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About a month ago, Zan asked me to take the Friday before Valentine's off work and to pack warmly and for a 4-day weekend. Besides so many jokes about Branson, Missouri that I started to get excited about heading to the middle of nowhere, I had no clue what we were doing. For me? Nothing beats a good surprise.
He kept me in suspense up until the day we left. On Friday morning, I was giddy with excitement and my guesses were running the gambit from Vermont (realistic) to Alaska (probably not). We took the metro - and I knew at that point that we'd either be taking a train or flying, and it'd depend on which line we were took as to which we were doing. We switched lines at Gallery Place, and I knew for sure that we were headed to the airport.
As we stepped into the security line at the airport, Zan handed me my ticket; we were heading to Boston. I was worse than a kid in that airport - excited, jumpy, full of energy, and overflowing with anticipation. My ultimate travel fantasy is showing up at the airport with no clue where I'm going, no ticket, and just going. And that's exactly what I got to do. It was the most loving, special gift.
Just like that, we were off to the land of snow, ice, ivy league schools, and home of my longtime best friend, Melanie. The last time we saw Mel and her boyfriend Mike was for Mel's and my birthdays in September in New York. This time, they were (unfortunately!) spending the weekend in Philadelphia, but that didn't stop them from transforming their beautifully decorated apartment into a bed and breakfast for us.We got to spend most of Friday afternoon and evening with them, and then we were left to our own devices.
(Later, Zan let me read his and Mel's email exchanges planning the whole thing, and it made me laugh and cry and just about burst with love.)
It was such a fun weekend, complete with wandering through the city during a snow storm, eating delicious food, meeting up with girlfriends I haven't seen in far, far too long, buying enough books to last me months, and drinking hot tea until I had to pee every five minutes. Perfection. I tell you what.
Here's a fun top 10 list we compiled at the end of the weekend for Mel and Mike.
10. The speakeasy outdoors store - Hilton's Tent City near the North End is like a divey outdoors store. A speakeasy outdoors store! Some kind of awesome 4-story, narrow, hole-in-the-wall, in a rowhouse, outdoors store. I was wearing Frye's in a snow storm. We stopped in here to get me some Sorel's. I felt like a real New England woman.
9. Fawning over Beacon Hill - we met up with my JET girlfriend Rachel (whom I haven't seen since 2010!) for pho. We talked nonstop, gave Zan all the JET gossip he could (n)ever want, and then Rachel took us on a tour. We saw the Boston Public Library (gorgeous), the Boston skyline right in the golden hour, the Boston historical park, and Beacon Hill. John Kerry lives up there, the alleys look like England, the homes are $5 million or so, and can I live there, please?
8. Finishing the Boston Marathon without running at all! The finish line is painted and still visible! Even luckier for us, a group of Bostonians were waiting for a friend (who was running? in a snow storm?!) with a "finish" sign so we got further proof of our pretend athletic prowess ;)
7. The bacon parm dipping sauce at Saus - Saus, a Belgian street food and artsy/modern/European restaurant space has 15 different kinds of sauces for their frites.
6. Italian men yelling at each other in Italian in North End - I fell right over my heels into the snow in love with North End. What blows my mind is this hyper-Italian neighborhood is dubbed as touristy, but the food is the best in town. That never happens!
5. All the books at Harvard Bookstore - (my Sorel boots cost me $80 at Hilton's... they were $170 at a store in Harvard Square!) I've been to Harvard Square every time I've visited Boston. It never loses its charm. It's a beauty of a campus. But the best part of that area is Harvard Bookstore. Head downstairs for half-the-price, still-in-new-condition used books.
4. Secret bread and butterscotch pudding at Row 34- One of Mel's closest girlfriends runs the beer program at Boston's hottest new restaurant - Row 34. I've met her several times, and she went out of her way to spoil us when we came in for dinner. Make sure to ask for the bread. Skip the brussels, get the cauliflower or the carrots. Get two orders of pudding.
3. Harpoon Brewery - Clare is one of Mel's college friends, and now she's one of my firends. Clare and I lived together here in DC for a year before she moved back to Beantown for grad school. We caught up over beer and sparkling cider (yummmm!) at the gorgeous, huge, open beer hall at the Harpoon Brewery. It's a 15 minute walk from Row 34 - combine them for a great evening!
2. The elusive, always closed "Mapparium" - I got unruly in my excitement over seeing the Mapparium. Downright unruly, I tell you. I would not shut up about it. Supposedly, it's a 3-story, stained glass globe of the world from the 1930s with fascinating acoustics - it echoes so clearly it's kind of freaky how you hear your voice, is what I hear. And I have to rely on rumors because it's never open! It's closed all weekend and only open during the week until 4pm. So let's all just take off work so we can see the Mapparium.
1. Mel and Mike's B&B/all of east Cambridge - Mel decorated the bed with felt hearts, left fresh towels with a bowl of m&ms on top (plan, no peanuts, she knows me so well!), and made homemade cinnamon rolls for us for breakfast. It was luxurious. Their apartment is nestled off Cambridge street, and I love their neighborhood. It's local in the best sense - thick Boston accents, Italian home-cooking, and friendliness all around. They may not take reservations quite yet, but I'd definitely recommend staying in Cambridge.
He kept me in suspense up until the day we left. On Friday morning, I was giddy with excitement and my guesses were running the gambit from Vermont (realistic) to Alaska (probably not). We took the metro - and I knew at that point that we'd either be taking a train or flying, and it'd depend on which line we were took as to which we were doing. We switched lines at Gallery Place, and I knew for sure that we were headed to the airport.
As we stepped into the security line at the airport, Zan handed me my ticket; we were heading to Boston. I was worse than a kid in that airport - excited, jumpy, full of energy, and overflowing with anticipation. My ultimate travel fantasy is showing up at the airport with no clue where I'm going, no ticket, and just going. And that's exactly what I got to do. It was the most loving, special gift.
Just like that, we were off to the land of snow, ice, ivy league schools, and home of my longtime best friend, Melanie. The last time we saw Mel and her boyfriend Mike was for Mel's and my birthdays in September in New York. This time, they were (unfortunately!) spending the weekend in Philadelphia, but that didn't stop them from transforming their beautifully decorated apartment into a bed and breakfast for us.We got to spend most of Friday afternoon and evening with them, and then we were left to our own devices.
(Later, Zan let me read his and Mel's email exchanges planning the whole thing, and it made me laugh and cry and just about burst with love.)
It was such a fun weekend, complete with wandering through the city during a snow storm, eating delicious food, meeting up with girlfriends I haven't seen in far, far too long, buying enough books to last me months, and drinking hot tea until I had to pee every five minutes. Perfection. I tell you what.
Here's a fun top 10 list we compiled at the end of the weekend for Mel and Mike.
10. The speakeasy outdoors store - Hilton's Tent City near the North End is like a divey outdoors store. A speakeasy outdoors store! Some kind of awesome 4-story, narrow, hole-in-the-wall, in a rowhouse, outdoors store. I was wearing Frye's in a snow storm. We stopped in here to get me some Sorel's. I felt like a real New England woman.
9. Fawning over Beacon Hill - we met up with my JET girlfriend Rachel (whom I haven't seen since 2010!) for pho. We talked nonstop, gave Zan all the JET gossip he could (n)ever want, and then Rachel took us on a tour. We saw the Boston Public Library (gorgeous), the Boston skyline right in the golden hour, the Boston historical park, and Beacon Hill. John Kerry lives up there, the alleys look like England, the homes are $5 million or so, and can I live there, please?
8. Finishing the Boston Marathon without running at all! The finish line is painted and still visible! Even luckier for us, a group of Bostonians were waiting for a friend (who was running? in a snow storm?!) with a "finish" sign so we got further proof of our pretend athletic prowess ;)
7. The bacon parm dipping sauce at Saus - Saus, a Belgian street food and artsy/modern/European restaurant space has 15 different kinds of sauces for their frites.
6. Italian men yelling at each other in Italian in North End - I fell right over my heels into the snow in love with North End. What blows my mind is this hyper-Italian neighborhood is dubbed as touristy, but the food is the best in town. That never happens!
5. All the books at Harvard Bookstore - (my Sorel boots cost me $80 at Hilton's... they were $170 at a store in Harvard Square!) I've been to Harvard Square every time I've visited Boston. It never loses its charm. It's a beauty of a campus. But the best part of that area is Harvard Bookstore. Head downstairs for half-the-price, still-in-new-condition used books.
4. Secret bread and butterscotch pudding at Row 34- One of Mel's closest girlfriends runs the beer program at Boston's hottest new restaurant - Row 34. I've met her several times, and she went out of her way to spoil us when we came in for dinner. Make sure to ask for the bread. Skip the brussels, get the cauliflower or the carrots. Get two orders of pudding.
3. Harpoon Brewery - Clare is one of Mel's college friends, and now she's one of my firends. Clare and I lived together here in DC for a year before she moved back to Beantown for grad school. We caught up over beer and sparkling cider (yummmm!) at the gorgeous, huge, open beer hall at the Harpoon Brewery. It's a 15 minute walk from Row 34 - combine them for a great evening!
2. The elusive, always closed "Mapparium" - I got unruly in my excitement over seeing the Mapparium. Downright unruly, I tell you. I would not shut up about it. Supposedly, it's a 3-story, stained glass globe of the world from the 1930s with fascinating acoustics - it echoes so clearly it's kind of freaky how you hear your voice, is what I hear. And I have to rely on rumors because it's never open! It's closed all weekend and only open during the week until 4pm. So let's all just take off work so we can see the Mapparium.
1. Mel and Mike's B&B/all of east Cambridge - Mel decorated the bed with felt hearts, left fresh towels with a bowl of m&ms on top (plan, no peanuts, she knows me so well!), and made homemade cinnamon rolls for us for breakfast. It was luxurious. Their apartment is nestled off Cambridge street, and I love their neighborhood. It's local in the best sense - thick Boston accents, Italian home-cooking, and friendliness all around. They may not take reservations quite yet, but I'd definitely recommend staying in Cambridge.
