| Please Come to Boston |
| Written by Karen Holly Berliner | |
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 The Oak Bar in The Oak Room  Dining Area at The Oak Room  A wonderful plated rib-eye steak at The Oak Room You can sell your paintings on the sidewalk… Shopping, Sightseeing and Culture in Boston Known as a walking friendly city, visitors can easily neighborhood hop by foot or bicycle on a nice day. Otherwise, every other mode of getting about town is at your disposal via this city’s easy to access public transportation systems. Urban AdvenTours is an eco-friendly Boston company providing bike rentals and guided bike tours. Michele Toper’s Boston North End Market and Culinary Tours offers an extensive program of ever changing walking culinary tours for the true foodie. The Freedom Trail is another walking tour marked by an easy to follow red line that winds through old streets and alleyways, and literally follows the precise footsteps of colonial Boston to freedom and independence. The Charles River offers boating, and for landlubbers, miles of paths for cycling, jogging or just a leisurely stroll. Also nearby is the famous Boston Common and Public Gardens, the oldest public park in the country and the starting point of the Freedom Trail. This 50 acre park comprises the “Emerald Necklace,” a system of connected parks that winds through many of Boston's neighborhoods. Opened in 1912, Fenway Park is a baseball park near Kenmore Square near Boston. Serving as the home ballpark of the Boston Red Sox since it opened in 1912, it is the oldest major league stadium currently in use. With its manually operated scoreboard, and the endless tales of the legends that have played there, Fenway remains a link to the legends of baseballs past. The Museum of Fine Art as well as Symphony Hall, in fact the theater district as a whole, allows for cultural experiences such as ballets, operas, musicals and theater productions Acclaimed world class retail shops line Boylston Street, while pavilions and arcades lead guests through the Prudential Center and beyond to the most prestigious and exciting shopping spots. Saks Fifth Avenue, Tiffany & Co., and Gucci are just a few of the shops that you will find there. Faneuil Hall Marketplace is a world renowned and historical open air shopping mecca. Kiosks and stores stocked with artisan wares of both local and international acclaim are open side by side for easy perusal. Stroll about and enjoy the area’s famous street performers, featuring daily spontaneous shows right there on the cobblestone promenades. Stop in The Quincy Market in doors, and choose from more than 35 eateries, serving freshly made to order favorites from all types of ethnic fare to just a good old fashioned American frankfurter. While there, linger through and peruse the New England Holocaust Memorial, a grand sized monument of six green tinted glass towers etched with the numbers one to six million for every Jewish person who perished during the Nazi regime. Stories and quotations can be read along the way, in memorializing this tragic event in the history of mankind. On your way out of the neighborhood, stop in at one of the many Boston’s premier Irish pubs. Paddy O’s embodies everything that is the Irish. From the handcrafted bar to the authentic food and drinks, Paddy O's offers a menu stocked full of choice Irish fare classics. Wash your meal down with an icy cold and frothy mug of stout. The Cambridge Antique Market, located directly across from the Cambridge Galleria mall, is situated in an 18th century building housing five floors of antique goodies from oil paintings circa 1900’s to one of kind costume jewelry pieces. By a café here I hope to be working soon…  A delicious White Chocolate Fruit Tart from The Chocolate Bar
 The Zebra Room at The Upstairs on The Square Located in the Back Bay neighborhood, M Bar & Lounge at the Mandarin Hotel provides the ideal setting for catching up with old friends or making new acquaintances. The interior features Hessian green and gray stone and an illuminated glass bar top, intimate booths to nestle into, and dramatic floor-to-ceiling windows. This spectacular bar and lounge features a custom designed wine wall stocked with select vintages, while the bar offers an extensive menu of classic and exotic cocktails such as their mandarin martini or green tea swinging Tokyo. Venture out just a bit into the suburbs of Boston and find hidden treasures there as well. The Fireplace Restaurant in Brookline, Ma. For example, is a New England grill and barbeque, with an emphasis on wood-smoked and rotisserie dishes using the freshest offerings of the New England region. The owner, Chef Jim Solomon stays true to his philosophy: “hearty, clean food with integrity – food that embraces the abundant offerings of the region prepared simply yet thoughtfully.” From their Signature Spit-Roasted Maple Glazed Half Chicken to their ‘House Dry-Aged’ Sirloin every bite was true to form. The Fireplace also has wine, spirits and beer “tastings” every other Saturday. Farmers, vintners, aficionados and master brewers amuse and instruct visitors with knowledge and anecdotes, and share food and libations. Enjoy occasional reenactment visitors, the likes of a costume clad John Adams, as they on occasion, stop by to read excerpts from their lives, fireside. Sip a snifter of brandy with them and play dress up for the day. Jazz and Latin Music can be enjoyed on Wednesdays and Thursdays nights starting at 9:30 PM. Enough said. Truth be told, there is such an endless treasure trove of Bostonian goodies to be had, it’s almost tempting to get planning a return jaunt back even as you visit the first time around, if only just to hoard in and capture what you might have missed! Please come to Boston for all seasons…. Boston beckons “Won’t you come home to me?”
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