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taz_39 **Disclaimer** The views and opinions expressed in this post are my own, and do not reflect the views or opinions of my employer. DO NOT RESHARE ANY PART OF THIS POST WITHOUT PERMISSION. Thank you.
This post covers Monday and Tuesday.
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Previous Visits to Boston:
Ringling Bros Circus, 2012: I had only been with the circus for a few months. Jameson and I were not dating yet. I explored a lot! Visited the Harvard Book Store and Follow the Honey specialty shop, and visited a friend at MIT where I got to view malaria under a microscope. Ate at Flour Bakery + Cafe, Boston Beer Works, and Mike's Bakery. Walked much of the Freedom Trail and got sidetracked at misc historical sights along the way.
Ringling Bros Circus, 2014: Jameson and I were dating at this point. Ate at Flour Bakery + Cafe again and visited Follow the Honey again. There was an Elephant Brunch for which I was an attendant (I held a rope to keep kids or activists from getting too close to the animals.) Boston Beer Works with my friends again, and I met some local tubists and trombonists and got them tickets to the circus. I am also reminded that on this trip, we got to see our born-and-raised New Jersey bus driver absolutely verbally tear the arena's security to shreds when they wouldn't let our bus leave at the end of the night! What a great memory lol.
Ringling Bros Circus, 2016: Jameson and I took a day trip to Salem, MA and had a wonderful time eating lots of great food and seeing the witchy sights. I took my trombone to a pro music shop for cleaning. Ate chowdah at Faneuil Hall. Brett (the bandmaster) and I went to see the Boston Symphony play Night On Bald Mountain and that was one of my best tour memories ever tbh because we were nearly late and Brett threw his car into park right in the middle of the parking garage so we could make it, PLUS the principal cellist broke a string mid-performance and we got to watch dumbfounded as she literally flung her instrument at the 2nd cellist, who flung HER instrument back at her...the principal kept playing on the 2nd cellist's instrument while a replacement string was passed up through the cello section while the performance kept going, then the 2nd cellist changed the string mid concert and they swapped instruments back before the end of the piece. Absolutely epic and I'll bet the orchestra was talking about it for weeks afterward!!
All this is so that if you DON'T see me walking the Freedom Trail or eating at Mike's Bakery or visiting Faneuil Hall, etc., you won't give me "You should have done [X]!" Know that I have done some things here during past visits, and may decide to do other things on this visit instead :)
--- --- --- --- --- ---
MONDAY
Despite the luxuriously late 11:30am departure, I was wide awake at 6am for no reason whatsoever.
Whyyyyy body whyyyyy.
When I couldn't get back to sleep I got up, raided free hotel breakfast one last time for coffee and some eggs to eat for lunch, and had my oats and yogurt back in my room. Messed about online or read my book until it was time to load up and leave. We have an odd situation in Boston because our hotel reservation was cancelled without notice AND we're there during the Boston Marathon, meaning our management team had to scramble to get us re-housed. They were amazingly able to get us two options: one right in the middle of downtown but with small rooms and no laundry, microwaves, or free breakfast; and one three miles away WITH laundry/microwaves/free breakfast and a kitchenette, but involving a 20-minute subway commute (the cost of which will be reimbursed.)
I chose the hotel close to the theater because I love being walkable from the theater...AND from all the cool things to do in Boston! Since I have the Itaki I am just fine without a microwave, and half the time I don't take full advantage of free hotel breakfasts anyway. Not having laundry is inconvenient but not the end of the world, there are several laundromats walkable. Plus Jameson is visiting, so being close to the theater and sightseeing options is ideal. I'm really grateful that we had choices here!
Anyway, the bus ride was a bit uncomfortable because the AC was broken. We had a rather sweaty stuffy trip. Luckily it was less than two hours. We got there right at 2pm, leaving plenty of time for exploring! My room is tiny compared to the giant suite we had in Hartford, but I am not surprised or inconvenienced. Remember, I lived in a 7x7 room on a moving circus train for five years straight. I can certainly handle a slightly cozy hotel room.
Per tradition I dropped my things and hoofed it to Whole Paycheck...but the route took me directly through Boston's Chinatown!
(stock image, Wiki)
I had done a little foodie research before arriving today, and knew that I wanted to get pan-fried dumplings and/or rice rolls at some point. It was between meals so I went for the rice rolls, which are also called "cheung fun" and are delicate rice paper crepes either served plain or stuffed with meat/veg, and drizzled with soy, peanut, or hot sauces. These are not an entree, they're considered a snack, and come in a small portion size.
I got mine from May's Cake House, a basement-level takeout spot also serving fluffy char siu buns and mochi and a variety of Chinese baked goods. Might have to come back! The cheung fun were four for $5 and you could get beef, shrimp, or plain. I went with shrimp.
OM NOM NOM
This was one of those times where "simple food tastes best." The crepe or rice noodle or whatever was thin and delicate, but also satisfyingly chewy and filling, and it had a lovely savory-yet-sweet flavor. The shrimp were plump and perfectly cooked, and the soy sauce was umami heaven, sweet and salty at the same time. Absolutely addicting textures and flavors, I could eat these every day for months and not get tired of them. And knowing I can get them so easily here...*swoon*
But there are lots of other goodies to try here in Boston! Can't wait!!
Did my grocery shopping and hauled it all back to the hotel, then went out again to a different grocery for the jug of purified water I'll need for the Itaki and coffee pot this week. Unpacked, settled in, and ate some of my groceries for dinner. Already a big fan of Boston :)
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TUESDAY
Slept in to almost 9am! Good! Breakfast and puttering around, then started watching The Amazing Digital Circus on the recommendation of a friend. It's disturbing so I'm struggling with it a bit but it's also really unpredictable and that kind of thing always ropes me in.
It was overall a slow day of anxiously waiting around to go to the theater. I had lunch and took myself for a walk and tried to figure out when I wanna do what in this city. Finally it was time to go check out Citizens Opera House!
It's a beautiful venue and the acoustics are great.
This theater allows wall tags and there are lots of nice ones lining the stairwells and hallways. Here are just a few. **Jumpscare warning** I forgot to remove the audio from the second half of the video, I am so sorry!!
Not only is this a lovely venue, they are also very generous here! We arrived to find cookies and branded mugs arranged for us near the pit :)
We were also later given umbrellas by the theater's presenter...convenient, because it WAS raining after the show!
And finally, the theater's music coordinator was waiting for us backstage with a big box of cookies and bagels from a local bakery. She's a friend of DAR's and was super warm and kind. The bagels are made with challah bread and....yeah...I'm going to need to get more of those STAT.
Sound check was good. The drum box is remoted (in another room) so there's more space in the pit, but I do miss hearing Gary more loudly. Between sound check and the show I dug stuff out of my trunk and walked back to the hotel for dinner (sweet potato, chicken, walnuts, sourdough bread. Just reminding y'all that I don't eat fancy foods most of the time!) The opening night show went very well, we had one small KeyComp snafu but that does happen once every two months or so, the nature of complex technology. It was a good way to start our sit in Boston. I feel very welcomed and comfortable in this theater and in this city, and am hoping it'll be a good time here!
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Wednesday: Not much planned except walking to Target for retinol cream (I'm out) and figuring out what sightseeing I want to do in the next few days. One evening show.
Thursday: Possibly going to the art museum or some other sort of sightseeing. One evening show.
This post covers Monday and Tuesday.
--- --- --- --- --- ---
Previous Visits to Boston:
Ringling Bros Circus, 2012: I had only been with the circus for a few months. Jameson and I were not dating yet. I explored a lot! Visited the Harvard Book Store and Follow the Honey specialty shop, and visited a friend at MIT where I got to view malaria under a microscope. Ate at Flour Bakery + Cafe, Boston Beer Works, and Mike's Bakery. Walked much of the Freedom Trail and got sidetracked at misc historical sights along the way.
Ringling Bros Circus, 2014: Jameson and I were dating at this point. Ate at Flour Bakery + Cafe again and visited Follow the Honey again. There was an Elephant Brunch for which I was an attendant (I held a rope to keep kids or activists from getting too close to the animals.) Boston Beer Works with my friends again, and I met some local tubists and trombonists and got them tickets to the circus. I am also reminded that on this trip, we got to see our born-and-raised New Jersey bus driver absolutely verbally tear the arena's security to shreds when they wouldn't let our bus leave at the end of the night! What a great memory lol.
Ringling Bros Circus, 2016: Jameson and I took a day trip to Salem, MA and had a wonderful time eating lots of great food and seeing the witchy sights. I took my trombone to a pro music shop for cleaning. Ate chowdah at Faneuil Hall. Brett (the bandmaster) and I went to see the Boston Symphony play Night On Bald Mountain and that was one of my best tour memories ever tbh because we were nearly late and Brett threw his car into park right in the middle of the parking garage so we could make it, PLUS the principal cellist broke a string mid-performance and we got to watch dumbfounded as she literally flung her instrument at the 2nd cellist, who flung HER instrument back at her...the principal kept playing on the 2nd cellist's instrument while a replacement string was passed up through the cello section while the performance kept going, then the 2nd cellist changed the string mid concert and they swapped instruments back before the end of the piece. Absolutely epic and I'll bet the orchestra was talking about it for weeks afterward!!
All this is so that if you DON'T see me walking the Freedom Trail or eating at Mike's Bakery or visiting Faneuil Hall, etc., you won't give me "You should have done [X]!" Know that I have done some things here during past visits, and may decide to do other things on this visit instead :)
--- --- --- --- --- ---
MONDAY
Despite the luxuriously late 11:30am departure, I was wide awake at 6am for no reason whatsoever.
Whyyyyy body whyyyyy.
When I couldn't get back to sleep I got up, raided free hotel breakfast one last time for coffee and some eggs to eat for lunch, and had my oats and yogurt back in my room. Messed about online or read my book until it was time to load up and leave. We have an odd situation in Boston because our hotel reservation was cancelled without notice AND we're there during the Boston Marathon, meaning our management team had to scramble to get us re-housed. They were amazingly able to get us two options: one right in the middle of downtown but with small rooms and no laundry, microwaves, or free breakfast; and one three miles away WITH laundry/microwaves/free breakfast and a kitchenette, but involving a 20-minute subway commute (the cost of which will be reimbursed.)
I chose the hotel close to the theater because I love being walkable from the theater...AND from all the cool things to do in Boston! Since I have the Itaki I am just fine without a microwave, and half the time I don't take full advantage of free hotel breakfasts anyway. Not having laundry is inconvenient but not the end of the world, there are several laundromats walkable. Plus Jameson is visiting, so being close to the theater and sightseeing options is ideal. I'm really grateful that we had choices here!
Anyway, the bus ride was a bit uncomfortable because the AC was broken. We had a rather sweaty stuffy trip. Luckily it was less than two hours. We got there right at 2pm, leaving plenty of time for exploring! My room is tiny compared to the giant suite we had in Hartford, but I am not surprised or inconvenienced. Remember, I lived in a 7x7 room on a moving circus train for five years straight. I can certainly handle a slightly cozy hotel room.
Per tradition I dropped my things and hoofed it to Whole Paycheck...but the route took me directly through Boston's Chinatown!
(stock image, Wiki)
I had done a little foodie research before arriving today, and knew that I wanted to get pan-fried dumplings and/or rice rolls at some point. It was between meals so I went for the rice rolls, which are also called "cheung fun" and are delicate rice paper crepes either served plain or stuffed with meat/veg, and drizzled with soy, peanut, or hot sauces. These are not an entree, they're considered a snack, and come in a small portion size.
I got mine from May's Cake House, a basement-level takeout spot also serving fluffy char siu buns and mochi and a variety of Chinese baked goods. Might have to come back! The cheung fun were four for $5 and you could get beef, shrimp, or plain. I went with shrimp.
OM NOM NOM
This was one of those times where "simple food tastes best." The crepe or rice noodle or whatever was thin and delicate, but also satisfyingly chewy and filling, and it had a lovely savory-yet-sweet flavor. The shrimp were plump and perfectly cooked, and the soy sauce was umami heaven, sweet and salty at the same time. Absolutely addicting textures and flavors, I could eat these every day for months and not get tired of them. And knowing I can get them so easily here...*swoon*
But there are lots of other goodies to try here in Boston! Can't wait!!
Did my grocery shopping and hauled it all back to the hotel, then went out again to a different grocery for the jug of purified water I'll need for the Itaki and coffee pot this week. Unpacked, settled in, and ate some of my groceries for dinner. Already a big fan of Boston :)
--------------------------------------------------------------------
TUESDAY
Slept in to almost 9am! Good! Breakfast and puttering around, then started watching The Amazing Digital Circus on the recommendation of a friend. It's disturbing so I'm struggling with it a bit but it's also really unpredictable and that kind of thing always ropes me in.
It was overall a slow day of anxiously waiting around to go to the theater. I had lunch and took myself for a walk and tried to figure out when I wanna do what in this city. Finally it was time to go check out Citizens Opera House!
It's a beautiful venue and the acoustics are great.
This theater allows wall tags and there are lots of nice ones lining the stairwells and hallways. Here are just a few. **Jumpscare warning** I forgot to remove the audio from the second half of the video, I am so sorry!!
Not only is this a lovely venue, they are also very generous here! We arrived to find cookies and branded mugs arranged for us near the pit :)
We were also later given umbrellas by the theater's presenter...convenient, because it WAS raining after the show!
And finally, the theater's music coordinator was waiting for us backstage with a big box of cookies and bagels from a local bakery. She's a friend of DAR's and was super warm and kind. The bagels are made with challah bread and....yeah...I'm going to need to get more of those STAT.
Sound check was good. The drum box is remoted (in another room) so there's more space in the pit, but I do miss hearing Gary more loudly. Between sound check and the show I dug stuff out of my trunk and walked back to the hotel for dinner (sweet potato, chicken, walnuts, sourdough bread. Just reminding y'all that I don't eat fancy foods most of the time!) The opening night show went very well, we had one small KeyComp snafu but that does happen once every two months or so, the nature of complex technology. It was a good way to start our sit in Boston. I feel very welcomed and comfortable in this theater and in this city, and am hoping it'll be a good time here!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday: Not much planned except walking to Target for retinol cream (I'm out) and figuring out what sightseeing I want to do in the next few days. One evening show.
Thursday: Possibly going to the art museum or some other sort of sightseeing. One evening show.
no subject
Date: 2026-04-15 10:55 am (UTC)I was just wondering reading about you wandering around in various downtowns how the fentanyl crisis is affecting the state of those areas. Like is it really bad in Seattle, or is it like that everywhere? I'd love to hear your take after you're here in December.
As far as tourism, I like your little disclaimer about why you didn't do the things people you expect you to do on this trip. Honestly it's probably a better trip to do other things rather than the cliche things. I mean I can see how if you've never been here, you should probably go to Pike Place and go up the Space Needle, but you can have a wonderful time here and never do those two things. I think you'd be better off going to the mountains and exploring the forests. Our Chinatown is terrifying. The places are good, but the streets are dangerous.
no subject
Date: 2026-04-15 12:37 pm (UTC)Every major city I’ve been through of course has homeless people. But how many of those are on fentanyl or addicted to it? In most major cities it’s not apparent. They are just Homeless People, not Fentanyl Addicts. Some are sleeping, some are asking passersby for money, some are acting weird like they are mentally disturbed or high on something, but there’s no clear indicator that fentanyl is involved. I rarely see the “fenty fold.”
The West Coast has the biggest homeless problem that I have ever seen in all of my travels. Once you hit the desert, like Colorado and west, you start seeing tent cities, and entire streets taken over by large homeless populations. Other cities east of Colorado, as far as I have seen so far in over a decade of travel, do not have that. A West Coast issue for sure. And if it’s very apparent that there are people walking around your city addicted to fentanyl, then I have to assume that that’s also a West Coast problem as I do not see that occurring over here.
Boston in particular is extremely safe for a large city. I have never felt safer walking around downtown at any time of day, in any other large city, than I do in Boston. This is partially because they have really good policing here including community policing policies, and also there is a high concentration of large universities downtown. Those have their own security which contribute to safety in the area, and also to an educated population that maybe doesn’t contribute to crime as much (crime rates are low here compared to other cities.) MIT, Harvard, UMass, and others, all right downtown. There are students walking around at all hours of day and night. Chinatown here is also extremely safe, it’s like any other street only with really great food and signage in Chinese :)
Re: disclaimer about what I’ve done in cities before: I appreciate generic recommendations for things to see and do…however many people don’t consider the fact that I have been a touring musician for over a decade and have visited most major cities in the US multiple times. I have been more places and traveled more throughout the year than most people travel in their entire lifetime. Yet people who barely leave their hometowns still think they need to mansplain me about how to pack my suitcase. Likewise, I hate when people tell me what I “need“ to do or “should“ do, and then get pissy if I don’t. Maybe I’ve already done it. Maybe I want to do something different. And maybe adding a disclaimer to remind people that I’m not born yesterday, and have been doing this for years, will help them to realize why I might skip some sights, and that it’s nothing personal :)
no subject
Date: 2026-04-15 12:49 pm (UTC)I'm glad you do what you want to do when you visit a city. Tourist traps can feel uncomfortable after a while.
no subject
Date: 2026-04-15 01:44 pm (UTC)This is the most recent data that I could find on drug use in this area, but it covers the whole state when I was just trying to find out about Boston: https://www.wfmh.org/stats/massachusetts-drug-alcohol-statistics
Not sure how that compares to Seattle or Washington State.
Boston IS nice. I'm sure it has it's seedy areas too, like any city, but overall it's one of the more inviting and safe large cities I've been to. Chicago is also a favorite but less safe, generally really walkable and fun and great public transit. Philly is "ok" but, like, "rougher?" Not as welcoming as you might expect or as fun as NYC. DC has been going through a sort of gentrification battle for a while and that makes it hard to figure out where it's safe to walk around sometimes, plus of course all the touristy stuff and government stuff which if you've seen it once, you've seen it. GREAT food scene there though! Houston is a "business city" so it is boring AF at night, most restaurants close at like 8pm and the streets are empty, even on weekends (Raleigh NC is like this too.) San Diego has that touristy Gaslamp District but everywhere outside of that came across, to me, as seedy and dangerous AF. Each city is different, each city has good and bad about it :)
I don't consider Paul Revere's house here in Boston--or the Space Needle, or the Alamo--to be tourist traps. They are unique to their cities, historic, important, and things you can only see or experience in those cities. I definitely want to visit the Space Needle...isn't it worth seeing at least once and learning about in person?
A tourist trap, to me, is a TGI Friday's in Times Square (you can have TGI Friday's anywhere and you can enjoy Times Square at a decent local restaurant instead.) Or Bourbon Street in NOLA (overpriced food and souvenirs and a fakey "Mardi Gras every day" thing that locals hate, meanwhile there is so much actual culture and history elsewhere in NOLA.) Or a Ripley's Believe It Or Not pretty much anywhere lol
I want to visit the art museum and possibly the aquarium here, as I've never been before. If those are tourist traps, sign me up!
no subject
Date: 2026-04-15 12:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2026-04-15 12:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2026-04-15 12:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2026-04-15 01:53 pm (UTC)