Monday, April 25, 2011

Day forty-something - 2011

I definitely neglected this blog this time around, but honestly I just didn't feel very motivated to update it. I don't know if that means I am experiencing a period where I'm uninspired creatively, or if the ennui was an extension of my enjoyable vacation from monitoring & reporting minutiae...anywho, here's the tally when I logged in today:

3 friend requests
18 notifications
13 messages in my inbox
11 invitations to events
6 pokes

Good times. Happy belated Easter! See you 'round (on the internets or otherwise).

xoMel

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Day 30 - 2011

Laziness more than anything has kept me away and business is the other 49% of why I've not updated more recently. I think that's a pretty sufficient excuse intro, right?

So...BOSTON!

I went. I saw. It was awesome.

Friday.
The Megabus experience was not incredible, but as I've said to anyone I tell that to: I guess you get what you pay for. Less than $50 round-trip means that sometimes you stand in the freezing cold waiting area (aka parking lot) on 9th Avenue because your Boston-bound bus is ninety minutes late. Ah well, I eventually regained feeling in my toes and it was fine after that. Seats were comfy and the trip up was smooth when the bus finally did arrive. The hotel was great, very busy-business-people friendly, complete w/ free wifi as well as a desk AND a dictionary. Not much of a nighttime scene was evident by the time I arrived (after midnight and Club Quarters is in the financial district) and I was pretty beat because I'm an old lady, so I turned in after unpacking my bag.

Saturday.
I wandered up to the Boston Harbor area around 10AM and picked out a trolley to ride around on after hitting the Starbucks in the nearby Marriott for a latte + sparkle donut. An adult trolley ticket is $32 for a full day of hop-on-hop-off capability, which was well worth it to me to get my bearings and learn a bit of history. Had I visited a few weeks later, my ticket would have also included the spring bonus: a Harbor cruise. But alas the winter freebie was entrance to the Mapparium instead, which while interesting didn't feel like a "must do" this trip. One full loop was about 2 hours and went all over the damn city. Here's a map, complete with my nerdy scribbles and notes taken during the tour:



My driver/tour-guide (Roger) was full of general knowledge and trivia. He pointed out lots of cool things like the ducks in Boston Common and explained why the Harvard bridge is nicknamed the Smoots Bridge. The thing I got the biggest kick out of though, was his particular disdain for the CHEERS bar. The sign out front is legit, but he wanted to let everyone on the trolley know it was an emotional and monetary ripoff to venture downstairs to the bar/gift shop. Roger was adamant that no-one should go and expect to see the real CHEERS bar since that was actually a set in Hollywood, and that a 4-pack of shot glasses for $20 is highway robbery. Roger that, Roger.

So ater taking the full loop back to the Harbor I meandered through the shops in the Fanuil Hall Marketplace and then hopped on the T (subway). I wandered around for a good while before finding a station, because I didn't know the "T"s on my iPhone Google-map could also indicate bus stops. Rookie mistake. I probably went in 3 complete circles before realizing I was walking past a T bus stop and that there wasn't a secret underground subway entrance I couldn't find. I finally figured that out and jumped on a T subway at Park Street station, which was near this gem:



So glad Boston readied my very own entrance to the State House!

So...the red line took me out to Harvard Square in Cambridge, where some friends (NY transplants from Boston) assured me I would find some excellent margaritas and sights. I stopped in at the Border Cafe for a nosh-- I highly recommend the blackened chicken fingers and the grande margarita:



After that I went down to another transplant recommendation, Grendel's Den. It's a cozy downstairs space with lots of good stuff on tap and a tasty menu. I enjoyed a couple Spring Training IPAs from Cambridge Brewing Company and then hopped the T back to my hotel. I picked up a 6-pack of Abita Jockamo IPA at the wine store nearby after committing another rookie mistake by first trying to find beer at CVS. Liquor laws in Boston must be different than NYC because you can't purchase my drug of choice, beer, at any drug stores. I downed a few Abitas back in my room and watched some TV before settling in around 8PM for what I thought would be a short disco-nap...Cut to midnight, much later than I planned on sleeping. Guess all the beer and fresh air did me in, so again I played old lady and stayed in for the night. I cracked a few more Abitas and watched some episodes of my new obsession, Party Down, before going back to sleep.

Sunday
I woke up early because of the extended disco nap, and went on the hunt for food. Unfortunately not much was open, so I ended up at McDonald's. Say what you will about fast food being deplorable, but after quite a few beers the night before, a greasy bagelegg'n'cheese w/ a hash brown was exactly what I needed. After greasefest 2011, I checked out of the hotel (leaving my bag w/ the front desk) and did a few stops on the Freedom Trail before I had to catch my bus back to NY. I managed to get as far as the site of the Boston Massacre before calling it quits, grabbing a delish sammy at Bruegger's Bakery for the road, and heading to South Station. I was early so I jumped in the standby line for the next bus leaving and got on with no problem. I did however ended up in a seat next to a fat guy so the ride back wasn't quite as pleasant as the one up, but again...you get what you pay for.

All in all, I'm glad I spent the time and money though. Next stop: D.C. at the end of the month. Gonna give the Bolt Bus a try...