Touring Boston

Boston is one of the few major cities along the East Coast that I had never been to. And so when Evan had the opportunity to give a talk there, I jumped at the chance to join him.

Boston has my three favourite things in a city: a cheerful feel, good seafood, and good beer. We mainly stuck to the touristy things, but we also tried to walk through the neighborhoods to get a feel for the city.

Sam Adam's Brewery Tour



We decided to do a brew tour and since this one was free, we couldn't lose. We actually missed most of the tour part due to subway delays, but we came in time for the most important part: the beer tasting!



My favourite from the tasting was the Holiday Ale. It was creamy and a bit spicy.

In other beer news (though not from Sam Adams), my favourite find from the trip was Shipyard Pumpkin Ale with cinnamon rimmer. Thanks to my Dad for the recommendation.



Beacon Hill and Boston Common

This was the neighborhood I wanted to see the most. Beacon Hill is full of charm with small antique stores lining the cobbled streets. We hit up a couple of stores and the Starbucks, but mostly we just wandered.



At the edge of the neighborhood is a large urban park called Boston Common.



It was the perfect fall day for a walk in the park. There were two wedding parties with their photographer as well as a couple doing their engagement photos.

Our final stop in this neighborhood was The Liberty Hotel. This hotel was once a jailhouse, but has been renovated into a boutique hotel with an upscale bar/restaurant. We stopped in here to sit in the lobby bar and people watch. We found this spot on Design Sponge (via Laura).



Chinatown

This was a quick stop and was mainly just to get some authentic bubble tea. I became pretty hooked on this snack/drink combo when I lived in Vancouver and its been hard to find anything that comes close to my favourite place there. The bubble tea in the Boston Chinatown was the closest I found so far. The tapioca bubbles were the perfect size and the chocolate milk was the perfect consistency. If it had been a bit colder, it would have been an exact replica of Pearl Fever.





Seafood

I knew I wanted to have oysters, and where better than the Union Oyster House which claims to be America's oldest restaurant. This was a recommendation from my officemate, Satoko.

The atmosphere at this restaurant was great and the seafood was nice and fresh.





And of course I couldn't leave without having some clam chowda. Delicious.



Overall, I really enjoyed the trip to Boston. This city has managed to have a big city feel while maintaining its old world feel. I hope to be back someday!