Bahston, Boston

I have to say that I am lucky enough to have a job that sends me places. :o) Yep, once a year I get to pick a conference to help develop me "professionally." So, this year's pick was Boston, MA. A very, very cool city I gotta say. It's cool being in such an old city with so much history...without having to go to Europe. ;o)
But first with the negative parts. Well, I was sick most of the time I was there...so, can't chalk that one up to Boston personally, but it kind of put a downer on the trip. Another negative is that it is cooooold in Boston. On one of the days we were there, it was totally rainy and freeeezing outside. I had to buy a toque...and for all you Americans, that's what you all call a "beanie"...just so I could stay warm while walking around to find a place to eat. So, to double up necessity with tourism, I ended up getting a Boston Red Sox hat and felt actually kind of silly wearing it around since I am not an actual Bostonian.
Anyhow, that really cold night we went out exploring around "Little Italy" and wow, was the food great and the atmosphere even better. The restaurant we went to had a great feel to it. Ok, side note here: The funny thing about Boston is that there really isn't that much street real estate available. Most of the buildings are super close together and all crammed together along the street. So, it's kind of deceiving that any place actually has room, but they make really good use of their basements and second floor space. We were seated in the basement and as you can tell by the pic on the right, they did just about everything to not make it seem like you were eating in a little basement. In fact, you even felt like you were in a little villa in Italy. :o)
Also in Little Italy, we were highly recommended to make a stop at Mike's Pastry and had a famous cannoli, and my goodness it was good. It got to be a little too sweet at the end, but if you ever go to Boston, I would add my recommendation for Mike's Pastry.
Ok, on to some of the other cool perks. I thought the Boston accent was a lot of fun. It was actually kind of hard to come by though. But we talked to some policemen a couple of times to try and find our way around the city and it was a pleasure talking with them cause we got to hear their accents. I had a lot of fun navigating the city on foot and using the "T" subway with my conference roomie Sarah and together we went to China Town, Theater District, Boston Commons, Downtown Crossing, Newbury, and Little Italy. All in all, it was a fun trip and I was glad I went. Oh, and the conference was pretty good too. :o) So, guess I'll have to try out a different city next year.