We took a red eye flight Thursday night and arrived Friday morning around 10 am after we had a small delay at JFK airport. We took the T from the airport to our hotel which was actually in Cambridge. We wanted the whole Boston experience by taking the subway with all of our luggage. When we moved to Boston 8 years ago, we flew in with a few suitcases and took the T to the house we were staying in until our apartment was ready. I remember struggling getting all of our luggage from train to train. This time wasn't too bad since we each only had one suitcase.
My sister's boyfriend was able to hook us up with a free room in Kendall Square. We couldn't pass up that opportunity, plus the convention was at the Boston Convention Center which isn't too far from there. It was a nice hotel and they treated us as if we were celebrities. Fortunately they didn't get to know us that well so we did fool them for our short stay.
DAY 1:
We ate breakfast at a cafe in Kendall Square then headed to our old neighborhood - Fenway. Here I am at the Fenway subway stop on the Green D line, with the Citgo sign in the background. This was our T stop while we lived in Boston. So many memories came back getting off of this stop. I remember walking to the T stop at 6:15 am in January with my eyeballs frozen and the lovely wind that would come right in front of the Landmark Center.
We were so excited to see our old neighborhood though we had a few disappointments. Our first disappointment when we approached our neighborhood was the HUGE metal and glass skyscraper that was built on Boylston. It is such an eyesore amongst all the brownstones and beautiful architecture. I was still in shock over the ugliness of the new building when to our horror we saw this:
The row of restaurants a block down our old street were gone! A lady told us that a grease fire in Thortons started in the middle of the night and didn't get under control until morning. ALL of the restaurants were destroyed. How sad! We were planning on eating our way through the restaurants - fried zucchini at Thortons, pad thai at Rod-Dee, burritos at El Pelon. These restaurants are packed during Red Sox games. I wonder where everyone eats before games now. So we opted for another favorite of ours around the corner - Hidyan Cafe. We were happy to see that it was still standing. Rob enjoyed an RC Cola in honor of Ryan Oliverson and a smoked turkey, mozzarella & roasted peppers roll-up.
The lady who works there, her family owns the cafe, remembered us. Either we ate there way too much, she has a great memory, or she was lying! We couldn't leave there without some peppermint oreo frozen yogurt. That is our favorite!
We walked over to our favorite Thai restaurant to make sure it was still there. We were happy to see that it was there but the name had changed. Brown Sugar Cafe was bought by their head chef and she renamed it Thaitation. Don't love the name but supposedly the food is the same so we were satisfied. We next walked over to see our old apartment building. We thought it looked a bit nicer because they cut down a bunch of shrubbery in front of the building. It is amazing that even in an old city, things can change so much in 4 years yet also remain the same. 
Here I am at 125 Peterborough. It was interesting to look at the names next to the door buzzers. Even 4 years later some of them were the same. We even ran into our old maintenance workers how love Rob because they are all Brazilian and Rob would speak Portuguese with them.
The park across from our old apartment looked beautiful. This was a dirt lot most of the time we lived there but became a park our last year in Boston. It was drizzling a bit while we were in the park and the humid rain gave us the true spring Boston experience.
Our street - Peterborough - in front of the park.
The trees with their spring blossoms were gorgeous. We headed to Fenway Park where we picked up some Red Sox gear. I was dying to get a new hat for Evan since his head has outgrown his original Red Sox hat.
Next we headed to Rob's Alma mater. As we approached the dental school, we noticed a local television crew filming. Come to find out, 9 dental students were suspected to have swine flu so the whole dental school was closed. I believe 6 of those students ended up having confirmed cases. Since we didn't get to go inside we headed to the COOP so Rob could get a frame for his diploma.
We walked up to our first place we lived in Brookline on St Paul Street. So many memories on this street where I use to walk down to catch the subway for work and to pretty much go anywhere since we didn't have a car our first year in Boston. We then walked and shopped around Coolidge Corner. Rob gave me a hard time because I went into Baby Gap. He stated that we could go into the Gap in Utah. Though this Baby Gap is sentiment to me since I bought a lot of Evan's baby clothes there and got some pretty amazing deals! You know me the bargain shopper.
We were exhausted from all the walking and hopped on the T to head back to our hotel. We were so excited to see that they still had some of the older trains with the fabulous orange and blue vinyl seats.
Our original plan was to head back to Brown Sugar for dinner but we were too tired so we went up the street to Bertucci's and enjoyed some salad and pizza. We slept so well that night since we didn't sleep much the night before on the plane and we had had a long fun-filled day.DAY 2:
Rob went to the convention and I headed to my old work - Massachusetts General Hospital. I use to work in the glass tower on the left of the picture on the 17th floor. It has a great view of the Charles River and Beacon Hill. I guess if you have to stay in the hospital you might as well have a good view. It was so good to see my old coworkers and catch up. I owe the foundation of my nursing career to the great nurses on Ellison 17 who taught me so much! 
I then walked down Charles Street and stopped in some of the cute shops. I have always loved this 7-Eleven that is on Charles Street at the base of Beacon Hill. Only on Charles Street can a 7-Eleven look so nice!
I wandered through Beacon Hill mesmerized at the gorgeous architecture. I love the gorgeous brownstones. They have so much character, charm and are so elegant.
The great little alley ways between the brownstones and the classic black lamp posts. I was trying to take it all in!
More lovely homes in Beacon Hill. I just couldn't get enough. 
At this point I put my camera away and just enjoyed my walk through the Public Gardens then the Commons where I got some caramelized cashews. Both were gorgeous as usual. I should have taken some pictures but just enjoyed the moment. In the Commons I bought some Red Sox t-shirts for Evan and Lily from a street vendor. I needed to have the full tourist experience!! I went to Downtown Crossing and shopped around a bit and tried to enjoy a Dunkin Donut. They just really aren't that good. Sorry Bostonians who think they are great. Most everything else in Boston is great but Dunkin Donuts just isn't but I just had to have one to have the whole Boston experience.
I then walked down Charles Street and stopped in some of the cute shops. I have always loved this 7-Eleven that is on Charles Street at the base of Beacon Hill. Only on Charles Street can a 7-Eleven look so nice!I wandered through Beacon Hill mesmerized at the gorgeous architecture. I love the gorgeous brownstones. They have so much character, charm and are so elegant.The great little alley ways between the brownstones and the classic black lamp posts. I was trying to take it all in!More lovely homes in Beacon Hill. I just couldn't get enough. At this point I put my camera away and just enjoyed my walk through the Public Gardens then the Commons where I got some caramelized cashews. Both were gorgeous as usual. I should have taken some pictures but just enjoyed the moment. In the Commons I bought some Red Sox t-shirts for Evan and Lily from a street vendor. I needed to have the full tourist experience!! I went to Downtown Crossing and shopped around a bit and tried to enjoy a Dunkin Donut. They just really aren't that good. Sorry Bostonians who think they are great. Most everything else in Boston is great but Dunkin Donuts just isn't but I just had to have one to have the whole Boston experience.I then met Rob in the North End for dinner. Poor guy had been at the convention all day while I was soaking up Beantown. We met our friends from Minnesota, Oana and Dave, at Giacomo's for dinner. Oana was in orthodontic school with Rob. We had never eaten at Giacomo's but have heard rave reviews. They don't take reservations or put your name on a list so you just wait in a line outside. It took us about an hour to get in but fortunately it was really good. Though I think we like our old faithful L'Osteria a bit better.
It is tiny inside the restaurant and the waitresses just yell their order to the chefs since it is all just one small room. The bathrooms are down a narrow staircase and are tiny with a short ceiling - Dave had to duck!
I got what Rachael Ray recommended, I assumed she knows her Italian food since she is Italian, the Pumpkin Tortellini. It was amazing! Rob got some seafood pasta with the Giacomo's sauce which was good but nothing like the tortellini.
You can't be in the North End and not stop by Mike's Pastry. We loaded up on pastries to eat once our dinner settled. Next we went to the Minnesota Orthodontic Alumni Reunion and enjoyed catching up with old friends. Though in the back of our minds or should I say mouths, we were thinking of the pastries we had waiting for us. We went a bit overboard and got several pastries and tried some of each. Of course Rob HAD to get his Lobster Tail. He had his first Lobster Tail a few weeks after we moved to Boston and it is still his favorite. My favorite is the Ricotta Cannoli with chocolate chips, though I have to admit the Lobster tail is growing on me.
We all ate way too much and after our indulgence we were off to Top of the Hub for supposed dessert with Minnesota alumni. Ha ha, like we could eat another thing! We chatted with friends at Top of the Hub enjoying the great view of Boston. At 1:30 am we were all delirious so Rob and I took a cab back to our hotel and crashed. What a fun-filled day.
DAY 3:
It is tiny inside the restaurant and the waitresses just yell their order to the chefs since it is all just one small room. The bathrooms are down a narrow staircase and are tiny with a short ceiling - Dave had to duck!I got what Rachael Ray recommended, I assumed she knows her Italian food since she is Italian, the Pumpkin Tortellini. It was amazing! Rob got some seafood pasta with the Giacomo's sauce which was good but nothing like the tortellini. You can't be in the North End and not stop by Mike's Pastry. We loaded up on pastries to eat once our dinner settled. Next we went to the Minnesota Orthodontic Alumni Reunion and enjoyed catching up with old friends. Though in the back of our minds or should I say mouths, we were thinking of the pastries we had waiting for us. We went a bit overboard and got several pastries and tried some of each. Of course Rob HAD to get his Lobster Tail. He had his first Lobster Tail a few weeks after we moved to Boston and it is still his favorite. My favorite is the Ricotta Cannoli with chocolate chips, though I have to admit the Lobster tail is growing on me.We all ate way too much and after our indulgence we were off to Top of the Hub for supposed dessert with Minnesota alumni. Ha ha, like we could eat another thing! We chatted with friends at Top of the Hub enjoying the great view of Boston. At 1:30 am we were all delirious so Rob and I took a cab back to our hotel and crashed. What a fun-filled day.DAY 3:
As if we hadn't had enough fun, we decided to rent a car to visit some of our favorite places. Take a look at our sweet ride. Rob was a bit embarrassed to drive a "girly bug" but got over it quickly. We enjoyed driving the streets of Boston. That is something we both have always enjoyed. You either hate driving around Boston because you get lost and are driven crazy by all the one-ways and windy roads or you love the craziness and embrace it.
We headed up the north shore to Rockport. The main reason we wanted to go to Rockport was for the Fish Shack. It seriously is a shack inside, but oh so good!! 
Rob LOVES the scallops and I think they were talking to him or maybe he was showing me how delicious they are.
I had the fish and chips. SO GOOD. We also had the coconut shrimp which I highly recommend even though I am not a shrimp lover.
We had a great view of the harbor out the window.
We walked along the beach and enjoyed the quaintness of this darling coastal town.
There is a reason Rob is posing like that I just don't remember. I am sure it is something to do with this is where we took pictures with the Oliversons 5 years ago when they came and visited us. Ryan & Rob made many poses including Blue Steel.
In front of the famous Motif 1 - the red fishing shack which is the most painted building in the world, or so it is said.
Shopping on BearSkin Neck in Rockport.
We then headed to Lexington to the Minuteman Museum to catch a showing of the multimedia film, "The Road to Revolution". It recaps the events that began the Revolutionary War. We were hoping to make it to Concord to the Old North Bridge but ran out of time. Oh well, we will have to come back next year!
We headed up the north shore to Rockport. The main reason we wanted to go to Rockport was for the Fish Shack. It seriously is a shack inside, but oh so good!! Rob LOVES the scallops and I think they were talking to him or maybe he was showing me how delicious they are.I had the fish and chips. SO GOOD. We also had the coconut shrimp which I highly recommend even though I am not a shrimp lover.We had a great view of the harbor out the window. We walked along the beach and enjoyed the quaintness of this darling coastal town. There is a reason Rob is posing like that I just don't remember. I am sure it is something to do with this is where we took pictures with the Oliversons 5 years ago when they came and visited us. Ryan & Rob made many poses including Blue Steel.In front of the famous Motif 1 - the red fishing shack which is the most painted building in the world, or so it is said.Shopping on BearSkin Neck in Rockport.We then headed to Lexington to the Minuteman Museum to catch a showing of the multimedia film, "The Road to Revolution". It recaps the events that began the Revolutionary War. We were hoping to make it to Concord to the Old North Bridge but ran out of time. Oh well, we will have to come back next year!That night we had dinner at some dear friends' home, Alyson and Dave. They cooked us an amazing meal and we enjoyed chatting and catching up. It is amazing that we hadn't seen each other in 4 years, yet it seemed like yesterday we were hanging out. We are so fortunate to have such great friends! Of course we forgot to take pictures because we were enjoying ourselves too much!
DAY 4:
Well no more Boston pictures from here on. I guess I was so comfortable being back in Boston that the picture taking stopped. Nonetheless, we still were having a great time. Rob was once again at the convention. A lot of his time was spent in the exhibit hall looking at equipment and products for his new office.
While he was working I was wondering down Newbury Street shopping. I met Alyson for lunch at Figs on Charles Street and then she took me to the best secret of Boston - Zapatos. It is this shoe warehouse where I got 3 amazing pairs of shoes for $70. We were on a time crunch because Alyson needed to pick up her son from school so it was like we were on a mad shopping spree. Though the unlimited money wasn't there. Anyhow, it was a huge success and I couldn't believe I had never been there before. I will definitely hit it on our next vacation to Beantown and I will call Alyson to accompany me there. She was great at finding cool shoes at a great deal under pressure! Thanks Alyson for such a fun afternoon.
Alyson dropped me off at the convention center so I could help Rob pick out a few things. My favorite part of the exhibit hall was the company who was giving out cotton candy. I LOVE that stuff. I ate 3 and was satisfied!
That night Rob and I ate at Brown Sugar. Okay it really is called Thaitation as I mentioned previously but I have such a hard time calling it that. It was as delicious as we remember and the food is the same as when it was the Shug. I have never had better Thai food. Plus this is the the restaurant that really got Rob and I loving Thai food so it has a special place in our stomachs.
DAY5:
Our last day in Boston. So sad. Rob ran to the convention to soak it all in as I ran to Harvard Square to pick up some Harvard gear. I was in the COOP for over an hour picking out shirts for Rob's staff, a sweatshirt for myself, a t-shirt for Rob's mom, sweatshirts for my kids, and baby gifts for 2 of Rob's assistants. I was seriously sweating picking out all this stuff. I hate choosing things for other people especially when they can't return it. So not only was I stressing about the actually item but the size.
It was then time to pack up and head to the airport. We had an amazing vacation. The only 2 things that could have made it better - the Red Sox playing while we were there and all of our old Boston friends in town with us. I think we do need to have a Boston Reunion - anyone up for it?
Of course we missed the kids but they were in good hands. My parents and Rob's parents were very nice to watch them while we played. Our friend Shelley also took them for an afternoon. Thanks to all of you who helped to make this trip possible!
Vardell took this picture of Taylor, Whitney, and Evan all sleeping in the guest bed at Rob's parents' house. Rob's sister, Stephanie, had her baby the day we came home so Rob's parents had her kids sleep over the night before along with our kids. Vardell stated his favorite part was bedtime - when all the kids were asleep and it was quite!
Here's our Boston Boy in his new Boston gear. He was so excited to get a new hat that actually fit and was like dad's hat!
Boston, until next time. Farewell.
Boston, until next time. Farewell.
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