FLIP + CHING

Fourth of July – Boston Skyline

Posted on July 10, 2011 by Ching under Travel.

There’s only one word to describe the Boston skyline on the 4th of July – AMAZING! This camera phone picture really doesn’t do it justice. It’s something that you’ll have to see for yourself. I actually made me want to get a boat!

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Fourth of July – Fireworks

Posted on July 10, 2011 by Ching under Life.

After our dinner at Bertucci’s, we figured that we were too late to get a good spot on the Esplanade for the Boston Pops performance and fireworks so we thought we might be able to watch the fireworks from the hotel. Upon returning to the hotel, however, we realized that we wouldn’t be able to watch the fireworks from the fifth floor pool patio because of how the Charles River bends. We found out from one of the hotel staff that if we just walked along the river a little ways then we would get a good view of the fireworks. His definition of good was more like just okay for me. Either that or his definition of little ways was a lot farther what we had actually walked. =P

Unfortunately, most of us were tired from the day’s activities (Sam Adams Brewery and Fenway Park). Mama Dill, for one, couldn’t walk too far so we were on the other side of the Boston University Bridge, just past the Hyatt Regency (before the Harvard Bridge). We saw the fireworks okay but I think, if I were to do it again, I would spend the day camped out at the Esplanade. We could just bring a sack lunch or some delicious confections from Mike’s Pastry or something. LOL.

I think Brian and I were in shape enough to walk from our hotel to MIT (about 30 minutes on a brisk pace) — just past the Harvard Bridge, in front of the big dome, would have been a really good spot. That would have been too long of a walk for the others, though, because it would have been at least an hour of walking round trip. In hindsight, we could have taken the T from Central Square to Kendall/MIT and then just walked a short distance to the river. The four of us (Jay, Becca, Brian and I) had our 7-day MBTA pass, but all MBTA fares were free that night in celebration of Independence Day so Jeff and Mama Dill wouldn’t have had to pay. Oh, well. You live and learn.

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Fourth of July – Fenway Park

Posted on July 10, 2011 by Ching under Things to Do, Travel.

A trip to Fenway Park is another must when in Boston.

A ton of people came out for the 4th of July game!

We all stopped by the official team store so that Brian and I could be appropriately outfitted. We didn’t own any Boston Red Sox gear at all. We ended up buying a couple of baseball caps. We look so official!

We had such a great time at the game.

The whole experience was awesome. I even liked how when you bought food, they would have to pass it to you. I also liked the sing-alongs. It’s an authentic, American ballpark experience. The only thing that could have made it better was if we actually won!

We all got hotdogs, which were really good as ballpark hotdogs go, and then Brian was still hungry so he had a giant pretzel afterward. I had a $5 lemonade, which was cheaper than the $8 beer in the small plastic cups. LOL. Actually, it seemed like everything cost $5 (with the exception of the beer) because our hotdogs and Brian’s pretzel were $5 each also. It was an expensive day (specially after you count the $55+ we spent on two ball caps at the team store — mine was only $25, but Brian’s was $30), but totally worth it!