Boston Recap

I spent all week (M-F) in Boston for work and was supposed to be away this weekend, but rainy weather meant staying home made more sense. Which makes me happy, as the stupid cold I've picked up also makes a weekend with no travel a much better idea than my original plans.

But, back to Boston.

Downtown in the distance, from
 the public gardens. 

This was my fifth time visiting and I definitely like it more and more with each visit. It's a tricky city to navigate - lots of curvy streets and no grid system like NYC or DC, but there's lots to see and do, yummy food to eat and it's a very walkable city.

I didn't have much time for exploring, I was there for back to back conferences for work, but I did manage to work some fun into my week. Here are the highlights:

1. Friends. My former work bestie lives in Boston now and I got to see her twice this week! Sometimes work friends just stay work friends and other times they become real friends who you love having in your life, even after your day to day connection of shared work drama has faded. That's the case here and I hate that the times we get to spend together are so few and far between.

2.Food. Boston is a very good food city! From the dozens of Italian restaurants in the North End, to seafood options galore, to the food truck scene, I really didn't go wrong with any meal I had. Within hours of landing in the city I went to Parish Cafe, a yummy restaurant whose Mac and Cheese I've been thinking of since I left there last, over a year ago. I love that they serve it in half portions so you can indulge without the guilt. Other culinary highlights on my trip included dinner at Limoncello, cannolis from Mike's Pastry and a yummy grilled cheese lunch from Roxy's Grilled Cheese Truck.

Boston Cream Pie = YUM

2.5 Food History. The hotel where I started my week was the Omni Parker House, originators of the Boston Cream Pie, which meant indulging in a piece was an absolute requirement. Early in my stay I noticed they sold them in their little gift/coffee shop off the lobby
, but the evening I wanted one they were sold out. I had just come from the fitness center and didn't think sitting down in their nice restaurant in my sweaty attire was a good option so... room service dessert it was! It was just as tasty as it looked!

Lily Winters, Zombie Tour
Guide Extraordinaire 

3. History. Obviously Boston has a lot to offer on the history front. On my last visit to the city I walked the Freedom Trail and got quite the refresher on Revolutionary history. This time around my history lesson came in the form of a super campy ghost tour. My colleagues did the research and made the arrangements and I just agreed to go along, thinking it was a walking tour. I also thought it would be like ghost tours I had been on in other cities.

It wasn't. On either front. We rode around town on a Trolley, hopping off at two graveyards to learn more from our Bristish, Zombie tour guide who liked to tell pop culture inspired jokes and scream. A lot. It wasn't bad, just wasn't what I was expecting.

So there you have it, the highlights of my week, minus the work related highlights, of which there was actually a fair number as well. All in all a trip very well worth taking!