Travel Journal: Boston

December 2, 2017

Sweet mother of Poseidon my shower has broken AGAIN. I honestly might as well have stood under a watering can full of liquid nitrogen and would’ve been more satisfied. But you know what, I’m now feeling extra awake this morning. So raise your champagne flutes to that! However, enough of my student problems, I’m actually going to talk about a whole lot of good vibes and my trip to Boston for Thanksgiving. So get comfortable and enjoy folks.

Ok, so first, throwback to October’s Halloweek because I’m silly and forgot to mention it in my last post. You know… because one day just isn’t enough for America! They’ve got to be bigger and better… they need a whole week to celebrate Halloween. And to be honest, I’m totally with them, because it was A-MAZ-ING.

It didn’t really involve any sweets or chocolate (I know, boo-hiss), but it did include a whole bunch of jello shots and parties. And can I just add, a big heads-up to all girls, do not dress scary over here. In fact, do the complete opposite. Dress to look nice. Fake blood is not necessary. Go as an angel, a Disney princess, or even a superhero or something.

I mean, God forbid you commit social suicide by dressing as a man or… oh, wait, no:

Okay, well that plane just flew into the side of the mountain, call off the search, no survivors.

It was a real Mean Girls moment when we walked in. Everybody looked totally smokin’ and we were stood there dressed as two blokes. Damien and Post Malone.

But you know what, we got ALL the laughs, so who’re the real winners here HEY!

*Tumbleweed*

I’m kidding I’m kidding, I would dress up like that all over again. We had such a laugh and an incredible night. So big up my partner in crime @Rhianneyo.

But now, on to Thanksgiving!

It started with a 16-hour drive. SIXTEEN. HOURS. Let that sink in for a minute. But we totally powered through. My first experience of driving on the wrong side of road on the wrong side of the car happened to fall just around New York City. More like New York sh*tty-traffic. Clueless of the roads, I needed directions. However, my map reader Sophie timed her nap perfectly for the Manhattan school run. UTTER CHAOS. With a few pokes and prods she was awake again and guiding us away from Times Square. All was good.

We arrived at midday on Wednesday. Not bad to say we set off at 7:30pm the day before, am I riigght?

…

Mmhmm! But when we got to Elle’s nana’s home in Duxbury and settled in, it made the drive so worth it. The power of a comfy bed, home cooked food and fabulous company. It was an absolute treat. And, for some, their parents coming all the way from the UK to surprise them for their birthday. ALL THE FEELS.

I hope you had the best weekend Elle. Muchos love & enjoy being 21 years young!

Over the next few days we did some magical things.

On Thanksgiving we woke up and all I can say is – BREAKFAST. I’m talking pastries, yoghurt, sausages, bacon, more bacon, eggs, fruit… it was a total dream. We then hit up Duxbury beach and the Standish Monument, which was beautiful. Fresh air was much needed and worked its wonders after spending a whole day in the car on the drive up.

Hat | ASOS
Scarf | ASOS
Coat | Wallis

Exercise of the day DONE. Feeling good. Calories burned = 1/4000 of what we were about to eat. I think we were set. We chilled out before dinner by doing the most IMPOSSIBLE jigsaw I have ever done in my life. I am not exaggerating. It was straight out of Satan’s board game collection. I swear half the pieces were non-existent and the pieces that were did not fit together. I was so close to chucking it in the fire, but me and Elle were determined to finish it and kept our cool. Guarantee it wouldn’t have burnt anyway… jigsaw from hell.

Thanksgiving dinner was everything I hoped for and more. Turkey, creamy mash, greens, stuffing, sweet potatoes, gravy, cornbread and, to finish, apple pie. Sugar, spice and everything nice. The wine was flowing, the taste buds were tingling and I was feeling very full. But I was content with life. I mean, just look at that table.

Friday was Boston day and OH MY DAYS THIS CITY IS JUST SO COOL. Trendy. Chill. An all round good vibe. It’s like a more compact New York without feeling over-crowded. I can see why so many people rave about it.

We set off on the freedom trail, ate lunch in Quincy market and pottered around the shops. One of the places we went into was Christmas in Boston. If you ever need a Christmas decoration, this is the place to go. It has everything, and I mean everything.

I went for a metal Lobster with ‘Boston 2017’ engraved on it claws. Everyone else thought it was the ugliest f’ing thing they’d ever seen, but I beg to differ. And, you know what, on my Christmas tree at home anything goes. So shout out to Mama Mantle, save some space for the lobster.

In the afternoon we went to Cambridge to see Harvard University. I just can’t quite get over this campus. It was absolutely stunning. So gorgeous and green and the architecture… phoar. I’ve also heard a rumour that they do alright in the league tables, so that’s a bit of a bonus right?

In another life, I would have gone to Harvard, been the next Elle Woods, 10/10. But hey – GO GAMECOCKS!

We finished the day with a lovely meal at Limoncello. It had that real ‘family feel’ to it. I ate so much pasta and bread and drank more wine – so cheers to that!

But oh Boston, I will most certainly be back to see you again. With all it’s unique shops and sights, I feel like it has much more to be explored. But until then.