Boston, baby!

This week marks the fifth week of my thirteen week assignment. My recruiters are already talking about looking for the next assignment! I'm excited to see what the next adventure will be, after a short "vacation" at home. Its funny how my vacations have become spending time at home!

But, after only five weeks in New England, I made it to Boston. I've heard many great things about the city and was excited to see them firsthand. My lovely landlords, Jeff and Cindy, offered to take me to the bustling city of Boston on Sunday. It was primarily meant to get me aquainted with getting in and out of the city, but I was so busy taking in the sights, I'm afraid I absorbed very little of their instruction!

Our first stop was a small, but fully packed, bakery called "Flour." Jeff and Cindy know the owner who is a renowed baker in the Boston area apparently. I got to taste why she holds such a title. The sticky buns were amazing and everything else looked equally good! After that, we headed to the theater district to check out symphony hall and the conservatory where we took in some music from student musicians. We hit up a quirky little Indian resturant/store. This was authentic Indian food. Walking in, the smell of curry and spices wrapped around me like a warm blanket. The shelves were stuffed with spice mixes, rices from around the world, and produce essential for traditional Indian dishes. Can you tell I love Indian food? I picked up a few spices, and with our bags in tow, we took a short walk down the street led us to the Museum of Fine Arts. After a tasty lunch, we meandered through some of the exhibits including the antique photography exhibit. The museum was beautiful, an exhibit in itself.

The day was so beautiful, we took a stroll in the "fens," a marshy area with running/walking paths by the water near Fenway Park. The day was beautiful, the sun was shining, and the sky was clear. At least, until the fire broke out. That's right, a full on brush fire. We were walking and I looked up and saw a huge cloud of black smoke engulf the blue sky. As we walked closer, we saw the massive flames devouring the marsh. Birds and other wildlife were fleeing, sad to see. Soon the sirens came screaming down the street and the entire area was shut down so the firefighters could do their work. It was amazing to see how much the entire city was affected by the few streets that were shut down. For a while, it was bumper to bumper in some areas.

 

My tour guides were very knowledgable of the history of Boston and the pointed out all kinds of landmarkers and gave me the background on them. It was evident they had a passion for the city. At the end of the day, it was awesome to see the city and I can see why so many people have told me it is one of their favorites. But I realized, like I have when visiting other large cities, I'm a country girl through and through. There is something about being in a bustling city that makes me anxious and uncomfortable. I feel so out of my element. We discussed this over lunch, and my friends found it curious that I would feel more at ease alone, hiking the trails of the White Mountains opposed to being surrounded by others in the city. As they say, you can take the girl out of the country but you can't take the country out of the girl!