This past weekend we went to visit my sister and her husband, Mike, in Boston. My whole family (parents, younger sister, brother) went to visit and it was kinda a big deal because my sister went to college in Boston, lived in Boston after college and grad school, and my parents never went to visit her. My family is from New York and we are very New York-centric. Shopping is better in New York, restaurants are better in New York, we have better culture, more airports, etc. When we travel, it’s usually to amazing ski mountains or to see a natural wonder, things that cannot be found in New York. I use to think like this also but since our Boston visit last year, I’ve come to really like the city.
My Dad wanted to take a ferry ride so we went on the USS Constitution Cruise around Boston Harbor. It was a great 45-minute cruise identifying the landmarks around the harbor. It usually stops at the Charleston Navy Yard but it is closed right now because of the Federal government shut down. The view of the city and the sailboats was great even on a cloudy day.
We walked to the cruise from my sister’s apartment and on the way back stopped at the Greenway Carousel in the Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservatory. This carousel doesn’t have any horses, instead it was made with animals you will find around Boston. Cod, the state fish of Massachusetts, can be found on the carousel, as well as a whale and peregrine falcon, a local bird. The animals were painted beautifully and my Baby was thrilled to ride the turtle. My Grouchy Husband and I get motion sickness on the carousel so my Mom always goes on them with the girls.
After the carousel we stopped at Quincy Market. There were a lot of street performers that day so it reminded me of the South Street Seaport.
In the afternoon my Princess baked an apple pie with my sister. She has loved to cook and bake since she was little.
For dinner we went to the Brazilian steakhouse, Fogo de Chao. It was perfect for our big group. It’s buffet-style eating with a big salad bar in the middle of the restaurant and waitstaff bringing around all different types of meat. Each person receives a round paper circle. If you had the green side up you want the waitstaff to come to you with their selection of meat, if you had red side up you don’t. I tried every cut of beef, pork ribs, parmesan crusted pork, different cuts of lamb, chicken drumsticks, and sausage. My favorites were the prime rib and lamb chops. Everything was delicious.
We celebrated my sister’s birthday at the restaurant. Her birthday was in September right after she got married. That was a really busy time so she decided to celebrate her birthday with us in October.
The next day we were all leaving to go home so we took it easy and went to a playground in the Boston Common and then out to lunch. My sister lives on the Boston Common so it is super convenient to go into the park and play. My Princess loves the monkey bars. It is how she defines a good playground. Mike was amazed at how well she does them.
He decided to try them also.
My Princess was amazed how well he did the monkey bars. We actually all were.
After the playground we walked through the Public Garden. There is a statue of George Washington on a horse. It was a beautiful day for a walk.
Here we are walking and talking through Commonwealth Avenue Mall.
Then we walked past the finish line for the Boston Marathon.
The night before I took this picture of the prayer ribbons that were tied to the fence of the Arlington Street Church, just down the street from where the marathon bombing occurred.
We finally reached the restaurant! My brother wanted fried seafood so my sister brought us to B&G Oysters. Here is a picture of the ladies at the table.
And the gentlemen.
I even got a shot of my Grouchy Husband and I.
It took a little while for the food to come so thank goodness there were toothpicks the girls could play with. Taking a toothpick out of its wrapper can be better then playing with toys.
The appetizers were amazing. Fried calamari, fried oysters, fried clams, and steamed muscles. Yum..meee.
I ordered the lobster roll on a bed of lettuce. There was so much lobster and it didn’t have a lot of mayonnaise. It was perfect, one of the best lobster rolls I’ve ever had. A bloody mary would have made this meal perfect but they only serve wine and beer. But they serve fresh cut fries and that almost made up for it.
We were in Boston for less then 48 hours and after writing this blog post I can’t believe we did so much. It was a great trip. Everyone in my family (amazingly) had a great time. One thing that could have ruined the trip but thankfully did not was on the first night my sister took my parents and younger sister out to dinner at an Italian restaurant. On the way down, the elevator got stuck and it took 25 minutes to get everyone out. My mom has really bad anxiety and it was really warm inside the elevator. She said in another 10 minutes she would have passed out. Thankfully that did not happen! My parents would never come back to Boston if it did.
I’ve come to realize that what makes a great experience is not where you go or what you do, it’s the company you are with. I have a crazy family and when we are together we have the best time.
Cheers to Family Vacations,
Chrissy xo