Monday, February 6th, 2012

Travel Plans: Where I’m Going in 2012!

2012 is going to be an amazing year for travel.  I’ve been working on some trips for awhile now, and I’m excited to share the preliminary plans with you! While many of my upcoming trips are in the development stage at the moment and shouldn’t be unveiled just yet, I’m able to share several of [...]

Home for the Scaled-Down Holidays

Last night I touched down in Massachusetts, where I will remain for the next 27 days. As I wrote in my post about Christmas in Sihanoukville last year, I’m not a Christmas person.  After aging out of childhood, Christmas, to me, has been more about stress and greed and going broke than about joy and [...]

Traveling in the Off-Season: Sometimes Great, Sometimes Awful!

I’m a big advocate of traveling in the off-season and reaping the benefits: lower prices, fewer crowds, a more local experience. But as I sit here in Turkey, I’m disappointed at my decision to come here for three weeks in late November.  Istanbul was great if a bit cold, Cappadocia was freezing cold and creepily [...]

Boston Movie Tours, or, THE BACK OF MATT DAMON’S HEAD

I love Boston movies — and I love that there are so many of them lately! That’s because Massachusetts began offering tax credits to film studios in 2005.  Since then, movie after movie has been shot in the Boston area.  Coincidentally, a wave of gritty Boston crime movies began around that time — first, Mystic River, [...]

When Boston Turns Electric

Every city has a moment when it’s set on fire.  In Boston, it’s that moment on a hot summer evening when the sun’s mostly down, but every color intensifies brilliantly. I used to call this time twilight, before that godawful franchise came along and started teaching teenage girls that abusive relationships are okay if he [...]

Boston A to Z: 26 Perfect Photos

It’s time to pay tribute to my beloved hometown: Boston, Massachusetts. Since a picture can convey much more than words, here are my favorite 26 things of Boston, shown in photos, A-Z! Architecture.  I.M. Pei knew what he was doing when he juxtaposed the Hancock Tower with Trinity Church! Brunch cocktails.  Try a blood orange [...]

How I Survived A Mugging

Image: kahala Almost a year ago, I was mugged for the first and (I hope) only time in my life. At the time, I was living in Boston, across the street from Berklee College of Music and Boston Conservatory.  It’s a very nice neighborhood, home to students and musicians. I had recently joined a gym, [...]

Best Boston Massage: Boston Massage Associates

Image: Grand Velas Resort I’ve found the best massage in Boston: Boston Massage Associates in Copley Square. I can’t recommend this business enough! I know a lot of you come to this site for Boston tips.  Let me tell you something: I’ve had lots of massages in Boston, but after going to Boston Massage Associates, [...]

I Found My Boston

Autumn in the Fens, across the street from my apartment. When I was twelve years old, I was accepted to Boston Conservatory for classical piano performance.  Every week, my mom and I made the trek to the Conservatory from the suburbs, riding the T until we burst onto the sidewalk at Hynes Convention Center Station. [...]

Photo Essay: Revere Beach Sand Sculptures

Every year, Revere Beach is home to Massachusetts’s most exciting sand sculpting contest!  Revere Beach is located just north of Boston and is one of very few beaches accessible by T. This year’s theme? Rapunzel!  Even though the contest took place the week before, many of the sculptures were still in pristine condition, through rainstorms [...]