twenty-one hours in boston

[Occasionally, I spend time in cities that are not in the Houston metropolitan area or Portsmouth, New Hampshire. I'm not going to pretend to be an expert on any of these places, but I think I'm pretty good at finding cool and non-touristy restaurants and coffee shops when I travel.]

This place is just beautiful.

[ALSO...important disclaimer: I know there are a lot of actually fascinating historical landmarks in Boston, and they are absolutely worth seeing. I skipped them this time because I saw most of them in 2015, plus my time was extremely limited.  I promise I am more cultured than my Instagram posts would imply.]

ANYWAY.

Anyone who has spent more than twelve minutes or so with me knows that one of my favorite hobbies is making every aspect of my life unnecessarily complicated. Also procrastinating. To make an extremely long and pointless story short, I did both of these things when figuring out my Memorial Day plans, and ended up spending Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning in a cold-ish and muggy Boston by myself and with zero itinerary (I actually booked my hotel for that night from the airport upon my arrival). But with the help of some recommendations from my cousin, some slightly outdated research in the form of a Google Doc that I had saved from a previous trip, and, of course, the interwebs, I came up with a plan(ish) on the fly.

It was the most Liz possible day.

Obviously, I needed coffee and food before anything else could happen.  But I was also in a hurry to get to the Red Sox game, and Flour bakery was conveniently located on my walk to Fenway (there are several locations around Boston). Grabbed a coffee and a cookie for breakfast, obviously, and continued on my walk.  It was an excellent life choice.  Also, the barista caught me taking this picture #noshame.

I don't even know how to describe Fenway without getting really corny about it.  This wasn't even my first visit, and as soon as I walked up to the park I started smiling idiotically.  This place is just so cool.  I firmly believe that this is the way baseball was meant to be watched.  The place was packed for a Monday afternoon game.  The fans got into every play.  I got to hear the iconic singing of "Sweet Caroline," and the slightly less iconic but equally entertaining playing of "Tessie" by Dropkick Murphys after the game.  I spent the game exploring the stadium (am I crazy or is it insanely confusing to get around?), trying to see the field from every possible angle (without getting yelled at too much for taking people's standing room only spots; people are pretty serious about that here).  I just love baseball so much, y'all.

After the game ended, I may or may not have stuck around for a while staring off onto the field and taking pictures, but I finally pulled myself away and decided to roam Boston aimlessly for a while (after taking a crowded subway along with what I think was every single other attendee of the game).  I love how walkable this city.  I travel quite a bit, but as a native Houstonian, the concept of a truly walkable city never ceases to amaze me.  The picture on the right was taken at Boston Public Garden.  The iconic swan boats were not in operation that day, but I got to ride in one last time I was there.  It's super touristy, but still pretty cool.

This is the second best part (because nothing will top Fenway).  I like to pretend that I've become something of a lobster roll connoisseur over the past three months (actually, I've just been to a place called Bob's Clam Hut about eight times), so obviously I had to look up where to find the BEST one in Boston.  Neptune Oyster topped most critic's lists, and it had been recommended to me by several other people, but I'd heard tales of four hour waits at this tiny spot, and they don't take reservations.  This is when traveling solo is amazing.  As I walked into the restaurant, a couple was walking out muttering something about a ridiculous two hour wait under their breath (it was like, 4:30).  I tentatively walked up to the hostess and asked "so, uh, what's the wait for one?"  She seated me at the bar immediately, and fifteen minutes later I was consuming this beautiful lobster roll. While I don't exactly have a LOT to compare it to, it was easily the best lobster roll I've ever had.

Coffee time again.  Found this trendy little place on Newbury Street (which is an excellent shopping area, by the way) to get some more caffeine in my system and charge my phone.  Look how cute this coffee cup is!  I actually purchased a mug here as my one Boston souvenir, because I have a rule that all my coffee mugs must come from local establishments from places I visit, and no cheesy touristy stuff is allowed (I can hear you rolling your eyes at me through my computer, #noshame).

After the game, multiple coffee shops, dinner, and aimless sightseeing, I was sort of at a loss as to what to do next.  So I hopped on the subway and headed to Cambridge, because I remembered thinking that area was interesting and pretty last time I was there.  Unfortunately, it was dark outside.  It's less interesting and pretty when it's dark outside.  So I got ice cream at J.P. Licks.  Another quality life choice by Liz.  I also saw part of the Harvard campus, which was pretty cool...but again, probably would have been better in the daytime.  Oh well.

I needed a place to watch the Rockets that night, so I found a no-frills but very highly rated sports bar in the area (I say 'in the area'...it was actually a pretty long and slightly questionable walk by myself at night), where some locals made fun of me for thinking that the 60ish degree weather was cold.  We don't need to discuss the Rockets game.

The next morning I had to return to Portsmouth, because, ya know, work.  But I couldn't pass up an opportunity to try one more coffee shop before I left.  Thinking Cup also has multiple locations around Boston, so I found one close to my hotel to wrap up my 21-ish hours in the city.

See you soon, Boston!  The Astros will be playing at Fenway in September, so you already know I'll be there.

<3 liz