Friday, October 23, 2009

New England


Our trip to Massachusetts was incredible!
It was the first time Chris & I had ever been anywhere just the two of us (we didn't have a honeymoon since Chris was in law school when we got married), we loved it! It was so fun to go at our own pace, not having to worry about other people & just be able to do what we wanted when we wanted.

We stayed in Boston, which was GORGEOUS! What a beautiful place.
Ah, I am in love with it.
The cobblestone streets, the old buildings next to new buildings (sounds a lot like NY, which I also adore), the pubs on the corners, the beautiful trees & all the history!
Our first day we followed the 'Freedom Trail' (a route that takes you to all the major historical sites in the city). Chris was the tour guide, and would read about each location when we got there. So much better than a tour group btw! It was really cool to see so many of the places that are a major part of our country's history. Plus it was a great way to see the city!

Embarking our Tour!

Old South Meeting House: Where Sam Adams organized the Boston Tea Party


Boston Commons



Before we started the tour, we walked past this book store & I pretty much fell in love with it. Its so cool! Later, we found out it IS apart of the trail! I guess I have a good eye for rad things, that happen to be historical sites..what can I say? Authors like Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Harriet Beetcher Stowe, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and Charles Dickens were all published here.



This cemetery is in the heart of the city. Paul Revere, Benjamin Franklin's parents, etc. were buried here. *does anyone know if those baby headstones in front of the big ones are children? Maybe buried with their parents? Hmm.



Where the Boston Massacre took place..


cute chris..



i saw this & had to take a picture...


'One if by land, two if by sea'...

had to take a picture of it, too cute..

Boston.

Bunker Hill

USS Constitution aka Old Ironsides

While wandering the city, I decided to photograph all the places I would like to live, here are a few of my favorites:




After our tour of the historical sites, we decided to grab a bite at Durgin Park. My grandpa Carver attended Harvard, and HIGHLY recommended this place. We had to experience grandpa's old stomping grounds right? I am always a fan of local, non-chain restaurants when I'm traveling-it just adds to the experience.


After shopping at Quincy Market & the Freedom Trail we decided to head to a famous improv comedy club (featured on HBO) that night. The 'Improv Asylum' did not let us down, we had a great time!

After the show, we had dinner at an amazing restaurant- Ristoranti Damiano. OMG! It's probably the best food I've ever had. By far my favorite restaurant from our entire east coast trip! After dinner, we got canoli's from the famous Mike's Patry. YUMMY!


The next day we decided (more like Chris decided to be a sweetheart & cater to my slight obsession with autumn) to tour the landscape of New England to see the foliage. I wish we had a better camera, although these photos are beautiful, they do not even come close to giving what we saw justice. Solution:Plan a trip & go see for yourself. It was the highlight of the trip, for me.

*Unfortunately half the photos from this trip and from the night before were deleted by yours truly, sometimes I amaze myself with my skills! Ugh. I'm really sad about it too, because we had some REALLY good photos that I wanted. Boo! We have a new rule NO DELETING FROM CAMERA

Anyway, back to the LEAVES!!!!





We drove through the Berkshires. At some lookout points it was over 100miles straight of rolling hills covered in splashes of color.
Completely breathtaking!
(sounds cheesy, but again, I have a slight obsession)












I thought this valley was pretty, we stopped & I had some of the farm's organic fresh apple cider! Mmmm.


After our amazing day driving around the state (literally 8 hours), we had dinner at the Barking Crab after Court highly recommended it. Our entire trip we kept getting texts from family & friends telling us we HAD to try the Lobster. So, I experienced my first lobster ever.
I had no idea how terrified I would be of it! WAY too gross for me to touch! I can't just rip a limb off & crack it open! EWwwww! Needless to say, after much screaming & freaking out, Chris came to my rescue (after making fun of me) & did all the hard work.
(I did think it was delicious though! Next time Ill stick to my Lobster Ravioli though!)

11 comments:

Peterson Family said...

I love all the pictures but I think the last one wins it all! Your face says so much. I love it. I wish I could go to Boston.

Alison @ Oopsey Daisy said...

What a wonderful place to visit!! I have always wanted to go to New England and now, even more!! Love your boots in the leaves picture! :)

Annie and Dan said...

What a great trip. I am so glad you were able to have this fun getaway together. Mari I could totally see you living in some of the places you took pictures of.

Lauren said...

Love your pictures! I went to Boston this summer and loved it! Such a cool place

Adam & Samantha said...

Your first trip alone together? Those are the best ones! NO stress, just on vacation with your hubby. so glad you got a chance to do that! and the pictures look AMAZING. I have never been to Boston, and it is now on my list.

The Alvords said...

I have been waiting for this post! Boston is probably my favorite city of all time. It's between Boston and New York but I think Boston wins. Your trip looks like it was amazing and I would be lying if I said I wasn't jealous. I'm happy you two finally got your trip alone. It was long overdue and you both deserved it. Now I can't wait to hear all about NYC.

The Queen said...

haha! I love that photo of you and the lobster. Although I must say I way prefer crab to lobster! How fun to go just the two of you. It looks beautiful!

Kristina said...

Mari! I'm getting all nostalgic -- like a taste of home. Before we moved to Valencia 2 yrs ago we lived in Boston for 2 years while Seth got his MBA. It was AMAZING living there. The Falls are incredible. Something you obviously know you have to see to believe. I loved that you saw all those fun places. Those are my old stompin' grounds! Love it. Thanks for bringing back some memories! Oh and I'm jealous you had Mikes Pastry. :)

Alyssa Elledge said...

Oh man, Mari! These pictures are amazing! What an amazing trip it must have been. The East coast is my fav.

Mark and/or Lisa said...

so fun! i've never officially been to the east coast -- just florida, and that doesn't really count. looks really pretty. i can't eat lobster either -- it's really good, but i feel too bad eating a creature that was just living like 10 minutes ago before they boiled it alive for me to eat (sorry, that was graphic).

the organic kitchen said...

I loooove the buildings in Boston. It looks like a fun and educational trip. We are definitely doing Boston the next time we go to NYC!