Welcome back to my page! :D
I wanted to write this post to share my experience in Boston with you and to also have this as a keepsake for myself.
Here's a little quick little backstory to Boston and why I went. Both of my parents are retired now. We didn't travel growing up because they were saving and using up all their money on me and my other two siblings. Now that they are retired, they want to travel but don't necessarily have the means to do so.
I am a hardworking adult now with a better paying job and want to thank them for all their love, time and sacrifices spent on us.
This was the second trip I took them on (first was Seattle and Vancouver, but I will get to that on another post). I asked my mom to pick from the following: Hawaii, Boston and Chicago. Hawaii was secretly my vote but she picked Boston.
I did my research on Boston and found that a lot of the tourist parts are historical monuments. I am farthest from being a history buff. Honestly, I am not a big fan. I appreciate history happened and I understand the significance, but I didn't want to feel like I was in class on vacation.
I internally huffed and puffed and was not totally excited about the trip prior to the trip. BUT WHOA. I will be the first to admit when I am wrong or proved wrong. Boston stole my heart.
I really give credit Scott "Milk" from the Duck Tour. In 90 minutes, he presented the history of Boston in an interesting and entertaining way. He was super funny. He actually made me excited to re-learn (and I say re-learn because I am sure I "learned" this in school back in the day) history. Government center was my favorite area. Who would've thought?? Not me. Not in a million years.
On my last day, I had several hours before my flight and even went back to some of the historical sites Scott "Milk" referenced. If history in school was presented the way he delivered it, I probably would've paid more attention. LOL.
MY MEMORABLE TAKEAWAYS:
1. FOOD
Since Boston is by the coast, seafood is the grub to consume. I had oysters, poke, lobster, crab, squid, clam chowder, basically the ocean. It was delicious. I really really recommend Neptune Oyster House. Everything was bomb dot com.
You can find a lobster roll almost anywhere
First time eating at Wagamama which I think originated in the UK
Local beer at Martha's Vineyard - Organic Summer Love
Lobster roll + shrimp scampi burger
Puerto Rican food - mofongo (thumbs down, hella dry)
My dad has to hit up every Chinatown wherever we go
Mike Pastry's - famous for cannolis. I was not a fan.
2. CROSSWALKS
I was definitely not in Los Angeles anymore. In Boston (and NYC that I have experienced), people don't wait for the walking man on the crosswalk to cross the street. If there's no cars, you just go. Or if there are cars, you kinda just go anyway. LOL. You would have gotten yourself runover in Los Angeles if you did that here. You can definitely tell who's a tourist by who waits at the crosswalk.3. EXPENSIVE
It was way crazy to stay in Boston. Yikes yikes yikes. My hotel fees included state tax, city tax and bed tax. Yes, folks. BED.
4. ARCHITECTURE
The architecture is beautiful. I never imagined myself to like old style buildings. Now I understand what people see when they admire that old charm. It also bewilders me that when you stand on a street corner, and look down the road, it always looks like a dead end but it's not. It's a little insane but really cool at the same time. If you stand on the street corner in Los Angeles and look straight ahead, it just looks like the road continues and you can see right through it. All the dead ends were pretty trippy but beautiful.
I just wanted to share a random fun fact for myself so that I remember. There are tunnels in Boston. If there is a red stripe in the tunnel, that means you are passing on/through land. Blue means water. Fun fact! My friend who is from the city over didn't even know that. I was totally spitting random Boston facts to her. I learned so many random, cool, amazing things. Thank you, Scott "Milk" and thank you Boston.
6. MY NEW TOURIST CITY
Hawaii will always be my number one, but Boston is definitely my new favorite city that I've visited. And no no, I'm not saying that just because it was recent. A month before my Boston trip, I took my parents to Seattle which is my least favorite city ever visited.
7. MARTHA'S VINEYARD
This is a beautiful place, but during off-peak season, there was not much to do or see. A lot of the shops and restaurants were closed with signs that said, "We'll be back in May." We totally wasted a day at Martha's. I don't know if I want to even go back during peak season. Things to do there - water sports and golf. I do neither.
8. QUINCY MARKET
There was just so much going on at Quincy Market - shops, eats, sweets, free entertainment. I loved it. That's also where I found the best cannoli.
9. HISTORY HISTORY. SO MUCH HISTORY
Harvard
M.I.T.
Site of Boston Massacre
Fun fact: The massacre actually occurred on the intersection but the monument was moved about 50 feet onto the sidewalk because tourists were disrupting traffic by taking pictures with the plaque
Site of Boston Massacre
Samuel Adams
Gold tea kettle (Boston tea party)
10. DUNKIN REIGNS
This is the only city in the US that I have been to where Starbucks is not king. It was crazy. Instead, there was a Dunkin' Donuts on nearly every street corner. It was wild and actually pretty cool. There were 3 Dunkin' Donuts within 0.3 miles of my hotel (shoutout to the Boxer Boston Hotel). I love donuts so it's amazing. And oddly enough, I never had a donut over there. Just 8 miles outside of Boston is Quincy - the birthplace of Dunkin' Donuts. Next time, I would love to go there.
AHHHH BOSTON! I MISS YOU ALREADY.
I really hope to see you soon <3
<3<3<3
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