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PaperclipPerfector  4mo ago (text post)   811 thread views

Wellness Wednesday for July 3, 2024

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Going to Boston for a vacation. Anyone have recommendations for things to do in Boston? @FiveHourMarathon looking at you.

I just got back from Boston a few weeks ago. I found just walking around the city to be very fun.

A few touristy recommendations in no particular order:

  • Atlas Obscura for Boston

  • Kane's Donuts (did you know the Boston Creme Donut is legally the official donut of Massachusetts?)

  • Freedom Trail

  • Bunker Hill monument (although they prevent people from climbing if the heat index is greater than 95 °F—weak!)

  • F1 arcade

  • Monica's Mercato: delicious, massive sandwiches inside a small Italian grocery store

  • My group played a very fun game of sardines at Public Garden

  • If you're a chess player, there's a hustler (who may not be good enough to earn that title) who plays outside of the Sam Adams taphouse for free (tips encouraged) and is decent. He beat me, but tried to cheat in the process, so whoop his ass for me if you do end up playing.

  • Cambridge area

  • Charles River esplanade

  • Fenway Park, as others have mentioned. I'm not a baseball fan but was getting major FOMO when I dropped my friends off to continue exploring.

I've actually been to the rest of New England more than I've been to Boston. It's a town I should like more than I do, for obscure reasons. That said:

-- Go to Fenway. Even if you don't like baseball, it's a thing all Americans should do. I hate the Red Sox, but it's history. If you can get to a weeknight game against a weak opponent on vacation, it'll be like $30 or less a ticket to get in the door.

-- The freedom trail is fun, depending on weather

-- I love the museums located at all the universities. Particularly Harvard has a huge collection of anything you want to see, which gets a lot less traffic than you'd think, mostly bored Asian families pretending to care.

Redsox game is a must, even if you hate baseball, don't bring a large bag or you have to pay to check it across the street, do the freedom trail, have lunch at faneuil hall, what season are you going to be there? That has an impact. Climb to the top of the bunker hill monument. Duck boats are a waste of money but fun if you like cheesy tourist shit. The Aquarium is fun but always packed with school kids, museum of science is great if you have kids or still act like one! Try on some hats, there are some great haberdashers in Boston, good restaurants are too numerous and based on taste to mention, like all major cities. I would say get some B&M baked beans but they closed their factory and moved production from Portland to NJ and now they suck, so don't do that. You can take the Downeaster train up to Portland Maine as well for an inexpensive day trip.

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