#4 Boston, Massachusetts

Boston! Boston! Boston! When I think of Boston, there are a few words that immediately come to mind: History, Hostel, Lawn on D and Baseball. This historical city makes my top 3 of places I would leave the NoVA area to live (behind Charleston and Austin). Sad thing is Boston winters are way too cold for this beach bum- no thanks! So, I will settle for this visit and hopefully more in the very near future.

I absolutely loved Boston. As soon as I landed, I hopped in an Uber and made my way to the hostel. Even though “hostel” is word #2, I will start off with sharing my experience of this hostel. (I also might add that I didn’t get a car rental in this city, because I planned to walk EVERYWHERE! And that is exactly what I did.) As for the hostel, I stayed in the HI Boston (HI = Hostelling International USA)…UH, WOW! This was by far my favorite stay in a hostel. I would highly recommend this hostel if you are staying/visiting in Boston.

At the start of my solo travel (Key West Florida), I had never stayed in a hostel before- not domestically or internationally. Needless to say, I have experienced some very interesting encounters with hostel. But HI Boston was absolutely fantastic! It was clean, bright, had lots of listed activities, and tons and tons of tourists. They served continental breakfast in the morning, had pool tables in the hallways, and large rooms with strategic bed assignments. I roomed with four Asian girls and two girls from Germany who were backpacking to different cities in the U.S. The reason I mention the four Asian girls is because I am lead to believe they are completely fascinated by me. Tall, white, blonde U.S. girl. They would sit in their bed, smiling at me and giggling. Sure, if you think about it, they easily been making fun of me or judging me, but their giggles weren’t malicious. Let me wallow in my own thoughts- yes, they “loved” me! They actually never said hi, though. So, who knows!

Do you know how much history there is in Boston? Geez! Tons, enough to make an entire TRAIL- haha. Yes, the Freedom Trail. A 2.5 mile long path that takes you to 16 locations that hold significant meaning to the history of the United States. The trail was the highlight of my trip. I couldn’t wait to hit the road “running”- I was in sandals after all 🙂

// Beginning // Middle // End //

The brick lined path passes through the Boston Common, Granary Burying Grounds, Old State House and onto Bunker Hill Monument. I took my time on my walk. I am sure you could easily walk the 2.5 without stopping at the 16 locations, but what fun would that be? I stopped at every single location and took my time learning about each spot. I am not much for history, but the amount of information that was absorbed into my brain that day was beyond comprehension. I really enjoyed all the cemeteries along the path. While it sounds strange, there is something calming about walking through a cemetery. I saw the following tombstones: Franklin Monument, Mother Goose, Paul Revere, signers of the Declaration of Independence. And OH! The tombstone that ironically resembled a male appendage for John HanCOCK! Thank you U.S. history!

And that was just the first cemetery I stopped at, along the way!

I took pictures at the site of the Boston Massacre, ate lunch in Faneuil Hall, and stopped into a few churches to check out the “old timers” way. The boxed pews were fascinating. To think you had your own family “pew box” is crazy. Beautiful churches, though! Then it was onto Charlestown Navy Yard. It was in Charlestown that I stopped to listen to some live music in this cute little park. It was getting to be closer to dusk, so I stayed half the show before starting onto Bunker Hill. I would eventually still have a 2.5+ mile hike back to the hostel after I reached the end of th e Freedom Trail.

So for those who don’t know me, I am 1/2 Italian. Both my parents have lots of Italian heritage running through their blood. And most everyone who knows me also knows I don’t eat Italian food out. Who wants to have restaurant grade Italian food when you can get authentic cooking at home? Each time someone tries to convince me to eat at an Italians restaurant, I am usually say “no thank you” or am highly disappointed. Well, when I was in Boston, I took a chance. I had reached out to my boss’s Boston friend, who recommended her favorite place to eat- Giacomo’s…Italian! Scary! Oddly enough, a friend of mine gave me an amazing travel gift for my birthday- “Anywhere Travel Guide Cards”. In the box, there was one card that said “Ask someone to show you the way to his/her favorite restaurant- GO THERE. Once there, ask the waiter to decide for you what to eat.” That is exactly what I did…with an Italian restaurant. Luckily, I was pleased with the food and the selection, and it was worth the wait! (They don’t take reservations, so you stand on the sidewalk in a line!)

The next day I was out exploring again! I ventured to a number of different places this day: Public Garden (I ate breakfast from Mike & Patty’s on a bench in the park); Acorn Street; Chestnut Street; Joy Street (simply just to say I was on Joy Street!); the Paul Revere statue and house; and eventually find myself by the Boston Harbor- not sure how I got there, but I did do a lot of walking that day. I ended up at the North End, and found one of the best (dessert) food trucks EVER – The Cookie Monstah. OH-MY-GEE! Delicious cookies with ice cream. I follow them on IG now and dream about the cookies. Nom nom nom!

So, if you Google “Things to Do in Boston”, the light-up swings at ‘Lawn on D’ are at the top of the list…well, it was definitely at the top of my list. I think I found them on Pinterest (check out my Pinterest page; I set boards for each trip I take!). The lawn was great and has a great mission- encourage more community engagement! Corn-hole, a pavilion, a large open space, and the glowing LED swings- who wouldn’t want to meet people up there to hang out and listen to live music? Oddly enough, I almost immediately made friends. Actually, I heard someone basically yell “I love her hair”, so I turned around and thanks and poof- friends! The group ended up asking me to sit down and hang out with them. I ended up staying at the Lawn on D, until about 9pm. It was dark and figured it was best I leave, since I had a good walk back to the hostel to make. But before I left, I exchanged numbers with my new friends and made plans for the following day! On my way back, I stopped for some late night lobster- delish!

My last full day was full of activities – Boston Library [re] Opening, the Cheers bar and a Boston Red Sox Game! I met my new friends over at the library first. The Boston Library was opening their new, absolutely spectacular new addition to the old part of the library. Apparently, the city spent millions! And it showed- WHOA! My new friends also showed me around the older library. It was breathtaking, beautiful. After spending the morning with my new friends, we parted ways and I was off to the Cheers bar. Because I don’t drink, I simply just walked around the bar and took some pictures. Nothing much, but hey, I was went to the Cheers bar- both real and fake. (The fake bar is based on a bar in the basement of the same building.)

Then I was off to the races, I mean ball game! The Boston Red Sox are a staple in Boston, with a number of World Series Championships. Walking around Fenway Park was an experience in itself. There was lots of action going on. I am not an avid baseball fan, but I am a big sports fan. I love seeing sporting events in real life- it’s all about the experience. So behind the Lawn on D, going to a Sox game was #2 on my To Do List. (I usually try to see a baseball game in cities I visit, if it’s baseball season. I got $4 tickets when I was Denver. Cheap and fun experience! Try it out!)

At Fenway, I walked around outside, watched all the fans getting ready for the game. I took some pictures and grab my Fenway Frank! You can’t go to the ball field and NOT get a hot dog. I sat in the outfield- think it was one of the only sections that still had tickets available (I did actually buy my tickets in advance, off a second hand vendor, like Stub Hub or Vivid Seats.) The fans were great- they did like a 5 minute wave! Longest I have ever seen. I can’t remember who the Sox played or who won, but the takeaway of this event was amazing!

After the baseball game, I walked back towards Public Garden and eventually over to “Little Italy”- same place where I had dinner a few nights before (Giacomo’s). I had told my family I would bring them some cannolis from two rival Italian bakeries: Mike’s Pastry and Modern Pastry Shop. I am not a fan, but knew my family would like a sampling. Whenever I arrived at Mike’s there was a line, but I shouldn’t be surprised! Boston’s Little Italy always had lines- for dinner or for desserts. I waited in line and ended up talking with a couple from Baltimore. They were first to Boston, just like me. We shared some moments and were debating which cannolis we were both going to get. I felt the anxiety rushing as I got closer and closer to the counter. “Which ones should I get? There are so many choices!” I ended up getting 4 for my family- a plain, lemon, plain with chocolate chips, and plain with chocolate chips and a chocolate cannoli. I can’t remember which flavor my family liked the most, but they thoroughly enjoyed them!

Boston is a great, safe place to solo travel to. There is plenty to do, plenty to see, plenty to taste! I just wish the winter wasn’t so brutal. I would love to move there…just that wicked winter is holding me back! (See what I did there- using New England slang, ha!)