Day Tripping – Boston Edition
Need a quick break from your daily life? A day trip would do just that. Candice and I met up with Stacey in Boston. Our day consisted of checking out a fun hotel - the Custom House, having lunch at an Italian restaurant in the North End, chatting over coffee at a café, and, of course, shopping. I, personally, needed this day trip to break up my week of not being able to travel during my kids’ school winter break as we would usually do. I was itching for different scenery and Boston most definitely provided that. Its beautiful skyline of various tall buildings presented stark contrast to the skyline of our small, suburban town. The bustling of the city invigorated our senses. And more importantly, the fact that we got to do fun activities on an otherwise mundane weekday was more than sufficient for us.
Our first stop was the Marriott Vacation Club at Custom House, a favorite lodge for Stacey and her family whenever they’re visiting Boston. We’ve heard so much about this place from Stacey and finally got to see it for ourselves! The Custom House is centrally located and within walking distance of many, well-loved Boston attractions, including Faneuil Hall, the New England Aquarium, and the North End. The hotel is family friendly as all rooms are suites with kitchenettes. The Custom House has a rich, prominent history in Boston. During its heyday in the 1800’s, the Custom House served as a place for collecting import duties and offices for inspectors as ships entered Boston Harbor, which was located right outside the building during the time. (Now the harbor is farther away.) With its important history and beautiful construction, the hotel is gorgeous. The marble columns, the clock tower, and the rotunda are all impressive looking. The hotel amenities are excellent, too. The complimentary walking tours, activity room, movie theater, happy hours at the top terrace, breakfast in a high ceiling dining room, and more! Clearly, we’ll be staying here next time our family visits Boston overnight.
We spent the rest of the day in the North End, the must-see Italian neighborhood, which is a nice short walk from the Custom House. The benefit of being there in February was that there was not a crowd and we had choices of restaurants, for the most part. In the past, I’ve always visited the North End in the summer and there would be a long line for every restaurant. We had a quick glance at the Old North Church, which is part of the Freedom Trail, and the Paul Revere statue prior to deciding on a lunch location. We went with BenCotto as it offered more homemade pastas, which we were craving. Primavera with chicken over homemade spinach fettucine, broccoli rabe with sauteed shrimp over homemade fusilli, and orecchiette with double-smoked bacon and tomato cream sauce were ordered. They were scrumptious! Unfortunately, the much-anticipated beet salad was disappointing. While the dressing, arugula, candied walnuts, and goat cheese were excellent, the beets were tasteless and not sweet.
Next stop was for coffee and desserts at Caffe Vittoria, a must-visit when in the North End. The café exudes an old-fashioned Italian coffee shop atmosphere that serves up good espresso coffees and offers an extensive list of desserts. Latte and tiramisu were my go-to. Stacey enjoyed a cappuccino, while Candice ordered a mint tea and strawberry cheesecake, which was recommended by the waitress. All were excellent! It felt like we spent hours at that café and as it got even more crowded by late afternoon it was time for us to walk around. Stacey showed us a few shops that are part of the walking tour run by the Custom House hotel, which include a bakery on a less-trodden path (obviously not Mike’s Pastry), a deli that sells freshly made pasta, and a fun to browse tea/coffee/spice shop. We also perused a few cute boutiques, such as PIA Boutique and Loft & Vine, in which I picked up some gifts for my family. We continued our shopping at the Faneuil Hall marketplace. Before we knew it, our day trip was coming to an end, and it was time for Candice and I to return to our small town living.
