Bravo, Boston

The more I travel, the more I realize how little I miss the state of California. There are just so many wonderful, amazing places to see, Boston being one of them.

I can't wait to go back and see more, more, more.

The flight up was so easy. It's 2 hours from here, and I got cheap tickets on Spirit Airlines. Fell asleep as soon as we left the MB, and woke up to see Manhattan out my window. From that point, it's less than an hour to Logan.

Kev took me for a walk around his neighborhood, which is a block from City Hall, an ugly I.M. Pei building that should be a jail or something else. We visited, briefly, the Old South Meeting House, where the Declaration of Independence was read to the people of Boston from the second-floor balcony two weeks before it was signed in Philadelphia; the graveyard where Paul Revere, John Hancock and Samuel Adams are buried; Old City Hall, which, sadly, is now a Ruth's Chris steak house (still don't know what the hell a Ruth's Chris is); and then met up with Dan and some friends from work for drinks at the Parker House Hotel.

I loved hearing about their new jobs at a very high-powered corporate law firm. Andrew and Liz and Dan do corporate law, and Andrew's beautiful girlfriend, Mel, is an assistant district attorney. They all just started their jobs, and Dan is waiting to hear about his Bar exam results (but Mr. Editor of the Law Review Smarty Guy cannot possibly NOT pass), and I loved hearing Mel say "I'm wicked excited to do that" in regards to picking apples, if I remember correctly. Poor Mel didn't realize Kev and I weren't making fun of her -- we really enjoyed her Boston accent.

It was all happy fun until I went outside for a cigarette with Mel and Liz, and a crazy guy wanted to bum a smoke so he could die sooner and find god. He said he had been looking for god everywhere and just couldn't find him, but he knew god had special plans for him.

Soon after, Kevin, Dan and I went to the North End for dinner Friday night at L'Osteria, a great Italian place that had Roman chicken. Irresistible.

On Saturday, Kev and I went on a Duck Tour, driving around the city in one of the land-and-sea vehicles used, among other things, during WWII. Saw a chunk of the city, including the lovely Boston Common and Boston Gardens, Beacon Hill, Newbury Street, the big, old churches, Fenway from a distance, the Museum of Science, the steeple of the Old North Church and more. Part of the tour involves a short sail up the Charles River.

It also generated my favorite Kevin moment of the weekend. This snooty jogger came plowing toward us and the other people who were trying to get to the tour, and she kind of barked "Watch out," at all of us. In a flash, Kevin snaps "YOU watch out -- you're running." The rest of the weekend, we kept warning people to watch out.

Beautiful weather -- perfect excuse to wear my leather coat from Florence -- and lots of fun. We rode the T (the subway) and went to Faneuil Hall for lunch (traditional Boston lobster rolls, but on grilled brioche instead of simple white rolls), then to Macy's for some shopping for Dan and Kevin's five-year anniversary.

Met up with Doug and Al at Kev and Dan's lovely apartment, and went up to the top floor and checked out the amazing view of the city. The sun had just set, and we could see the blimp hovering over Fenway for the game, and a fingernail moon coming up between the Prudential and John Hancock buildings.

Went for dinner in the South End at this cool little place called Tremont 647, and I ended up with a lapful and a purseful of ice and water, thanks to the waitress. Kevin dared me to tease her about it, so when it came time to order dessert, I asked if I ordered ice cream to go if she could just put it in my purse. She didn't find it funny at all, probably because the boys were laughing so hard. Only Kevin knew I would take a dare like that. Sadly, my fish was overcooked, and I said something to the owner about it, so next time I visit Boston, I get "swank" reservations and dinner cooked by him personally. Apparently, he's a rising star of the Boston food scene, and wrote "The Fearless Chef." Seemed like a really nice guy, to me.

Actually, it feels like all we really did this weekend was eat. I'm so stuffed with amazing food. We met Andrew and Mel for brunch in Cambridge, near Harvard. Cambridge is a gorgeous town -- at least the parts near Harvard and MIT are. Didn't see it all, of course, but I'd love to spend more time in Harvard Square.

And with Felix, Dan and Kevin's handsome cat.

What a great weekend!