Boston with a Toddler {Day 3 of 3}

**This was our first time traveling with a toddler, so I'll detail our itinerary by day for people who want recommendations on what to see and where to eat.** Catch Day 1 here and Day 2 here.

With last night’s wait still fresh in his mind, Doug was not thrilled {understatement} to trek over the Fort Point Channel in the cold wet morning to get to Flour Bakery for breakfast. But I travel for food, so there was no holding me back. And just like always, trust your wife. She is {almost} always right. He quietly enjoyed {knowing I was right} his coffee and bacon + egg + cheese sandwich while I tried to savor my buttery flaky croissant and other delicious pastry despite his morning rant. The bakery was loudly bustling and you have to have good timing or lurk for a seat. One couple was nice enough to give us their table and sit at the window stools instead. If I wasn't so angry with Doug being angry, maybe I'd have a picture of this wonderful breakfast for you, sorry!

We only had a few more hours before heading back to the airport. We wandered the bottom half of Beacon Hill, stopping for lunch at the Upper Crust per a friend's recommendation. I'm in love with pizza in Chicago, so nothing can compare. But Mia eats pizza, which is a plus. The place only had 10 seats and 2 counter stools. So your timing has to be right or you have to hoover and wait.

Then we strolled down Commonwealth Avenue and Newbury Street {equivalent to Chicago's Magnificent Mile} to check out the Boston Public Library {to use the bathroom} and the Trinity Church.

On our way back, we stopped at the Public Garden to eat our last cannoli and see Mrs. Mallard and her ducklings.

We bought the "Make Way for Ducklings" book for Mia a week before we left. Her favorite part our trip was seeing the statues of Mrs. Mallard and her ducklings and feeding peanuts to the ducks with Daddy. And let me tell you, these park animals are well trained in begging for food from park goers. A squirrel literally came to my feet with paws up! Like a puppy! He saw me reach in my bag {trying to get my camera to capture a begging squirrel!!} and he inched closer and put his little paws up again because he thought I was getting food!

If it were sunny and a bit warmer, it would’ve been a perfect afternoon.  She was thrilled to roam freely.

Then we were off to get back to sweet home Chicago. Overall, the trip was a tad chilly and would've been prettier with Spring blooms.  But we didn't take a single cab so it was perfect for traveling with a two year old and no car seat. It was just the right amount of time {3 days, 2 nights} to do what we wanted {walk around and eat all day} and for a reasonable price. Mia didn't show any signs of being bored even though we didn't do any "real" activities {other than the Duck}. It was a wonderful short trip for our little family. And Daisy!

There couldn't be a better picture to end our vacation with....

Where should we head to next? What's your favorite family vacation spot?? I love recommendations!

Boston with a Toddler {Day 2 of 3}

**This was our first time traveling with a toddler, so I'll detail our itinerary by day for people who want recommendations on what to see and where to eat.** Catch Day 1 here.

In the morning, we walked to the North End (Boston’s Little Italy type neighborhood) to grab cannolis from Mike’s Pastry and breakfast at Café Vittoria.  {Now I know what a real cannoli should taste like!}

I don’t recommend Café Vittoria for breakfast since they do not bake their own pastries. I chose this cafe because it was mentioned here but for its gelato I guess.

The quiet morning walk along the Freedom Trail through the North End was so peaceful even as restaurants were getting their morning deliveries of bread and produce. There's literally an Italian restaurant at every other store front. How do they all stay in business competing against each other??

Thanks to Jeff’s recommendation of Neptune Oyster and knowing they have very long waits, we walked the top half of the Freedom Trail to kill time {it took less than 1.5 hours} before lunch at 1130am, when Neptune Oyster opens. What a gorgeous day!

No wonder they have long waits, they only have tables for ~25 and bar seating for ~15. Since we lurked around waiting for the moment they opened their doors, we didn’t wait at all. We ate PEI Mussels, Fried Ipswich Clams and a Maine Lobster Roll hot with butter. I don't normally eat mussels, but felt like I had to give them another try. And I'm glad I did! The mussels were immersed in a tasty, slightly spicy red curry broth. The lobster roll was full of delicious lumps of lobster and a perfectly soft yet charred buttery bun. Mia ate fries for lunch {oh well, can’t win em all!}. Thank goodness this meal redeemed yesterday’s lunch and this morning’s breakfast. And yes, it's an oyster bar and we didn't have a single one. Sorry, couldn't do it! 

Afterwards, we walked the top half of Beacon Hill towards the Museum of Science to board our Duck Tour. I loved the narrow hilly brick paths, unique doorways, black shutters and flower boxes that flanked the fronts of the expensive homes in Beacon Hill. These homes were my favorite sights of the trip...

Yes I'm a creeper taking pictures of people's front doors. But look how beautiful it is!

Apparently just like back in the day, these gas lamps stay on 24/7.

I was very tempted to go to an open house just to see what it was like inside!

 Some sidewalks are very narrow and definitely wouldn't fit a double stroller.

Loved the brick pathways throughout the entire city. It adds so much character and old world charm.

I adored these homes. The Duck Tour on the other hand, I did not. Don't get me wrong, I like Duck Tours, but at $85 for three tickets to a boring 80 minute tour through the city and a bit on water...I’m bummed that we wasted the one sunny day we had on this snoozefest. Since we bought tickets before we left, we couldn’t have predicted the timing with the weather.

Luckily, the tour made Mia pass out so she could nap before what turned out to be a very long dinner…

Per a friend’s friend’s recommendation for a fun dinner near the water, we walked to the Barking Crab on a Saturday night. When I called ahead, they told me they do not take reservations on the weekend, but we'd be fine when we got there for our party of three. She lied. If you have an impatient and angry husband child, do not go. We waited for an hour and a half and ate dinner near 9pm.  

When our platter finally came, I went straight to work on the 2lb lobster, 1lb bairdi legs and 1lb snow crab legs. I enjoyed the seafood, just not the wait or the sides. Do not get the Clambake as your side, which consists of: {watery} chowder, {dry and rubbery} pei mussels {served in a plastic bucket}, corn on the cob, {ONE} red potato and {very bland} slaw. Doug’s never angrily eaten so much seafood in his life.  And Mia happily devoured three full corn on the cobs while I scared her with the lobster and crab claws. J One more day! 

Boston with a Toddler {Day 1 of 3}

**This was our first time traveling with a two year old toddler, so I'll detail our itinerary by day for people who want recommendations of what to see and where to eat in Boston.**

A few weekends ago we took a short trip to Boston for my golden birthday.

Why Boston? We’ve never been. It wasn’t a long flight {for a 2 year old}. We only paid $75 in points for three round trip seats on Southwest. We took advantage of hotel deals, paying ~$170/night at the Hilton Boston Financial District. The city is small, walkable (we didn’t have to bring a car seat) and we could do everything we wanted {minus Fenway and Harvard} in three days. 

It was Mia’s first time on an airplane! After going through the metal detector numerous times, not knowing what was setting it off…Doug realized it was these adorable things! Whoops!

From Boston Logan International Airport, it was a short walk to the {free} shuttle bus which took us on a short ride to the train station.  After just two stops on the subway from the Airport to the Aquarium and a five minute walk to the hotel, we were ready to get some lunch near Quincy Market/Faneuil Hall Marketplace.

We ate at Durgin-Park, based on this recommendation, wanting our first taste of New England Food. Blech, I do not recommend this restaurant. We had the Baked Boston schrod, fish and chips, mac and cheese and baked beans – none of which were more than “ok”. I've had better fish and chips in Chicago. 

After our disappointing lunch, we made our way from Quincy Market through the bottom half of the Freedom Trail. {Mia's literally on the red brick Freedom Trail.}

We're not big history buffs nor do I enjoy taking pictures of buildings, so it didn't take long to move along the trail.

{Old State House/Site of the Boston Massacre}

{Some pretty important people buried at the Granary Burial Ground, including signers of the Declaration of Independence.}

The Freedom Trail goes through Boston Common, leading you to the the State House.

Mia’s favorite part of the day {probably because she actually got to get out of her stroller} was hanging out at the playground near the {empty} Frog Pond. As you can tell by my fat giiiiirlll in a litttttle cooooat, it was cloudy and in the 40s making it pretty cold when you're walking around all day. Layer up!

After snacks in the park, we walked back to the hotel while Mia napped before dinner. This $25 umbrella stroller from Babies R Us {with the pouch} was easy to carry when folded and is clearly comfortable to sit in for hours.

Doug’s Bostonian co-worker told us that Legal Sea Foods has the best clam chowder, so that’s where we went for our first dinner. On a Thursday night at 7pm with no reservations, we had to wait 30 minutes for two + a high chair. It went by fast enough with drinks from the bar and aquariums for Mia to look at. The restaurant was nice, but not too nice where I felt odd bringing a child - perfect!

Despite being a chain, dinner was deeelicious. We had the lobster bisque, clam chowder, salmon, Legal’s signature crab cakes with grilled shrimp and scallops and a side of rice pilaf and jalapeno cheddar polenta. The bisque was good {unlike Michael Jordan’s}, chowder was nice and creamy, salmon was fresh and not fishy tasting {I normally do not like fish}, shrimp was seasoned and grilled beautifully {best I can ever remember}, scallops were good but could’ve been bigger and the polenta wasn’t tasty so I’d pass on that. Mia happily gobbled up dinner rolls, oyster crackers, corn, fish shaped ravioli and grapes. An added bonus was that we ordered a cup of milk to go for Mia’s bedtime routine.

Day 2 and 3 to come!

Fun Filled Easter Weekend Recap

This weekend was packed full of fun! Friday, Maya and Jenelle came over for their 2 year old and 9 month old portrait sessions. Full post later this week! Mia had fun tagging along for the shoot J

Saturday, we went to the 'burbs to celebrate my mom and my aunt's birthdays. We {as you can tell by those chubby fingers} arranged these bouquets in the morning.

In the afternoon, Mia and her cousins had an egg hunt in the backyard. I was excited for Mia's first Easter egg hunt! But, she didn’t want to touch the eggs because they were dirty or the grass felt weird! Ha, daddy’s girl!

For dinner, I bought spicy Asian chicken wings from Great Seas {per the birthday girl’s request},  marinated eleven pounds of meat to make bulgogi and kalbi {traditional Korean beef dishes} and picked up Bob Chinn’s Mai Tais {now carried at Binny’s and Mariano’s!} - Yum, yum and yum!

These cousins are finally at an age (4 and 2) where they can play together - so much fun!

We have a sassy little one on our hands...

After a fun day, Mia slept in her toddler bed for the first time! {Full post detailing her bedroom to come.} She was so excited!

Sunday, I made some last minute Easter baskets out of paper plates. For my one year old niece and nephew, inside were rice shaker rattle eggs.

At church, Mia did another egg hunt, even though she didn't walk around much because the grass felt weird on her feet.  She kept talking about the egg hunt though, so I think she still had fun filling up her basket.

Afterwards, we had lunch at our place.

Being Thai, I was nervous having my Korean mother-in-law and sister-in-laws judging my Korean cooking! I think I passed the test since Umma said the bulgogi or kalbi {I forget which one} was better than hers! Phew! What a surprise! And Doug and I happily ate the same meal two days in a row haha.

And lastly, today is my mom’s birthday… Happy Birthday, Grandma! We love you so much! Thank you for being home to raise me and {practically} now my baby girl. ♥ You mean the world to us!

Come back tomorrow to see how I spent my golden birthday…

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