I am so so excited for this post today. I’ll be sharing all the deets about my recent trip to Massachusetts to visit my college roommate.

I had an absolutely wonderful time; it was honestly the most relaxed and at peace I’ve felt in a while. Just reminded me how much I love travel and also how important it is to set aside time to just breathe and live sans a to-do list.

I think too often we get caught in this cycle of always doing, always going, because we’re scared that if we slow down, we will hinder our progress or not find success.

But honestly, those few days of being relatively unproductive were so restorative for me, and I felt the best I’ve felt in weeks.

As for food, I went ALL OUT, guys. Desserts, incredible bowls of pasta, handfuls upon handfuls of granola… I’ll mention all the highlights in the post, but trust me when I say, I did not deny myself anything.

Everything I ate was absolutely delicious and exactly what my soul was craving, and I didn’t regret one bite.

When I returned back home, I found myself craving a nice long HIIT session and lots of fresh veggies.

Our bodies know how to bounce back into routine, so don’t be scared to go a little crazy sometimes. The sky will not collapse on itself if you eat an extra treat meal or skip a week of workouts. Promise.

Speaking of workouts, roomie and I did quite a bit of walking, especially in Boston, and we also went to a PureBarre class Friday morning. By the way, it’s absolutely BONKERS how different a boutique fitness class like PureBarre feels in the city versus the suburbs. My roommate lives outside Boston, near Concord, and it’s just the most quaint little town. At the class, I just felt like everyone was there for themselves, no showing off, no trendy green smoothies in hand. It just felt relaxed and comfortable, and the workout was killer to boot!

I didn’t worry about skipping my workouts while eating heavier than usual, because I know my body is smart and is perfectly adept at managing changes to routine.

Plus, abandoning routine and giving yourself a break once in a while is actually beneficial for your health and your goals.

So my trip involved Cambridge, Boston, Martha’s Vineyard, and Concord. I figured I’d divide this recap into two parts, so I’ll just focus on Cambridge and Boston today and leave the rest for an upcoming post.

Please join me as I relive my trip through photos and words!

Cambridge

This was our very first stop after I got off the bus. We took the T over to Harvard Square (oh my gosh, the NYC subway ain’t got nothing on the T. Yeah it’s a less extensive route, but the T is so much nicer!).

Once we got to Harvard Square, we knew exactly what our first stop would be. It was a place we’d been talking about visiting for ages, the one and only Flour Bakery.

We both got soy iced lattes, and I ordered the chocolate cream pie because that just sounded absolutely perfect to me at that moment.

Roomie ordered the famous sticky bun, and we obviously tried each other’s desserts.

HOLY YUM! The cream pie totally hit the spot, and the sticky bun? Man oh man, I can see why it’s so famous. I’m not much of a bun person or a caramel person, but I would DEFINITELY order that sticky bun next time.

After that sugar-punch, we walked around all the cute shops in the area.

Highlight: The Curious George Shop!

I also may have done a little sneaky-shop in Anthropologie hehe. For some reason, everything looks so much cuter when you’re traveling! Zero regrets!

Next was exploring Harvard, which honestly shocked me with how, well, normal it looked.

I’d always thought Harvard would be imposing and grandiose, and yes, I may have had some stereotypical descriptions in my head of it being quite pretentious.

But it was honestly the opposite!

It kind of just meshed well with the quaint and sweet Cambridge streets, and felt more like one of the many sweet parts of Cambridge than the dominant feature of the town.

I loved that.

Apparently touching this guy’s foot brings luck? I’m such a tourist LOL.

Fell in love with the bookstore because it reminded me of Hogwarts, duh.

We ate a phenomenal dinner at a place called Alden & Harlow. It was all focused on seasonal fare and small plates, so we ordered the roasted potatoes, sea bass, a slice of zucchini bread, and charred broccoli with butternut squash hummus and cashew cream.

The zucchini bread and broccoli were literally OTHERWORLDLY, but the potatoes and fish were also some of the best I’ve had.

Overall a very very satisfying meal!

Boston

The next day was dedicated to exploring the main city itself. So a little backstory.

I’ve actually been to Boston once before on a middle school trip, and I kinda hated it. Or, at least, I hated the trip, which gave me kind of meh associations with the city. I remember saying, “it’s too historic.” Like, what?

Well, I am happy to say that after this trip, I have been changed for good.

I FREAKING LOVE BOSTON.

It’s historic, yes, but it’s also hip and trendy. It’s quaint and adorable, but also fast-paced and metropolitan.

I’ve always said I couldn’t live anywhere but NYC, but honestly, I could imagine Boston being a home for me, even if just for a little while.

I just really connected with the city on this trip, and my soul was truly the happiest and most fulfilled it’s been in ages.

Our first stop in Boston was Newbury Street.

All the cute shops!

This was definitely a great thing to start with.

It’s a fun little erotic sweets shop; roomie and I had a blast exploring. :p

We stopped for coffee at Pavement Coffeehouse, which I had read was on the list of best coffeeshops in America.

It was a good cuppa coffee, but I will say I’ve had better. #coffeesnob #noshame

There was a Harry Potter shop. You should’ve seen how excited I got.

If you can’t tell by now, I was totally sold on Boston at this point. 😀

Next we walked over to Boston Common, which is just gorgeous. I wish we had some time to just sit there and take in the scenery or explore it a bit more, but we were on a bit of a tight schedule so we kind of quickly walked through.

It was so. dang. peaceful!

This was my absolute favorite part of the park. Those ducks made me so happy!

Next, we walked over to the waterfront, which was so beautiful. Ugh I honestly can’t with this city. I know I keep repeating it, but I loved it so so much. Just look at that water.

I discovered not too long ago that my happy place is either waterfronts or on a boat in the middle of the water surrounded by gorgeous nature.

Afterwards, we trekked over to the North End, a place famous for its very high-quality Italian food. Apparently, it’s the most authentic and delicious in all of America because so many Italians still live there and operate their family owned businesses since arriving in America.

We went to a restaurant called Euno, which was pricier than some others, but had the best reviews. Figured we should splurge if we’re having the best Italian food in America.

YOU GUYS. If you don’t do anything else on this list when you go to Boston, PLEASE GO TO EUNO.

I’m not joking around, this was the best bowl of pasta I have ever had.

The only thing comparable was the one I had in Tavern on the Green, which was only seasonally available.

This tasted like I had just landed in Italy, and with the ambience in the restaurant and neighborhood, it was easy to pretend this was the case.

I got the Rigatoni Fatti in Casa that came with roasted eggplant, roasted tomatoes, and fresh mozzarella, but trust me when I say you cannot go wrong with any of the pastas.