Cats in a Cradle, A Wee Bit O' Irish, and My First Advice

Never in my life have I seen so many people dawning Patriots, Red Sox, Bruins, Celtics, and Revolution gear; I can see the ocean from my window; Fenway is within walking distance.

Nobody pinch me.

Baseball caps at the Boston Bombing memorial. 

            This morning, after a brief, slightly delusional awakening – I couldn’t remember where I was and it was terrifying – I made my way down Newbury Street to a two-story bookstore-slash-café called Trident Booksellers and Café. I sipped a soup-bowl sized Chai latte and munched on perfectly over medium eggs while the Disney movie Up played on the screen above the tables. If you need to find me, I’ll be back there tomorrow morning.

Fabulous, fresh chai latte at Trident Booksellers and Cafe. 

Before finding Trident, I was momentarily overwhelmed by the sheer size of Boston; it’s definitely no Boise, Idaho. If you, my lovely reader, find yourself in this slightly terrifying situation in any place bigger than what you’re used to, ask somebody who lives there.

In this case, I asked one of the gentlemen employed by my hotel. He was very nice, and he gave me an honest opinion regarding prices and distance instead of forcing me into the super expensive, high-end restaurant adjacent to the hotel.

I think much of his genuine demeanor derived from my attitude toward him. I treated him just as I would treat anybody else, unlike many of the others at the hotel whose haughty airs got the better of them. If you treat people kindly, particularly those who are employed to help or provide a service, and you will often receive the same attitude in reciprocation. 

            For example, my mother and I found a licensed street vendor and his wife selling Boston memorabilia. The couple originated from Portugal, and they spoke lovely – albeit heavy – accented English. They were incredibly helpful and ready to pull out different sizes and colors for us to examine. I even learned the meaning of obrigada: thank you in Portuguese, with an “a” on the end because I am female.

Small experiences like these often coalesce to define the trip as whole, with little regard to the big events or planned situations, interestingly enough.

However, some big events will doubtless add to the experience, especially the accidentally big events. I had the opportunity to meet Boston’s Police Commissioner Ed Davis and the Taoiseach (pronounced tee-shock, head of the government or prime minister of Ireland) Enda Kenny today because I decided to visit the memorial of the Boston Bombing on a whim.

Taioseach Kenny (left) and Commissioner Davis (right)

Memorabilia at the site of the Boston Bombing...a beautiful and moving expression of homage paid to those who lost everything. 

 Create daily plans, but make them loosely with some room for alteration. Planning is smart, especially for travelers from small places who want to see as much of the city as possible, but I suggest making them knowing that sometimes, plans can change for the better. A stringent, immoveable itinerary can make for an incredibly dull trip, while an aberration can be life altering.

            I was buzzing for a while after my meeting (for you lovely internet readers who don’t know me, I have a passion for politics, so this chance encounter was a pinnacle of my existence), so I attempted to shake off these jitters with the lengthy walk to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.

            The museum, created in the early 1900s, is Isabella’s personal collection of mostly Renaissance art displayed in her Venetian Palace style gallery. My self-guided audio tour coupled with my student ID made the museum an educational, exciting, and cheap way to spend the afternoon.

            Finally, my mother and I meandered to a place called Upper Crust Pizzeria for dinner. If I’m not at Trident, I’ll be at Upper Crust chowing down. The thin crust complemented the fresh ingredients, and the people were incredibly helpful and excellent at their jobs.

I was going to publish a photograph of the half State House  - half White Spinach pizza, but obviously my stomach got the better of me before I had to chance to snap a shot. Take this as evidence that it was delicious, and Upper Crust is not to be missed. 

Tomorrow is the zenith of existence. Okay, maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but it is the day I visit Fenway.

Unfortunately, I won’t have the opportunity to watch Jacoby Ellsbury dominate a game (and subsequently ask him to please marry me), but I do get to experience the oldest baseball stadium still in use…. A.K.A. Heaven.

            Look for that post tomorrow, as I will also document my very possibly chaotic navigation of public transportation.

XOXO

Safe travels!

As a side note, these are cats in a cradle. Literally.. And no, I’m not judging the lady walking around with her cats, because this could totally be me one day. Cats need fresh air, too.

These Scottish Folds (the same breed of cat as Taylor Swift's Meredith; they can cost up to $1,000) were secured into their stroller by leashes. To keep them from running? To keep people from cat-napping them? Who knows.. 

Either way, these are a couple of happy cats.