A Weekend In Boston

Leah and I cashed in some travel points and took a trip down to Boston this weekend.

On our first night in Boston we checked out the Matt Nathanson concert at the Berklee Performance Center. We scored front row center seats in the balcony, giving us an incredible view of the stage, and spectacular sound. I borrowed Steve’s recording gear and taped the show – save the linked FLAC files from setlist below.

Here’s what was performed:
02: Gone
03: Car Crash
04: Sad Songs
05: Still
06: Princess (Jessie’s Girl interlude)
07: Pretty The World (In Between Days intro)
08: Curve Of The Earth
09: Laid
10: Falling Apart (In A Big Country intro)
11: Sing Me Sweet
12: Suspended
13: Loud (duet with Jessie Baylin)
14: Somewhere To Hide
15: To The Beat of Our Noisy Hearts
16: Take On Me – A Ha cover
17: Wedding Dress
18: Angel
19: I Saw
20: Detroit Waves (Kids In America interlude)
21: Come On Get Higher
22: Answering Machine

The next day we started with breakfast at Trident Booksellers on Newbury Street. It’s a book store and café all-in-one, and Leah was in heaven! After breakfast we boarded and Old Town Trolley for a tour of the city. This is a hop-on, hop-off tour, and we did just that – getting off in Beacon Hill where we wandered the streets, climbed the hill, and stopped by the exterior of Cheers. We got back on the trolley and despite the fact that we had the greatest tour guide ever in Nate, we hopped off near Faneuil Hall Marketplace to grab some lunch.

Lunch was some great pizza from Regina Pizzeria which we enjoyed in the sun outside of the main market hall. Although the calender tells me that it is October, it felt like July it was so hot.

We reboarded the trolley and made our way north a bit more before hopping off to check out some of the Freedom Trail, The Paul Revere House, and The Old North Church.

By this point our feet were getting tired so we hopped back on the trolley and returned to our hotel for a rest before heading out for dinner.

Our extremely helpful concierge John made reservations for us at Cantina Italiana where we enjoyed homemade pasta, great wine, and wonderful deserts. The North End of Boston has the market cornered on Italian restaurants as they line both sides of Hanover Street. And every one of them was packed, most with patrons lined up onto the street waiting to get a seat. If it weren’t for our reservations we would have been in for a wait of more than an hour!! And lots of people were willing to wait.

After dinner Leah and I walked up Hanover, explored the touching Holocaust Memorial and then cut through Beacon Hill before catching a cab back to our hotel.

On Sunday we returned to Trident for breakfast before walking out to Fenway park for a tour. We got the last two tickets for the 11am tour – there were 130 people on the tour, and the tours run every hour.

Much like Nate, our tour guide was awesome, full of quick facts and one-liners that burned any Yankee fan within earshot. It’s hard not to get caught up in the emotion of being a Red Sox fan, as it flows from the pores of every Bostonian.

After the tour we hopped on The T and headed across the Charles River to explore Harvard. When we emerged at Harvard Square we were greeted with a sea of people, live bands and a parade! The campus, at least the part we explored, is gated and free of cars. It’s very nice, but not as “impressive” as I thought it would be. Lots of columns and big buildings, but something was missing.

Before getting back on The T, we stopped at JP Licks for some “Maple Walnut Buttah” ice cream. Bostonians seem more than willing to poke fun at their accent – we also saw “The Connah Store” in our travels.

By this point we had to make our way back to the hotel to collect our bags. But along with way we stopped at The Upper Crust to try another of Boston’s favourite pizzas. I preferred this one to Regina, but Leah liked Regina more.

A final stroll along Boylston and through the Prudential Centre before we gathered our bags and boarded The T for the return journey to Logan. It’s so nice to be able to take the subway to the airport. Such a novel concept that the decision makers in Toronto sadly don’t understand.

Our weekend in Boston was a great getaway – it is an amazing city.