Boston 2011, Pt. 1

"Hahhhhhhrvard Yahhhhhhrd. The Bruins play at the TD Gahhhhhhhrden." Those are the stereotypical sounds of the native Bostonians, and while they are completely accurate, they are extremely superficial. As is my own understanding of Boston and its people.

Had you asked me my thoughts of Boston a month or so ago, I would have given you the usual litany: colorful accents, die-hard sports fans, Sam Adams beer, the Kennedy family, liberals, etc. My perception of Boston was a unusual dichotomy between the die-hard Bruins/Celtics/Red Sox/Patriots fans of the common Bostonian, and the liberal intellectual Harvard-MIT types of the elite. Say what you want about my previous perception; I had never been to Boston, so it was almost completely shaped by the media and here say.

Given my preconceptions of Boston, you may be asking why the heck I would want to go there? Well there are really two reasons. The first: I LOVE to travel. Every city; every state; every country has its own unique flavor and way of life. It's kind of like barbecue. Carolina BBQ is different from Kansas City BBQ, which is different from Texas BBQ. They are all different; they are all delicious; and yet their differences make them unique and interesting. That is why I love to travel. To find those subtle nuances that make each destination unique and special.

The second reason for my visit to Boston is because a friend of mine - Danielle - had in the past couple of months or so moved to Boston for work. Being in a new city with a local always makes the trip more enjoyable. One just cannot trade the expertise and knowledge a local has. It allows you to not get caught up in the overly-touristy, and instead seek out the gems of the city that personify those beautiful nuances.

I also had a $99 Delta companion voucher, so I could take a mutual friend - Jessica -  with me, who had never gone out to visit Danielle. The proverbial planets had aligned! Thus, Jessica picked me up from my apartment at noon on Thursday (6/2), and we headed to Detroit Metro. Security was smooth, we grabbed a quick bite of lunch at Max & Erma's, and next thing we are air born. An hour twenty later we touched down at Boston Logan International Airport.

Named after Edward Lawrence Logan - a Lieutenant General for the Colonists during the American Revolution - Boston Logan is one of the cool airports to fly into (I would argue San Francisco is the other), especially if you have a window seat. Because of the development of Boston's central business district, there is only one approach over land (from the northeast). The rest fly due east to the ocean, south of the city, before turning north hugging the coast. This results in some cool views of coastal Massachusetts.

Once we land, Jessica and I make our way out of the airport and towards the Logan wharf, as Danielle suggested we take a water taxi to her hotel. Let me tell you; if you arrive in Boston on a beautiful day, take the water taxi. It essentially crosses the Boston harbor from east to west, and affords some of the best views of downtown Boston. Our day wasn't very nice, but the views were well worth it!

Crossing Boston Harbor via Water Taxi!

We arrive at Danielle's hotel, grab a drink at the bar while she finishes off the remainder of her shift, and eventually make our way to her apartment to drop off our luggage. Her apartment - a very spacious 1B/1BR 2nd floor walk up - is situated in the historic North End of Boston close to such landmarks like the Old North Church and Paul Revere's house. We relax for a moment munching on various cheeses and meats and enjoying a glass of wine or two, before meeting up with Danielle's friend Lauren to head out for the evening. The night's first destination: The Liberty Hotel.

Old North Church

Interesting enough, the Liberty Hotel used to be the Charles Street Jail, and its most famous prisoner was none other than Malcom X! Ironically, today it is a posh luxury hotel that happened to be hosting a fashion event that night. Because of this, it was hoppin' when we arrived, yet there were no models walking the runway. We waiting to see if it would begin, but after a few minutes, we decided to head down to the restaurant - Scampo -  for a bite to eat.

Inside of the Liberty Hotel. You can kind of see where the
jail cells were, surrounding the central atrium

We all split a bottle of the Badia Coltibuono 2009 Chianti Classico - one of the vineyards I had been fortunate enough to visit during my Tuscany trip last Fall - and I ordered a bowl of the crab bisque to start, and some beef carpaccio. The food, wine, and most of all company was just awesome. What a great start to this trip!

After dinner, we went back into the hotel to see if the fashion event was going on. No such luck! So we decided to leave the hotel and head more into downtown to a bar for some more drinks. We parted ways with Lauren, who had to work on Friday, and we found a nice pub with some live music. After jamming with the band a bit - they were actually pretty good - we headed home to call it a night.



What I needed was a rebound, and thankfully Danielle had an answer: Red Sox tickets! Fenway Park, built in 1921, is the oldest professional sports venue in the U.S., and one of two classic sports venues (the other being Wrigley Field in Chicago). It is named Fenway due to the surrounding fen - fen is Olde English for a marshy wetland characterized by its water chemistry, which is neutral or alkaline, with relatively high dissolved mineral levels but few other plant nutrients. Every consummate sports junkie makes it a point to visit Fenway park for a Sox game, and here was my chance!

Some observations: seating at Fenway Park, for big guys like me, is by far more uncomfortable than flying. It isn't because the seats are not wide enough, it's because of the lack of leg room. I am 6'3", and my knees were utterly crushed into the back of the seat in front of me. Definitely not comfortable!

Jess and Danielle enjoying America's past time!

Beer is also expensive: $8 for a draft of beer. Unfortunately, I spent probably a keg's worth of money on beer during the game. On the bright side, they have an excellent variety of concessions at Fenway. I found a place that served a lobster roll - think chunk lobster in a hotdog bun - while there were places for BBQ, Italian sausage, hamburgers, etc.

The outside of Fenway, with a view of Prudential Place

Surrounding Fenway is also a gem to behold, as it is built up with various bars and sports paraphernalia shops. And then you have the fans: by far some of the most die-hard I have ever seen. They probably only pale to Canadians and their hockey teams. It's a very diverse crowd too: high school or college kids sitting fore, while families sitting aft of me. I overheard a woman sitting behind me talking about her job over at MIT, while a few seats over to her left was a typical blue collar family. Without this diverse crowd, and their energy, Fenway wouldn't be nearly as nostalgic. It's kind of like Michigan Stadium pre-expansion, when there were no luxury boxes so you had bankers sitting next to Walmart Wolverines. Oh, and the Boston accents you tend to hear: priceless!

Anyways, we were there to watch the Sox play the Oakland A's. Despite Clay Bucholtz's forgettable 4 2/3 inning performance, the Sox were able to get ahead in the 7th frame on the strength of their bullpen and hitting by Big Pappy, Kevin Youkilis, and Carl Crawford. Jonathan Papelbon then iced the A's in the 9th for the save to win 8-6.

Big Pappy (David Ortiz) about to crush one of his doubles!

After the Sox game, we headed back to the North End, and grabbed some food at one of the trattorias in Little Italy. By the time we got there, it was getting late (meaning no going out for us), so after we finished eating, we headed back to Danielle's to crash. The next day - Saturday - would not be constrained by work obligations. Time to really see Boston!