A Weekend in Boston & Cape Cod

I apologize for not posting for a few days but I took a 3 day drive down to Boston for the weekend.  We left midday on Friday for what was supposed to be a leisurely 8 1/2 hour drive but turned out to be more like 11 1/2 hours (thanks Google Maps!). The last 2 hours were really tough but we finely pulled into the valet parking spot for the Nine Zero hotel at 11:30pm and headed straight for the nearest bar. We were dead tired but after that drive we were damn sure going to reward ourselves with a glass of wine before bed.  The Nine Zero hotel was recommended by a friend and we loved it! It's a charming little boutique hotel right in downtown Boston.  From the hotel you can walk almost anywhere in Boston. It's right across the street from Boston Common and 1 block away from the nearest T station.

The hotel has lots of wonderful amenities including wireless and yoga mats in every room. But perhaps the best feature is the complimentary wine hour they hold in their lobby lounge each day from 5 - 6pm.  You have to love a hotel that does that!  The staff is wonderful, especially the concierge Thomas, who was relentless in helping us with restaurant reservations, booking our tickets on the fast ferry to Cape Cod and with a special shopping request we had (thanks Thomas).  Sadly the only thing we were disappointed by was when we emailed them a photo of the Peasant dog "H" to have in our room when we arrived (a cute feature they offer to have a photo of a loved one or pet in your room to make your stay more enjoyable) it was not there.  We even asked the person at the front desk next time we went out but it never did arrive (:.

 We spent all the next day seeing the sights of Boston.  It was my first time and I was determined to see (and eat) as much as I could. We started off in Boston Commons, a beautiful park reminiscing Central Park in NY but not as large.  They had a festival going on with a number of musical bands, performing artists and numerous other activities for the whole family. On a whole we really loved Boston. It's a really charming and accessible city.  We loved that we could almost walk anywhere and where we couldn't there was always their great transit system. I really loved the architecture, particularly how they've integrated the old with the new.

For lunch we headed to the North End, otherwise known as the Italian district.  For the best lobster rolls in the city we were told to head to Neptune Oyster on Salem St. Sadly we never did get to try it as there was an incredibly long lineup outside and when we asked some people how long they had been waiting they said around 3 hours!!! Now I've been known to wait for good food but 3 hours was a bit much and we were already hungry.  After walking around a bit we found L'Osteria,  A cute, traditional little Italian restaurant also on Salem St.  The food was very good and the seafood was as  fresh as you would expect from a resto in a city on the water. I had the Shrimp and Scallop Linguine in a white wine sauce while my friend had the Brodetto di Pesce, an array of mussels, scallops, clams, shrimp, calamari and scrod in a light tomato sauce over linguine.  Both were excellent and of typical American portion size ie. huge!  Really we could have both shared the Brodetto and have been more than satisfied!

After lunch we headed over to another famous Bostonian landmark, Mike's Pastry. While we were both still stuffed from lunch, we were determined to try their Cannoli. I do consider myself a Cannoli connoisseur so we waited in the long line up which actually moved quite fast.

Ten minutes later we had our precious prize in hand!

Sadly seeing that we were both still full from lunch the Cannoli went straight into the fridge back at our hotel until breakfast the next morning (don't judge)! I'd like to give you a review of Mike's Pastry's Cannoli but as it sat in the fridge overnight I really don't think it would be fair.  While not like eating freshly made Cannoli it was still very, very good! Yum!

For dinner that night we tried out an Italian seafood restaurant in the North district called Mare Oyster Bar. We both agreed this was our fav resto of the trip! Probably the freshest seafood we've ever had!  I started off with their Trio of Crudo; yellowfin tuna, salmon, and kampachi with seaweed salad and soy ginger sauce which was amazing! My friend started off with the Oysters and said they were the best Oysters she'd ever had.  We then shared the Grilled Whole Mediterranean Seabass for our main which was also amazing! Sadly I did not bring my camera out for dinner so have no pics but I can assure you it was a great meal and I highly recommend this restaurant! And no I do not get any deals for mentioning our recommending anything on this blog!

The next day we caught the fast ferry over to Cape Cod.  A beautiful 90 minute ride that leaves from Boston's Harbour a few times a day. It was our first time there and arriving by boat was a wonderful way to visit!

Such a pretty and scenic place!  There was a photo opportunity every where I looked! I loved the little boats, the colorful buoys and this boat house with photos of women we saw when arriving at the dock!  I would love to know more about it so if you know the history please do email me!

On Cape Cod we had lunch at The Squealing Pig (love that name) where we thoroughly enjoyed the Tuscan Fries (Fries with Parmesan and Truffle Oil)! Sorry again no pics (:. I promise I'll try to get better at taking photos when I'm at restaurants.  We then walked 2 miles of Commercial street (love P-town!) where we checked out the art galleries, shops and even bought some bling!  A Cape Cod bracelet and necklace for me and a ring for my friend!

After a stop at The Harbor Lounge, a great little bar right on the ocean front, for a quick gin & tonic we headed back to get in the long line up to catch the ferry back to Boston where we stood on the stern and waved goodbye to the Cape over the boat's wake and wished for a day when we could return for a longer stay. 

Have you tried any of these Boston Restaurants?  What's your fav restaurant in Boston?  I'd love to hear from you.