Folks, I finally made it
to Beantown (about a week and a half ago actually, but who’s counting?). I was so extremely fortunate to have both of
my parents help move me through 7 states to get here. We had oodles of fun pulling a uhaul trailer
behind the Pilot, right Dad? ;) Honestly, it was actually a very scenic road
trip. It was really awesome getting to
see the country and all it’s beauty. Who
knew that New York was so green?! It was absolutely beautiful; as were the lush
forests we drove through in Massachusetts.
We also made a quick detour to see one of the Nation’s wonders, Niagara
Falls. It was a pretty breathtaking
sight, I must say.
The selfie was a must.
Niagara Falls
After 3 days of traveling
and living out of a suitcase, we pulled into Dedham, Massachusetts, a little
suburb outside of Boston where some of our family friends live. I had to be at orientation for my program at
Boston University Friday, but couldn’t move into my apartment until Monday. The family friends in Dedham, Chris and Joan,
very graciously offered to take us to their house at Cape Cod for the weekend. We had no hesitations in gladly accepting
their offer. It was the perfect timing
between my orientation and moving in/starting school. I was able to seriously relax one last time
for the summer. We did a lot of walking
around the Cape, biking, ate some really great seafood, and kayaked. Yes, friends.
I kayaked. On the ocean. And yes, I got wet. Regardless, it was so fun trying something
new (plus, it was a great arm workout!).
The marvelous Cape Cod
Gosh, my parents are wonderful!
Mom getting her kayak on
Evidence that I really did kayak
Move-in day quickly
arrived. Joan and Chris have two sons
that live in the Boston area, and they kindly helped moved my things into the
apartment. I had so much stuff! I mean, I basically did move my life, so
that’s a justifiable reason, right? I
say yes. After getting everything moved
in, my parents and I made a “quick” trip to Ikea, which is right outside of
Boston. One very important thing I have
learned about Boston and the surrounding area, is that it can take WAY longer
to do something or get somewhere. But
it’s all a part of the experience of being in the big city. Anywho, we
got back to the apartment and spent the next 5 hours putting together a
nightstand, a dresser, and an organizer.
Cue the thumb-ups. One of my
roommate’s boyfriends helped us assemble the organizer, so that saved us some
serious time! We were ready to be done
for the day when we realized it was 8pm, and we hadn’t eaten anything since
1. We had a recommendation to check out
‘Anna’s Taqueria,’ which was very close to my parent’s hotel in my
neighborhood, Brookline. We used this
dinner as my birthday celebration. The
inside reminded me of the Amigo’s fast food joints we have in Nebraska, but I
swear the food was SO MUCH BETTER. We
each tried a different taco, and let me tell you, they were delicious. For a quick meal, it was the perfect way to
end the night celebrating my birthday early with the parents.
Chili verde taco with guac & chips. Drooling.
I somehow ended up not
having class on Tuesdays (whoop whoop!), so we ran a few errands in the
morning. Dad went to visit his company
in Lynnfield, so mom and I did one of our favorite activities to do together –
exploring and trying new foods. We were
in the North End, and figured we needed a morning pastry. When we were here for the marathon, we got
cannolis at Mike’s Pastry, so we decided to try the pastry shop right across
the street, Modern Pasty. Both are renowned for their VERY decadent desserts.
Mom and I shared an apple tart and a Lobster Tail, an Italian dessert
that is very popular around Boston.
Imagine a croissant, but with a crunchy crust and filled with a
perfectly sweet combination of whipped cream, lemon custard, and ricotta cheese
(ummm, definitely got my dose of lactose for the day). Mom got a regular coffee and I got an
espresso. Oh my, had I missed those from
Europe. Strong and delicious like I like
it. This was really the ideal way to
spend my last morning before Mom and Dad left for Nebraska.
Morning pastries and coffee/espresso (the back pastry is the Lobster Tail). Again, drooling.
We walked around for a bit
to find a station to get my subway pass (aka, a CharlieCard), ran to Bed, Bath,
and Beyond, and lastly, the grocery store.
Before we knew it, it was 4:30pm.
I had to be at a meeting at 5 at BU, so it was a very quick, teary good
bye. It was probably better that way
because I had much less time to be distraught and sad. As short as it was, it was still so difficult
having to say “see you later” to my parents.
Wednesday through Friday
afternoon was mainly spent on unpacking.
School work didn’t come until today.
Oops. But I got officially all
moved in, so that was quite a relief! And our apartment is seriously so wonderful. It has a lot of 'character' as Mom would say. Thursday, my roommates, Jenny and Janny,
and I made dinner to “christen” the house, as Jenny likes to put it. It was my first birthday away from home, my
family, and my twin sister, so I am so fortunate to have had them around. I couldn’t have asked for anything more for
my 23rd.
Friday night, two girls
from my program and I went to dinner in the North End. We found a little hole-in-the-wall joint with a chalkboard menu called ‘The Daily Catch.’ They are known
for their Italian food, black pasta (homemade pasta dyed with squid ink – no,
your mouth will not turn black!) and seafood, which is freshly caught that day. Jenny had told me about this place as well,
so it was extra exciting kind of knowing where I was eating. Between the three of us, we split a calamari
appetizer, seared tuna in a rich sundried tomato and basil sauce, and the black
pasta in a puttanesca sauce. Wow, did we
wine and dine WELL on Friday night. For
the rest of the night, we walked to the harbor and went to two different
bars. The first one was Tia’s, which was
right by the harbor and full of young people.
It didn’t disappoint. We also had
a classmate who was at a bar right across from Fenway, so we took the T there
after Tia’s. This bar/club reminded me
of the Brass Rail, but classier, if you Nebraskans can let yourselves imagine
that.
Max, our server, getting in on the photo op while we waited for our table
Super cute & quaint chalkboard menu
The famous 'black pasta'
My classmates, Mindy and Pam, and I dazzled by the city lights
Saturday, I met up with
one of my friends who drives the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile. My friend, Matt, and his driving partner,
Alex, were in Worcester for the week, so it was perfect timing that I got to
see him. Alex also had a friend in the
city so it worked out perfectly for them to venture to Boston. Matt and Alex
drove the Wienermobile into Allston, MA, where I met them. Little did I know that Alex’s friend was a
girl in my BU program! Seriously, it was
such a great surprise. The Weiner Mobile
is what drove us to dinner in a town outside of Boston. It’s not easy parking that bad boy, so it was
just easier to go away from Boston. It
ended up being such a fun night getting to see a friend from Nebraska, and
having special treatment of riding in the Weiner Mobile. All in all, it was the ideal first weekend at
my new home.
All of us at dinner (Alex, Jenna, Hannah, Matt)
Matt and I in front of the Wienermobile
Thanks for reading all the
way down here! I apologize for the
lengthiness of this first post. Bear with me as I also work on getting the blog to look better! Have a
great week everyone! :)
Much love,
Shawn
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