The Hub

I had to Google "Boston nickname" because all I could think of was Chicago's (the windy city!), and I learned that Boston is called "the hub" (or the hub of the universe) after Oliver Wendell Holmes in 1858 referred to the Massachusetts State House as "the hub."

If I end up moving to Boston I will definitely be learning a lot of history that I would already know had I paid attention in school. I took a last minute trip for an interview at Massachusetts General Hospital, and managed to do a few other things in my short time there.

31 Oct - Tuesday

The flight there was nonstop and very quick - yay! I stayed at the Hotel 140 in the back bay area near Copley [which I keep erroneously pronouncing "Cope-ly"] Square. It is a three star hotel that had good reviews on Trip Advisor, the only complaints were things that wouldn't bother me, such as noise or small rooms. I found it to be perfect for my needs and as an added bonus I felt like I had great views out two large windows.

There was a shuttle from Boston Logan Airport to the back bay area, which I learned from an information booth inside the airport (I also snagged a couple of maps). It was only $7.50 which was cheaper than an Uber or taxi and it runs every 20 minutes. The hotel was less than a five minute walk from the drop off point and I found it easily with a map. I checked in and threw my stuff down and then headed to CHEERS!

The original Cheers is on Beacon Street which is maybe a 15 minute walk from the hotel, if that. I saw a family dressed as breakfast food (it was Halloween) and there were some ladies dressed as cats inside the bar. It was definitely smaller than I thought but it was fun to be there and sit at the bar. They also had some good beers on tap (I had an ipswich blueberry shandy and then a shipyard pumpkinhead rimmed with cinnamon sugar); I also took home a mug for $7.00 extra. The veggie burger was much more delicious than I had expected so don't think the food will be bad just because it's a tourist spot. I also enjoyed watching game six of the World Series there, even though the Astros weren't able to pull off their win until the following night.

1 Nov - Wednesday

My plan was to get up pretty early this morning so I could sort of do some schoolwork and then I also studied up a little bit on HLA and flow cytometry for my interviews.

I went to breakfast at an amazing place called The Friendly Toast, which served VEGGIE MEAT! or fake meat, or deliciously super-processed soy, or whatever you want to call it. I had a "BLT Benny" with fake bacon and it was AH-MAZ-ING. Following that I got a chai tea latte from the place next door called Flour (which also seemed pretty cool). I spilled my chai tea latte at least three times while staring up at the beautiful old buildings and tripping on the uneven cobblestone. I think walking in Boston without looking down is a skill that takes some time to master.

Headed to the Freedom Trail, it was a very scenic trip from the back bay area to Boston Common (a park). I walked through the park a little bit, talked to some squirrels, and got the weather report and news of the NYC terrorist attack from a guy in the park who shouted the bulletin every 5 or 10 minutes.

Before I knew it, it was 11:45 and I needed to start heading to Mass Gen. I arrived at noon which gave me a short time to walk through the Russel Museum. It's a fascinating facility (the hospital) that's been around since 1811. I had also planned to visit the Ether Dome but I'll have to do it next time- my interview was so long it was closed by the time I was done (I'm not complaining)! I had tow interviews, one was just sort of a meet and greet and the other lasted four hours and I got a tour and met with HR and the lab staff. At this point I've sent my references along and I look forward to hearing from them by the end of this week or next week.

That evening I had planned to meet up with a friend I worked with at Hockeytown Cafe back in 2007-ish. I knew from his cycling adventures on Facebook that he was in the Boston area so I messaged him and we planned to meet up for a drink. I went back to the hotel and changed from interview clothes to normal clothes (not too big of a difference for me) and headed to the Prudential Center to walk around and eat dinner at Eataly. Eataly is a gigantic set of markets and restaurants under one roof that is owned by Mario Batali; I believe there are several locations in the U.S./world. My grandma Ann went there and raved about it so I thought I would check it out! I would say I didn't have the greatest service.. the bartender was nice but the kitchen didn't have a great method for numbering the bar stools and I watched them bring food to the wrong people multiple times, including my own pizza, which went to the girls next to me though they ordered about 15 minutes after me. Anyway, the pizza was good and I had a beer since I knew I would be drinking beer at the bar later, although I would've liked to taste some wine! The girl next to me loved her moscato and mentioned it was sweet and maybe that was why the waiter had asked her to try it first. I chuckled and let her know that it is customary to smell and taste the wine before they pour you a full glass (I made that snafu myself in Italy).

I walked around a little bit and saw some ginormous cheese wheels and shelves of pasta. The Prudential Center includes not only Eataly but several other shops, including the largest Sephora I have ever seen. I considered touching up my makeup but settled for a pump of hand lotion. I waited outside to cool down and eventually met Dan and we walked to a bar called Bukowski Tavern, home of vegetarian food and craft beers. We spent a few hours catching up before I realized the bar was cash only but luckily they had an ATM. After that Dan kindly walked me back to my hotel down Boylston Street and we passed the site of the Boston bombing as well as the Boston Marathon finish line.

2 Nov - Thursday

I treated myself to another breakfast at The Friendly Toast, this time with a mimosa flight, and then checked out and caught the bus back to the airport. It was a turbulent flight home but still fast, and after my brother went to departures and arrivals at the wrong terminal, he eventually found me and I made it home!

It was a quick visit but hopefully I'll be back soon, there is so much to see in Boston!