Massachusetts - Boston
Old stories are like old friends - you have to visit them from time to time.
Nearly two years of not traveling means nearly two years of not spending time with those nearest and dearest. Namely, my first-ever friend made in college - struggling through our Contemporary Math class as first-year Communications majors - who I’d not seen since the early Summer of 2020, after we had graduated and before the realities of the working world and the years-long pandemic came to fruition.
Early into my brief sabbatical from my career before beginning my MBA program and bursting with the travel bug, I reached out to my friend who now attends Boston College’s graduate program and booked a last-minute flight to visit her for a quick three-day weekend.
On Friday morning after buying a new book at the airport, practically finishing it by the time my flight from Baltimore to Boston landed, and wandering aimlessly around the Boston airport in a failed attempt to find my Lyft - and a cancelled Lyft later - I finally made it to her apartment!
Once we caught each other up on the trials and tribulations of the last nearly two years of our lives, we stopped in Whole Foods for enough snacks and drinks to satisfy us for the weekend and went back to her place to get ready for our big night out.
For dinner we went to Clink, located in the lobby of The Liberty Hotel - what was once the Charles Street Jail built in 1851 is now a 298-room luxury hotel, dining and event experience, scattered with the original historic architecture. At the restaurant, we ordered a charcuterie board and cocktails before heading off to our next affairs - starting at the Tavern in the Square and ending our night at Big Night Live - where we were granted VIP access to explore all areas of the music hall through the connection of a friend.
The following morning, we took a 10-minute walk to the train station - the ‘T,’ as locals call it - and (unknowingly, prematurely) bought a Charlie Card that allows for four train rides for $9. Ready to present my new Boston-branded Charlie Card to the train attendant, we were informed that the card reader was broken, and we were granted a $9 free ride.
We hopped off at the Fenway Park station, where we went to Game On - a sport’s bar filled with ping-pong tables, music stages, and two people also visiting from Baltimore who happened to be sitting right next to us.
For our next stop on our Boston dining experience self-tour, we took a Lyft to The White Bull Tavern in the heart of downtown, where we sat at the bar and ordered a drink and jalapeño kielbasa appetizer. Samuel Adams Taproom was next for us - we stopped in for a drink at the bar, although not the atmosphere we were looking for, we headed to Banners - a sport’s bar located just outside of TD Garden.
After our day of becoming Boston’s best restaurant connoisseurs, we finished off our evening with one final event - dinner at Libertine in the North End, where we indulged in the immensely mouthwatering flavors of Italy in something as simple as bread and butter and spaghetti.
The morning of my final day in Boston had come as quickly as my decision to book my trip.
As a calming New England snowfall began outside, we went to brunch at Tatte Bakery down the street from my friend’s apartment; devouring the lamb hash and seasonal iced latte. With time to spare before heading to the airport for my journey home, we drove around the Boston College campus - all the more picturesque, in a coat of winter snow - and through the idyllic neighborhoods of Newton, Massachusetts.
As the saying goes, old stories are like old friends - you have to visit them from time to time - and I can’t wait for my next story.