Tag Archives: speak easy

Boston 2023

Posted on by
Reply

First time in Boston! Staying downtown at the Hyatt Regency. Chose this area mainly because of the tourist attractions that are close by.

Landed around 4pm at BOS, and took about 30 minutes to get to the hotel (apparently traffic isn’t the greatest in Boston according to the Uber driver).

After settling in the hotel, walked around to try and find whisky. CVS does not carry it, but Apparently one of their grocery chains, Roche Brothers did (they also had a bunch of things liked cooked food. Will say their floor layout was a bit confusing).

After, got some free clam chowder from the hotel (clam chowder is a thing in Boston).

After, went for dinner at Ruka Restobar, which is a 2 minute walk from the hotel. Details can be found here:

http://food.johnmatienzo.com/2023/11/22/ruka-restobar/

After, from the recommendation of the bartender at Ruka, went to a speak easy that was a block away called the Wig Shop. Details here:

http://food.johnmatienzo.com/2023/11/22/the-wigs-shop-speakeasy/

Ended the night by going to a g thing called Cafe Bar. Will say age range was all of the place, but I guess can’t expect much on a Tuesday night.

Tips from Bar Tender at Ruka: would stay next time I would stay around the Cambridge area. Apparently that’s where you can bar hop (likely because of the college crowd).

The next day (Wednesday before Thanksgiving), I started off my going to the Museum of Science to meet up with the Boston Duck Tour group. The tour drove around downtown, Boston Commons, and the Back Bay. And then went into the Charles River. Here are some facts I learned on the bus ride:

  • First chocolate factory in US was in Boston
  • Boston was founded in 1630
  • Puritans landed in 1630 to the peninsula now known as Boston (there was only one person there back then, and the Puritans renamed it Boston)
  • Omni Park Boston is the oldest operating hotel here (~1850)
  • John Adam (2nd President) defended the British soldiers of the Boston Massacre (but was an American)
  • Back Bay is called that because it used to be a river, and it was filled in.
  • Beacon Hills is one of the most expensive neighborhoods in the US
  • Sam Adams – Beantown pub is the only place you can get a cold Sam Adam’s staring at his grave
  • Boston Tea Party – colonists threw tea into the river to not pay taxes to the British for the tea. British put Boston under Marshall law
  • Cambridge is a different city from Boston (founded in the same year)
  • The Big Dig is the largest spanning Bridge in the US
  • I93 is mainly underground to avoid traffic
  • The type of vessel the “duck” is based on is a replica of. World war 2 boat (Duck was a codename for the vessel)

The boat/bus tour ended back at the Museum of Science (fyi Duck tour was excellent… tour guide gave great facts and good jokes). Unfortunately couldn’t go tour it because I needed to go to my next tour (I did however get a quick bite (a quesadilla) and coffee).

The next tour I did is a walking tour of the Freedom Trail (the sites downtown). There are 4 other sites outside of downtown, one of which I visited later. During this tour, here is what I recall remembering at each site

  • Boston Common – you can do a lot of things there like raise cattle (even until this day), and duels (which are illegal now). Also I think this is the site where the first guy to live in Boston met the Puritans (in 1630 this happened, and they were Catholics)
  • Massachusetts State House (don’t recall too much about that one)
  • Granary Burial Ground – Sam Adams, Paul Revere graves are there, plus John Hancock Memorial (and across the street you can get a cold Sam Adams from the Beantown Pub)
  • Park Street Church – might be the first Catholic church in Boston
  • King’s Chapel Burial Ground – first Anglican Church (it was ordered to be built by Britain to show they still had control)
  • Old South Meeting House
  • Boston Massacre Site – (I think) 5 Americans got killed by British Soldiers. In England this is known as the Unfortunate Incident on King St
  • Old State House (don’t recall too much of this either)
  • Faneuil Hall (don’t recall too much of this either)

I would definitely recommend this tour. The tour guide was excellent in his jokes and his acting.

After the tour, since we were right at Quincy Market, went inside and looked for a lobster roll (lobster rolls are also a thing in Boston). Got one at Boston & Maine Fish Company. Details here:

http://food.johnmatienzo.com/2023/11/23/boston-maine-fish-company/

After, went to one of the Freedom Trail sites outside downtown, Paul Revere’s House.

After, visited the Holocaust Memorial. Definitely very sad.

After, stopped by the Cheers pub (the one from the show!) for a drink. Details here:

http://food.johnmatienzo.com/2023/11/23/cheers/

After, spent a few hours in the hotel sleeping, then got room service (a pasta dish and Boston Cream Cheese, which I might as well try while in Boston).

Then went out for a night clubbing at Royale (in the theater district) to see Vintage Culture. Club was already packed by 11:30pm. Opening DJ went on at 12am, and done at 2am.

When I flew out the next day, I stopped by the Chase Sapphire Lounge. Overall, lounge looks great. Only drawback is I think I like the food at the Amex lounges better (at the Chase lounge you have to order the good food, which makes you not be able to select the quantity you want). I will say though they did have Toki Highballs, so that won me over. Will also say that the lounge was located the very last number of the B gates, and my flight was B1 (so entered through the B40 security, and then walked to B1 for 15 minutes, but still within security).

That’s basically wraps up my first time at Boston. Here are some things I would try for next time:

  • Newbury St is where some high end stores are (at Backbay)
  • Nick’s Comedy club (oldest and best comedy club in Boston)… should go next time
  • Boston Public library is more of a free art museum, and it has a bar
  • John F Kennedy statue (he was from Boston and casted his vote there)
  • Chicken and Rice Guys?
  • Maybe stay in Cambridge and check out the EDM scene and bar hop around there (288 Green St had Dubfire play there, and it was sold out)

Japan 2022 Day 3 – Kyoto

Posted on by
Reply

We checked out of our hotel in Osaka (Hotel Intergate) around 11am and headed to Osaka station to catch our 12:30pm JR-west train to Kyoto station (picked up an onigiri for the train ride!).

After getting to Kyoto station, we dropped our bags in our hotel, Henn Na Hotel (they were pretty strict with only allowing check in after 3pm).

After dropping our bags, we tried this McDonald’s out at JR Kyoto station:

http://food.johnmatienzo.com/2022/11/25/mcdonalds-jr-kyoto-station/

From there, we took the JR-west train to the Fushimi-Inari-Takisha shrine (which I’ve been to before). On our way back to the hotel, we also stopped by the Tofukoan Temple (I spelt it this way last time I was here, but it’s actually Tofukuji Temple). Although this time around we could find the Zen Garden.

Afterwards, we went back to the hotel to rest for 2 hours so that we could get ready for a night at the Gion District.

We took the JR-west and subway to Gion (see the end of this post about the train systems here).

We started at the area where you may see Gesiha’s. We went to the following speak easy, and then the following restaurant for dinner (we were trying to find a spot for Kobe beef, but they all basically stop serving at 9pm. Good to know for next time!):

http://food.johnmatienzo.com/2022/11/25/bees-knees/

http://food.johnmatienzo.com/2022/11/25/abusan/

Afterwards, we tried to clubs, both in the Gion district (they are supposed to be the best ones in Kyoto). One was World Kyoto (would not recommend. They kept playing Michael Jackson and Bruno Mars with bad transitions). The other one was called Kitsune Kyoto. I would go back here since they played 2012 top 40 edm (ie Zedd, Hardwell, etc). One thing to note about the entrance fees of the clubs is that they give you a drink ticket, which is basically the price of what a normal drink would be).

We then taxied back to the hotel.

A couple notes about the transportation system in Kyoto (ie getting around):

Taxis: calling them through Uber is hit or miss (ie wait times are sometimes long, or they cancel). You can usually try and flag one down faster than getting one through Uber.

For Kyoto, there are three types of trains in the station: Shinkansen, JR-west, and subway (aka the local metro). To get around Kyoto (ie to Gion or the Fushimi-Inari-Takisha shrine), you would use a mix of the latter two types of train (Google maps is your friend to find out which ones to use). And for the latter two, Suica is fine for payment (love Apple for iterating it with the iPhone).

For the Shinkansen, that is supposed to be for really long journeys (and it is fast). Typically you need to buy two types of tickets (one is the basic ticket, and the other is the limited stops ticket). When purchasing the ticket, you will have the option to add the limited stops ticket as well (I guess some people may not need it since they have a monthly pass limited stops ticket) You can buy the tickets at either the stations using terminals, or buy online (however if you buy online you still need to pick up the ticket at a terminal using the credit card you purchased it with. Also. each Shinkansen train has a name, ie Nazomi, and a specific number. Use that name and number to find which platform you should go to at the station by looking at the monitors. You can also find the platform via Google Maps by searching for the train routes (and specifying the date/ time your train leaves (although platforms are subject to change).