A Weekend in Boston

When I was searching for cheap-ish fares back to Budapest from visiting home in the States, I snagged a deal flying out of Boston. I’ve been a couple of times before and have very fond memories of this city (except for that time I dropped my phone in a hostel toilet, yikes). While the city is, of course, packed with history, Round Three in Boston was less about living out my National Treasure fantasy (luv you Nic Cage) and more about seeing and eating my way through Massachusetts. I probably spent all the money I saved on airfare on pizza (more on that below), but my weekend stopover in Boston was, as always, worth it.

Stay: HI Boston

This was my second time staying at HI Boston, and it only got better! The free breakfast is lacking (unless you’re a toast fanatic), but the rooms are very clean, the beds are comfortable, and there’s different programs every day to help you meet other travelers. I’d never done a pub crawl before, but it turns out that sipping an iconic Northeastern Sam Adams beer in a historic pub while connecting with my fellow hostelers is a pretty fun (albeit expensive) way to spend a Saturday night! I’m never thrilled by the price, but it’s practically the only hostel option in the city. Location-wise, HI Boston is on the edge of Chinatown, a 10 minute walk to the Boston Commons, 30 minute walk to Little Italy, and is practically across the street from a T-Station. It served as a great home base, especially when I wanted to take a sunny walk around the city and drool over all the old brick buildings.

Eat:

My cheap and quick bite was pizza by the slice at Boston Kitchen Pizza two doors down from the hostel. Under $4 and over the size of my head, it hit the spot in a pinch.

For the real experience, though, I treated myself to a day of eating in Little Italy in Boston’s North End (how could you go wrong, really?). Regina Pizzeria  bills itself as “Boston’s best pizza”, and the line out the door was full of people wanting to see for themselves. After trying Regina’s 4-cheese white pizza for myself, ($12.99 for a 10-inch), I’m inclined to believe them. And I had plenty for leftovers!

There’s plenty of options for your post-pizza sweet tooth, but the third time was the charm for me and the famous cannoli at Mike’s Pastry. I’d never had enough time to wait in the line (almost always trailing out the door), but this time I made sure I had plenty of time to make it to the front and fork over ~$4 for the hazelnut cannoli if my dreams.

Do: Day Trip–Salem/Rockport

I’ve seen a lot of the typical tourist things in my previous Boston visits (Freedom Trail and Faneuil Hall I’m looking at you), so I decided to get out of the city this time around.

The summer promotion of a $10 roundtrip ticket that lasts all weekend was music to my frugal tourist ears. I essentially treated the train like my hop-on/hop-off bus of Massachusetts. The coast was calling, and I was headed to Rockport. But when I saw one of the stops along the way was the historic Salem, I hopped off the train and found myself in witch country.

Two hours wasn’t nearly enough to spend in Salem, but I loved getting a feel for the town and it’s relationship with its sordid past. Of course, Salem’s witch trial history is a huge tourist draw, and it manifests itself in different ways, whether that’s through preservation of historical sites like the “Witch House”, a shop selling witchcraft guides and supplies on the main tourist drag, or a reenactment of the trial of Goody Proctor. I wish I could have stayed for the latter, but my time was up. So I grabbed a fresh blueberry muffin and the best iced chai I’ve ever had from Red Line Cafe and caught my train.

Rockport embraces its tourists–beginning at the train station, there’s a map showing different walking routes around the town and colored sidewalk markers to lead the way. With my limited time, I headed straight for the beach. Of course, I kept my eyes peeled for anything familiar as Rockport was a filming location for The Proposal, but alas, no Ryan Reynolds sightings.

The downtown street of Bearskin Neck is almost unbearably cute, but I’ll admit I was blinded to most of the shops in my search for one thing: a lobster roll. I didn’t have time to sit and order in a restaurant, but Roy Moore Lobster Company came through. There’s plenty of different ways to enjoy this northeast staple (hot, melted butter, anyone?), and the Company prepares them with fresh-caught lobster tossed cold with mayonnaise, kept in a cooler ready to go. It was a godsend. Normally I would never pay $20 for a sandwich, but it was jam packed with lobster meat you could tell was fresh. I was a happy gal as I sped-walked down the colorful alley and back to the train station. I only wish I could have spent more time exploring the cute shops, but now I have an excuse to go back!

I had a hard time focusing in Boston, what with amazing family visits behind me and a promising trip to Croatia ahead of me (more on that later!). But there’s always something new to see in this city. What would you try first?