Taking Advantage of the City

This was a great week, even though we were dealing with the aftermath of the blizzard. My motto for the week was, "If I can't walk there or take the T I don't need to be there!" I wasn't giving up my prime parking spot for anything.

We didn't want to waste away vacation indoors though so Thursday night we headed into the city for one of our holiday traditions- looking at the light displays in Boston. We walked around Faneuil Hall, did some shopping, and got blinded by the huge tree they had on display. Then we walked through Downtown Crossing and around the park. Along the way we found this new restaurant that we really want to try. Bistro du Midi overlooks the Public Gardens and looks like a fun place to spend a cold evening.

We headed over to Newbury Street to have dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Piattini Wine Cafe. The food is great here and the atmosphere is really cozy and relaxed. I highly recommend the lobster ravioli and the tiramisu. We were going to walk over to the Top of the Hub after dinner but we were a bit tired so we headed over to Mass Ave. to catch a cab. That's when inspiration hit us and we decided to stop in to Deuxave. I've seen this place a few times on cab rides back to our apartment, and it was recently featured on the Phantom Gourmet where it got rave reviews. I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed our evening here. Everyone was so friendly, and one of the bartenders even helped us nab some seats. The view from the seats in the bar is great. We both decided that we'll be stopping in here again, although it makes me a bit nervous since it's tempting to walk home from there. It seems like an easy walk but I learned my lesson this summer.

On New Year's Eve we headed back to the Common for the 7:00 fireworks. We were heading to a friend's house for a party but we couldn't resist stopping in at one of my favorite places, the Last Hurrah at the Omni Parker Hotel. Usually this place isn't crowded, but it was full at 7:30. Lucky for us we scored a table and enjoyed a yummy dinner. The last time we were here was on our anniversary and we had fun recounting the special day.

Right before we left a couple in their late 30s early 40s sat down at the bar next to us. They struck up a conversation with another person at the bar. I couldn't help but overhearing their conversation. I have to say that this lady is my hero. She was talking about how her and her husband live just a few blocks down the street. The guy at the bar made a comment that it must make life difficult living in the city. She responded by saying, "I can go home and close my door or I can open my door and have the world at my footsteps." I really wanted to give her a big high five! I love her attitude!

After dinner we headed over to our friend's house and celebrated the new year with great friends. We drove our Inman friends home and during the car ride we were talking about resolutions. My resolution is to definitely take advantage of the city even more than I am already. I don't want to waste a day here. I live in such an exciting place and I know how lucky I am!