As someone who has grown up in Philadelphia my whole life, New England has never been somewhere that I ever thought I would love. I traveled to Maine once a few years ago and I really loved it, but I just never imagined I could love the city that’s home to the Patriots (gross, am I right?).
To be fair, I had never even given Boston a real chance. On my way to study abroad, I had a layover in Boston and ended up leaving the airport to get a lobster roll and walk part of the Freedom Trail (more on that later). I liked it at the time, I guess, but it was cold then and it’s hard to enjoy anywhere when it’s freezing and you have to drag your luggage around with you.
Luckily, I now have a fantastic significant other who just so happens to live in Boston! His family also has a house on Cape Cod, so this summer I’ve truly gotten to experience the best of Massachusetts and I think I really fell in love.
We’ll start with Boston. I spent my Labor Day weekend exploring the city and hitting all of the best spots. It has all of the cute, old historic buildings and obviously some new additions, but I’m a sucker for anything built before 1900. The famous Newbury Street is lined with brick townhouses occupied by high-end shops, restaurants, and boutiques. It was such gorgeous weather and we ate at an outdoor restaurant before walking all the way down Newbury Street.
The place I was really dying to see was the Boston Public Library. I had seen so many pictures online of the stunning architecture, but it was still just as breathtaking in person. The moment you walk in, you’re greeted by echoing voices and footsteps on the grand staircase that features a stoic lion statue on either side. The tall walls are covered in murals as old as the building itself.
At the top of the stairs is the long, grand room that is the subject of so many photographs. There was of course a crowd of tourists on a busy Saturday afternoon, but there were also dozens of people sitting and working in the beautiful space, probably annoyed, but used to all of the commotion.
After wandering around the rooms of the library for a bit, we meandered out to the courtyard. It was like a little oasis right in the middle of the ornate building. There were lots of others outside enjoying the weather and the quiet moments alongside the fountain. It was somewhere I could see myself spending many afternoons catching up on work or reading one of the many books I have stacked next to my bed.
Just down the street from the library is Boston Common park. Like a much, much smaller Central Park, with plenty of shady trees and grassy areas where people were laying around. The pond in the center had an arching stone bridge and was filled with the swan boats that are so famous around there.
I saw some more of the city that day as we walked along the Charles River and then head to the Fenway area. There’s a cool eatery called Time Out Market that has booths of different restaurants packed inside among tables and a few bars, kind of like an upscale food court. All of the booths had killer menus, so it’s pretty hard to go wrong with any choice there, and it can satisfy any group of people with all of the varieties of cuisines.
Luckily for me, I was able to experience the glory of Fenway Park without having to sit through a Red Sox game. We had tickets to see Zac Brown Band and I fully took advantage of that time to explore this old and historic stadium. We even got a mini tour of the Fenway Press Box and Media Box from a pretty cool inside connection.
One of my favorite parts of Boston has to be the North End. Heavily influenced by Italian culture, each crooked and winding street is lined with Italian restaurants, bakeries, and old Boston history. With gems like the Old North Church and Paul Revere’s House along the Freedom Trail, the North End is full of things to do, see, and eat.
Oh, right! The Freedom Trail! Okay so the Freedom Trail is a physical trail put right into the sidewalks of the North End that leads you to all of the historic landmarks. It starts at Faneuil Hall/Quincy Market and winds all around the area, which is FREE and a pretty fun way to spend a couple of hours in the city.
The best food I ate during my weekend was on the day we explored the North End. We started at Quincy Market and got some AMAZING lobster rolls smothered in garlic butter. Yeah, read that again: garlic butter. They were incredible and fresh and just wow. I’m not a fan of the type of lobster roll that comes cold with a mayonnaise base. I feel like that just ruins the point of having a lobster roll if you’re going to dilute the lobster with mayo? Just get the garlic butter. Trust me.
Another classic Boston staple is apparently the cannoli, and, more specifically, the cannolis from Mike’s Pastry. The line was out the door and around the corner, but with flavors like Nutella, mint chocolate chip, and Oreo, it’s no surprise that it’s so popular. I’m not even a big fan of cannolis (I don’t really love the whole idea of Ricotta), but I really loved these. Definitely worth the wait in line and buying six cannolis for yourself so you can try all of the flavors.
Of course I had to have some Italian food while in the North End because, well, when in Rome, right? We had an awesome dinner at a cool place called Arya, and yes I was the only one who finished my entire pasta entree on top of all of the appetizers we all split. The spaghetti with bolognese was just THAT GOOD. The meatballs and grilled octopus appetizers were killer and I was completely stuffed. It was some of the best Italian food I had eaten outside of Italy and was the perfect meal to end my trip.
Not only did I get to explore the city, but I was also lucky enough to spend a few weekends on Cape Cod, which is where I most definitely fell in love with New England. It’s a much less pretentious Hamptons but it has three times the charm. I loved every second of relaxing by the surf, porch hang outs, bonfires on the beach, and walking into town. Even one weekend when we happened to run into Hurricane Dorian, we were able to have some cozy fun and enjoy the nice weather that followed.
Besides all of my preconceived notions about Boston and New England, I found myself really enjoying everything about it (other than the sports teams). I don’t know if I’ll ever be prepared for the cold weather there, but between Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends, you can find me dreaming of planning a trip back.
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