It feels a little weird not writing about a weekend spent exploring a foreign country, but ever since I’ve been back from Barcelona I’ve had the travel bug. Planning this little getaway to Boston was just what I needed and gave me a little something extra to look forward to.
I had never been to Boston before but Kevin and I were super excited to see some of the historical aspects, find the perfect cup of clam chowder, and spend the weekend with my cousin Tyler. He couldn’t have been a better host and I loved getting to know the town that he calls home.
Kevin and I drove right to Harvard Square to walk around and have an early dinner on Friday. We walked through Harvard’s bookstore, a few little boutiques, and shared a plate of nachos and some margaritas at Felipe’s Mexican Taqueria. This was a great spot for a quick bite and a few happy hour drinks. Before heading over to Tyler’s house and to get out of the cold, we stopped at Milk Bar for a warm Cornflake Chocolate Chip Marshmallow cookie. Harvard’s campus was charming and I was happily surprised by all of the surrounding quaint coffee shops, eclectic bars, and lively restaurants.
After arriving at Tyler’s house in Somerville, about 15 minutes outside of the city, we started getting ready for our first night out. We tagged along with a few of Tyler’s friends to Lincoln Tavern in South Boston. One thing that I can’t seem to get behind is standing in bar lines in Boston’s frigid weather. However, it was worth the wait and we ended up enjoying our night, and perhaps one too many espresso martinis.
The next day, I woke up to the smell of sausage and eggs on the stove. Tyler made us some pretty awesome breakfast sandwiches before we headed out to The Greatest Bar, a recognized Penn State bar, to watch the Nittany Lions play Ohio State. This bar is 4 floors high and packed on Penn State’s game days. As much fun as our morning was, we were all left a little heartbroken when the game ended in a devastating loss.
After watching the game, Kevin and I broke away to do some sightseeing. We went to Quincy Market, a favorite tourist attraction. Here, we ate a late lunch splitting a lobster roll and a bread bowl spilling over with clam chowder. We walked through all of the stores and got to see the market decorated for the holidays.
Later that night, we went to Cinquecento Roman Trattoria, a restaurant that came highly recommended by one of our friends at Penn State. This place did not disappoint. We started out with steamed mussels in a spicy basil broth, which ended up being one of our favorite bites of the meal and a side dish of creamy polenta with gorgonzola cheese. Kevin ordered tagliatelle all bolognese and I ordered Bucatini Carbonara, but by the time dinner had arrived we were stuffed. I highly recommend this restaurant. The service was fantastic and it was the perfect spot for a romantic dinner. I had the hardest time making up my mind; everything on the menu made my mouth water. The North End is known as Boston’s Little Italy and is packed with authentic Italian restaurants.
The next day, we woke up early and ate our pasta leftovers. Although it was raining pretty hard, we were determined to see more of Boston. Kevin and I checked in to the Hilton Back Bay hotel on Sunday morning. After settling in, we went to Paul Revere’s House and walked a little bit of the Freedom Trail.
We kept walking in the rain until stumbling upon Boston Public Market. I really liked this spot; the local vendors and unique restaurants were a nice treat. For lunch, we split a Reuben sandwich from Benton Pastrami Company and I picked up a few popovers, one of my favorite sweet treats from The Popover Lady. There were so many good options. If you go, check out Bon Me, Crescent Ridge, Inna’s Kitchen, Noodle Lab or Union Square Donuts; everything looked amazing! After we went to the market, we stopped in to listen to some live music and watch the Eagles game at the Bell-in-Hand Tavern, which claims to be the oldest tavern in the country opening in 1793.
After watching the Eagles, we continued walking back towards Quincy Market. We stepped into The Black Rose, a popular Irish pub, just to get out of the rain while we waited for our Uber, but Kevin and his Guinness sweater caught the attention of a group of guys from Cork, Ireland. We ended up all sitting together and sharing a round of Guinness. After a full day of walking around and eating our body weight in food, we got back to the hotel and watched the Harry Potter marathon.
I really loved the location of our hotel in Back Bay. We were about a two-minute walk from Newbury Street, an avenue lined with great shopping and restaurants. On Monday morning, the weather was beautiful and we made our way down Newbury before having our last meal at Sonsie, a little bistro with a unique menu. We split a french onion and oxtail soup, a steak and cheese sandwich, and fig and prosciutto pizza. On our way out of the city, we drove right past the famous Fenway Park, the perfect way to close out our tour of Boston.
I loved this city. Boston really appeals to young people and is packed with college students and recent graduates. The sites and the foods were everything I had hoped for and more, but just getting to spend time with Tyler and Kevin made the weekend really special.
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