Mom
and I are taking our annual trip and she has always wanted to visit
Boston. We're taking a little jaunt to Pittsburgh to visit friends
for the weekend before heading back. After a very, early morning and
one almost lost luggage, we made it to the bed and breakfast, La
Capella, that we are staying at in the North End.
Before
checking in we walked around to get our bearings and quickly learned
that if we wanted pasta and wine, we were in the right place. There
is an Italian restaurant on every corner and a few in between. I also
found a yoga studio right down the block! Of course, I have to check
out a class. It was a beautiful day, and we made our way to Quincy
Market and saw a street performer juggling knifes while balancing on
a 12 foot pole!
Tuesday
morning I thought I might wake up for the 6:30 am yoga class, but
instead decided to sleep. Rain was in the forecast for the day, so we
wanted to try and get the Freedom Trail walking tour in early. Good
thing we did as soon as it was over the rain came. What I do remember
from the tour is being at the site of the Boston Massacre and the
cemetery where Paul Revere, John Hancock and Samuel Adams are
buried. The Old Corner Bookstore is now a Chipotle, which was kind of
disappointing. We made our way to the aquarium for the afternoon,
since it was rainy and then to the Boston Public Library. A good day
all in all and I did get my yoga in at the 6:00 pm class.
Wednesday
morning, we were off to Harvard. The students were back and we walked
the campus and went to the art museum. That afternoon we took the
second half of the Freedom Trail walking tour and learned more about
Paul Revere. The highlight of the day was the USS Constitution. A
beautiful ship, also known as “Old Ironsides.” We had a relaxing
ferry shuttle ride as we made our way back from a long day of being
tourists. We were tired and ready to call it a night.
There
is a Starbucks right around the corner, so I decided to take a stroll
and get a cup of joe and noticed the waterfront wasn't too far. A
nice, peaceful morning sitting by the water with a hazelnut, white mocha is a
perfect way to start the day. We decided to test our luck at whale watching
on our last day in Boston. Unfortunately the whales were not on our
side and the rockin' of the ship got to me a little. We made our way
back to the North End “Little Italy” and ate at a great,
family-owned Italian restaurant, Giacomo's. Then a last walk around
the neighborhood and a drink at the oldest tavern in America, Bell in
Hand, and we decided to turn in for the night. We had an early
morning train ride to Pittsburgh to see the Fath family.
The
12-hour train ride, with an one-hour stop in Philadelphia was pretty
uneventful. We saw some nice country side and once I figured out how
to open the door to get to the snack car it was all good. The Faths,
Dave and Barb, took in the weary travelers with open arms. We drove
through the town Dave grew up in, Jeanette, and ate at a very good
Italian restaurant, DeNunzio. (I think Italian was the theme of this
trip.)
Dave
and Barb live in a cabin in the woods by Somerset, PA. It was a
peaceful retreat after being in the big city. We woke up to the rain
and had a lazy Saturday morning. Their daughter Laura, came out from
Pittsburgh. Laura and I are friends from childhood and I have many
great memories of staying at the Faths for slumber parties. Dave
would put on his oldies records and we would dance the night away in
the basement. Also, we didn't have a lot of sweets around the house
growing up, and I knew Barb would always have some goodies to snack on.
Things haven't changed that much.
We
got out for a bit Saturday and went to a cute, little winery, Glades
Pike Winery, for some tasting and then to, Moo Echo Diary, an Amish
store for some ice cream and whoopie pies. I don't think I stopped
eating all day. After going out with some of Laura's friends that
night, we ended up back at the cabin and played cards until 2:00 am!
I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. Mom and I had a lot of
fun!
 |
| "Did you see that bear?!" |
Sunday Laura and I went for about a 5-mile run (walk) around Somerset, then some lunch, and then we all went for about a 4-mile hike in the woods around the cabin. After being in the city, it felt good to be outside with the trees and critters. We saw some tracks and thought we might run into a bear. Luckily, we didn't, but we did get an awesome pic. We made it to the warming hut, a little cabin in the cross roads of some trails, to get warm before the trek home. Dave started a fire when we got back, we roasted some hot dogs and made some s'mores. Nothing like a campfire in the woods on a rainy day! It was a great day until the Steelers lost, Dave's all-time favorite team.
That night we went into to Pittsburgh with Laura to stay with her so she could take us to the airport in the morning. Pittsburgh is known as the city of bridges and she lives right downtown. It was a wonderful trip, however I was ready to get home and get tucked in to my own bed.
