Mike's Pastry (Boston, MA)

There's a reason why the line snakes out the front door and around the building.

As you walk around Boston you see the trademark white cardboard box with blue lettering and white twine. Yep, Mike's Pastry. You'll see people carrying the boxes on the Harvard Campus, on various parts of the Freedom Trail, in Boston Common, the Gardens, in Cambridge....everywhere!

Yes, it is THAT good.

Boston Common

Boston Common is a beautiful park located in central Boston. It was established in 1634 and is known as the oldest park in the United States. The Common had many purposes over the years including a pasture for grazing cattle, a camp site for the British Army and even used for public hangings.

A few pictures from Boston Common and the adjacent Boston Public Garden...

The famous bronze ducks in the Gardens, which is based on the book Make Way for Ducklings.

The bridge in the Gardens and the sight of the Swan boat rentals.

Pathway up to the bridge in the Gardens.

My sister Kasey and the Ducks.

Massachusetts State House

Really cool tree in the Gardens.

Boston and the Freedom Trail

The 3rd annual girls getaway ended with two days in Boston. We stayed at the Hilton in the Financial District in a suite....and what a fan.tas.tic suite! This is a great hotel to explore Boston. It is about a 5 minute walk to the wharf and the aquarium; a 5 minute walk to Quincy Market; and about a 15-20 minute walk to Boston Commons. Rates are reasonable, especially on the weekends because it caters to more of the business traveler during the week.

One of the must-see tourist things in Boston is to walk the Freedom Trail. You can easily walk the trail (red line/red brick) solo with the aid of a map and a print out of the major sites, you can travel it with friends and family from the area or you can even join a historic walking tour, complete with docents dressed in period pieces.

Mom walking 'on' the Freedom Trail.

Quincy Market, essentially a food court filled with lots of tasty treats!

Faneuil Hall

The old State House

Back up to July 2011 for Boston

So....I'm a little behind on blog posts. I guess I will blame it on (insert best excuse here).

Rewind about 3+ months and that brings us back to July, which was a fun and exciting trip to the east coast.

Chuck and I spent 3 days in Boston seeing the sights and meeting up with his sister and family. They moved to the Boston area several years ago and this was the first time we saw them since our big move across the pond to Denmark (in 2008) and our return (in 2010)....well, except for Steph, whom we flew to Paris for a long weekend in 2009.

In 3 days we managed to see all the major tourist sights...

• We walked the Freedom Trail.
• We showed off our scholarly side (at Harvard and MIT).
• We went to the Science Museum.
• We shopped (and ate) at Quincy Market
• We had a canoli at Mike's Pastry

After the whirlwind weekend tour of Boston, it was time for Chuck to head back to Chicago and my mom and sister to arrive for the 3rd annual girls' getaway.

Chuck and his sister at the Coop at Harvard.