up getting separated in the crowds leaving Fenway. Elena and I are following Matt and Chase, and suddenly, we get down to a corner and they are NOWHERE to be found. We stand there for 15-20 minutes, trying to call them. No answer. I send Matt a text, and he finally texts me back that they are at Game On, the same bar we were at earlier. We get over there and there's a huge line. We wait 20 minutes, then we spend another 15 trying to find the guys. Game On is a HUGE sports bar, with lots of music, a small dance floor, and huge Red Sox crowds. It's as close to the game as you can get without tickets. Luckily, we had both. :)

Bar closes at 2. We consider after hours clubs, but end up just grabbing a cab back to the hotel. Elena finds a 24 hour place to order some snacks from and the boys are sound asleep by the time it gets there (15 minutes).

Beantown...

Airline: American Airlines
Hotel: Courtyard by Marriott -- South Boston

I should preface this entry by saying that Boston is a perfectly lovely city.... for someone else. To me, Boston felt like another big city. There are things about it that are absolutely beautiful and amazing, but it's definitely not one of my favourite places I've ever been. Great city, but not my favourite. That's all. The more I travel, the more I try to figure out what my cities are.

So. To the meat of it all.

This morning, I went to the doctor, and they were able to get me in really early, so I was out of there by 10:00 and headed straight for the airport. I went standby on the 11:35 flight, since the 12:50 flight was already delayed an hour. I made the flight, but no upgrade. I was in the window seat though. It was a LONG flight. I had to store my bag in the front of the plane, so I couldn't even get up to get my trusty laptop. Luckily, I had my iPod. I landed and headed straight for the hotel shuttle.

I was a little hesitant, because it was "out of the action", but there was nothing disappointing about this Courtyard. The location was great -- the Andrew T-stop was a 5 minute walk away, making it easy to get into the city and transfer to the various lines. The hotel grounds were very well maintained and the rooms were decently sized.

We had one problem with the air conditioner the first night (it wasn't working), but I asked the front desk to send an engineer up to look into it the next morning, and by the time we returned Friday night, the room was completely cool and we didn't have any problems for the rest of the stay.

ALL the staff was very friendly. The front desk staff even remembered my name when I would come down to the lobby. That's near impossible to find these days. They were helpful with maps, finding late night delivery dining, small inconveniences, etc. You name it, they can handle it, and with a smile!

The hotel offers a free shuttle to the airport every half hour on the hour. This was a great ammenity and had a lot to do with my decision to stay at this property.

When I called Elena, they were already at Cheers, so I dropped my bags off, slipped into a hot little black dress and my stilettos, grabbed my raincoat and umbrella and headed to the T. (No cabs necessary for this city girl!) Yeah. Well. I'm walking to the T, and a car drives by and totally splashes me, head to toe. Poor Italian shoes.

I make it to the T, grab a pass, and connect with no problem. When I emerge from the Arlington station, it is POURING. Like torrential rains. I had to cross Boston Common in stilettos IN THE RAIN. My plans of arriving at the bar and looking effortlessly stunning and beautiful (even if I smelled like airplane) were dashed. I looked like a drowned rat.

We had a couple drinks at Cheers, which is a lot smaller than it looks on the old television show. It wasn't as busy as I thought it would be. The drinks were reasonably prices for a tourist joint, too.

Around 7:00, we decided it was time to grab some dinner. It was STILL pouring, so we decide to grab a cab. I step out and hail one immediately. We decided to go to Quincy Market and let everyone fend for themselves.

After dinner, it was *still* raining... so we found a pub close by, Sissy K's. It was pretty slow when we first arrived, but things picked up rapidly. There was a lot of awkward standing around until Shakira's Hips Don't Lie came on and Elena and I headed to the dance floor. From there, we were able to drag the guys out onto the dance floor... which was fabulous. After dancing for awhile, we finally decided to settle down into a booth downstairs for a little while and watch fratastic boys do karaoke, which was at least entertaining....

We decided to head home around 1:00, and the rain had finally stopped.