A Boston Weekend to Celebrate Us

Every year for our anniversary, we try to do something new - a little road trip, a city to explore, or an experience we’ve never had before. This year we headed to one of our favorite places, Boston, and it turned out to be the perfect mix of history, food, and fun.

We took the bus from Portsmouth, which was the best decision ever. No traffic stress, no parking hunt, and it dropped us South Station, just a quick Uber ride to the hotel. Everything we wanted to do was walkable, and when our feet finally protested, we called an Uber.

We stayed in Back Bay at the Marriott Copley Square, and thanks to Chris being a “super-duper” member, we got a sweet anniversary upgrade to a suite with a view of the Charles River. 

We started the morning at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, and it was even more incredible than I expected. Isabella designed everything herself...every room, every view, and even the fourth floor, which was her private home. When she passed away, she willed that the museum remain exactly as she arranged it and be open to the public, with no labels on the artwork so visitors could simply enjoy it instead of feeling like they were in a stuffy museum. The beautiful palazzo-style courtyard blooms with flowers that change seasonally, so we’ll definitely be back to see it again. We saw incredible pieces like Rembrandt’s Self-Portrait, Ralphael's Portrait of the Tommaso Inghirami, the Pope's Librarian, a stunning painting of Isabella herself, her private chapel still in use for Mass once a year on her birthday April 14, and intricate tapestries. It’s a museum  that completely pulls you in - part history, part art, part wonder.

That afternoon, we headed to Fenway Park for a behind-the-scenes tour. It's amazing how tightly tucked into the city grid this ballpark is. We learned about the Green Monster towering 37' over left field and sat in the exclusive seats on top of it. We sat in some of the original wooded seats in section 32, visited the rooftop garden, and gazed down at the famous red seat marking Ted Williams’ record-breaking home run. We even peeked into the press box and the private Rooters Club. Such a fun tour!

The next morning, we toured the Boston Public Library - the first public library in the U.S. From the marble staircase guarded by the lion sculptures, to the murals and quiet beauty of Bates Hall, it’s absolutely stunning. We spent time enjoying the courtyard before heading back out into the city. 

In between, we wandered around Copley Square, stopped at Trinity Church, and visited the Boston Marathon Memorial on Boylston Street. We also made our way over to the Christian Science Plaza and Reflecting Pool - peaceful, reflective, and so beautiful in person.

Boston’s food scene didn’t disappoint.

• Boston Burger Company (Boylston St) — amazing burgers and sweet potato fries, and I had a berry spritzer that came with Swedish fish at the bottom.

• LUCIE drink + dine (Huntington Ave) — delicious meatball appetizer and pizza, plus top-notch service. We learned it’s actually part of The Colonnade Hotel.

• Brownstone (Dartmouth St) — my favorite! Cider donut holes to start, sourdough French toast for me, corned beef hash for Chris. We sat by the open windows, the service was wonderful, and they even acknowledged our anniversary from our reservation note.

Everywhere we went, the service was incredible — from restaurant servers to Uber drivers to the taxi driver who took us back to South Station for our bus ride home. Boston has some of the friendliest people we’ve met.

We ended our trip just walking around Newbury Street, window shopping and making plans for what we’ll do next time. 

Weekend of Favorite Things

This weekend was pretty much perfect because it involved so many of my favorite things. I'll get right to my favorite favorite thing. The d.o.g.

We got to visit with this handsome guy on Saturday. Booney was supposed to go to the Cape with his adoptive parents, but they let him stay behind so that we could have some time with him. 

We get as excited to visit with him as we do any of the kids. He has been one of the family for past 13 years!

I'm glad he didn't forget how to take selfies since we last saw him! He's so photogenic!

After spending (not nearly enough) time with Booney, mrC took me to Boston. We walked around Fanueil Hall, grabbed a bowl of our favorite chowder from the Union Oyster House and stopped for our favorite Chipyard cookies.

Then we headed to Cambridge to watch women's professional soccer at Harvard University. The Boston Breakers were playing the Western New York Flash. Before running, soccer was my all-time favorite sport. I'm 99.9% certain that an old soccer injury and subsequent knee surgeries are the reason for my nearly non-running status now. I still love to watch it though.

Before the game we explored a little of the campus and hung out in the fan zone playing corn hole. When I lived in Ohio, my dad made me a set. I loved having friends over and playing in the backyard. It was one of my favorite things about summer nights and fall weekends.

I found a new pair of favorite jeans ---> outfit details here

I was filled with runner pride when I saw so many people running the stairs inside Harvard Stadium. These people are so lucky.  Then we walked by the beautiful indoor track. Doesn't it just make you want to run?

Today we went to church and then picked up some groceries for his parents. I saw this and thought it was a sign that my Bengals were going to win today, but they didn't. They're still my favorite team.

Some of my eats from the weekend:

Tell me your favorites...pick one or all to answer in the comments!

Pet?
Restaurant?
Dessert?
Sport?
Team?
Season?
Fall activity?