Traveling East – Boston Recap!

Earlier in this month of December, I visited Boston, MA for the first time! Boston, along with the other North-Eastern states of the US has always been on my bucketlist. Given the fact that I live in Chicago, IL at the moment, I knew that traveling to spots on the east coast now would be a much more logical and financially smart choice than it would be when I make my way back to the west coast.

So, with that being said, I begin my check off with Boston!

Where we stayed:

Courtyard by Marriott Boston Downtown: The location was perfect! Centered around food and walkable to pretty much anything since Boston is such a small little city.

Food Spots we visited and what was consumed:

• Neptunes Oyster Bar
  • Maine Lobster Roll: Toasted Brioche Roll: We opted served cold with butter, and a side of greens
  • An assortment of East Coast Oysters
• Row 34
  • Row 34 is an industrial-chic oyster bar in that complements its menu of fresh, local seafood with a powerhouse 24-tap craft beer lineup (and a sizeable bottle cellar)
  • Shellfish Tower
  • Corn bread + clam chowder
  • Bucatini and Clams Fennel
  • Seared Monkfish with autumn vegetables and salsa verde
  • Squid ink Casarecce with shrimp, basil, and jalapeño
• James Hook & CoShowroom that serves lobster and seafood products that they serve to both wholesale and retail markets
  • 2 Lobster Rolls (Large)
  • Lobster Mac & Cheese
  • New England Clam Chowda
  • Lobsta Bisque
• Lolita Tequila Bar
  • Serving playful, Mexican-inspired food & drinks
  • We dined their Late Night Menu
  • Diablo Margarita Pitcher: lolita blanco, serrano chili, lime, blood orange, strawberry, pineapple
  • Especial Guac + Chips: Jumbo lump crab, maine lobster, garlic herb butter
  • Nachitos: oaxaca cheese, pinto beans, avocado, jalapenos, guajillo cheese sauce, sour cream
  • They end the night with complimentary cotton candy!
• The Hawthorne Bar
  • Bar, Saloon, and Tavern with art, music, and strong drinks
  • Vegetable Crudites with green goddess dip
  • Three Artisanal Cheeses: traditional accompaniments
  • Soft Pretzel bites with Bavarian beer cheese
  • Assortment of cocktails + beer
• Max Brenner Chocolate
  • Max Brenner is creating a new chocolate culture, a chocolate sensory immersion that encourages you to open your mind about how you connect with chocolate. With unique products and desserts and iconic presentation
  • Salted Caramel Hot chocolate: hot chocolate mixed with caramel, topped with whipped cream and sea salt
  • Max’s Famous Chocolate Mess Party for Two: warm chocolate mud cake in milk chocolate ganache, piled with whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, chocolate chunks, toffee sauce, served with strawberries, bananas and choco pops
• Mike’s Pastry
  • Mike’s is one of the best-known Italian bakeries in Boston
  • Chocolate Chip Cannoli
  • Florentine Cannoli
  • Oreo Cannoli
  • Pistachio Cannoli

Spots we visited and toured:

• Boston Public Library: The Boston Public Library is a municipal public library system in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, founded in 1848. On the National Register of Historic Places, the library opened in 1852 as the first free, publicly-supported municipal library in America. (Information courtesy of Wikipedia and Trip Advisor.) The interior and exterior of the place is so pretty! The architecture is amazing, not to mention the history that comes along with this building. This is where the famous ‘study room’ is. Reminds of a scene from Harry Potter. Make sure to venture throughout the entire library. There are rooms that are just dedicated to art. Also there is a modern wing which I really didn’t care too much for, but still neat to check out! This was one of my highlights from Boston!
• Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum: Isabella Stewart Gardner is a daring visionary and she created a museum that would awaken your senses with an out of this world historic collection, contemporary art, a beautiful courtyard, and performances of all kinds! Not to mention Ms. Gardner created this place to share her interest and collection. The museum to their best of their ability has kept the look and theme of what Ms. Gardner envisioned. Not much has moved or been shifted since she created this place! The details of every floor, every room, every story… absolutely jaw dropping. This was by far the highlight of trip. I could stay there all day. Also, $5 admission fee with a student i.d; $5 off if you visited Boston Museum of Fine Arts the day before; $5 if you have a AAA card!
• Museum of Fine Arts, Boston: Came here mostly of the Murakami Exhibit: Lineage of Eccentrics. The exhibit goes on until April 1, 2018. Overall I would have to say that the exhibit was very disappointing. But that is because I really loved the Murakami exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago! MCA exhibit was much more expansive and offered lots more of Murakami’s work. However, MFA overall is a place that I also highly recommend to check out. The place is huge so make sure to dedicate ample time. I believe we spent around 3 hours inside. Also, there are student rates!
• Boston Downtown Crossing: Downtown Crossing is the retail shopping district in Boston. It is the home to stores that specialize in jewelry, drugs, health and beauty products, accessories, books, music, videos, cell phone services, banking services, and several pushcart vendors.  This can be considered one of the most bustling intersections in Boston during weekdays.
• Walked, Shopped, and toured Copley Mall: OMG, guess what? There is no sales tax in Boston!
• Shopped up and down Newbury Street – This is a very dope street to check out! Lots of unique store fronts, mixture of big names and independent stores
• Had an evening out with my girlfriends at The Grand Nightclub
• Also, some other notable things I did: Got to get a work out in at Barry’s Bootcamp, check out some churches, walked around the surrounding areas and checked out cute holiday decorations!

Overall, I had an amazing time in Boston! Considering how I only had two full days in Boston and managed to do all the above, clearly indicates that a weekend dedicated there will suffice. I can’t emphasize this enough: watch out for the no sales tax! LOL. I had to limit myself because I didn’t have space! If you plan to splurge, make sure to account for extra baggage fees and come with an empty extra bag. Lastly, there still is a laundry list of things I didn’t get to eat, see, or do, so I can foresee another trip to Boston in the near future! Come with!

Additional pictures are on their way!

Feel free to comment below if this was helpful, or if you have any questions!

All thoughts and opinions are of my own. I was not paid for this post. If you would like to work with me, please reach me at sany.delightblog@gmail.com.