Out and About in Boston

With only 48 hours in Boston (which was a surprise trip to celebrate Rob's birthday), I knew that we had to be as cognizant as possible when deciding what to do.  Based on Rob's love of baseball, and our joint love of breweries, I centered our trip around visits to Fenway Park and Sam Adams Brewery.  The trip was then filled out with a surprise parade, a beautiful park, and a few enjoyable eateries.

Fenway Park 

Since the start of our relationship, it has become a joint goal of ours to visit every MLB stadium-and Fenway was our first stop.  The vibe there is unlike anything else I have experienced, and the stadium is small enough that I'm pretty sure every seat you can get is a good seat.  I purchased the tickets the day they came out from the Red Sox website, so I got to pay face value (although you can almost always get tickets online through places like StubHub).  One of the best parts of Fenway is that it is almost a town in and of itself; bars, restaurants, and shops surround the stadium and were literally hopping before the game began.  

Sam Adams Brewery

The Sam Adams Brewery tour was fantastic-if you're a beer fan there's simply no way you can miss this tour while in Boston. The tour itself is free, and includes a small tasting glass and three 7 oz. tastings.  There is a small $1-$2 donation requested per person, but it is not required; at that price though, for what you get, there's really no reason to not make the donation.  At the beginning of the tour you spend a bit of time learning about the brewing process, and tasting the various components in beer.  After this you get to sit in their small "bar" with the rest of your group and try some of their different beers.  And do yourself a favor-if you're in Boston, you must, must, try their Brick Red.  Available only in Boston, you'll find yourself craving the delicious flavor long after you've left.

Bruin's Stanly Cup Parade

Booking our trip to Boston months in advance, there's no way we could have known that the Bruins would win the Stanly Cup, resulting in a parade that not only changed the time of our Red Sox game, but that also brought over a million people pouring into the streets of Boston.  It was an experience we probably couldn't have planned if we wanted to, but one that had us riding the excitement of the crowd.

Cheers Boston

We obviously needed to have a drink at Cheers, so we headed there after having a drink at Sam Adams and meandering through the parade.  The bar is quaint, but crowded; although it may have just been because it was on the parade route.  It was difficult to find even the tiniest bit of room to stand, but we were able to enjoy a pint of Brick Red before continuing on with our day.

 

Boston Public Gardens

Although we realized after our visit that this park is quite famous, we literally stumbled upon it while exploring the Boston streets.  A breath of fresh air in a bustling city, the gardens boast a duck pond, plenty of benches, and glorious shade from the New England sun.  

Information from this post was also featured on the blog 48 Hour Adventure.