If there’s anything I refuse to give up, it’s carbs. I have tried the keto diet before and while it is fun to eat a crap ton of meat and get “meat sweats,” it is also very, very miserable because you aren’t allowed to eat carbs. That means no bread, no pasta, no rice, and (the ultimate death sentence for me) NO FRIES.
On my list of places to eat while visiting Boston was KOKO Bakery. I was originally drawn in by the fact that they serve matcha lattes, but the cute bread animals were what really sealed the deal for me. I sent my sister a text saying, “Oh my GOD, have you heard of KOKO Bakery? Can we go???”
To which she easily replied, “Clare, I fucking love that place. We’re regulars. THEY RECOGNIZE US NOW.”
So we started our Saturday with a journey to KOKO Bakery, land of the dog shaped pastries. It was delicious. I devoured all of it. You can read more about our experience below.
Our agenda for the day was to stuff our face with some delicious food, head to the Boston Public Library, check out the Prudential Center, and then do the Freedom Trail, Beacon Hill, etc. One thing that you have to know about my sister is that when you are traveling with her, you get NO REST. Colleen is very much a “go, go, go” kind of person, who never pauses or stops for anything, and shoves as many things into a day as she can. It sounds doable and wonderful in theory, but if you hesitate for even a second, she will leave you behind.
It’s kind of ruthless…
Colleen was texting with one of her friends (Yulin) who was at a beer garden event. Yulin said she wanted to meet up with us, so we set our meeting point to be Prudential Center since Colleen wanted to stop by Warby Parker anyway. While there, Tyler and I just sat around and looked at glasses/sunglasses and shared stupid threads together.
I’m not too sure how or when this happened, but I’ve noticed that my taste in clothes has definitely gone down the “grandpa aesthetic” route over the past year or so. Maybe it’s the Californian in me rearing its ugly head or I’m just getting really old and developing weird tastes. I don’t know.
Because of that, most of the clothes I had brought to Boston were either dresses or Hawaiian shirts. I thought that it would be nice to wear one of them that day. Tyler, who also loves Hawaiian shirts, said he would wear his too. Colleen didn’t have any (that will change in the near future), so I loaned her one of my other ones. I thought it was really cute that we were all matching for the day – West coast represent and all that. We stuck out like sore thumbs, but we looked fab so whatever.
Yulin ended up going to the Boston Commons (which is where we were at the beginning) instead of Prudential Center, so we told her to just meet us at the Public Library instead haha. While we waited for her, we decided to take the opportunity to go inside, enjoy some A/C, and take some photos.
Honestly, I found it really interesting to see the mixture of old and new architecture and design. You just had to walk from one wing to another and it was like being transported back in time. Pretty cool!
The weather started clouding up by the time we got to the courtyard. From what Colleen has told me, the weather changes pretty quickly during the summertime. We don’t get very many thunderstorms in California (San Diego especially), so it was weird to see how fast the clouds would roll in and how quickly it would go from hot and sunny to drizzling and windy.
Of course when you’re at the Public Library, you HAVE to check out and get a photo or two of the iconic Reading Room. I think Colleen said that there are no electrical outlets at the tables, so if you want to force yourself to get shit done, the Reading Room is it. The moment you walk in, you realize how large the room really is and how tiny you are in comparison to it. It’s breath taking.
We dawdled around for more pictures a little longer after that and then Colleen got a text from Yulin saying she was outside. Yay! We were catching up with Yulin for a bit before she asked me what I was luggin’ around the camera for. I told her I was taking photos and she mentioned off hand that she never liked having her photo taken as she felt like she didn’t look good in any of them – weird because she is absolutely gorgeous!??
Anyway, I told her that that is only because she’s been working with the wrong people and told her I’d take some quick portraits of her right at that moment to prove her wrong. I know there are some photographers who prefer taking candid photos and hate, hate, hateeeee posing/directly people because it loses its sincerity and genuineness. While I agree to an extent, I think people tend to forget that most photo subjects don’t know how to properly pose themselves. They forget to do things like… not let your arm hover weirdly or maybe don’t dip your head too far to create that double chin.
I like to make the individual look as flattering as possible. This means having them twist and bend their bodies so that they look better on camera. Yeah it’s not exactly “candid” or “organic,” but they always end up loving how they look in them and that’s all that matters imo.
Behind the scenes photo by Colleen.
Spoiler alert: I played photographer/director the entire time I was in Boston and my sister got some great Behind the Scenes shots. Because I was directing Yulin with her posing, a lot of people walking by actually thought we were doing a legit photoshoot. LMAO.
I loved it.
Taken from Yulin’s phone.
Yulin had to bounce afterwards and we decided to continue our journey, this time in the direction of Beacon Hill. Colleen really wanted to take me to Acorn Street, which is apparently one of the most Instagrammable spots in Boston. Sign me up please and thank you!
As we meandered our way towards Acorn Street, we decided to stop by the Massachusetts State House. Pulling directly from Wikipedia:
The building, designed by architect Charles Bulfinch, was completed in January 1798 at a cost of $133,333 (more than five times the budget), and has repeatedly been enlarged since. It is considered a masterpiece of Federal architecture and among Bulfinch’s finest works, and was designated a National Historic Landmark for its architectural significance.
…
The original wood dome, which leaked, was covered with copper in 1802 by Paul Revere‘s Revere Copper Company. Revere was the first American to roll copper successfully into sheets (for copper sheathing) in a commercially viable manner.
Apparently they painted over the gold leaf during World War II in order to protect the city and building during bombing attacks and to prevent reflection during blackouts. It was then re-gilded in 1997.
So… one thing I discovered while wandering around Beacon Hill is that while it’s awesome and beautiful, the cobblestones fucking HURT. From what I’ve investigated on Google, it looks like they replaced most of the traditional cobblestone with “setts” in the 19th century. The setts are definitely more even, but there are still areas where they can be weird and difficult to walk on – especially when you’re wearing the incorrect shoes.
Which is what I did.
Fashion over function, blah blah blah.
When we got to Acorn Street, there were quite a few people who were already there. As much as I would have liked to take photos on the actual cobblestone, there were too many people trying to get the same shot, so I opted to go stand on some random person’s doorstep instead. (Sorry.)
Still a good outfit of the day photo imo.
Another sneaky photo from Colleen.
While I was taking photos of Colleen, a girl approached us and asked if we could take her photo for her. Already fired up from my impromptu photoshoot with Yulin, I was hellbent on getting this girl the best photos of her life haha.
We took a few shots on the cobblestone street and then in the doorway. She would do a quick pose and I’d direct her to either extend her leg towards the camera, point her toes downwards, or straighten her shoulders. Colleen thought it was absolutely hilarious (hence the sneaky pics), but when I gave the phone back to the girl, she went “oh my GOD, these are amazing! I’m so glad I met you today. Are you a professional!?” and my heart swelled up. :’)
Little do they know that I am actually considered a total hobbyist/amateur in California, but if I can bamboozle Bostonians into thinking I’m the shit, I’ll take it.
We wrapped up the end of our excursion with Quincy Market, Faneuil Hall Marketplace, and more of the Freedom Trail, but I was pretty much dead by the end of it all. Like I was struggling to walk because we walked a ridiculous amount and my wide angle lens is a heavy little fucker (on top of that I was also lugging around my 50mm, all in my stupid purse – should’ve brought a backpack) and I was sweaty and gross and hungry and dehydrated. Did I mention my feet really hurt?
So we went home, I laid down on their couch, and started binging Gordon Ramsay’s 24 Hours to Hell and Back.
Worth it.
