kelliebellie

Here's the plan:

Wed. night - fly in from Detroit, take water taxi to Marriott Custom House hotel

Thursday - touristy stuff, late dinner at Pigalle

Fri. - friends pick us up and we do the beer festival and a late dinner

Sat. - stay with friends, maybe Martha's Vineyard?

Sun. - spend day with friends, maybe eat in Italian section, spend the night in Cambridge

Mon. - tour Cambridge and Harvard, fly home in the pm.


Anything we shouldn't miss, especially in Cambridge? A cool lunch place would be helpful. A nice lunch place on Thursday near our hotel would be great too.

Thanks! Can't wait. I've never been there before.

yk

I like the UpStaris on the Square (the Monday Club Bar) at Harvard Sq
http://www.upstairsonthesquare.com/m...nday_club.html

Across from your hotel is Sel de la Terre. I had dinner there last weekend and it was so-so; but I think that's an oddity. All the reviews I've read were quite good.
http://www.seldelaterre.com/

kelliebellie

I just printed off both. Thanks!

china_cat

In Cambridge there are lots of good places to eat. I love East Coast Grill (Kendall Square)and Chez Henri. A cool lunch or dinner place in Harvard Square is Sandrine's.

also, the best jazz clubs are in Cambridge...Scullers, Regattabar, so if you are looking for evening entertainment check those out.

I really recommend against trying to do Martha's Vineyard as a day trip. its a very long day. you are better off with the Provincetown ferry from Boston, or going someplace on the north shore (Salem, Rockport, Marblehead etc).

socialworker

While it is true that it is probably better to take the fast ferry to Provincetown--and a plus is that it is very close to the hotel---I hesitate to tell someone not to do something.

Two Sundays ago we left from a western suburb to visit niece and BF who were staying on the Vineyard. We left our house at 9:15 and were on the island by 11:30. While this was an unusually unexpected turn of events that required split second miracles of traffic and parking and ferry departure luck, it is not undoable if one expects to add an hour to this trip...

If the OP has her heart set on seeing Martha's Vineyard, she should go for it.

chcl

I've done day trips to Martha's Vineyard and the Cape numerous times - usually for out of town friends who come over and visit. It is certainly doable but we do leave the city early, 7-7:30am.

eslrachel

dont even attempt the vineyard in one day...go the the cape instead and just visit,,see downtown hyannis (kennedy museum,duck tour) stroll on beach ...have the best ice cream in new england at the 4 seas place in centerville,
in boston my favorite museum is the gardner museum-small but bursting with elegance.

kelliebellie

Thanks all! I don't have my heart set on too much of anything other than having a good time, so getting up at 7 am (especially the day after the beer fest) does not sound like a good idea!

We will let the friends plan any outer activities. They will want to sleep in as well I'm sure.

travelbuff

I see a small problem with the water taxi to the Marriott, as it is not ON the water you will have to walk several blocks from docking to the hotel. I'd suggest taking a cab from the airport, much less hassle and the cab will drop you at the door of the hotel, which is across the street from Fanuiel Hall.

If you don't have alot of luggage you can take the T to the Aquarium stop and the hotel is right up stairs.

Ackislander

You have gotten some misinformation and some good ideas.

Yours is a reasonable plan, especially if you fly to the Vineyard, though traffic has not been bad to the Cape yet. Call Cape Air right now. If you can't fly, then leave early as suggested.

Going to Provincetown is not in any way comparable to going to the Vineyard with friends. If you decide to bag the Vineyard, the ferry trip to Salem for a walk around the historic areas and the museum (Peabody Essex) is a great idea. Much historic architecture, short trip. You can take the train or the ferry back.

East Coast Grill is not in Kendall Square. It is in Inman Square. You will need a taxi. It is a great restaurant, but it does not take reservations.

Marriott Customs House is only sort of right out of the Aquarium T; the Marriott Long Wharf is immediately above one end of the platform. The Customs House is way down at the other end of the platform and then across the street. The water taxi is an easy walk for anyone who plans to spend an evening in a brewpub.

yk

kelliebellie-

<< Thursday - touristy stuff, late dinner at Pigalle >>

Just FYI, given the Celtics have won the NBA Championship, there will be a Rolling Rally on Thursday in the city. It will start at 11am and the parade route will go through the city.

You should still be able to do your touristy stuff, but expect a lot of people (who are skipping work) along the route.

kelliebellie

Thanks again all for the great tips! I didn't realize the parade will be Thursday. That is good. Our time-share sales pitch is Thursday am at the Custom House. Hopefully they will all want to get to the parade and let us go early before the bamboo under our fingernails comes out.

I will take a map of the parade route and we can do touristy stuff off the path. That was our freedom trail day, but I guess we'll move that to Friday.

We didn't go to our beloved Red Wings parade, so really have no interest in celebrating the people that knocked out our beloved Pistons.

Very interesting about getting from the airport. I have to admit I was excited about the water taxi. I think we'll still do it. We will only have carry-on luggage and all of that will be on wheels, so it should be okay. Maybe we'll take the subway. Walking some is alright. Stopping by a pub on the way to the hotel is good.

Is the Custom House identifiable enough that we can just sort of walk to it without a map? I see that it is a big clock-tower looking thing. Will it be obvious?

china_cat

WARNING....

Thursday is going to be a little crazy in downtown Boston, because there will be a Celtics parade!!

so just beware, especially if you were thinking of doing the Freedom Trail or something, there are going to be lots of people and street closings and the like.

MarieF

The "rolling rally" tomorrow starts at the TD BankNorth Center (Boston Garden) at 11:00 AM and goes in the opposite direction from the rallies for the Patriots and Sox. Here's a link to the map of the rally http://www.boston.com/news/local/bre...r_rolling.html. Be prepared - if anything like the prior rallies, tomorrow is going to be a crazy time to be in downtown Boston.

Ackislander

You can't miss the Customs House tower from the water taxi. It is basically on the corner between State Street and Broad or Battermarch (it has been a long day).

kelliebellie

Thanks all! We had a very great trip. Our friends took us to a great little lobster place in Maine on Saturday. It was only like 45 minutes from their house. It was wonderful. First time to Maine!

The Custom House was very cool and we had tons of great food and drink. It was great.

Cassandra

Thanks for posting on your return. It's great when people do that.

yk

kelliebellie- Glad you had a great time.