New England Trip Recap - Part I

I've decided to split my recap into three separate posts so I can capture all the details of our trip.  This is mostly for my benefit to document our travels so feel free to scroll quickly through the pictures if you like. 

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, Ryan had a break from school and we decided to take full advantage of this time and book a mini vacation.  We debated several cities to go to and after coming across a fabulous deal on flights we booked two round-trip tickets to Boston.  Fast forward several weeks later (as in the week before we left) and we still hadn't booked any hotels.  Being the planner that I am I was slightly freaking out.  Ryan seemed unphased by this and I simply tried to let myself just go with the flow.  Anyways, we booked our first night in Boston through hotwire.com and luckily stumbled upon a gem of a hotel.  And with that, I'll lead into...

Adventures in Beantown

 
Our vacation started off bright and early Friday morning as we showered, dressed and took our time packing our final things before heading off to the airport.  We were staying at my parents house since they were taking care of our little boy Benny and we had dropped him off there the day before.  It was not until we said goodbye to my parents and drove out of the neighborhood that we realized we were cutting it a little close.  As in I'm freaking out thinking we are never going to make it but trying to be the good wife by saying "Honey, you may want to drive a little faster..."

We arrive at the park and ride with less than an hour until we take off and quickly jump on the shuttle.  As soon as we pull out Ryan turns and asks if I picked up the garmin in the backseat.  Oops.... who needs a garmin now anyways when we have GPS on our phones??

The next hurdle we faced was Ryan leaving his bag at the check-in line.  Luckily people don't actually listen to the intercom when they say to be alarmed if you see a bag all alone.  Anyways, we finally made it through the security line and boarded our plane with minutes to spare.

Our chaotic morning was all worth it though when we arrived at our hotel in Boston.  The InterContinental was modern, luxurious and relaxing all at the same time.  Of course I pretended to be PW and took pictures of the hotel room...

 

After quickly changing into warmer clothes (did I mention we arrived in the middle of a Nor'easter??) we headed off to find lunch.  The concierge directed us to a fabulous pub down the street which did not disappoint.  We dined on burgers, fries and a couple of Sam Adams...

Ryan and I used our iPhones to help navigate us throughout the city.  What would we do without them??

After lunch we headed out to the famous Boston Common Park to take in the scenery and Fall leaves. 

We wandered around Beacon Street...

Ryan took in lots of history...

And I stumbled upon a beautiful wedding party in the park taking pictures.  I'm a sucker for weddings and I'm just thankful I had my zoom lens on so hopefully I didn't seem like a crazy stalker...

   

I also took in some of the history and landmarks as well. 

Ryan and I wandered around the city for a few hours looking at shops, people, parks and homes.  We eventually stopped at a Starbucks to warm up then headed back to the hotel for a few hours to relax.

That evening we dined at a fabulous restaurant in the North End called Panza.  I had read great reviews and we actually had made reservations earlier in the week.  The food was delicious and I loved the intimate feel of the restaurant. 

And now I'll post one final pic from that day.  As I mentioned earlier, the Nor'easter definitely brought some strong winds, rain and cold air but that didn't stop us from enjoying ourselves.  Ryan always makes a point to walk everywhere we go and this weather didn't stop us this time.  Needless to say, my umbrella did not survive the evening....

Next up,  New Hampshire!