Thanksgiving in Boston: The Freedom Trail

My Boston/American History adventures conclude with highlights from the Freedom Trail! We walked the entire thing, all 2.5 miles, following the skinny red brick road the whole way. We actually did it backwards - starting at Bunker Hill and ending at The Boston Common - since we wanted to end up at South Station to take the train home. We didn't spend too much time at each individual site, choosing to bypass some of the mini-museums and exhibits along the way in favor of actually getting through the entire route without killing each other.

But man oh man were my calves and ankles and feet sore! I know 2.5 through the city doesn't really seem that much, but something about the hills and brick and all that history that really wears a girl out! After 3 solid days of pretty thorough sight-seeing, I was D.O.N.E. And so were my boots, I think. I'm quite certain I've worn out my wonderful, perfect, cognac riding boots. They're now warped out of shape, worn down in the heel, and badly scuffed in the toe. This makes me sad, since these were truly the happiest shoes I've owned. I probably won't stop wearing them, but it does give me an excuse to just get a new pair. ; )

Striped tee - Banana Republic / Infinity scarf - Dorothy Perkins / Ponte skirt - Lane Bryant /
Belt - Lane Bryant / Boots - Ciao Bella (via DSW) / Handbag - Furla (via Filene's Basement)

Nearly-ruined boots aside, I think I chose my outfit well for the long day of walking through history. (Read: I did not look like a tourist.) I felt amazingly comfortable (Go ponte! Go boots!) and yet just stylish enough to blend in with the well-dressed Bostonians enjoying Starbucks in the financial district. The same main pieces as this outfit (a fail-safe combination for me), I just swapped out the belt (the only one I brought, mainly for another outfit) and scarf (okay, this was one of three I brought). Of course, the top half is completely copied from this other favorite outfit of mine. I'm pretty sure I wore the striped top at least 3 times during the trip, too. Hey, when it's love, it's love! And isn't that the idea behind living out of suitcase anyway? Wear your best, your favorites, and remix them to high heaven. I strongly believe a striped top should always be a part of that equation. =)

My favorite places along the tour were Bunker Hill (though I came away without a picture), the USS Constitution, Old City Hall, and Faneuil Hall. Majestic monuments, breathtaking ships, inspiring halls. History is neat. And beautiful.

To top it all off? Neither nature nor structure, but some of the most amazing food I've eaten to date. Dinner at O Ya with friends (followed by cocktails at the so-me Cuchi Cuchi in Cambridge) included this orgasmic White Truffle and Toro Tartare. Seriously sublime.

All in all, an extraordinary trip and lots to be thankful for. =)

Thanksgiving in Boston: Plimoth Plantation

My Thanksgiving in Boston adventure continues! Or, my American history lesson, rather. I'd actually never been to see the Mayflower or Plimoth Plantation, but it was a timely and enriching way to spend Thanksgiving week. (And it's something Bob's been bugging me to do with him everytime we've visited Boston - even though he's been there countless times... The irony is infinite.) All myths/legends/truths of the holiday aside, I think the curators of Mayflower II (a replica of the original that was built in England and made the same trip of the original in 1957) and of Plimoth Plantation (including the Wampanoag Homesite and 17th-Century English Village) have done a wonderful job of presenting all sides to the story in an ultimately rewarding way. I'll not go into that any more here, but do check it out.

It was a cold, blustery day, made even more so by the coastal weather. Thank heavens for my (new) big cozy infinity scarf and multiple layers! Since I've really come to love the majesty of ships (you'll see more in tomorrow's post), I braved the elements long enough to see as much as possible inside and out, and even get a few great pictures.

I wasn't about to take off the trench, so this is closest I was able to get to an outfit shot at the harbor. This was also about the 7th of 10 attempts to get a picture of me without hair blowing all over my face. There's no feigning the cold, though!

Trench - Banana Republic / Infinity scarf - Gap / Dark skinnes - Gap / Boots - Ciao Bella (via DSW) /
Ring - Ruche / Handbag - Furla (via Filene's Basement)

On to the Wampanoag Homesite, the first section of the Plimoth Plantation area...

And then a few choice shots of the 17th century English village: one of many lush (for November!), well-tended gardens...

The village rooster that even posed for me...

Just a few canons poised for action...

And atop the hill in the meeting house overlooking the village and coast, where the sun finally came out for us.

And so I shed my trench for a little outfit shot. Not my best ensemble ever worn - had I not planned to wear the trench all day, I might have worn a belt or a different under-layer - but the layers, flat boots (and thus skinnies) were totally necessary for the day. And just nautical enough.

Mustard cardigan - Cable & Gauge (via TJ Maxx) / Infinity scarf - Gap / Blue long-sleeved tee - LOFT /
Ring - Ruche / Dark skinnes - Gap / Boots - Ciao Bella (via DSW) / Handbag - Furla (via Filene's Basement)

Thanksgiving in Boston: At Walden Pond

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Both Bob and I had all of last week off, so we headed to Boston to spend the holiday with his family, something we've never done in our seven years together. It was a jam-packed week of food, friends, family (and lots of incomprehensible Korean), Patriots football (it's SO much more fun to be able to watch the game with fellow fans around you, screaming at the TV in unison), and a lifetime's worth of historical sight seeing at Concord, the Mayflower, Plimoth Plantation, and along the Freedom Trail. What does this mean for a wardrobe that needs to fit into a suitcase? Flat boots or tennies, lots of layers that are remix-friendly, and pieces that I know will look good on me no matter what.

It was hard to whittle down a selection of pictures that succinctly captured each adventure and outfit, but because I do want to share them with you, I thought I'd break up the trip into a few blog posts rather than just one. I will warn you, however, that our first stop, Walden Pond, is one of my favorite places in the world. It was such an unbelievably beautiful afternoon that I got to take my camera out for a real spin, and I therefore have the most to share here. Besides, idyllic nature shots plus golden hour equals a prized blogger location, does it not? ; )

Traipsing along trails and water's edge for an afternoon means tennies for me, which also requires a perfect average-length jean and casual top layers - definitely an ensemble you don't see often on this blog! A puffer vest isn't always the best choice for a large-busted, thick-waisted girl like me, but the added layer was perfect for the day.

Curvy dark bootcut jeans - Gap / Pink Breast Cancer Awareness top - Old Navy /
Gray puffer vest - LOFT / Tennies - Skechers

Ah, railroad shots (of the T mind you - there's something wildly incongruous about that). I tried my best to mimic the best of JoAnn and Kyla, but I don't have the greatest sense of balance when a train might bulldoze me over at any moment and kept falling off. Consider these outtakes. =)

Ah, Concord. When If I ever make 7 figures, I would happily spend the rest of my days in this quaint but deeply historic town. We had meant to also visit Lexington and other important locales in town (Old Manse and Old North Bridge, to name a few), but Walden Pond took up the bulk of the daylight hours and we had no choice but to call it a day and venture downtown Concord instead. Among our stops, the famous Colonial Inn, where we had oysters and Guinness, and the impressive Concord Free Public Library - most of it taken over by its "Local Authors" section! This punderful little antique shop was one of my favorites, though.

Uffda. I know that's a lot! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did - I really love some of the nature shots I got! I'll have 1-2 more Boston posts - including the Mayflower, Plimoth Plantation, and spots along the Freedom Trail - before I return to regularly scheduled blogging. In the meantime, enjoy the wonderful holiday season! Has anyone put up decorations (I have!) or started (gift) shopping yet? Hooray for Cyber Monday, I say!