A weekend with friends in Boston
One of my favorite things about having a fixed life is how much easier it is to maintain friendships. I’ve made some incredible friends around the globe, but it’s tougher to sustain when you’re constantly moving: having a home base means that I always know the time zone differences, that I can send AND receive mail, and that it’s easier to trade off hostessing duties.
JoAnna is another wanderlust-y friend who is enjoying the simple pleasures of a fixed life. We met waitressing in St Kilda back in 2011; since then, she and her fiancee Andrew have driven around Australia in an orange campervan, taken the trains through India, popped back down under to Melbourne for a wedding and played models with me in a New York City street style shoot. They bought a fantastic place in Boston last year and have been slowly filling it up with thrift store finds (don’t take my word for it: read the reviews on AirBnB!). Since my boyfriend has a good friend who lives in Boston too, we finally headed out for a little New England escape last weekend: it was less about the touristy things, and more about hanging out with friends (while drinking Sam Adams and eating lobster rolls, of course!).
On our first night in Boston, I checked a big “must-do” off the list: went to a Red Sox game at Fenway! Even though the Red Sox didn’t win, we did see a fan run onto the field (!!!) and be tackled by security on the pitcher’s mound.
After the game, we went under the Green Monster for a few beers at the Bleacher Bar. There’s a big window that looks directly out onto the diamond: if you can’t get tickets to a game, I’d totally recommend watching the game from this Boston institution.
Lobster rolls and a fried fish sandwich with a view of the water and the Boston skyline in the background. We drove by the original Dunkin Donuts on our way to lunch–next time, we have to stop!
On Saturday afternoon, we headed over to Andrew and JoAnna’s place in Jamaica Plain. JP seems like the Brooklyn of Boston: filled with hippies and hipsters, and a main street lined with thrift shops, natural food stores, cute cafes and artisan ice cream.
We walked down to Jamaica Pond with the intention of looking at the stately New England homes along the way and going for a walk around the pond, but when we spotted the sailboats on the water with the sun shining and a breeze blowing: we couldn’t resist!
We spent Saturday night eating fajitas and drinking beer on the back porch…
…and Sunday morning eating brunch and drinking fancy Aeropress coffee on the back porch. It was just so nice to have an outdoor space and a few good friends around!
We ended up heading into Boston proper for a stroll around the gorgeously manicured gardens and lush lawns of Boston Common on Sunday morning. We even saw the makeshift Robin Williams memorial pop up around the bench where he sat in Goodwill Hunting.
It was the perfect way to end a wonderful weekend away–especially before hopping in the car for a long five-hour drive back to New York City!
Special thanks for JoAnna, Andrew, Sonny and Shawna for all of the New England hospitality!
p.s. Postcard from a local weekend in Boston // A weekend in Boston, via Instagram
