BOSTON: THE CITY THAT STOLE MY HEART

The city that stole my heart. If the cost of living wasn't so high, you'd find me nestled into a condo on a cobblestone street. The winters also seem brutal, so I'll take my sunny state for now.

Boston had always been a trip we've wanted to take. We waited until the right time with work but also so we could save up for a really nice trip. I almost wish we would've gone in a bit of a warmer month but it did not dull our trip one bit.

History is engraved in their culture. It's flooding every street and scouring every storefront. Even in bars, you'll see pictures crowding the walls of old past times that we now call traditions. I basically wrote an entire book about my observations on the subway for the first time. I bought a book from the Harvard book store, and sadly, I haven't got around to reading it yet. I love the idea of books but have always read pretty slowly, which has deterred me from enjoying books like I used to. The idea of jumping in the mind of someone else for 100+ pages is just mindboggling to me. Being in the famous Harvard bookstore made me feel important like I was smart enough to attend the school in the first place.

My favorite spot of the whole trip was a spot I scouted out through Instagram. A great tip on finding the best spots is searching on Instagram where people go. Personally, I am never scared to look like a tourist but you can also find fun local spots as well. I am not much of a history buff but the Brattle Book Shop is one of America's oldest and largest book shops. The third floor has rare first editions, collectibles, and more. The shop was founded in 1825 and it still stands beautifully on West Street in Boston, Massachusetts. Being in the presence of so many books and old rare ones at that, gave me an excitement I can't quite explain.

The cold frail weather in November didn't stop us from exploring the city. Due to my history-buff boyfriend, we saw ALL the spots. We walked the entire Freedom Trail. I convinced him to stop at bars and restaurants along the way. When I tell you we walked, we walked everywhere. Thank god, I wore my comfy shoes. We walked through the Granary Burying Ground and saw tombstones as old as 1660. I read about these people in history books, but here I was standing right where they stood hundreds of years ago. I have never seen so much excitement in someone's eyes until Dallas passed Paul Revere's house.

During our trek, I tried clam chowder for the first time, took a tequila shot at a dive bar where they called it, "the soup of the day", rode a subway for the first time, and got to go to the aquarium without actually going into the aquarium. We took way too many pictures, posed with statues, relaxed in a beautiful park, bought limoncello, visited the Cheers Bar, went to a skeeball tournament, and explored North End, the Italian District. A whole district dedicated to pasta and wine? You can count me in any day. The sunsets were incredible. I couldn't believe the way the sun lit up the sky with a color palette of blues, pinks, and purples.

The best part about finding these random hole-in-the-wall spots is adapting to the culture within. We found this hole in the wall bar. The walls were filled with Christmas lights and LED signs. The place lit up like a Christmas tree. We were just getting ciders and next thing you know the bar was putting on a comedy show! We had such a blast and a lot of laughs and the spontaneity of the night was thrilling.

The food was to die for. Most of the time, it is extremely hard to travel with Celiac Disease. I have to be super careful already with trying new places at home let alone in a new city. Nonetheless, we used our favorite app, Find Me Gluten Free, and found SO many options. I was very surprised that I did not get sick at all over the long weekend. Our absolute favorite place we ate at was Tavern on the Square. They had so many fried food options in a dedicated fryer which is hard to come by. We had such a well-deserved lunch featuring truffle tots, fried pickles, and delicious sandwiches. The staff was extremely knowledgeable and very kind to me about my allergy.

The last place I want to harp on is the funky thrift shop we visited, The Garman District in Cambridge. I have never seen so many throwbacks in one store in my life. It was the most beautiful and overwhelming thing I've ever seen. There were several floors with racks and racks of clothes from all eras and fads. We were in there for more time than I would've liked but it was a maze, very easy to get lost in. Dallas and I love a good thrift shop. Dallas isn't the biggest shopper and does not have much patience for my shopping habits but even HE was in awe of this place. I couldn't believe how many flannels were in front of my eyes. It felt like a dream.

When we went down to pay, Dallas' clock for me was ticking. To the right of the cash registers was this piled-up landfill of clothes for $1 each. People were scattered around like mules hunting for the best items. Coming down the stairs, I took one glance at the landfill and another at Dallas patiently waiting at the door. All I could think was that it wouldn't go down well if I was drowning in the clothes and his patience level exceeded, so I held back my urge. The flannel I bought was nothing special but the experience behind it made it was of the best souvenirs I've ever brought back from a trip.

Picture of us both wearing our thrifted flannels from The Garment District

Boston was nothing short of amazing. I will most definitely be back to explore more of this beautiful city.

Want to see our trip in motion? Follow this link to my Instagram page.

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