Hi All! My husband and I visited Boston for a weekend in July and had a wonderful time. Here’s a recap of our time there. I hope this is helpful to someone J
We live in Central Jersey, so we decided to try Megabus for the first time from the Secaucus station. Just a pic of me being silly:
The tickets cost us about $50 RT for both of us. I’m pretty sure it would have been cheaper if we booked earlier in advance, but we felt it was a good value. I highly recommend departing from Secaucus instead of New York City. Sounds like the NYC stop is a madhouse, but there were only four other riders who boarded with us there. The bus originally departed from Philly, so the bus was pretty full however we were able to find seats on the top level of the bus easily. The bus was clean, there were electrical outlets at each seat (overhead where the A/C nozzles were), and my husband noted that he was content with the leg room. It was on time too. We would definitely ride with Megabus again.
After about a smooth 4 hour ride, we arrived in Boston. We grabbed a taxi to our hotel. I booked our stay by bidding on Priceline, and won the Boston Marriott Copley Place. I contacted the manager before our arrival to make some requests regarding our room since I’m a Marriott Rewards Member. He was very courteous and assured me that our requests would be granted. I read some reviews on Tripadvisor and was a little nervous about the hotel, but when we pulled up we were very pleased.
We arrived at about 3 PM and were able to check in right away. So excited to learn we had a corner room on the 37th floor (there are 38 floors in the hotel), with an incredible view of the Charles River:
When going on the Marriott website and taking note of the room we got vs the price we paid on Priceline….we saved about $180 a night. I LOVE Priceline!! If you need help or advice regarding bidding on Priceline, check out betterbidding.com.
The room was clean, spacious, and had lots of natural light, which I love. There was a flat screen TV, and a cabinet with a mini-fridge. We had concierge lounge access, so we took a quick trip down to the 27th floor to take a look and grab some drinks (free with the access). In the evenings they put out some appetizers and snacks, and hot and cold beverages are available all day.
We liked having the fridge since we could keep everything cold and didn’t have to go to the lobby or a vending machine for something to drink in the late night hours.
We noticed that the hotel was linked by skywalk to a shopping center, so we went exploring.
Once we reached the food court, I was excited to see there was a Pizzeria Regina. I heard so many great things about their pizza I was eager to give it a try. We’re pretty tough to please since we’re from Jersey and have New York style pizza, but their pizza is GOOD. Perfect crust, wonderful sauce, and great quality cheese.
We were very happy with Boston so far!
While we were eating, we talked about our first impressions of Boston. From about 45 minutes outside of Boston, I noticed how clean and blue the water was in the surrounding lakes and streams. We also noticed how many people were enjoying outdoor activities, like kayaking, biking, or even just picnicking. Though we were in a city, the air smelled and felt fresh and crisp. The quality of life just seemed so much nicer than that of NYC, where everyone is always in a hurry. You could see that people in Boston are just as intentional about careers and schooling as the NY/NJ area...they just know how to slow down and really savor the outdoors a bit more. Albeit Boston is smaller than NYC, but this was the first city besides Philly where we could really see ourselves living.
But I digress. After such a long morning and afternoon, we took some time to relax in our room. We had dinner reservations at Atlantic Fish that night.
After our nap and changing clothes, we were ready for dinner. I have to note that we never had more than a minute’s wait for an elevator. They were fast too! There’s a separate elevator bank for those staying on floors 27 and up.
Using Wesley’s iPhone for directions, we were happy to find out that we were about a block or two away from the restaurant. We took a leisurely walk along Boylston St. and admired all the restaurants’ outdoor seating. The atmosphere there was very relaxed, and it was a perfect summer night. We got to Atlantic Fish about 10 minutes early and our table wasn’t ready yet, which we totally expected. After perhaps a 15 minute wait we were seated.
Dinner was lovely. Wesley ordered his much-anticipated clam chowder and wasn’t disappointed. For his entrée, he ordered a filet with string beans, and I had large sea scallops with asparagus. I tried the corn pudding there and wasn’t impressed. I guess since my family is from the South, I was expecting a sweeter type of corn pudding…this one had little flavor (even besides the lack of sweetness). The scallops were cooked perfectly. The service was great, and we had a nice dinner overall.
After dinner we walked back to the hotel and felt perfectly safe the whole time. It was about 11:00 or so before we got back to the room. It was time to go to sleep since we had a lot of exploring to do the next day!
Woke up the following morning and went to breakfast. Because we had concierge level access (and the lounge no longer served breakfast), we received vouchers for the breakfast buffet. It was a typical buffet with everything you could want for breakfast. We were pleased with the offerings.
The day before, we noticed that the Old Town Trolley stopped right in front of our hotel. So we used the business center to purchase our tickets online ($37.80 pp for two days). We also noticed that since we booked with them, we received discount tickets to Fenway Park, one of our main reasons for visiting Boston. On our way to the trolley, we noticed that there was an Old Town Trolley stand in the hotel lobby.
The nicest gentleman gave us a map of the trolley route, as well as sold us our Fenway Park tickets for $10 pp.
After that we were on our way!
The first stop we got off was Fenway Park. We headed to the Sports Store to sign up for the next tour. I think we took the 10 AM. The park opened at 9.
We had a nice tour of the park. Some views of the park:
A beautiful quote in the stadium:
We sat in the press box and the Green Monster (Green Monstah in Boston speak lol).
Hall of Fame:
The Green Monster- the wall at the back of the stadium. People like to sit here to catch home runs.
Some more views of the park:
We caught the trolley again. On our way from Fenway, the guide showed us a gas station about a block away from the park. The owner of the station is brilliant- he saw the need for more parking for the baseball games, so he made a lot on the far side of the station. He makes about a half million a year on the parking spots alone. Gotta love entrepreneurial minds!
We then rode the trolley across the Charles River and through Cambridge, seeing the MIT campus.
The next stop we wanted to reach was the Harbor Area. Our tickets included a quick harbor cruise and we wanted to take advantage of it. Our stop was right in front of the Marriott Long Wharf. The next boat ride wasn’t until about an hour from then, so we decided to walk across the street to the Quincy Market for lunch. After looking around a bit, we just had to have Pizzeria Regina again- hey, it was going to be our last chance to enjoy their pizza!
The dining area was pretty cool inside the marketplace. Besides the regular chairs and tables, they had some standing room that consisted of stands with shelf space. You had a lower level to hold your bags if you had them, and a higher shelf that was about elbow level where you could rest your food. Nice!
After lunch we walked back behind the Marriott to board our harbor cruise. The sun was HOT, so I grabbed us some water and a watermelon water ice, which was very good.
We boarded and hurried to the second level of the boat. We grabbed front-row seats so we had a great view during the tour. Leaving the harbor:
We saw a bunch of landmarks in the inner and outer harbor, as well as the USS Constitution. It was a nice break from all the walking and the heat of the city, and we learned a little bit about the history of Boston.
The Duck tour was ahead of us. We considered this tour, but decided on the trolley tour since we had hop-on, hop-off privileges:
The rocking of the boat was pretty soothing, someone got sleepy, lol:
Back to the pier:
Time to get back on the trolley! By now it was so hot the tour operators were handing out fans:
We had planned to get off a couple more times to see some more sites, but it was so hot that we decided to ride the trolley back to our hotel room.
The driver gave some great commentary on Boston. Overall we would do the trolley tour again, and take advantage of the free second day. The Beacon Hill and Back Bay areas seem beautiful, we can't wait to explore those when we have more time. We just felt like we didn’t have enough time to see everything. We weren’t really expecting to be able to cover everything anyway. I think we rode for another 45 minutes or so.
Approaching our hotel; the skywalk that connects to the shopping area, and a view to the top of the hotel:
Took a lovely swim in the pool and enjoyed the hot tub for a bit. Because it was the middle of the day, it was pretty quiet, which I love:
Relaxed a while and got dressed for dinner. Tonight we were headed to Atlantic Fish, a place that came highly recommended on Tripadvisor.com. Couldn't wait to try a lobster roll!
We took the subway (the station was about a block away fromt he hotel), and had about a 5 minute leisurely walk to the restaurant.
Pic of the subway:
There was a nice park between the station at the restaurant (can't recall the name of the park, maybe someone can help me?). There were some cute fountains, where people were able to cool off by wading in the water. In any event, I had to take a pic:
Upon arriving at the restaurant, we realized that the reviewers weren't kidding- the place was small!
I think that added to its charm. There was a vibrancy in the restaurant that we loved. I really enjoy when a restaurant has a love and respect for the food it serves. Their passion for seafood was evident from the moment we entered their door.
We knew we would have a wait because of the advice of previous diners. The waiter took our phone numbers and said he would call as soon as our table was ready. We took advantage of the time to walk a bit through the North End. I think this area is beautiful, and would love to take more time to visit sometime in the future.
I like how the Freedom Trail is marked on the sidewalk. You can follow the trail through Boston.
We made it to Paul Revere's house (the marker above is in front of his house), and decided to look for somewhere to have some drinks. Headed back toward Atlantic Fish.
About a block away from the restaurant, we noticed Bacco Restaurant and Bar. The name resonated with me because I had heard of this place on various websites. We decided to take a look at the menu. The manager was actually at the front door, and he greeted us and asked if we would like to come in. We said we just wanted to stop for drinks, and he happily led us to the bar.
I decided to have one of my favorite beverages, a Brazilian Caipirinha, and Wesley had a Coke. My drink was pretty strong, but delicious.
The bar area was lovely, with lots of red brick. The outer wall consisted of large windows (which were open), with flowers in window boxes. Just a really nice atmosphere.
The manager came back to see how we were doing, and he ended up talking with us for about 20 minutes, giving us tips, history, and advice about Boston. We would absolutely go back and try a meal there.
After about an hour (including our walk and time at Bacco), we received a call from Atlantic Fish that our table was ready. Walked the quick block to the restaurant and were seated right away.
I already knew what I wanted- that legendary hot lobster roll! Wesley ordered the grilled lobster, which included clams and corn on the cob on the side.
My roll was perfect- huge chunks of lobster on soft, warm bread, with lots of warm butter drizzled over the whole thing. The fries that came with it were great too. Wesley enjoyed his lobster...but after seeing my lobster roll he said he would rather have that, lol. Next time we'll both have lobster rolls :)
After dinner, we leisurely walked down to the harbor area. We would aboslutely stay in this area for our next trip. After dark, the area lights up with outdoor eateries, and lots of people strolling the area. The lighting reflects on the water, and you can hear the water lapping against the boats and the pier. It's just a pleasant place to be at night. Very romantic :)
We tried taking the subway back home, but the wait was so long and it was so stuffy down there. We decided to catch a taxi back to the hotel. One thing I do like about the taxis- they take credit cards just like in NYC. Back at the hotel, we stayed up a while and packed. So sad to know it was our last night in Boston!
A view from our room at night:
The travel home was easy. We took the 7 AM bus from Boston back to Secaucus, where our friend was waiting to pick us up.
We had a great time in Boston, and can't wait to return for a longer stay. Thank you for reading! I'm off to plan our next trip :)
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