Thursday, June 19, 2014

Boston

Frank and I just returned from a wonderful 'babymoon' to Boston and Nantucket.  It was a much needed vacation for both of us and we are both so grateful for the time away, together, before our new little blessing graces us with his presence :-)  We are, obviously, already parents to Miss Bunny, and so we don't get much time away as just the two of us, so this little trip was very special.
We chose Boston because Frank, who really loves history, had always wanted to see this historical city.  I really wanted to go somewhere on the Eastern coast and so we chose Nantucket over Martha's Vineyard, based on recommendations from family.  I couldn't be happier with what we saw and experienced.  It was all together replenishing! 
I have a gagillion photos, so I'm going to break this down into little chewable pieces ;-)

I seriously 'ooohed' and 'aahhed', the whole time, over all the wonderful Colonial architecture, which is one of my favorite periods for architecture and design.

We wanted to stay in a historic building, so we chose the Omni Parker House for this reason and for it's central location and proximity to lots of touristy sightseeing downtown.  Above is the beautiful entrance to our hotel.


Standing in opposition ;-)



We didn't have an 'itinerary', which is our very favorite way to travel.  We love to wander and see what we happen upon.  However, we did plan this and walked our keesters off on The Freedom Trail, but I'm so glad we did because we got to see many cool, historical sites and a lot of the downtown area.  We did give in and hop on an occasional tour bus here and there, which my preggo feet were grateful for.


I ate a cookie the size of my head from a cute little marketplace behind Faneuil Hall.

We LOVED the North End.  I thought my head was going to pop off when we had to pick a restaurant for dinner.  Literally, door front after door front, for as far as I could see, was completely charming.  We finally just picked one and settled down at Florentine Café.  I have no idea if the locals consider this a good one or not, but it was delicious!  Frank had the Gnocchi and I had the Filette Balsamico with truffle risotto.  It was really good!  Our waiter was from Italy, and we had a nice little chat about where my father is from in Italy and how the waiter likes the states.

While we were in the North End we picked up a box of Mike's Pastries and I ate a cream puff in bed for breakfast the next morning.  Oink oink.  My Zio, also from Italy, is an amazing chef and used to run a really yummy restaurant in Dallas.  He used to make cream puffs like these and this was the closest thing to those that I've ever had.  So unbelievably good.
Speaking of sweets, this adorable bakery was just down and across the street from our hotel.  Isn't this one of the most adorable store fronts you've ever seen?!
Had a beer here...well, Frank had a beer and I had an iced tea, but I really wanted a beer. 
Grabbed a bite here.  
It was right across from the cemetery that Frank wanted to see that had a lot of old, important, historical guys buried in it ;-P
Baby bump appearance :-)

I might have eaten Mike's Pastries again from bed the next day.  Hazelnut Cannoli this time.  No shame.


We peeked inside the public library and I'm sure glad we did!  Stunning!
Just incredible!  It reminded me so much of wandering through the architectural gems of Italy.
We grabbed a delicious lunch on the patio at Stephanie's on Newbury.  I had the lobstah roll.  YUM!!!  For you mommies out there, you know how very special it is to have a meal ALONE with your husband.  Just sitting in the sunshine, without anywhere really to be, and no one needing me for anything was pure bliss.  We indulged.
My date and my dinner at No 9 Park.  Delicious, delicious!!!
We loved Boston!!!! 
We'd love to go back and see more. We know we only saw a very tiny slice of this incredible city!

Next we headed over to Cambridge...

5 comments:

Lisa @ Shine Your Light said...

Oh my gosh, you hit so many great spots!!! No. 9 & Stephanies! And Mike's is a must. I used to work on Lewis Wharf right at the end of the North End way back before my kiddos, and I think I gained 10 lbs. eating lunch up there daily! You did an excellent job touring Boston! Glad you had a fun trip.

Maria@Live Beautifully said...

Lisa, what a treat to hear from a local that we saw the 'right' stuff :-) We didn't really know what we were doing. We got some recommendations and then just winged it so I'm glad that it was all good...we thought it was great! I would love to go back and eat my way through the North End!!!

Tessa said...

ah, my favorite city!! looks like you had a wonderful trip. we'll be there in a few weeks, just quickly though before heading to the cape and nantucket! ;) i've never seen sweet, we will have to check that out while we are there, for the cuteness factor alone!!
tessa

Maria@Live Beautifully said...

Tessa it was so fun! I wish we were headed back to the cape, I'm jelly! Have a great time!

Diary of a Mad Woman said...

Hello matte great blog post