Boston Day 4

On our final day in Boston, we visited Fenway Park. Unfortunately, the Red Sox were not in town during our vacation, or we would have gone to a game. A tour of Fenway Park had to suffice. Once again, the rain was really coming down during the tour, and I was none too thrilled about running out onto the Green Monster for a picture. Justin, on the other hand, was a much better sport. Overall, we both really enjoyed the tour and were impressed with the history of the stadium and its dedicated fans. Maybe we have become Red Sox fans now?


I was smiling because I was sitting inside the DRY press box. :-) Please ignore the fact that I have the same sweatshirt on in every picture. It was the warmest thing I had, and it was so cold there! I had to put fashion on hold for my well-being. I promise I washed it three times during the week.

After the tour of Fenway, we decided to head back to the Boston Long Wharf Harbor in hopes of reserving a spot on a historical cruise boat. This should come to no surprise, but the boat was canceled due to the rain. Notice the theme of the week? So we headed to Wagamama's for lunch. Wagamama's has a special place in my heart after eating there all the time in London. I was thrilled to find one in Boston.


Justin enjoyed his Asian-inspired dish, and I munched away on some salt and chili pepper edamame. Yum!

After lunch, Justin took off to attempt to find another boat to go on while I paid the bill. He called me and asked if a trip to St. George's Island was ok. Without knowing a thing about it, I agreed. We boarded the ship and took off on the cruise to the Island (note: the rain had subsided at this point). Well, I was less than impressed with the Island. Maybe if I was some history buff or something, it might have been interesting, but I much prefer shopping and purses and shoes than history. It was an old fort used during the Civil War, Fort Warren. Just a tip, if you ever go to Boston, don't waste your time. We walked around the fort for an hour with the ONE other family on the island with us. I refused to walk up the nasty stairwell that were infested with bats. I will say that Justin had good intentions of finding something fun to do in the rain, and I am sorry it wasn't more of a hit!

Enough of Fort Warren, time for bigger and better things! Next, we enjoyed some fabulous desserts and coffee at Mike's Pastry. We both loved the Boston Cream Pie and Whoopie Pie.

Then we returned to the hotel where Justin spent the next 2 hours working on his best man speech. He rehearsed it over and over again until it was well-polished. To end the night, we had a very enjoyable dinner in the North End (Italian district). We ate at a quaint little restaurant called Al Dente. We both agreed it was absolutely delicious.

4 days in Boston were a success, and now it was wedding time!

Boston Day 3

The following day we were not so lucky, and woke up to a rainy Boston. We sucked it up and made the trip to Harvard University anyway. Harvard has a beautiful campus with so much history, but unfortunately I feel like we didn't enjoy it as much as we should have. It was founded in 1636 and has been the university of choice for many famous people. Unfortunately, I was in a bit of a mad mood due to the constant rain and failed to appreciate its beauty. I was very frustrated because I was soaking wet and had forgotten my umbrella. Enough of my complaining...the student-run, unofficial tour of the university, known as the Hahvahd tour (Bostonians tend to ignore the pronunciation of Rs), was hilarious.

Right off the T stop in Cambridge. No rain at this point (yet).

Harvard Yard
Harvard University
Justin and John Harvard

After a quick stop at the hotel to dry out, we cabbed it to Cheers. Although it was only 1 mile away, you couldn't have paid me to walk in the rain again that day.

At the Cheers Bar, which really looks nothing like the TV show, but it was still fun!

My beer was this delicious Harpoon raspberry wheat beer...loved it!

On the dinner menu was more seafood. Gotta get it while you can! For some reason we totally messed up the location of Skipjacks (our dinner spot) and walked 1.5 miles to the completely wrong side of town. Once we realized it, we walked around 3 miles to the correct side of town, enjoyed dinner, and then walked home. It wasn't raining out so I was more than happy to be outside!

Boston Day 2

On day 2 in Boston, we were surprised to wake up and not see rain falling down. We made sure to take full advantage of the day, and spent the day walking around the whole city (seriously, I think we walked 7-8 miles). Justin's sister Natalie, our nieces Alex and Demi, and nephew Hunter joined us for a day in the city. We walked the whole Freedom Trail, a red brick path through downtown Boston that leads to 16 historic sites. It was so fun to spend the day together, and we we able to see so much of Boston. The kids did a great job walking around all day!

Justin and Demi - There is nothing special about this fountain, Demi just really wanted her picture with it. Kids are so funny.

Justin posing with Ben Franklin's grave

Granary Burying Ground, where several famous people were buried such as Samuel Adams and Benjamin Franklin

Gold-painted woman entertaining on the street near Quincy Market. I think that was Demi's favorite part of the whole day!

Paul Revere's house

Old North Church

Alex, Demi, and Hunter in front of Paul Revere

USS Constitution, which we now know all about after our hour long tour of it!

At the USS Constitution Museum - Me, Hunter, Alex, Demi, Natalie, and Justin

The final stop of the day, Bunker Hill Monument.

Well, that sums about our day of walking the Freedom Trail. There were several more historical stops as well as food and ice cream stops, but you get the idea!

That night we met up with my friend Allyson. Allyson and I met in London 5 years ago when we studied there for a semester. We hadn't seen each other in 3 years so it was great to catch up. I think I must have been so excited to see her that I completely forgot to take any pictures! We ate a fabulous dinner at the Beacon Hill Bistro (my favorite meal, I think) and chatted over several glasses of wine. Another good night!

Boston Day 1

Next on our New England itinerary was Boston. Since it was raining out (yes, again), we planned to go to the Samuel Adams Brewery on our first afternoon in Boston. The brewery was pretty cool, but according to Justin, sort of a let down. We learned that very little of the beer we drink actually comes from Boston. Only the kegs are produced in Boston, and all the bottles come from Cincy or Philly. The brewery was surprisingly small. I will give them some credit though, they do all of the research and development in Boston, meaning that the wonderful summer ale that I enjoyed all week, was created at the brewery we visited.

Posing with Sam Adams!

After the quick tour, we got down to business - by sampling the beer, of course!


Since the rain had come to a temporary stop, we went to downtown Boston next and walked around Quincy Market and the harbor.

That evening we enjoyed a Irish-themed dinner at The Black Rose. Justin enjoyed the traditional bangers and mash!

And no day would be complete without some ice cream!