Hey guys, today we are going to talk about a little trip I went on with Katelyn, Natalie and Miranda (Katelyn’s friends from Canisius). We headed over to Boston a few weekends ago for a “lifestyle trip” to see if Katelyn would want to move there. This is partially a joke her sisters started but also real in its own way. Kate wants to move closer to Buffalo eventually, but isn’t quite sure when, or where. Taking trips to visit friends in other cities, while also having a fun mini vacay can’t hurt. Except my heart, knowing she will leave me one day. Alright, without further ado, here’s my spiel on Boston.
What a clean, walkable, and lively city. I arrived early in the morning (after taking a red eye) and took the silver line bus from the airport to the third or fourth stop on the line. From there, I walked about 10 minutes to get let into Katelyn’s friend Jess’s apartment. Katelyn got their the night before to hang and catch up with her childhood friend. They let me in and I was able to get some much needed beauty rest. When I finally woke up around nine am, the day was shaping up to be beautiful. We all three walked, luggage in tow, to get bagels from a pop-up spot that started in New York. I believe the name was literally PopUp Bagels. We each got a bagel and then decided to share the special cream cheese, which was a popcorn cream cheese and as we expected, it was plain cream cheese with popcorn in it, and it was not worth getting tbh. The bagels were warm and chewy and delish though, so that was good. Plus the staff was amazing, super friendly and knowledgeable and great vibes inside the establishment.
We then walked a bit more down the pier, perhaps we can call it that, we weren’t on the water but we did walk by the place the boats all take off and the world trade center so I think it was the pier. The sun was shining and the city was alive for the first spring day. We left Jess to head to the DMV, rip girl, and then we went by Boardeax to drop off some cinnamon rolls and a Nonna G loaf to Monisha, my friend Varsha’s oldest sister. Such a cute shop, but it was a bit early for us to get a board, so we will have to go back. Then we saw that Natalie and Miranda had landed, so we all made our way to our Hotel.
We stayed at the Boston Park Plaza Hilton, which was a great location. The girls all connected and we left our bags with the staff since we could not check in until three that afternoon. We then decided it was the best day to stroll around our neighborhood. We walked to get a coffee (I got a lemonade or something of that nature and chugged that shit) and then took a stroll down Newbury street. The sun was shining and we were seeing so many Red Sox fans heading to opening day! We then walked around Boston Common Park and Beacon Hill. We strutted our stuff, truly, before settling down for a lunch at a random spot called Parish Cafe and Bar. In, on?, Beacon Hill we went into a three story book shop that was super cute and I even bought Demon Copperhead to read probably next month. We also popped into a clothing store and the woman working was CHATTY and somehow we found out she trained at another location here in Cherry Creek. So random, but fun to make a connection like that. At lunch, Natalie claimed she had the best salad she’s ever eaten in her life(!) so that was a big win. I also had a good Hugo Spritz, but the sandwich was fine, nothing out of this world.
It was finally time to check in, so we walked back to our hotel and made our way to our room. We had a few hours to do as we pleased. Aka start getting ready, shower, nap, rest, etc. Once ready, it was time to head to the North End for some italian food. We got there early, via uber, and stopped in for a drink at Cafe Roma. It was serendipitous because they had a table near the bar, but after that everyone else had to have a res or wait. This part of town was neat, with cobblestone roads that are on hills, and old school buildings. We then walked to get another drink at a new spot that just opened that weekend, the name escapes me. Then we met Jess at Trattoria Il Panino. A popping spot, but we had a res so all was well. We each got a different pasta, and the truffle rav was honestly the star. My lasagna was also good, and hoenstly all the pastas were good, but that ravioli was the best by far, flavor wise. We got fried courgettes too which were pretty good, and always something I wanted to try but nothing WOW worthy. Finally, we went to a speakeasy under a pastry shop called Modern Pastry Underground. You wait in line outside and some man comes out and lets in X number of people and leads you through the bakery (that is open) to a downstairs bar. When the bouncer saw Katelyn, we said nice to see you again, so now we are sus of her since she claims she’s never been there! It was a place with all kinds of martinis, yet when I asked for a dirty martini they said they didn’t make those. Curious. We stayed there all night and just had a good time talking to people and mixing it up with the new englanders.
Late night! We walked Jess halfway back to her place, and then we ubered back to our hotel. I loved walking around Boston at night. It felt really peaceful in a way. The next morning the girls were feeeeling it. I have still escaped the morning after drinking blues, but one day I know it was catch me with a left hook. We had a lazy full of relaxing and recovering, and then we had to decide what to do. We originally planned to go to a bar near Fenway Park and then head into the Red Sox game! Natalie has been a Sox fan her whole life, so she was the ring leader for this fun event. However, the rain really did put a damper in that plan, but only that we were wary instead of excited. I do think the rain helped us in our recovery journey though, since it didn’t entice us to go out and jump start the day. We debated a museum, but that will have to be something I do the next time I visit Boston. Instead, we got a quick snack/lunch at a pub next door to the hotel. I think it was somehow connected to the hotel? We got a car to the game and on the way it was all but called off, but we continued our ride. We hung out at Game On! For about an hour, that’s when they called the game and rescheduled it for Sunday afternoon, created a double header moment. We hung out a little more at the bar, hoping the 8 songs we put on the touchtunes (jukebox) would come on, until we gave up since it seemed like they were just playing off a set playlist.
It was nearly dinner time so we decided to go get some pizza. We went to Picco, and it was pretty good! Still not my favorite food in the world, but then again are we really looking for that every time? The Sausage, Fennel and Ricotta pizza was not as good as I had anticipated, and the Al Pastor was lacking in sauce perhaps, something was lacking but it had good flavor. Natalie built her own and it was more of a classic za and that was really good. The dough was good! Next, Miranda went back home to retire for the night, but Katelyn and Natalie decided to join me in meeting up with my friend Nicole from Trinity / Denver for a drink. It was a coincidence we were both in Boston so we met at Clerys. I think our insticnts were right, this was a large bar with different vibes, but half of it was rented out that night for a Wedding (maybe?) and then also thirty people were there for a birthday night out. It was CROWDED. Nicole brought Mel, another friend from Denver who was in town randomly, and we got to chat for a bit here and there, until finally the large party left and the rest of the bar opened up and we could sit and really catch up. It was soooo wonderful getting to see Nicole, she truly is such a bright spirit that you can’t help but smile and laugh and have a good time when you’re with her. As the night rolled on, we eventually parted ways to turn in for the evening.
Our final day was now devoted to the Red Sox game that afternoon. We packed up and went to Tatte cafe to get coffee and I got a matcha lemonade, which has become my new drink obsession thanks to Brinna, a coworker at Rebel. We then headed to find some breakfast, and after failing at Contessa, we went to Thinking Cup. A cute place, as with many of the establishments around, where you walk downstairs and then the main floor is half street level and half below. After we ate, we went back to the hotel to checkout and store our luggage. Once secured we went back to Fenway! We got drinks at Bleacher bar, and while it was not raining, it was still a grey day. When the game finally started, it was grey but it was inviting. The old stadium is super cool, and very different from Coors Field. I liked the old school vibes a lot. The game turned into a thriller going into extra innings and a walk off to seal the deal! We had to leave before the extra innings started, but we were there for the electricity of the tying run.
We went to Saltie Girl, and got lobster rolls and this was probably my favorite meal of the trip. Kate and I shared a half dozen oysters which were medium sized, which is what I prefer, and then we got warm lobster rolls with butter. Absolutely smashing.
That really sums up the weekend, seeing as the next task was going to the hotel, getting our bags, and then heading to the airport. We all had flights around nine at night, so we said goodbye and made our way to our gates.
On the whole it was such a fun weekend of getting to know Kate’s friends better, sharing laughs, walking around historic streets and neighborhoods, catching up with old pals, and visiting a new city. Going to bed around one am and having work the next day wasn’t even that bad when I dreamt of fond memories.
Madeline Daily 