Yesterday I had the fantastic pleasure of joining my dear friends in Boston for a day on the town. Years ago, Kristal Chamberlain (now Sullivan) and I created bucket lists- crazy, wonderful things we wanted to accomplish in this life. Of course, my list was outrageous and awesome, full of less than average tasks I want to accomplish before I kick the proverbial bucket. The task I'd had in mind while I was in the East was to throw a tea bag into Boston Harbor. So, after scheduling a weekend where I could possibly escape, I hit the road and drove my hiney to Boston.
Kristal and Jonathan were the perfect hosts! We drove into Boston- with a shout out to Fenway park, of course, and parked. We walked through the city down to the harbor as dusk began to fall. We passed all the fancy yachts, upscale restaurants and tourist attractions, snuck through a gate and walked onto the docks to the outermost tip of the harbor. Then, Kristal pulled out the goods from her trenchcoat ( ok, so it was her adorable pea coat, but it's almost a trench ;) haha ) and we threw the bags into the harbor as we screamed "CURSE YOU, ENGLISH SCUM!!!" It was pretty much incredible!
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| Our lovely sentiments lovingly written to our friends |
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| Left to Right: Kristal, Jonathan and I'm the crazy one with the axe whooping in excitement |
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I left the harbor practically skipping, ducked in the Boston Harbor hotel to use the restroom- definitely noteworthy- absolutely beautiful, complete with perfume, couches, fine linens, everything! and then we headed to the north end for dinner. We walked through the outskirts of Faneuil Hall Square in the middle of the street market ( so so cool! I haven't ever had anyone scream 'FRESH FISH!!! HALF PRICE! Dates! Figs! BLUEBERRRIEES!) then cut into a nearby alley to what soon became bustling Little Italy.
The street was be-speckled with adorable Italian eateries and restaurants nestled inside gracefully aged buildings. We found one whose prices were reasonable and stepped inside. Italian Christmas music played over head while wreaths and garland strung with balls of blue and gold surrounded by twinkling white lights made it seem like we were in a villa in Tuscany. We were escorted to a small table at the rear, nearest the bustling kitchen. Our waiter, an Italian-American man, took our coats, brought us hot Italian rolls and let us look over the incredible menu. There were so many mouthwatering choices! I couldn't choose! Our waiter came back again and asked if we were ready to order. I asked him what his suggestion would be. He quickly replied "Honey, everyting's good heeah. I've been in the restaurant business for 20 yeahs. I know what I want and oodah it right away. What ah you feeling? a nice marinara? you wanna wine based sauce? cream?"
"Probably not cream. How's this? "
I pointed to an item, he took my menu and said, 'Sweetheart, you won't be disappointed.'
He brought me out some beautiful chicken, cooked in a white wine sauce, filled with prosciutto and mozzarella, served with steamed broccoli and roasted potatoes and herbs, with a heaping side of ziti pasta with homemade marinara.
I took a bite and thought I'd died and gone to heaven. He walked back out and asked how I liked the food. "THIS...is incredible, I could KISS YOU!" He laughed, blushed and said he was glad I liked it. We finished eating, put our food in boxes and said goodbye to our waiter, who pulled me aside and said "Thanks for comin in tonight, honey. You made my night. "
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| Lines out the door! |
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| Holy Cannoli! |
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| Beauty in a box |
We walked back into the cool night air and proceeded to Mike's Pastries, a bustling hot spot known far and wide for its giant cannolies. On the way, Kristal and I were both hit on by a man dressed as Benjamin Franklin-no joke. It was hilarious! Definitely something to check off my bucket list. Anyway, back to Mike's. There were wall to wall people in the Italian bakery with the line snaking out the door. You handed your cash to the tender, yelled out what kind of pastry you wanted and they wrapped it up in their signature box, pulling string from dispensers from the ceiling! It was AMAZING! After we grabbed our cannolies, we walked back over to Faneuil Hall Square and sat under the 85 ft. Christmas tree and devoured our incredible Italian confections.
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| Ice skating on Frog Pond |
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| ISN'T IT HUGE!? |
Kristal, Jonathan and I made our way over to Frog Pond for ice skating. The ice was crawling with people and it was starting to get late, so we decided to finish the evening at home. They promised to take me there next time I venture back to Boston. We fought traffic, then headed back to the Sullivan's, where we played an intense couple games of Uno and Jonathan made us popcorn on the stove. (Super cool and delicious, btw) After thanking my wonderful hosts, I went back to the car and started trekking home. I input my location in the GPS, and it sent me on an excursion in the dark woods of Massachusetts, far away from civilization. I was suddenly on dark and twisted roads, fog started to set in and spooky trees spread their twisted branches overhead, blocking out any distinguishable light. It was the middle of the night, I was alone, far away from home with a broken piece of technology. As I kept driving deeper down strange roads, I felt like Belle in Beauty in the Beast when she is about to be eaten by wolves.
By a sheer miracle, I managed to get back to Kristal's house. It was freezing, I had to pee like a race horse and she wasn't picking up her phone. I got back in the car, turned off the stupid piece of junk and managed with some luck to find the 9 and a gas station. By the time I got back, it was 3 am. It was interesting being the only one on the road. It was really nice, actually. Haha. All in all, it definitely was the one of the very best experiences I've had while being in the east. I can't wait to go back to Boston and to New York, but my work here is complete. I'm grateful for the beauty of adventure and the people I have had the privilege of meeting along the way. Take risks. Love the people around you. Jump and do the unexpected. Enjoy the time you're given. You never know when those moments will be over. That's what life is about. Thanks, Boston! I'll be back!
