I have been begging Zach to go to Boston for years.  Literally years.  He surprised me recently when he told me we were going to go to Boston and that it was going to be “for Mother’s Day”.  Little did I know that the Boston Bruins had made it to the playoffs and happened to be in Boston playing the EXACT same week Zach picked for us to go.  I really didn’t mind, however, because going to Boston for anything meant that I got to go to Boston.

We arrived in town Wednesday afternoon around 4:00.  I made Zach walk around and look at all the gorgeous Brownstones until we made it to our hotel.

We checked in, Zach bought two tickets to the game on Stub Hub, and we were off to the TD Garden.  We didn’t even have time for dinner.  We ate at the stadium – popcorn for Zach and a giant soft pretzel for myself.  I about died laughing when I walked passed the Bruin Babes in all their glory.  Pregnant and chowing on my soft pretzel, I decided to get a picture.  Because it was too funny to pass up.

The game was completely sold out – and not only was it packed, but the noise level was unlike any other sporting event I had ever experienced.  It was baptism by fire for me for my first hockey playoff game…

Unfortunately the Bruins lost, but we still had such a great time!

The next morning I had all planned out.  We would walk the Freedom Trail on the North End and eat at Regina Pizzeria for lunch.  Before we had left I debated whether or not schedule a guided tour for us.  Last minute I decided we would do it on our own.  Call me a cheapskate, but a $2 app on my phone and the ability to go at our own pace sounded a lot better than listening to a man dressed in knickers for three hours.  We were both so happy we decided to brave it on our own.

We went from place to place and then decided to have a lunch break.  The famous pizza place did not disappoint.  Zach killed his entire pepperoni pizza [this is pretty monumental considering he doesn’t eat that much normally] and I stuffed as much of my margherita pizza in my mouth as I possibly could.

We then continued along the Freedom Trail, but not without a few distractions.  Zach got sucked into the Pinkberry tractor beam and I popped in a local Italian bakery for some French macarons and an ice cold can of Diet Coke.  We sat at a little table in the corner and ate our treats while listening to the little old Italian men chattering behind us.  We found out later one of them was the owner.

After making our way to each stop on the Freedom Trail we had to head on over to our dinner reservation at Hillstone.  It was a restaurant owned by a chain of a place we went to in Chicago called Bandera.  I loved Bandera so much, when I found out their sister restaurant was in Boston, I made Zach go.  We also had a friend recommend it, so I was sold.  Hands down the best chicken I have ever had.  Zach enjoyed a giant steak and let me indulge in a brownie sundae for dessert.  We walked off our meal at a nearby market before making our way back to our hotel for the night.

Our second full day in the city we took the subway to Beacon Hill.  Probably the most picturesque bunch of streets I have ever laid eyes on.  We walked in and out of shops, ate brunch at the Paramount, and stopped by Acorn Street.  The tiny little street still has gas lamp posts and cobblestones – adorned with American flags.

 

After we walked some more we had to run back to our hotel to get our rain gear.  It was supposed to rain the majority of the day on Friday, which was when we had planned to go to a Red Sox game at Fenway.  We put on our rain jackets and boots and took the subway to a little Italian restaurant two blocks away from the stadium.  The restaurant was so tiny [less than 10 tables] and had a view right into the kitchen.  We ordered our meals and got to watch a very robust Italian man make our dinner.  I have heard phenomenal things about Boston’s Italian food.  This place killed it.

We ate our dinner and Zach purchased our game tickets [on his phone, 20 minutes before the game started] and then we walked to Fenway.  I have been wanting to visit Fenway Stadium pretty much my whole life.  It has been on my theoretical bucket list for as long as I can remember.  Zach had also never been and we couldn’t believe the character of the whole place.  Maybe it was the ancient stadium, maybe it was the whole vibe from all the fans, but whatever it was – it was the highlight of our whole trip!  We got some Sox gear and rushed into the crowd to get our seats.  Say what you will about Zach [I say he is an absolute procrastinator] but when it comes to game tickets, this guy has a fool-proof strategy.  Our tickets were incredible – no obstructions and under the pavilion above.  This was really important because when it started to rain between the second and third inning, we were completely dry and comfortable.

I also made a new friend, Chuck, who insisted we pose together for a photo.  We had thought the game would get rained out, but after a prolonged intermission, they were back at it.  My favorite was Sweet Caroline during the 8th inning.  Super cheesy, but so iconic of Fenway.  We rode the subway home with all the bummed fans [we lost to the Tigers by 1] but Zach and I were completely happy to have experienced historic Fenway.

Saturday was our last full day and was spent in Cambridge.  We rode the red line all the way to Harvard.  We walked around Harvard Yard, which was literally blossoming, and Zach got a Pinkberry to go while we roamed around.  We ate lunch at Shake Shack [bless you Cambridge…I have been craving a good burger for months now and am counting down the months until Shake Shack comes to Vegas] and made our way over to the river to watch the rowers do their drills.  I have always wanted to go to Cambridge in the fall, but spring was just as gorgeous.  The whole place was buzzing.  Students were moving out of the dormitories, parents were visiting.  It made me miss college life.  For about 10 full seconds.

Later we took the subway to Newbury Street to do some shopping.  My biggest score was my new mom bag AKA diaper bag!  We hit up several stores while the sun was shining.  We felt so lucky were were blessed with such great weather.  All of our teams lost, but the weather was perfection.  Zach braved more stores with me until it was time to make our way back to Cambridge for our dinner reservation.  We had a late meal at Commonwealth.  I also feel like we had great luck with food this whole trip.  We ordered their amazing macaroni and cheese, fried chicken, and trout.  We liked our entrees so much we ordered dessert – another brownie sundae for me and Juan Pedro [JP loves brownie sundaes, they are his favorite] and a plain jane scoop of vanilla ice cream for his father.

Sunday our flight left early in the afternoon and we didn’t have much time in the city before we left.  We decided to go back to Faneuil Hall and the market buildings for some browsing and lunch.  When Zach saw there was a Wagamama in Quincy Market, we both agreed we would dine there.  We had been several times in London and love their…everything.

Homemade chicken ramen and a rice bowl concluded our trip.  Basically we ate the entire time and loved every second of it.  We both hated the ride to the airport.  Traveling to new places for us is always a treat.  Just when we think we have settled on our favorite city to travel to…we go to Boston.  The food, the character of the buildings, the history.  This place has made our Top 5 permanently.

Also, I am officially in my second trimester.  Weeks 12 and 13 have completely flown by.  Along with getting my “mom bag” I bought a stroller.  I know it’s really early for this kind of stuff, but the one I have had my eye on went on sale on Amazon and I couldn’t resist.  Slowly, but surely, we are checking off our baby gear one item at a time.