Travelogue: Boston (July 2014)

We took the Megabus to Boston on Sunday. It was a 4.5 hour ride; we slept through most of it. After we got to South Station, we walked to Chinatown — it’s actually only a block away!

Pho at Xinh Xinh.

We took a cab to the car rental place and got our car. We checked into the hotel to put down our stuff and started our adventure with…

The New England Aquarium! I looked up their website and found the cheapest parking garage nearby at International Pl – $7 with validation.

Myrtle the turtle.

Penguins!

Seahorses are so cute.

You can pet starfish and stingrays.

There’s a spiral stairway that encircles this big tank; once you reach the top, you can look down on it.

I can’t say this was my favorite; $25 admission and not much interactive exhibits. Their gift shop was tiny.

We went to a restaurant called “The Ship“… it’s shaped like a ship and decorated like a ship. Very cute.

The next day, we went to the Sam Adams Brewery for their free tour and free tasting.

You get a “ticket” like this…

 

And you follow this schedule…

Plenty of informational tidbits while you’re waiting.

Our tour guide, Mike, was hilarious and made the tour entertaining.

We had 3 tastings: Boston lager, summer ale, IPA. You can refill as much as you want. In the end, we got to take this glass home for free!

After the tour, the brewery actually provides free shuttles to a local pub named Doyle’s – you get a Sam Adams glass free with purchase. Not too bad.

Their lobster roll was pretty good; more like a club though, with toasted sourdough.

We stopped by the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.

No photography allowed! (shhhhh)

 

We then went to Island Creek Oyster Bar.

We wanted to taste different types of oysters so we just ordered a dozen assorted.

The lobster roe noodles were AMAZING. Fatty pieces of short ribs and lobster with delicious pasta…

Their lobster roll was really good too, comparable to Maine.

We took a stroll around Newbury Street and Boston Commons.