Boston, Massachusetts

After our little excursion to New Haven, CT we were Boston bound. The city had been on our bucket list for a while and we were more than excited to finally check it off. Our first stop when we rolled in was to drop off our bags in Porter Square at our friend Peyton's. Peyton is one of John's friends from med school who now is working on his M.D. PhD. at Harvard (smarty pants, I know). After we caught  up for a little bit, John and I went to the North End for a quick little walking tour before lunch. Some of the stops include: Park's Street Church,  Granary Burial Ground -the burial place of Benjamin Franklin  & Mother Goose, and King's Cross Chapel.

For lunch we dined at Neptune Oyster. The place was highly ranked and rightfully so. While the special of the day was shrimp and grits, as Southern  foodie snobs- we chose not to divulge in the Southern staple and chose clam chowder and a lobster roll to share instead. What a great choice that was! The flavors were divine and the seafood was some of the freshest that I've ever had. Since we had heard that every meal in the North End needs to be topped off with a cannoli, we went to Mike's Pastry for some of the best. The flavor choices were abundant and ranged from your average run of the mill to unique flavors like amaretto and pistachio.

After all of the decadent food, we walked it off by taking a stroll to the Old North Church for what ended up being a private tour of the grounds. The church is one of the oldest in the country and holds some pretty amazing historical stories inside of its walls...including the crypt. If you're ever in the area, I would highly suggest going on the tour.

The very steps that the Patriots climbed to hang the lanterns to warn the city of the Red Coats arrival. 

We then meandered through the Boston Public Gardens, took a free tour of the State House (which I could have honestly done without since it lasted an hour long- but it wasn't the worst thing in the world), and the Boston Public Library. We also managed to do a little people watching in Copley Square before boarding the subway back to Cambridge.

We dined with Peyton for dinner at Orinoco and feasted on some delicious Venezuelan sandwiches before taking a walking tour of Harvard's campus. The campus was pretty remarkable, especially at night and especially when our little walking tour was led by someone who really knows the lay of the land. Afterwards, we hit up the Harvard alum and student-only bar, Cambridge Queen's Head, that was tucked beneath Memorial Hall.

It was a quick trip, but an enjoyable one for sure. I fell in love quickly with the Northeastern gem and can't wait for another trip to explore more!