It's Christmas Time in the City

 I took a stroll through one of my favorite parts of the city the other day. I'm drawn to the Back Bay. The architecture, the history, the sheer beauty of knowing that buildings and roads have been in existence long before my parents and great grandparents were a thought. I treated myself to a latte on the corner of Charles Street, then took a peek through the windows of the shops. I made my way up Chestnut and took photos of the beautifully decorating front doors and windows on my way to Faneuil Hall.

You must come into Boston any time of the year, but if you happen to come during the holidays, don't miss Blink at Faneuil Hall. Over 350,000 lights dance to the music of the Holiday Pops.

Road Trip

My family and I spent this past Sunday taking a mini tour through New England. You've got to love the fact that in just one day you can visit three different states, see the ocean, the mountains, a couple of cities and the countryside. And that's just what we did. Up and out by 7:00 am we headed southeast to Rhode Island for the last leg of our college tour for daughter #1.

Our first stop was to Providence to visit a couple of schools just outside of the city. We then traveled southwest to visit another before heading back to Providence and meeting up with my son for lunch. Back in the car once again, we traveled northeast into Massachusetts to tour yet another campus. I think at this point we were all ready to call it a day, but because we were so close to Boston we knew we couldn't go home without treating ourselves to a little pick-me-up at Caffé Vittoria and then dinner at our favorite Italian restaurant in the North End.

A few minutes past 9:00 that night, we pulled into our driveway and called it a day. It was exhausting but fun, and in the end my daughter chose to go to school in Boston. She was 90% sure that's where she would end up, but she just wanted one more look around. She'll now be one of the thousands of students that descend on the city each September just a short walk away from where I started my college years nearly three decades earlier. Amazing.