🇺🇸 Boston, Massachusetts

“To appreciate the beauty of a snowflake it is necessary to stand out in the cold.”

– Aristotle

Monday finally took me to Boston, Massachusetts. In my year of flying, this was the US state Ive really wanted to visit and especially in December. Just before I was offered the job with BA, I had booked a holiday for me and my daughter to visit Boston, New York and Chicago but as the dates were going to clash with my start date, I made the decision to cancel our holiday plans. My daughter who is always so supportive of what I do, was absolutely fine about it as she knew how important starting with BA was to me and that in the long run, it would be possible to visit these destinations again.

It took almost a year but Monday was finally my day and I was so excited for this trip, not only because it was Boston in December, but because the gamble had paid off so the trip had a significant meaning for me. It was also an extra special trip as we were to get 2 nights in Boston which meant a full day and night free the day after.

So on Sunday evening, I checked the weather forecast for Boston and it was showing snow for the coming days. I’d learned my lesson in Chicago earlier in the year so was already planning to take my ‘big big’ coat. It’s actually that big I had to take a large suitcase as it is to big to fit in the normal cabin case I normally travel with for short trips. I’d bought the jacket with a huge faux fur hood from River Island 2 years ago and I have to say it is the best jacket I’ve ever bought and keeps out the cold like no other. I also packed hats and boots so thought I was prepared.

The flight time to Boston is around 6 hrs 30 mins but due to the winter storm, we had a slight delay with the landing as the runway was being cleared by snow ploughs but not for to long and everyone was in high spirits anyway as we were going to see some snow on the trip to give it that extra festive feel.

Of course if you live in Boston, that level of snow isn’t going to make day to day life easy but as visitors, we were so happy to see the snow on the way to the hotel and I had such a lovely snowy Boston view from my window, it was hard not to get into the festive spirit.

The following morning, most of the crew had made plans to go out for breakfast then explore Boston. Some had been before and some of us were newbies to the city but everyone was just as excited to get wrapped up and head out into the snow. The good thing about being with crew who have been to destinations before is that they know the best places to go so for breakfast, we went to a little place called Charlie’s Sandwich Shoppe. It was established in 1927 and is a landmark restaurant in Boston’s South End. There was a lot of options to choose from but I went for the bacon and scrambled egg breakfast burrito with hash brown. It certainly didn’t disappoint with the great food and super friendly service.

We were then ready to hit the snow, just walking in the streets that were lined with snow looked so picturesque. However, it soon became apparent that it was about to be a lot colder than anticipated and that some of our boots were not made for that amount of snow so we headed to the nearest store to see if it was possible to purchase more suitable footwear (You know it’s cold when even the dogs are being walked with little dog socks on). I managed to find some Tommy Hilfiger that I really liked because they were different to anything I’d seen before yet were really practical for this kind of weather. They were a bargain as well at $59 dollars which worked out at around £47 GBP. Once I had changed into these, it felt like I had a new lease of snow life as they were so warm and waterproof, I was now skipping through the snow without a cold care in the world(slight exaggeration as I was still layered up to the max but shoe wise, it was snow heaven).

Boston Common

“Established in 1634, Boston Common is America’s oldest public park. Puritan colonists purchased the land rights to the Common’s 44 acres from the first European settler of the area, Anglican minister William Blackstone”

– https://www.thefreedomtrail.org/trail-sites/boston-common

First port of call was to Boston Common. Covered in inches of thick, crisp fresh snow, it did look truly breathtaking. The statues and any colours around became vibrant and prominent against the bright white snow. Never before had i seen anything visually say ‘Traditional winter’ or ‘Christmas’ like the snow scene of Boston Common was saying. It just looked like a Victorian Christmas card scene with a hint of the city in the background yet here I was, stood in it. The only thing missing was that my daughter wasn’t there to finally experience Boston but there is always next time.

Cheers Bar

Growing up in the 80s, I remember watching the sitcom Cheers and the theme tune you never forget so it was definitely one of the Boston hotspots I wanted to visit. First we went to the original Cheers bar situated on Beacon Street which was previously known as ‘The Bull and Finch’ pub before it became the inspiration for the hit sitcom. From being a little girl in the 80s watching a tv show, I was now actually at Cheers Bar in Boston.

We then went to the replica Cheers Bar at Faneuil Hall Marketplace which opened in 2001 and was recreated to give people the opportunity to visit the set as they had seen it on TV. Since I tried mulled wine a few years ago and it made me sick, I’ve always stuck to my principle that alcohol should never be hot. However, whilst in Cheers bar, I threw caution to the wind(plus it was to cold for anything else) and tried a ‘Hot Apple Cider with a shot of Jack Daniels’. I have to admit, after my phobia of hot alcohol, it was one of the nicest drinks I’ve actually ever had and I’m now a convert. It was that nice we had 2(to warm up obviously 😉)

Out and about round Boston

Bye Bye Boston

I can honestly say, although I’ve had some amazing trips in the past year, Boston has been one of the best. It was probably the first time I had woken up and thought ‘I’m not ready to go home yet’. It was the destination I had wanted to go to yet it turned out better than I had even imagined with such a fantastic crew which made it even better and some of the photo credits belong to them. I’m not sure if we would be so lucky again to land at the same time as all the fresh snow making it such a festive trip but I’m grateful we were super lucky this time we had a Boston Winter Wonderland 🎄🌨☃️🇺🇸

Back into London