Post-Labor Day Fun, Son!

Image Courtesy of CambridgeCarnival.org

I know it feels like Summer is over, but there are still great events in Boston this weekend.  Get out there before Winter sneaks up and smacks you in the face!  Here are 3 suggestions to keep that Summer vibe going strong:

Friday Sept. 7 - Before I Die...

Before I die, I want to check out the Before I die... project's latest installation on the Rose Kennedy Greenway (Along Atlantic Avenue, Boston).  Basically it's a chalkboard wall with the phrase "Before I die I want to" followed by a blank space and chalk.  Visitors are encouraged to fill in the blank.  Inspire and be inspired.  Learn more about it's origins here .  Ok, that's less of an event, than a thing to do, but go do it anyway.

Saturday Sept. 8 - MixFest

Every year, radio station Mix 104.1 flexes is Light Rock muscle and brings the best of the genre to Boston.  This year the open air extravaganza features Train, Gavin Degraw, and Andy Grammer.  I KNOW, RIGHT?  It's at the Hatch Shell and, oh yeah, it's free!  Ba-Zing!  At the very least, it'll be nice background music as you paddleboard along the Charles!  Click for more MixFest info.

Sunday Sept. 9 - Cambridge Carnival

After all that fun in Boston, come on back to Cambridge for a real par-tay!  It's the 20th anniversary of the Caribbean style Carnival and parade.  Come shake your bon-bon, and revel in the colors.  Take some benadryl if you're allergic to feathers.  I'm just sayin'...  The parade starts at 12:30p, which is perfect for sleeping off the your MixFest wine cooler hangover (public drinking is illegal...so don't do that!!!).  Expect lots of bright colors, Caribbean food, music, and lots of people!  This event is rain or shine.  Let's pray for shine!  Check it out!

None of these events float your boat?  Sheesh, tough crowd.  Well, there's always the Freedom trail.

2 Brewery Tours in 1 Day - Recipe for Boston Awesomeness

The coolest thing about living in a town like Boston is playing tour guide for all my out-of-town friends.  Two dear friends, the Multers, dropped in on me when their cruise ship docked in Boston Harbor.  Like most shore excursions, they only had from 8am - 3:30pm to explore the town.  On a previous trip, they went to Sam Adams Brewery, and wanted to go back.  Well, since I had never been, I was happy to tag along!

The tours are free and incredibly informative.  They teach you all about how they make beer and how many competitions they've won.  They're understandably proud, but the absolute best part of the tour is the chugfest tasting.  I must say I have NEVER tasted such fresh tasting beer!  It was like pure YUM.  You'll never tolerate skunky yuck beer again.  BONUS: you get to keep your tasting glass!  W00t!

After Sam Adams, we realized that we needed to keep the buzz going, so after lunch at Quincy Market, we mosey'd on over to Harpoon Brewery for their 2pm tasting.  Also free.  Again, YUM-TASTIC.  If you're not familiar, these guys make tons of different varieties, including IPA, UFO, and special "100 barrel" varieties: meaning small batch special beers.  My fave: Pumpkin UFO.  Again, super fresh (duh, they just made it...), and not crazy overwhelming with the pumpkin and spice.  Subtle.  Yeah.

So, if you like beer, and are in Boston for the first time, or the 100th time, and you're not feeling Paul Revere's house or Cheers (really, just skip Cheers, it never was a real place!), definitely check out these two breweries.  It's even ok if you don't do them on the same day, though I'm not sure why you wouldn't!  Both are accessible by public transit, and have fun gift shops to help you stock your home bar.  Just DON'T forget your ID, like I did.  Luckily, with a few batted eyelashes, and a quick computer search, I was allowed to get my drink on.  Having your ID is better.

EXTRA: Here is some awesome art I saw on my way to the Sam Adams tour, courtesy of the Stony Brook Fine Arts School

BLOG UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Travel season is in high gear, and for seasoned road-trippers, you know what that means: LOTS OF CONSTRUCTION!!!  You just know that no matter where you go, you'll be whizzing past orange cones, and inhaling fresh asphalt fumes until Labor Day!  The same is true for this Travel Blog!

Recently, I've been looking for a job in the Start-up world, which is ruled by tech and judgments are made based on your online presence.  In a nutshell, if you're blogging, you're blog better look good.  I looked at my blog and realized that I didn't think the look of the blog, and maybe the straight delivery of the content was an accurate reflection of the wild travel chick contained in this body!  Well, ok, wild may be a little strong...

Anywhoooo, I need YOUR help!  Do me a favor: take a look at the blog.  Look HARD.  Then, make suggestions!  I KNOW I KNOW, how awesome is it that you can make comments on...my...blog...oh wait, you can already do that!  Haha, but unlike others, I'll LISTEN!

So, PLEASE, take a look!  Let me know what you like and what you think I can do BETTER.  What would you like to see that would make this a go-to blog for your travel blog entertainment?  Lemme know!  I'd be wicked grateful! :-D

Hugs, Yvette

Water + Fire + Summer Solstice = AWESOMENESS

I think my favorite thing about living in New England is the unlimited opportunities for awesome day trips. Heck, if you're so inclined, you could hit all 6 states in a single day!  It also makes it easy to find fun things to do when my friends and family come to visit.

Recently, my brother dropped in for a weekend visit, and like me, he's always ready to hop in the car and check out the sights.  So, I suggested we hit up WaterFire.

According to their website, WaterFire is an "award-winning sculpture by Barnaby Evans installed on the three rivers of downtown Providence".  However, what it really is is a friggin' awesome festival where they set a bunch of bonfires in the middle of the city.

Along the banks of the rivers, you'll find lots of street performers, including human "statues" that move when you drop a donation in their basket, musicians, break dancers, jewelry makers, food truck vendors, and LOTS OF PEOPLE!  Imaging the warm glow of a campfire, then magnify it by 100.  Part of the fun is watching the staff light the bonfires with torches, as they're rowed along in gondolas.  It's very theatric!  It started off as a short term installation, but the popularity of it grew, and now they light the fires several times from spring to fall.

This time, we went during the Summer Solstice.  Luckily, in addition to the usual WaterFire festivities, the city of Providence also had a Summer Solstice celebration in the area just adjacent to the river.  That featured several musical performances, and lots of dancing.  The energy was electric, and everyone was really having a great time.  Where the musical vibe at the river was a little "new age", a big band was rocking a block away.  A block away from there, in a city park, there was another smaller stage, where we were lucky to catch the last few songs by local band, Boo City, who had a cool funky, jazzy reggae thing goin' on!

It was pretty incredible, and I STRONGLY recommend checking out WaterFire if you ever find yourself in the area.  It's HOT in more ways than one!
Check out some pics of our trip here!

Where: Downtown Providence, RI
How: Take commuter rail from South Station - Boston or Drive I-95 South to Exit 22 Downtown Providence
Why: Um, it's awesome!

2010 Travel Memories - Germany

What better way to start 2011 than to reflect on the travel that occurred in 2010? The big trip was to Germany. Below are some of my favorite, previously unposted, pics from the trip. (check out links at end for previously posted pics)

Best of Munich 2010

Best of Berlin 2010

Best of Bamberg 2010

Bells of Salzburg 2010 (courtesy of http://nettiegoboom.blogspot.com )

Airplane ESSENTIALS

Top 10 things NOT to forget when you board that plane!

10. Gum - makes ear popping a little less painful

9. Vitamin C - Questionable germs in a sealed tin can. Better safe than sorry!

8. Water. I bring 2 empties through security and fill them before I board.

7. Snacks. $3.50 for a cookie? Puh-leez. I like nuts, dried cranberries, crackers, and chocolate.

6. Ear plugs and Eye mask. Crying babies? Roaring engines? Late readers? Bring it!

5. Travel pillow& blanket. It's mine, and it smells like Bounce. What does the free one smell like?

4. Hand lotion. Airplane soap makes my hands feel like sandpaper. Keep it soft, baby!

3. iPod Touch. Yeah, I bring it EVERYWHERE anyway. Will be testing SKYPE app for next trip.

2. Pen. You never need it until you DON'T have it!

1. PATIENCE. Nothing goes as smoothly as you'd like, esp. with all the cost cutting these days. Patience is your BEST FRIEND. Sit back and let the business men climb all over each other to get on and off the plane. Take a deep breath, and have another piece of chocolate!

Prost! Let the games begin!

I'm about to embark on my first trip to Germany. The occasion? My dear friend Dörte has invited me, and a bunch of other fun folk to celebrate her birthday in her hometown in Thielbeer. Although, that's reason enough to go, as luck would have it, her birthday just happens to coincide with the most famous (and longest running) wedding celebration on Earth: OKTOBERFEST!

Oh yeah...I'm so there.

Anyway, I thought I'd share some facts about this amazing event, just in case I'm in no condition to do so later! ;-)

In 1997, Oktoberfesters consumed more than 5 ½ million liters of beer, about 45,000 liters of wine, and almost 165,000 liters of nonalcoholic beer.

The local name for Oktoberfest, "Wies'n," is derived from Theresienwiese, the name of the field on which the festival is held.

The festival halls in Munich can seat 94,000 people.

The beers that the Munich breweries produce specially for Oktoberfest contain 4.5 percent alcohol.

Cincinnati, Ohio, which claims to hold the "largest authentic Oktoberfest" in the U.S., draws about 500,000 people to its celebration.

Thanks to http://www.everythingaboutgermany.com/Oktoberfest/OktoberfestHistory.htm for the info.