Someplace New

Well, I know it’s been a while. Trust us, it feels like a LONG time for us too! Buying a house, doing your own renovations and setting down roots in one place really does limit your travel time and money, huh? Oh #adulting.

As we jetted off for our next international adventure, we had a long layover in Boston, Massachusetts.  Neither of us had ever visited Beantown before so we stretched our layover as long as possible and scored ourselves a whopping 5 hours in Boston. With our limited timetable in mind, we didn’t do any museums or paid attractions, but instead just roamed the most walkable areas and tried to get the Boston vibe.

Our first step was getting ourselves from the airport to the walkable city center. Easier said than done in a post 9-11 world where the airports won’t store your luggage during a layover.  If you are in Boston for the day, we recommend using Rowes Wharf Water Transport to solve this predicament. For $20, they will pick you up, transport you across the harbor, store your luggage for the day and then bring you back in time for your connecting flight. As long as you grab the free bus (bus 66) from the airport to the taxi pick-up, it was an easy and fun trip across the harbor. One notable anecdote: the captain of our water taxi really demonstrated that streotypical Boston brashness you hear about.  In our 20 minutes with her, she probably dropped more F-bombs than The Wolf of Wall Street  and didn’t hold back on her bluntness.  We found it hilarious, but some people may not 😉

 

The second our feet left the dock, we were STARVING. We headed towards Quincy Market and were greeted by mobs of people shoving their way through the food and vendor stands. We enjoyed having a look around, but the atmosphere was too crazy for us to enjoy lunch in.  We walked over to the North End instead and made our way to Pauli’s for some Lobster Rolls!

For a quick lunch stop, while experiencing a local favorite, Pauli’s was the perfect place to go. They are rated really highly, they are quick and in a convenient location.  Don’t get sticker shock though- anywhere you go lobster rolls will cost about $20 a piece.

Apparently there are two ways to eat a lobster roll- cold with mayo, or hot with butter. Brad and I got one of each and split them – but will say we both preferred the hot version. Pauli’s did NOT skimp on the meat; look at these babies!!

We spent the time we had left walking by the historical sites starting with the North End.  This area of town was so fun to explore; it felt very European with it’s narrow streets opening up to big city views.  We really enjoyed walking around this area.

We ended up outside of the Paul Revere House and although we didn’t go to the museum, there were lots of Paul Revere-related locations to see in that area. We googled some Revere history and sat outside of the church where the lanterns were once lit and soaked in the feeling.

Now that we had seen where Paul Revere lived, why not go see where he ended up? We made our way over to the Granary Burying Ground which was actual a beautiful place where a lot of famous Bostonians and American figures were laid to rest. We walked around with a little guidebook from a local and were able to see the resting places of John Hancock, Samuel Adams, Robert Paine, Paul Revere and randomly.. Mother Goose.

Winding down our day, we went for a nice walk along the water and took in views of the USS Constitution in the Charlestown Navy Yard.

When our FitBits said 25,000 and our feet were crying for a rest, we grabbed ourselves some Boston Baked Beans (a favorite treat from my childhood) and parked on a bench across from the Boston Tea Party Museum.  One of our favorite parts about the day was sitting on that bench and watching the children on the boat at the museum throw fake boxes of tea overboard… pull them back up… and toss them overboard again. What a fun activity!

Overall, our day in Boston was really fun. We were able to walk around the city center, get a feel for the exciting big city environment, and take in a little history lesson. We grabbed our luggage, hopped on the boat, and off to the airport we went.

What other things should we see on our next trip to Boston? We would love to go back with more time. Leave us some suggestions in the comments!

Next stop, Ireland!