Vacation Station!

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Where Everybody
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Boston, Mass. - All the Time!

Cheers!!: Of course I had to start this section with Cheers!! It's almost sacrilegious not to. Well, we've eaten there a couple of times and enjoyed the experience. The first time we ate there was during the day and the next at night. The day scene is subdued and calm and the night scene is very pumped and full of that Boston energy. We went (at night) with my best friend and his wife and won a Cheers T-Shirt for getting up and singing a song. Overall, you really do have to visit Cheers, or you'll feel like a loser for missing it. You can click on the RealAudio banner (120 Kb) to here the full song or the Cheers logo to here the instrumental midi file (~12 Kb).

Boston Beer Works: This is a very nice place to go and enjoy some all American food with a wide array of unique and classic beers. We have frequented Beer Works each time we have visited. It's good food at a good price. Some of the interesting beers we've tried were: Raspberry Lager and Indian Pale Ale to name a couple. For more information:

Boston Beer Works, 61 Brookline Ave., (across from Fenway Park), Boston. Great Beer Basted Burgers, Grilled Mako Shark, Beer battered chicken bites and sweet potato fries to complement Boston's best brewing emporium. Open 7 days 11-1am.Entree range: $7.95-12.95. Specials daily. Brewing tours available upon request.Call (617)536-BEER

Faneuil Hall: Well this is a nice area for all of your tourist shopping needs. The nice thing about FH is that there are plenty of excellent eating opportunities inside, from: cookies, cakes, soup, deli sandwiches, rotisserie foods and A LOT more. There are also some shops and most importantly public bathrooms.

Quincy/Haymarket: This is probably the hottest area in downtown Boston. You have plenty-o-things to do and see. From the famous Faneuil Hall (keep your eyes open for the copper Grasshopper on top) to the street Haymarket fair. There is plenty of time for shopping, eating, Cyber-Smithing, living entertainment, fresh fruits and vegetables and more.

Harvard Univ./Harvard Square: Across the Charles river from the central hangout of Boston University and Fenway Park you will find the prestige Harvard University. With the ambiance of your traditional New England scape, you find the river, trees and roaming areas of grass and bicycle paths for a carefree and comfortable feeling.

Prudential Center: This mall is a duzzie. It's located in Central Boston and has your typical run-of-the-mill collection of stores like: Science Stores, nick-knack stores, shoes, etc. On top of that this mail is connected to a sister mall across the street via a crossroad walkway. The sister mall has your more upperclass attire like: Banana Republic, Victoria Secret, the Gap, a movie theater and more.

Cambridge Mall: If you're tired of reading, just imagine how I feel about writing another mall.... But in all fairness, this on also has your wonderful array of shopping opportunity and is conveniently located across the Charles River.

PapaRazzi: Located adjacent/in to the Cambridge Mall is a moderately priced and quasi-authentic Italian restaurant. Why quasi? Well, it had all of the makings of a really good Italian Restaurant, but just missed on a little bit better atmosphere. Don't get me wrong, we loved the service and food. We try to frequent the local PapaRazzi's, but it's just not the same as the Boston location.

PapaRazzi: 100 Cambridge side Place, Cambridge (near Land Blv), 577-0009 (Fax: 225-7820)

Howard Johnsons: Wendi stayed here while she was being placed in the dorms and we quickly figured out that the establishment doesn't check the parking situation. So now every time we go to Boston we park the car at the HoJo's on in Kenmore Square/Commonwealth Ave. area and then walk about 20 feet and take the T all around Boston. Parking is free and convenient to all part of the area.

Newbury Street: This the cool hang out strip!! If you think you got it, then try finding parking, because this area is hoping with food, ice cream and lots and lots of people. It's not an overcrowd situation, but a very lively and interesting one at that.

TGIF: located on Newbury St. is a good haven if you're looking for familiar food and service. Went frequent this a couple of other restaurants EVERYWHERE we go and this one is right on target with the quality of the food they service. Check it out for yourself!!

JP Licks: Once on Newbury St. you have to stop by PJ's for some homemade ice cream!! The stuff you eat here is fantastic, but will probably go right to you love handles, unless you ask for the low-fat stuff.

Boston Public Garden: We stopped by the last time we were in Boston and thankfully enjoyed a nice sunny spring day in the park and relaxed on the grass with our friends. This is a nice short walk from the top of Newbury and also has a paddle boat ride in there mini-stream. This makes for a great break after doing a lot of walking or if you want to prepare to eat at Cheers which is around the corner.

Bertucci's: Early in our many trips to Boston we happened to stop by Bertucci's and had a very nice lunch/dinner(?). From what I remembered it was ok. I'll have to go back and try it again, it couldn't have been that bad or I would have remembered it. Faneuil Hall Area 22 Merchants Row Faneuil Hall, Boston (near State St), 227-7889 (Fax: 227-1834)

Hard Rock Cafe: Yes, another blah theme restaurant. But, if you like the food this is where you need to go for all the nostalgic rock 'n roll crap. Looked in Central Boston, it a nice walk from 131 Clarendon St, Boston (near Stuart St), 424-7625 (Fax: 353-0844)

The T: If you're planing on visiting, you should print this little map out and study it! Just like in NYC you have different traffic patterns and very different driver personalities. If you brave enough to drive all over, you must think about parking, so why not take the T (trolley). It's 1,000 times easier than the NYC Subway (search available via our toolbox page), but even with maps and computer searches, the T is much easier. To get a jump start on your trip go here --> http://www.bostonbest.com/transportation.map.html

Citgo Landmark: If you every get lost, day or night in boston, all you have to remember is where you are in respect to the Huge Citgo Gas Station sign that sits high above the main intersection of Commonwealth Ave in Kenmore Square, this 60 square foot sign with over 2 miles of neon tubes is now a permanent part of the Boston Skyline.

Pizzeria Uno Chicago Bar and Grill: For another "chain" restaurant that was right on target with service and food, you may want to visit this one. We try going here every now and then to make sure things are still as good as the first time and they are. 1230 Commonwealth Ave, Boston (near Harvard Ave), 739-0034 (Fax: 734-8097)

Native Tongue: One of the most distinguishable traits of a Bostonian is their accent. Or as they would see it our accent. Either way some words and phrases are strictly unique to a Bostonian. In order to really get a feel for what you're in for check the following page that explains how to speak like a Bostonian: http://ftp.std.com/NE/glossary.html

Worst Restaurants: I felt that I needed to share the following site with you, because I thought it was pretty useful if you decided to go and visit Boston. Remember we all have bad experiences and bad days, the following is a chronicle of one man quest to find the worst restaurants in Boston: http://web.mit.edu/agoyo1/www/worst/worst.html

Getting to Boston: There are several routes one can take to get to Boston, but any way you look at you will probably hit the Mass Pike. This is a nice opportunity for all those grandma drivers to step it up a little bit. Why? Besides the speed limit being 65, there are a lot of crazy drivers on the pike, but be forewarned, the Mass Pike also has undercover vehicles on the prowl.

Note: All the restaurant listings here are not paid advertisements, they are merely informational use.