Traveling with Laura

The Great Staycation of 2023. That’s how I’ve been referring to this weekend in my mind. Now that I have a new baby niece down in Florida, most of my weekend trips have been/will be spent there. But having just been in Florida a few weeks ago, and going back there for Thanksgiving, I needed something to do for the long Veterans Day weekend. Enter the staycation. 

Obviously, I’ve spent plenty of time in Boston in the 25+ years I’ve lived on the North Shore, but I decided to spend all three days a day and a half of this weekend exploring different parts of the city. The commuter rail offers a $10 weekend pass (good for all 3 days of a long weekend), and I was determined to get my money’s worth.

Friday’s first stop: Cambridge. I have only been to Cambridge a few times, so it seemed like a good way to start the weekend. My first order of business was breakfast at Brookline Lunch. This little 13-table place gets rave reviews for its pancakes. I obviously needed to give it a try. Oh boy! If this first taste of Boston is any indication, it’s going to be a great weekend. I opted for the famous baklava pancakes, described by some as being “too sweet”. But can pancakes really be too sweet? Fluffy buttermilk pancakes, filled with walnuts, butter, pistachio sugar, and pieces of baklava on top. I was in breakfast heaven!

Sadly, my next two plans for the day didn’t come to fruition, as there were no historical tours of Harvard due to the holiday and the Harvard Art Museums were also closed for the holiday. Instead, I wandered Harvard Yard and then headed to the Harvard Museum of Natural History.

I’m not a big museum person and this one was no exception. It was interesting to see the animals but I soon found myself bored and ready to leave.

I walked back through Harvard Yard and settled into a nice table by the window overlooking Harvard Square for an iced maple latte at Pavement Coffeehouse while I read my book for a while.

The afternoon found me strolling along the Charles River, making my way from Harvard to MIT and over to Technology Square.

For dinner, I indulged in a prosciutto, arugula, and hot honey pizza at Area Four. I’m a sucker for prosciutto pizza, but I only like arugula in moderation. There was enough on my pizza to make a salad. The pizza itself was good, but I don’t think I’d rush back there. After dinner, the sun finally decided to make an appearance and light up the clouds as I walked to my dessert stop.

My last stop of the day before heading home was Toscanini’s Ice Cream. It gets amazing reviews and it’s easy to see why! I enjoyed a micro dish of their popular B3 flavor – brown butter, brown sugar, and brownies. I started raving about it the second I took my first bite. If you’re ever in the Cambridge area and in the mood for ice cream, go to Toscanini’s. Trust me, you won’t be disappointed.

I was back on the train bright and early on Saturday morning and set off on foot from North Station, walking past the historic Union Oyster House, Faneuil Hall, and Post Office Square. 

My first agenda item on Saturday was breakfast at Mike and Patty’s. I’ve long wanted to try a breakfast sandwich there and opted for the location in the High Street Place Food Hall. I had the Grilled Crack sandwich which included bacon, egg, American, cheddar, Swiss, and gruyere. If that sounds like a lot of cheese, it was. I also had an iced mocha from Gracenote Coffee which was just average.

After breakfast, I walked over to Downtown Crossing and browsed around a few stores before heading to the Seaport District. I don’t know why I’ve never been to this area of Boston before. The views of downtown Boston from Fan Pier Park were terrific!

I had a nice walk along the water and then visited Snowport, the Seaport’s Holiday Market that runs through the Christmas season. As much as I was looking forward to it, the hordes of people made it nearly impossible to enjoy and I was quickly making my exit. I can definitely see myself visiting this area again in warmer weather.

I headed back across the bridge and followed the Harborwalk to the Aquarium, then walked through Quincy Market and to the Boston Public Market. Imagine my delight to find the Red Apple Farm Cider Bar, where one can enjoy a glass, flight, or just a sample of their hard cider. I didn’t have time to enjoy a drink, but I did have time to sample the semi-sweet cider and ended up with a four-pack to bring home.

I took the train home early in the afternoon on Saturday because I was tired (I walked eight miles on Friday and another five on Saturday) and didn’t have anything else I really wanted to do in Boston. I decided to forgo my originally planned third day in the city on Sunday to stay home and relax. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy Boston; there just really wasn’t anything more I felt compelled to do there and it was cold. But I thoroughly enjoyed my day and a half in the city and got my money’s worth out of my weekend pass!