Winter break in Boston, where I call home, consists of sitting by the fireplace, braving the cold and wind while walking around Boston, driving along the beautiful coast, thrift shopping, and binge-watching movies with family and friends. Although there was one week, in particular, that was extra special and out of the ordinary this past break. My fellow Theta sister, Her Campus writer, and one of my best friends, Emily Walker, visited me all the way from Orange County California. She had never been to New England prior to her visit, so I wanted to make sure I was the best tour guide and give her a real sense of the charm and history Boston has to offer. This felt extra special to me because this was the first time a friend from school was coming to visit! With me being from Boston, it is not often that people can visit me because of how far I am. So I felt honored and excited that Emily decided to come all the way out to visit me and see where I grew up. Here is our week in a nutshell and what we did while she visited.
Saturday:
On Saturday, after spending the day with my family, I went to my friend’s house to watch the patriots football game and eat dinner. Halfway through the game, I left to go to the airport to pick up Emily. She got in around 9:30 and I was there right on time to pick her up. We gave each other a huge hug and caught up about the last four weeks we had been apart. Once we got back to the house, we ate leftover Chinese food and passed out.
Sunday:
With this being Emily’s first full day together, I decided to kick off her trip with a bang! We woke up early and I took her to my boxing gym where I work out while I’m home. She got to see me in my element punching the bag and it was fun watching her learn. We laughed so hard as we shouted certain guy’s names at each other to get us angry so that we would punch the bags harder. After boxing, we made some eggs and got ready for the day. On today’s agenda was Newport, Rhode Island! It was only fitting considering she took me a couple of months ago to Newport, California. Emily found this extra exciting because, for her, it is so foreign to be able to drive to different states so quickly. My two closest friends from home, my brother, Emily, and I piled into my car and drove an hour and a half to the Newport mansions, a row of famous estates that used to be owned by families such as the Vanderbilts. We toured both the inside and outside of two different mansions. The first one was a bit smaller but decorated beautifully with incredible marble and stain glass windows. The gardens were enormous and had huge statues of lions and the people who once lived there. The second mansion was the biggest and was built right on the coast with breathtaking views of the ocean. This mansion was decorated beautifully for Christmas and had gold leaf throughout the whole interior and an enormous ballroom. Each mansion told its own story of the families that lived there and the history during that time period over 200 years ago. After thousands of photos later, we found a cute local cafe and had an amazing hearty lunch. When we arrived back at my house we had an amazing dinner of homemade chicken and dumplings made by my mother and watched the golden globes while rating the dresses and winners.
Monday:
Of course, we started off Monday by sleeping in after the long and packed day we had on Sunday. After barely catching the train to go into the city, we arrived in Cambridge by noon. Cambridge is an area right outside of Boston where Harvard University is located. To get there from my town in the suburbs south of the city, we had to take the commuter rail and subway. We were lucky enough to not have to pay for the commuter rail because the ticketer did not charge us! Once we arrived in Cambridge, we did a little walking tour of Harvard and saw a bunch of people that were much smarter than us. Afterward, we stopped in the cute boutiques in Cambridge and went into the Harvard book store looking for a future book we are both planning on reading. After some shopping and a great Mexican lunch, we went to origins and got free facials from the nicest man! His name was Noah and while giving us facials, he proceeded to tell us his life story of growing up in Cambridge and how he is now working on his degree of gratitude to become a teacher of theology. Noah was extremely inspiring and kind and ended up making our days with his lively spirit. Later, we went to a thrift store, The Garment District, and found the most iconic cheetah jackets for the upcoming bid day for our sorority, Theta. To top off the night, we took the train back to my town and ate some delicious soup with my family and watched the premiere of The Bachelor!
Tuesday:
On Tuesday I decided to keep things more local and took the entire day to show her my hometown and where I am from. We first made a delicious breakfast of avocado toast and eggs. You can take us away from California, but you really cannot take the California away from us. Then, we explored Hingham, my hometown, and the iconic Main Street, which is lined with big white houses dating back to the 1700s. Next, we grabbed a delicious lunch at my favorite spot with some friends and took it to the nearby lighthouse and ate it outside on the water. I got a rice bowl and Emily got cauliflower tacos! We walked the jetty and recreated an iconic picture we took months ago on the west coast while taking lots of timer selfies. Later, my whole family, friends, Emily, and I went to see the new movie Bombshell, which is about the recent problems regarding sexual assault in the television station Fox. It was really interesting to see what was occurring during the previous election that I wasn’t even aware of and really heartbreaking to see how many women were taken advantage of by powerful men. Later that night, we went back to my house for dinner with everyone and caught up with my friends while baking banana oatmeal cookies!
Wednesday:
This was Emily’s last full day in Boston, so I obviously had to take her into the city. We took the commuter rail in and the same man was working and didn’t make us pay again! We then walked from the train station all the way to Boston Commons, which is the big public gardens in the middle of the city. I then took her to my favorite street in Boston, called Acorn Street. It is a historic street in an area called beacon hill where the streets are cobblestone and the apartments are all made of brick. It is very aesthetically pleasing for a photo so of course, we had to take a few! Next, we grabbed lunch at a cute local cafe and then shopped until we dropped along Newbury and Boylston Street finding some amazing deals along the way. After seven miles of walking, we finally sat down for dinner in the city at my favorite restaurant, Lolita, where we ordered street corn, guacamole, and delicious tacos. Finally, we ubered over to Mike’s Pastries, which is a famous Italian bakery in Boston and got cannolis.
Thursday:
For Emily’s last day, we spent the morning driving along the coast and grabbed brunch at a local restaurant on the water. From there, I drove Emily to the airport and said goodbye. There were no tears shed because we knew we would be seeing each other in the next 4 days! So far we have experienced both coasts together. Watch out because, in the near future, we might take this friendship international!