Tag Archives: Boston

Travel, Travel blogger, Travel, food

Boston

I hadn’t really gotten to know Boston in my count-on-one-hand visit to the historic city.

Our first trip there, was a business trip for hubby, where I joined him along with out 10-year-old, who is now 34. We had a great time shopping at Filine’s Basement, where we found bargains galore. Since our visit, Filene’s Basement has filed from bankrupty and now, evidently is being resurrected, due to the popularity of discount mania in the clothing industry. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/business/wp/2015/09/17/filenes-basement-is-coming-back-from-the-dead/

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Our next visit was a short hop after we moved to Connecticut, and we really felt lost, and didn’t know where to eat, or what to see.

Third visit was to find hubby’s Dawes roots–he’s a direct descendent of William Dawes, Charles Dawes, and evidently even an archbishop in England. We will commemorate that one soon on a trip to Faversham, the Mt. Ephraim Gardens, owned by the Dawes family. More on that later.

So last summer, the Dawes Family Reunion was held in Boston, and wow, was that a great way to finally acclimate to the city of our ancestors. http://spinningstrawintogold.readmstradinger.com/we-have-the-willys/

I did a walkabout while hubby mixed with relatives, and in my quest for directions, walking a couple of block from our centrally-located hotel, I found myself surrounded by signs all in Chinese. I guess I didn’t realize how small the city is, and that I had found Chinat348sown! I will now know where to get good Chinese food.

The family spent a lot of time on the Freedom Trail, and it was at Paul Revere’s house that I realized how much Bostonian historians revered the one who really got through the lines–William Dawes. Family lore says his na348sme wasn’t used in Longfellow’s poem because Paul Revere sounded better.  The tour reps at the historic house made a big todo about how honored they were to have us visit. And, I believe they meant it.

 

We loved visiting North Church and learning that no one actually said, “The British are coming,” these revolutionary forefathers were still British, themselves. But they did warn about troops, and a visit to North Church will help you see the dangers therein.

Besides the rich history to be found, there is also wonderful food, and food not so wonderful. I loved Bon Me food truck for authentic Vietnamese food.

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I loved Carrie Nation, for their affordable, tasty menu, their great service, and the history there.   l-2

I did NOT love Union Oyster House, and please read my Yelp review before you go because it was more than disappointing.  https://www.yelp.com/biz/union-oyster-house-boston

So, after walking around for three days, I now feel closer to Boston, closer to my own and my husband’s, and our nation’s history, and ready to really start exploring the city like neighbor.

 

Entertainment, Spain, Travel, Travel, food

Sunny Spain in November and December

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I think the simplest way for me to chronicle our amazing trip to the Costa del Sol, is to diary it, and take you along with us–after the fact, of course. So I will begin:

Day 1 and before – Guiness for breakfast anyone?

Our first challenge was figuring out how to get to Logan International, because our usual travels are from Bradley, where we have parking. We didn’t want to leave a car parked for the 10 days, because winter can make starting a car up tricky. There was a time we almost didn’t get the car started. That isn’t fun at night or early morning where other transportation options are thin.   Unknown

So, having mentioned this need to a co-worker, who does Logan frequently, we found out that our company has a deal with Avis for one way, if the car is dropped off within a few hours. Great perk. Other rentals for one-way additional charges, were going to cost upwards of $150. Problem solved. We got an Avis car for $42. So now we were ready to go.

Unknown-1   We boarded Aer Lingus for Malaga, via Dublin–amazingly less expensive than a trip to South Dakota. Of course hubby’s first thought is that even with a 5am arrival, he had to have a Guinness, served by an Irish colleen,  with whatever else he would have for breakfast.

When we first arrived at Dublin Airport, it was so early hardly any workers were there.  Unknown

By the time we read the very confusing signs, and watched the other travelers scurry away to their connections and/or Dublin destinations, we were left at a fork in the road (corridor) with no idea whether we were the “Euro passport” people or not, and therefore had no idea where we were going.

This was a problem, because our short hour and a half was dwindling and hubby really, really wanted that Guinness,  the likelihood which at this hour looked like a no-go, since no food stands were in sight. Only the lonely pathway to or away from “Euro Passport” travelers.
We walked quite a way away from that sign, and were grateful at last to see a guy with a motorized cart. Since it was Ireland and not Spain, we had hopes of directions.   IMG_2291

His look when we queried him, bespoke that we were not the first lost passengers. He good-naturedly motioned for us to climb onto the cart, and he wheeled us to our gate area–where, behold, we found food AND Guinness! Several croissants, scones and a pint later, we boarded the second plane for Malaga, very happy indeed.

 

Entertainment, Music, Travel, Travel, food

Della Mae – Bluegrass worth the ticket

It was a circuitous route that led us to hear Della Mae at Payomet’s satellite venue, an Elk’s Lodge in Eastham, Cape Cod, MA, but this is a circle we were thrilled to travel.  th-2

We got to Della Mae because we heard Delbert McClinton, also new to us, on Imus in the Morning. We just loved his singing style and music. Learning he has a website, amazingly named merely www.delbert.com, we found that he was scheduled to be in a line up in Cape Cod.   th

We were planning to spend a few days in Eastham, MA (inThe Cape) in May. But, alas, Delbert wouldn’t be there till August on a Tuesday, no less.

We usually stay at The Town Crier Motel in Eastham, and what we found delightfully surprising, was that Della Mae was going to be performing at the Orleans-Eastham Elk’s Lodge, under the auspices of Payment Performing Arts Center, the exact May weekend we would be there.

dellamae-9135rgb    So, although we couldn’t attend the concert for Delbert on a Tuesday in August at the regular performing arts venue, Payomet, we decided to try out the Della Mae concert at the Elk’s lodge.   th-1

I called Payment, got tickets, bought an annual membership to Payomet, imagining we might make the three hour trip to The Cape more often,  now that we have a whole new perspective on things to do, and relished getting to hear a fairly new bluegrass combo of five women.

What a great delight they were to hear! The five formed their bluegrass group in Boston about five years ago, and are now based in music-city–Nashville. Evidently meeting from various places as far apart as Colorado, British Columbia and Nashville, they discovered they sound really, really good together.

We agree. Celia Woodsmith, the lead singer and guitarist, from Boston, has a throaty, high-energy, charismatic style, and can evoke a lot of emotion in traditional numbers like 16 Tons, and original music like Boston Town, and the Eco Song. Jenni Lyn Gardner, the only member actually from Nashville, does some strong lead singing, but it’s her mandolin, along with Kimber Ludiker’s violin, that brings up the Celtic flavor of the combo’s modern, yet classic-bluegrass, and we were transported to the new and popular Brigadoonish Outlander series. Courtney Hartman, the Coloradian, is also mulit-talented on guitar, banjo and vocals. A fifth member, Zoe, from British Columbia, is no longer listed as a member of the group, but was there with excellent fiddling for our May concert.

3503525839-1     Della Mae now has three albums, the newest one this year (2015), is titled Della Mae, and Woodsmith says is “edgier” than some of their earlier recording. Their other two albums include grammy-nominated, This World Oft Can Be. Let’s just say if you want a delightful evening of heart-pumping bluegrass, get to their website and see when they will be at a venue near you. It’s well worth the ticket, and you may have to stand in line soon as they gain in following and popularity.