Boston at a Glance (Part 1)

I’m in Bah-stun right now.

Err, I mean Boston. Same thing?

My brother has been stationed here at the Air Force base near Boston for the past four years and is getting promoted to Captain tomorrow. To commemorate the occasion, my immediate family and I flew out to spend a few days with him. We arrived on Saturday night, and the past two days have been a whirlwind of activity: late night eats at Chinatown, mass at a historical Catholic church, and more. I miss being with my husband, but I really treasure any time I get with my family–especially because we’re in different areas of the world most of the year.

Boston is worlds apart from Los Angeles, and not just because of the obvious distance: the architecture, the illustrious history, and especially the people are so different that it might as well be a different country. My heart will always belong to LA and SoCal living, but Boston is a fantastic place to visit. As an (adopted) Angeleno, my favorite part of Boston is its compact size… well, compact compared to the LA sprawl, that is. Being able to get just about anywhere worth getting to on the T, easily walking from one area to the next, the narrow streets, the winding paths… I just love it. And everything here is so full of history–it confronts you at almost every corner of the city, both in the obvious guise of the costumed walking tour guides and in the uneven cobblestones laid on the street. I’ve been fortunate enough to stay with my brother and visit him here at least three other times, and I have never run out of things to do or places to see.

So far, we haven’t really eaten at places of note in Boston; we have so many things to do that waiting in line for a renowned restaurant or eatery would just eat up time. But we’ve managed to hop around to Chinatown, Davis Square, North End, and Union Square for eats so far. I’ve been trying to take pictures of the places that we’ve been eating at, but I’m finding that my nascent photography skills are woefully inadequate–also, jumping back 5 feet to get a good shot with my 50mm in a restaurant is definitely not something my family appreciates. If anything, trying to wander around this city while taking pictures is just convincing me that I need a 35mm! And I know I look like a total crazy-pants when I kneel to the ground just to get a good perspective. The Kris of 15 years ago would have cringed in embarrassment. The present one, however, is having way too much fun.

Hopefully I’ll have more food photos to show you all when I post again on Thursday. Until then, here are a few more pictures of my experience so far in Beantown. Have a great week!