This past weekend I was so lucky to get to visit some family in the Boston area. After leaving my cousins’ house in Bedford on Saturday morning, I drove to Jamaica Plain with my mom to stay with my aunt for the rest of the weekend.
Jamaica Plain is such a cool area of Boston because it is close to the city, yet it has a bit more of a suburban feel and a lot of natural/green space.
When we first arrived, we headed straight to an outdoor yoga class in Griggs Park in Brookline. The day was absolutely beautiful with the sun out and blue sky above us. The yoga teacher was very energetic and the class felt engaging if not a bit challenging at times haha; I had just done some an workouts the day before, so I was sore to begin with. I will say that I felt much more relaxed and loose after finishing yoga.
Afterwards, we dropped our things off at my aunt’s house and headed into town to get food. We settled on eating at The Purple Cactus: a yummy wrap and salad place with some Mexican influences. I got a salad with beans and rice, chicken, and veggies on top along with a berry smoothie. The salad was so large and filling that I wasn’t able to finish it all. We wandered the town awhile longer before returning to her house.
Her husband was back when we arrived, so we decided to make the most of a lovely day and do something outdoors. We walked over to Jamaica Pond to try and go kayaking on the water. Plenty of other people seemed to have our same idea because the kayaks were all out and their was a waitlist, so we settled on a four person rowboat instead.
I had never rowed before, so it was an interesting experience. I would not say that I was very good, but I did try hard. We rotated rowers so we didn’t get tired out too fast. The pond was serene and lovely. Even though it was a sunny day, I wasn’t too warm with the breeze along the water. We stayed out for about an hour and a half and then walked the scenic route back to her house.
There, we settled in to sit on the porch and chat. Around 5:30, we started figuring out cooking plans for dinner. We decided to make roasted corn, a salad with arugula and feta, salmon, and roasted potatoes. We each helped the various elements of the dishes come together by chopping up ingredients and watching the ovens/grill. We ate dinner with wine and talked until close to 9 pm.
Around 8:40pm, I departed back to Bedford to meet a friend for ice cream at Bedford Farms (they have great flavor options and big servings so I definitely recommend).
On Sunday morning, Mom and I woke up late around 10:30am since we had been exhausted for the prior days’ events. We ate breakfast with my aunt and uncle: homemade granola (aunt Shelly’s recipe which is divine) with almond milk and coffee of course 🙂 Around noon we said our goodbyes to them and thanked them for hosting us.
Before leaving for Connecticut, we made one last stop to one of my mom’s favorite art museums in Boston: The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. It was rainy outside and therefore a perfect Museum day, so the line was long, but the wait passed by quickly.
Once we were inside, I was stuck by how beautiful it was. The museum was actually a Isabella Stewart Gardner’s home filled with her extensive art collection covering all of the walls and complete with a courtyard filled with flowers and greenery. Mom and I enjoyed wandering from room to room and taking everything in. I was particularly impressed by The Blue Room and The Tapestry Room, as well as the famous works we encountered by painters like Degas, Manet, and Singer. We probably spent about 2 hours in the museum before heading back to our car to start the drive back to CT. What a weekend!
The Bucketlister 