Can you believe that this was my first time going to Boston? When I heard that the World Premiere of Moulin Rouge was going to be in Boston and my BFF from high school would be there, I immediately booked ticket. Unfortunately, the production had to delay their opening, so I wasn’t able to get tickets and back to Beantown. I did have a great time though!
Friday, June 29th, 2018
I took advantage of Summer Fridays at the office and took an Amtrak up to Boston for the weekend. It was around 4 hours and gave me time to catch up on reading and TV before grabbing a cab and meeting Jim at the hotel in Back Bay. (Plus, I finally was able to get the banana pudding special: Reese’s Pieces, from Magnolia Bakery.)
While I was waiting for Jim, I tried to find a place to grab dinner. Jim wanted a lobster roll and I was just plain hungry; good thing there was a great option downtown about a 15 minute walk away. I got some great pasta, but it was a tad spicy…so the next mission was ice cream. I took us on a bit of a wild goose chase while trying to find the Giradelli Chocolate store, but stumbled upon a soft serve ice cream stand. And…I managed to eat my cone before it melted and ended up all over my shirt.
Saturday, June 30th, 2018
For Saturday morning, Jim’s request was dim sum. I put my Yelp skills back to work and found Hei-Lah Moon in Chinatown that had the traditional dim sum carts. Even though it was super hot & humid out, the hot steamy dumplings, taro cakes, pork buns and a variety of other treats hit the spot. Our bellies full, we strolled through Chinatown where I found a “DO NET ENTER” sign and couldn’t resist taking a photo.
After dim sum, we walked through the park and ran into an anti-Trump protest. (I actually think this is the protest that Jim wanted to participate in and I said that’s not how I wanted to spend my vacation…) On our way out of the park, I found a statue of George Washington and couldn’t help but make some “Here Comes the General” references from HAMILTON. Then we took a short nap/cool off break at the hotel before taking the train to go across the river and towards Harvard Square. The train was easy to navigate and it was cool traveling above the water towards the famous Ivy League Campus.
We walked around Harvard and did some shopping, including this awesome pencil wall at Warby Parker. For dinner, we opted for Italian before walking towards Fenway Park (yes, I was into seeing it more because of New Kids on the Block than the Red Sox…) and immediately spotted a Wahlburger’s restaurant! I had to stop, buy a t-shirt, a hamburger pin and take a photo with the giant photo on the wall with the Wahlbergs!
Sunday, July 1st, 2018
I was still disappointed that I wasn’t going to see Moulin Rouge, but that feeling lifted a bit when I saw Sonya Tayeh (the choreographer from the show & So You Think You Can Dance) at the bakery I chose for brunch! I didn’t say anything to her…but I noticed her right away, sitting with her girlfriend at the front of the cafe. Jim was less amused.
After breakfast, we did a little shopping and wandering around Back Bay before we both had to head our separate ways; Jim back to Nebraska and myself back to the Amtrak to the city.
