Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Boston, Massachusetts - Day 2

Day 2 of our adventures in Boston started at the Massachusetts State House where we had a great view of Boston Common while enjoying our coffees.  From there, we walked down the street to the historic and charming neighborhood of Beacon Hill, where rowhouses, gas street lamps, shady trees and brick sidewalks are commonplace in the area.  


Decorations on entrances to homes in the Beacon Hill neighborhood...


Na hanging out and staying warm in an apartment doorway while I was taking pictures and some birds eating away on a feeder on Charles Street.



And of course, we gotta eat...brunch at Beacon Hill Hotel & Bistro!



Because dinner was so good in the North End on the previous night, we decided to head back to the same area on our 2nd night.  Off the main street and in a very tight one way street is Nepture Oyster.  Although the place was small and the wait was long, we had another delicious meal in the North End.  We're starting to think that EVERYTHING is good in this area!


And then there's desserts...  We've been told from locals that for cannoli's, it's either Mike's Pastry or Modern Pastry.  Being that we love desserts and it might be awhile before we're back in Boston...we got cannoli's from both places!  Oh and not just one cannoli, but two from each location AND other sweets!


Can you say sugar HIGH???  Anyways, as you can tell, I couldn't really wait to eat a few of them before taking pictures...oh well.

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Boston, Massachusetts - Day 1

It's been waaay too long since my last entry, but I did finally get a chance to go through some pictures from late last year when we took a trip to Boston.  It was the first time both of us have visited and spending 4 days there gave us a good idea of what the city was all about...historically, visually and of course, culinary!  We got in on the red-eye and surprisingly, neither one of us was tired and so we started our adventure in Boston early in the morning.  After checking in at the Intercontinental which overlooks the Boston Harbor, we headed straight to breakfast.  It was a nice walk from our hotel to Flour Bakery and Cafe, a local joint recommended by the hotel staff.  The shop display was filled with mouth-watering pastries while the smell of fresh brewed coffee was omnipresent.



After breakfast, we headed over to Boston Common for the Freedom Trail Walking Tour led by our
18th-century costumed tour guide...who Na and I both thought looked a lot like a smaller Liam Neeson.


The Granary Burying Ground of Boston's most famous sons...  Although there are 2,345 markers on the grounds, an estimated 8,000 people were buried here.


Quincy Market


Below: Faneuil Hall, the site of American protests which would become the doctrine for
no taxation without representation...


Lunch from Quincy Market - Boston chowda, lobster bisque and lobster roll!


Details and sights along the Freedom Trail...




A panoramic view of Downtown Boston from Charlestown...


Dinner at Pomodoro in the North End, Boston's "Little Italy".  The restaurant was cozy but tiny so we had to wait outside for a table.  However, the staff completely surprised us by bringing out a plate of fried calamari AND wine while we waited...how cool is that?!?!  At that point, I was SOLD!  We had a delicious meal accompanied by excellent service...giving us a great first impression of the food and the people of Boston.