Over the last few weeks I've been on some crazy vacations... both of which solidified my feeling that Cambridge/Boston is the place to be!
First up was a Boston "staycation" with a great friend in town for two weeks from France. The second vacation was a road trip extravaganza from Phoenix to San Francisco (and the desert in between!) Since I can't possibly tackle both trips in one sitting, I'll start with the "staycation."
My Boston "staycation" included- all of the Cambridge Squares, Public Gardens, Boston Common, Newbury St., Prudential Center, Skywalk, Futures Game at Fenway, Marlborogh St., Quincy Market, the Aquarium, Whale Watch, rooftop pool at the Colonnade Hotel, Sam Adams Brewery Tour, the Museum of Fine Arts, the ICA, the Museum of Science, Fenway area during a game, drinks at the Top of the Hub (twice), Newport (not exactly Boston but only an hour and half away), Christina's ice cream (on a few occasions), Museum of Science, Butterfly Garden, the North End, and so many restaurants I can't even list them all.
Needless to say, I think it is a great opportunity to see your city through a visitor's eyes! This area has so many great things to offer...why leave???
...to go on a mega roadtrip! Stay tuned.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Monday, August 3, 2009
This Wouldn't Happen in the Suburbs
I had intentions of blogging about my other inspiration for the blog, my recent epiphany, but
a) I'm exhausted and don't have the energy for a lengthy post
b) I'm still laughing about this four hours after it happened
So here goes. I woke up today feeling tired and cranky. My day only got worse once I checked my work email. So I decided I needed to regroup and go into Harvard Square. I absolutely love walking into the Square on summer mornings for an iced coffee and quality reading time. I knew this would be the perfect antidote for this new layer of stress that had been added to my life.
Like I said in an earlier post, I'm not Carrie Bradshaw. So instead of Manolo Blahniks, I donned socks and sneakers, some shorts, and a tank top. I tucked my hair into a hat, grabbed my black book bag, and headed out the door. I turned on my Nano and set out to reclaim my summer calm.
I've been walking down Harvard St. recently to get to the square as it offers the most direct route to Dunkin Donuts and my secret squirrel reading spot. As I turned onto Harvard St. this older woman who was waiting for the bus hissed at me and made claw gestures with her hands. I'll admit that I was slightly caught off guard by this. I decided my best course of action would be to just continue walking. As I passed her she started yelling at me, quite angrily, saying that I was lazy and that if the straps on my bag weren't so long I wouldn't have to hold the straps. This lasted for about 30 seconds. She was so loud that the people in the cars were staring at us.
Now I will have you know that I am not lazy. Nothing about my appearance today would suggest that I was lazy. I was wearing sneakers and clearly walking from point A to point B. I'm fit and in shape and there many words people could use to describe me but lazy is not one of them! Also, I typically walk with my right arm on the straps of my bag, not due to lazyiness (which isn't even a valid attack in this situation as my having my arm on my bag's strap doesn't equal lazy behavior) but because I don't like the strap pushing on my shoulder.
The point of this story is that this is a classic incident that anti-city people use to explain why they don't want to live in the city and/or why you shouldn't live in the city...last time I checked it was my money paying the rent, but I digress. The fact is, this is why I live in the city. It's unpredictable, it's fun, and I always have stories to tell. If I lived in the 'burbs I'm pretty sure my blog would be empty.
a) I'm exhausted and don't have the energy for a lengthy post
b) I'm still laughing about this four hours after it happened
So here goes. I woke up today feeling tired and cranky. My day only got worse once I checked my work email. So I decided I needed to regroup and go into Harvard Square. I absolutely love walking into the Square on summer mornings for an iced coffee and quality reading time. I knew this would be the perfect antidote for this new layer of stress that had been added to my life.
Like I said in an earlier post, I'm not Carrie Bradshaw. So instead of Manolo Blahniks, I donned socks and sneakers, some shorts, and a tank top. I tucked my hair into a hat, grabbed my black book bag, and headed out the door. I turned on my Nano and set out to reclaim my summer calm.
I've been walking down Harvard St. recently to get to the square as it offers the most direct route to Dunkin Donuts and my secret squirrel reading spot. As I turned onto Harvard St. this older woman who was waiting for the bus hissed at me and made claw gestures with her hands. I'll admit that I was slightly caught off guard by this. I decided my best course of action would be to just continue walking. As I passed her she started yelling at me, quite angrily, saying that I was lazy and that if the straps on my bag weren't so long I wouldn't have to hold the straps. This lasted for about 30 seconds. She was so loud that the people in the cars were staring at us.
Now I will have you know that I am not lazy. Nothing about my appearance today would suggest that I was lazy. I was wearing sneakers and clearly walking from point A to point B. I'm fit and in shape and there many words people could use to describe me but lazy is not one of them! Also, I typically walk with my right arm on the straps of my bag, not due to lazyiness (which isn't even a valid attack in this situation as my having my arm on my bag's strap doesn't equal lazy behavior) but because I don't like the strap pushing on my shoulder.
The point of this story is that this is a classic incident that anti-city people use to explain why they don't want to live in the city and/or why you shouldn't live in the city...last time I checked it was my money paying the rent, but I digress. The fact is, this is why I live in the city. It's unpredictable, it's fun, and I always have stories to tell. If I lived in the 'burbs I'm pretty sure my blog would be empty.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Welcome to the City
I was recently visiting an absolutely fabulous friend of mine, Abdu, at his home in the Cape. He told me I was his Carrie Bradshaw and I thought... you know what, hat's an awesome title for a blog! So here I am, blogging away. I've kept a blog for about five years now, but it's always been more of a journal for me to keep track of my thoughts and occasionally rant and rave. I felt so invigorated after my visit with Abdu and a recent epiphany at a party that I decided to give real blogging a try.
Disclaimer- I am nothing like the real Carrie Bradshaw. I don't have lots of extra money to spend on fabulous shoes, amazing clothes, and delicious meals at upscale restaurants. But, what I do have is a great life in an amazing city... and I wouldn't want it any other way.
I absolutely adore living in Cambridge, MA and never pass up an opportunity to share my experiences with anyone who will listen. I get mad when people tell me I'm too "old" to live in the city and that I need to grow up. After all, I am super old at the ripe age of.... 31! We don't all want to be married with kids living in the suburbs. I get mad when people tell me about how much easier my life would be if I didn't live in the city. Apparently having a Whole Foods, hardware store, Dunkin Donuts, hair dresser, performance space, and post office all within five minutes of my apartment is really difficult. Not to mention the amazing restaurants and bars that surround me. And I'd be remiss to not mention the fact that a few months ago my boyfriend and I decided to buy a new bed. Did we drive to IKEA or Jordan's? Nope! We walked across the street to the furniture store, bypassed the delivery fee, and walked our stuff back to our apartment.
I grew up in Central Square in Cambridge so I've always had strong ties to the city. When I was seven my parents bought a house in a small town on the South Shore. I immediately went into culture shock. At my 7th birthday party I was the only native English speaker and now I was in a town where everyone was exactly the same. I failed at my first attempt to return to the city when I couldn't get a large enough scholarship to attend Lesley University. After I graduated college I ended up taking a teaching position in the same school district I had attended. I never intended for that to happen, in fact it was my worst nightmare. I always felt trapped.
Luckily for me three years ago I got pink slipped and having hit the rock bottom of my twenties I decided to get a new job, closer to the city, find an apartment with cool roommates, and basically completely change my life. It's a long story, that I'm sure I'll tell at some point, but long story short three years later I live in an awesome apartment in Inman Square (ten minutes from where I lived when I was little) with my wonderful boyfriend. It took me 23 years to get back to Cambridge and I couldn't be happier!
Disclaimer- I am nothing like the real Carrie Bradshaw. I don't have lots of extra money to spend on fabulous shoes, amazing clothes, and delicious meals at upscale restaurants. But, what I do have is a great life in an amazing city... and I wouldn't want it any other way.
I absolutely adore living in Cambridge, MA and never pass up an opportunity to share my experiences with anyone who will listen. I get mad when people tell me I'm too "old" to live in the city and that I need to grow up. After all, I am super old at the ripe age of.... 31! We don't all want to be married with kids living in the suburbs. I get mad when people tell me about how much easier my life would be if I didn't live in the city. Apparently having a Whole Foods, hardware store, Dunkin Donuts, hair dresser, performance space, and post office all within five minutes of my apartment is really difficult. Not to mention the amazing restaurants and bars that surround me. And I'd be remiss to not mention the fact that a few months ago my boyfriend and I decided to buy a new bed. Did we drive to IKEA or Jordan's? Nope! We walked across the street to the furniture store, bypassed the delivery fee, and walked our stuff back to our apartment.
I grew up in Central Square in Cambridge so I've always had strong ties to the city. When I was seven my parents bought a house in a small town on the South Shore. I immediately went into culture shock. At my 7th birthday party I was the only native English speaker and now I was in a town where everyone was exactly the same. I failed at my first attempt to return to the city when I couldn't get a large enough scholarship to attend Lesley University. After I graduated college I ended up taking a teaching position in the same school district I had attended. I never intended for that to happen, in fact it was my worst nightmare. I always felt trapped.
Luckily for me three years ago I got pink slipped and having hit the rock bottom of my twenties I decided to get a new job, closer to the city, find an apartment with cool roommates, and basically completely change my life. It's a long story, that I'm sure I'll tell at some point, but long story short three years later I live in an awesome apartment in Inman Square (ten minutes from where I lived when I was little) with my wonderful boyfriend. It took me 23 years to get back to Cambridge and I couldn't be happier!
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