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Work Trip: Boston Round 3 - Charlestown, Jamaica Plain and Chelsea

After always wanting to get to Boston, I ended up working in the incomparable East Coast city for a third time in a single calendar year. So, whenever the family can come along, I guess I'll be an expert.

I decided to check out Warren Tavern for dinner. One of the oldest bars in one of the oldest neighborhoods in the United States. The roast beef sandwich couldn't hold a candle to Baltimore or Buffalo's varieties,  but the chowder was worth the visit. I'd just get that next time.

Finally got some clam chowda. 


The colonial era-neighborhoods of Boston are some the best places to walk around in the United States. I suppose that's not too difficult when so much of the country is dedicated to automobiles at the expense of humans.

Bunker Hill sits atop Charlestown looking out on the low slung city. Again a very American statement. Our cities seem to be obsessed with a height, a demonstration of our business might, at the expense of human scaled cities. San Francisco and Boston do have skyscrapers, but they stand apart for their dense and walkable city streets.





The next day I had to shoot 360s at Newman School in the Back Bay. The endless string of opulent row houses. The mansard roofs. And I got to shoot a pretty rad aerial 360 above the whole thing. 

Right when I finished up in the Back Bay, it started to rain. After contemplating what I was going to do the rest of the day, I decided to head over to Jamaica Plain for a late lunch. Or was it an early dinner. I can't be certain.

I'd probably never have a car in Boston if I wasn't working here, but it does get you relatively quickly across most cities. Set Google Maps to avoid highways and you get a snapshot of large swaths of Boston, LA or some podunk town.

I ended up getting dinner at Alex's Chimis. It was well worth the drive.

We don't have many Dominicans in the Upper Midwest, so this was an absolute treat. I could so go for Combo Domincano with the plantano maduro and cho fan (fried rice) right about now.

The rain let up as I ate my giant styrofoam container full of Dominican food. Sitting under an awning and a welcome bench as passerby commented on how good the food looked.

I'd never explored Jamaica Plain before.

Clapboard and Victorian detailing dominates this area. A wider-stanced variation of San Francisco's painted ladies.


I ended up staying over in Chelsea, just outside of Boston proper, for the few days I was back in Massachusetts. 

I decided to walk the dense core of the not-so-suburban, suburb. More of a neighborhood that just happens to be outside of the city limits, the town is actually denser than Boston as a whole. Something true for many of the inner suburbs out here.



I ended up at Katz Bagel Bakery.

A cinnamon raisin bagel with a good smear of cream cheese alongside a cake variation of the half and half cookie.



Until next time Boston.

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