Bean Town, you weren't as scary as I thought you'd be

I had the chance to go to Boston for a conference for a few days. I mentioned in a previous post my fear of this (unknown) city and getting around its potentially dangerous streets.

Well, it turns out the Cradle of Liberty isn't so bad.

I arrived on a sunny Sunday afternoon. My hotel room (which turned out to be quite luxe) wasn't ready and I had a few hours to kill, so map in hand, I decided to explore a little. I went to the Seaport district and checked out the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA). The new building is only three years old and has a great location on the waterfront. The collection itself was better than expected, but like most museums, not a lot of bang for your buck. A few blocks away, a distant cousin of mine owns a bakery, Flour. She won a Bobby Flay Throwdown for her stickybuns. Even though I bought one, I have to confess I am not a huge fan of the stickybun--I'd much rather have a cinnamon one. But I am no less proud of her. The cookie and slice of Boston Cream Pie I also got from there were fantastic.

Boston is a nice city. It's clean, it's manageable, it's historic, and it's chock full of 7-Elevens so you can always get a Slurpee fix. Maybe I'm too much of a New Yorker, but I found it to be a little boring and the areas I went to were not particularly diverse. I realize there is more to this city and it would probably be more fun if I knew more locals to show me around. Or I really liked American history. Maybe.

Highlights of my trip:

• I got to see my friend Urvi, who had moved to Boston from New York earlier this year.


• I managed to de-magnetize my hotel key multiple times in one day. At some point, the guy at reception stopped asking me to show ID.


• I found a $20 bill on the ground.

• I ate some really good Taiwanese food in Chinatown--my people really know how to make a scallion pancake.

• I attempted to get out of Dodge early, but the airlines said it would cost me $150 to change my reservation. That's how much my ticket cost. I got to the airport early and at check-in they offered me an earlier flight for free!


• Oh yes, and I learned a thing or two about clinical research training at my conference.