// STAY //
The Liberty Hotel
The Liberty Hotel in Beacon Hill has become one of my favorite hotels, period! The historic Charles Street Jail was built in 1851, closed in 1973, and was re-imagined into what is now The Liberty Hotel in 2007. I am fascinated by the history and spookiness behind it all. The guest rooms have elements of the old jail, including old-school style keys, and the original catwalk is still intact for lounge seating/drinks. There are mugshots of notorious Boston criminals and Charles St. Jail guests upon entry to Alibi, the ground-floor bar. Plus, you can walk through the original doorway to the jail which is just creepy and awesome at the same time.
Visit The Liberty Hotel website.
ALEXA'S APPROVAL
// EAT //
The Liberty Hotel Restaurants
Scampo, Alibi, Clink, Liberty Bar, The Yard, Catwalk. All restaurants were delicious, but service can get slow as things are crowded. Visit the Liberty Hotel Restaurants website.
Legal Sea Foods Harborside
We took an Uber here with a big group for a birthday. The service was disappointing, and if you know me, you know it takes a lot for me to say that! Legal does have great food but I prefer the Copley Square location. Visit the Legal Sea Foods Harborside website.
Beacon Hill Hotel & Bistro
Wow! This was the perfect place for our big crazy family to go for a Thanksgiving dinner out. I’m sentimental and prefer the traditional Thanksgiving dinner at home, but this changed my mind. See the dinner menu in the photo gallery. Excellent service, perfectly cooked meal, great cocktails, and we even made some friends at neighboring tables! Visit the Beacon Hill Hotel & Bistro website (website under construction; currently closed for renovations).
Tatte Bakery
My new favorite bakery in Boston. Thanks to Carole Feifke for introducing me to it! I love their Crunchy Halloumi Salad (pictured) and Jerusalem Bagels. Visit the Tatte Bakery website.
Toscano Restaurant
My parents apparently have been going here forever (classic). We befriended Deirdre at the bar who made us some amazing Bloody Marys and recommended the Acquacotta soup which was outstanding! It was the perfect light lunch for window shopping around Beacon Hill and walking around Boston Common. Visit the Toscano Restaurant website.
Time Out Market Boston
We took a trip out to the Fenway area of Boston to go to the Friends 25th Anniversary Pop-Up Museum. This place was incredible! They had every type of cuisine you could imagine from a Jewish Deli to Smoothie Bar to Dumplings to Eastern Mediterranean. We chose Anoush’ella, the Eastern Mediterranean spot, and ordered Halloumi, Muhummara (my favorite), a Falafel Sandwich, and some Pistachio-Hazelnut Baklava. All were delicious. Visit the Time Out Market website.
J.P. Licks Ice Cream
A Boston must-have! Visit the J.P. Licks Ice Cream website.
// PLAY //
See my posts highlighting other neighborhoods in Boston for venues I have played at and recommend!
// ENJOY //
Walk and Shop Charles Street (some favorite stores below):
- Covet Consignment
- Whitney + Winston
- Ouimillie
- Crush Boutique
- Blackstone’s of Beacon Hill (I got the cutest New Yorker puzzle here!)
- Twentieth Century Limited (see gallery for an amazing tiara I tried on)
- Sarah Campbell
- Green Eyed Daisy
Visit the Charles River Esplanade
See the Boston Public Garden and ride in the Swan Boats - First public botanical garden in the U.S.
Enjoy the Boston Common - The oldest public park in the U.S. (dates back to 1634!)
Walk the Freedom Trail - starting in Boston Common and ending in Charlestown
TD Garden
// ALEXA’S TRAVEL TIP //
If you’re flying for a trip and plan to bring souvenirs/gifts home with you, the obvious tip is to pack light and leave space in your bag so that you have room on the way back. Well, for those of us who have a bit of an over-packing problem, this is just not in our worldview. After several years of flying in various cabins on various airlines with multiple bags and instruments, I have discovered an airport hack that has yet to fail me.
My two allotted items on the plane are generally my carry-on suitcase and my saxophone. Usually I’ll have items in my suitcase that I want to take out for my flight (laptop, books, etc), or sometimes I’m carrying a purse in addition. In this situation where I can’t consolidate into two items, I will get a plastic bag from one of those airport vendors like Hudson News or Cibo Express. Sometimes they will just give you one and other times you might have to buy a pack of mints or something small. If I’m really prepared I’ll actually have some bags in my suitcase already. I do try to conceal it as best I can. But in my experience, airline employees don’t question if you’ve got an airport vendor bag, because it looks like you were spending your money at an airport establishment.
So far, this has worked for me in the handful of instances where I was desperate…I hope it works for you too!
// ALEXA’S PICK //
Since I am launching this blog during a pandemic, I would be remiss not to provide you with a recommendation for at-home entertainment. This is an instance where you’d need that Hudson News bag 🙂 I found this New Yorker “At the Strand” puzzle at Blackstone’s of Beacon Hill. I could not wait to rip it open and get started while lounging on the catwalk at the Liberty Hotel. I ended up taking it with me as my family moseyed through the hotel for happy hour. You’ll see it pictured in the gallery at Scampo as we enjoyed our pizza and chardonnay. I recently discovered New York Puzzle Company is the source of this New Yorker puzzle and now I’m going to have to collect them all. Check it out and grab what you can because puzzles are a hot commodity right now!
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