Monday, April 07, 2008

Beantown!

I think it is hilarious that they call Boston "Beantown". I'm not sure why. Maybe it is because I think the word "bean" is a funny word. Just say it. It just kinda makes you chuckle. And then to call this huge, cultural, socially aware city by it. Anyways...on to my fabulous week there! Sorry this post has been so delayed. I love to blog. I really do. But for whatever reason, even though I have a million ideas to write about currently, I can't seem to make myself do it. Go figure. Anyways.

I left very early Tuesday morning with my new pink traveling backpack (I am going on several trips in the somewhat near future so decided it was necessary - and it was pink) and my majorly overpacked suitcase (never doing that again...I thought I was getting over my overpacking disease!) I'm not kidding you...for a four day visit, I think I packed enough for 2 weeks! Chelsea found me at baggage claim and off we were on our grand adventure! It started off with a bang trying to get all my excuse my french, crap, loaded off and on the three buses/subways that it takes to get to their apartment, walk with it all the way to the apartment (which was a lengthy walking distance from the T stop - especially w/a heavy suitcase) and then up 4 flights of very narrow stairs. Chels was a great pal and never complained and helped me lug that baby up. Oy. After a light lunch, she took me over to see some of the shops at Coolidge Corner and to Trader Joe's - a really cool supermarket that is like Whole Foods but way more affordable. Then we came home and rested a little and waited for Jeremy to come home. We made hot dogs for dinner. After that, we went to their pastor's house for a baby dedication and party. They have some really sweet people at their church. I really enjoyed putting some faces with names I had been hearing since they moved here.

On Wednesday, we woke up and even though it was cold and rainy, we wanted to make the best of our time and headed out. We went down to Government Center and saw some of the sights on the Freedom Trail. Chelsea, having been on it several times, knew all the cool facts, even the little ones that not a lot of people know, was a great tour guide despite the yucky weather. After walking around some and seeing the inside of Quincy Market (this really cool famous hall that has been turned into a food court, but a really nice one with some neat restaurants), we decided to trek over to Little Italy (the Italian neighborhood in Boston) for some lunch and some real Italian food - not Olive Garden. We went to this restaurant that Chelsea had been to before. SO YUMMY! I had this yummy saffron risotto with shrimp in it. Boston has this thing called restaurant week and we so happened to be there during it. Basically what that means is that the fancy restaurants around town pick their best meals and put it on a set menu for like $20-$30. You get like four courses too. So Chelsea, for $20 got four courses. She got a salad (I think it was bruschetta maybe?), an appetizer (don't remember), a pasta (some really good pasta in a tomato based sauce) and some very yummy stuffed chicken breast (I know it was all yummy b/c she let me try it - don't worry, I let her try mine too!). After that, we walked around a bit more and then decided that the weather was too much for us (well me, mainly) and headed back to the apartment where we rested and watched Rachael Ray. I don't remember what we did for dinner that night but after dinner, Chelsea had a special treat for me. There is the fabulous dessert place called Finale near her apartment. For my Christmas present (better late than never...and I'm always in the mood for Christmas!) she took me there. I got this rich and gooey molten chocolate cake (think Chili's but better!) and she had Creme Brulee. Soooo yummy.

The next day, the weather was a little more pleasant. So we headed out to see Fenway! So cool. I'm not the biggest baseball fan, but I do like the sport and have a pretty good appreciation for it's history. We actually had the opportunity to walk right on the field through a construction entrance but figured that if we got in trouble for it, Jeremy wouldn't be too pleased about bailing his wife and her friend out of jail. After that, we walked to Government Center and went to this shopping center. We browsed through Barnes and Noble (I could spend hours in that store!) and then ate at the food court where I got some deeeee-licious clam chowder complete with a bread bowl and everything. After that, we walked around some more seeing the Boston Marathon finish line and took a picture pretending to run across it (like anyone would ever believe that I could run that sucker...haha), saw the library (which is more like a museum) and then she took me to this fantastic gem of a store called H&M. Too bad the funds are low b/c I could have gone wild in a store like that! We then headed over to meet some of her friends to go to Bible study. They are doing a Beth Moore study (isn't she fantastic??). It was really neat to get to meet these women and know more about the people Chels is always telling me about. Really neat ladies with some amazing, authentic faith. After that, we went home and ordered Thai food for dinner. You can't go wrong with Thai food! If I had to eat one type of food for the rest of my life, I think it would be Thai food.
On Friday, we went back down to Government Center and saw some of the sights we had missed on our previous bad weather day (such as the Boston Massacre sight, where the Declaration of Independence was first read and the like...) We ate lunch at Quincy Market (sooo good...even Rachael Ray at there for one of her shows!) We also went to the fruit and vegetable market which is so neat. I would love to live in a place that had that. Chelsea got some stuff for her and Jeremy and I got two things called pluots (a cross between a plum and an apricot). They were so sweet and delicious! I have tried to find them here in Houston, but have yet to discover where they are hiding. We also went over and walked through the Holocaust Memorial. It was very neat, moving and sobering. I'm a big history nut and especially am intrigued with WWII and Holocaust history. Sometime during this day we also went and saw Harvard, which was pretty cool. We also found a really neat bookstore there and browsed through there for a good long time. After our fun day out, we headed back to her apartment so I could pack up and sadly leave me sweet friends and fly back to Texas.

So all in all, it was a fabulous trip not just because I was getting to travel but because I got to see two of my very favorite people! Below is just some of the pictures of my trip...enjoy! And so sorry for the month delay in the post! I'm horrible! And that's also the reason some of the details/days are mixed up because I have now forgotten what order they happened in.




1 comment:

Anonymous said...

you remember everything... it looks like it was cold or something when we went to Harvard...my face is half covered.