boston

top: mental institution, middle: mit, paul, trinity, bottom: views of boston from the harbor

in order to celebrate memorial day and to take full advantage of the long weekend, nick, zack and i ventured to boston, massachusetts.

we are becoming quite the travel buddies. so far we have been to salt lake city, las vegas, new york and now boston.

quite graciously my beautiful and talented friend rhianna helped find us a place to crash as well as gave us a lowdown on the city.

saturday morning we woke up early and got on the 7 am chinatown bus to boston. all the bolt bus tickets were sold out so we took a chance with lucky star. and honestly, i think all the haters of chinatown buses, don't know what they are talking about. the seats were totally more comfortable.

we arrived in boston at 11 an were ready to hit the ground running. we were first shocked at how quite it was. then, we were surprised at how short the buildings were. and then we feel in love with how clean the streets were and how good the air smelt.

we got some lunch with rhianna and some friends and then decided to take a chance on the trolley tour. the trolley tour was great, we were hesitant joining in with the slew of tourists, but it helped us get a feel for what all there was to see and do in the city. i would definately recommend it for anyone planning a trip to boston. our tickets were good for two days and came with a free harbor cruise.

after taking the full tour on the trolley. we took a stroll down newbury street and window shopped. we loved popping our heads into bang and olufsen, fresh, hotel chocolat, and zara, among others.

hotel chocolat chocolate bar, fresh oval soap, zara may lookbook, bang and olufsen speakers

unknowingly though, we turned a corner and stumbled upon the boston public library, i.m pei's hancock tower and henry hobson richardson's trinity church. the architecture and history in boston was astounding. i always love chatting with zack about architecture. so of course we just sat on the steps of the library and tried to sort out of crazy intricacies of the design of the trinity church.

for dinner we decided, we needed some fresh seafood. but i am sorry to say that we were sorely disappointed. if in boston, do not go to salty dog. but the restaurant was in faneuil marketplace, so it was nice to walk around afterwards.

on sunday, we woke up and poked around mit campus and then headed over to the open air farmers market and vintage flea. we had fun sifting through the buried treasures and enjoyed the free samples too.

afterwards, we went back to faneuil marketplace to see the street performer festival, but man it was hot, it was almost unenjoyable for me. so we got on our harbor cruise. and it was beautiful. the wind felt wonderful and the views of the city were amazing. when we got off, we headed to the old north end church, which just so happens is where paul revere hung the lanterns.

after that, we had one more piece of architecture we were anxious to see. it was the mental hospital. call us crazy. during construction, the funds ran low, so several of the staircases lead nowhere. perhaps this only adds to the confusion in this place. but we trespassed a bit to take all the picture we please. the building is a really great piece of brutalist architecture. you would have thought zack was in a candy store by the smile on his face.

that night, we made our way to harvard square to go see rhianna perform. i remember the first time i heard rhianna sing and play the guitar i was stunned. she has an amazing voice. and i feel so cool that i have a friend as awesome as her. she is releasing her new cd this upcoming weekend! i am excited.

after the show we were starving so, we walked next door to border cafe. after a disappointment the night before we were really hoping for a good meal. and this place delivered. they offered canjun and tex mex. so i ordered the blackened catfish fajitas. the fish was seasoned wonderfully and came topped with mango salsa. yummy. we got much more food, that was a million times, for much less money than we had the night before. i give it a 4.3/5

and on that high note, it was time for us to venture back to the bus stop.

trinity church