Please Come to Boston....

I know the rest of that song lyric says 'for the springtime', but I'm here to tell you autumn works too.  I also know some of you are scratching your heads saying, 'What song?'  Sigh.

A-ny-way...I spent the weekend in Boston and do you know what women who haven't seen each other in a while don't do when they get together for a weekend?

Sleep!

I got home yesterday afternoon, unpacked, then had a long nap on the couch.  I did wake up long enough to make breakfast for dinner (it only felt right after my ridiculously long nap), and then fell back to sleep on the couch before going to bed and sleeping til morning.

So far this is riveting, isn't it?

I was in Boston to catch up with about 40 women who all lived in the UK around the same time as me.  We laughed and shopped and ate and talked til our throats were sore, and we didn't sleep.  Not much anyway.  Some of the group left England before I arrived, but many were still there when I hopped the pond and we all share love for a small island and the memory of a place in time.  

Makes my heart so happy to spend time with these special friends-

The fun started before I ever left NJ.  One friend coming from Canada connected thru Newark and we sat side by each on the flight to Boston.  I read somewhere the expression 'side by each' originated in New Foundland so using it in reference to my Canadian friend seems appropriate. Please don't correct me if I'm wrong because I love that expression.

Once we checked in and dropped our bags we headed out in search of seafood. As we came round the corner we spied this little eatery and just had to snap a picture.  Pretty much everyone loved eating at Wagamama's in London every chance they got, and I had to text my girls the photo too.  Daughter2's response was 'No Fair!!'

We didn't actually eat at Wagamama though, because this is Boston not London, and we needed steamers or chowder or lobster in some form or fashion.  Not hard to find in a city perched beside the Bay and by Sunday we'd managed to have all three.   I will resist writing chow-dah and lob-stah which is not as easy.

After lunch we walked and shopped and talked some more, and I could probably just sum up the whole weekend with that one sentence.

I could, but I won't.

People trickled into town Thursday evening and most of the day Friday, and then everyone met in a nearby restaurant for a wonderful Italian dinner Friday evening.  We went around the room and told a little about our lives now and it was fun to discover some new connections with people too. I happened to be sitting beside someone I didn't know before the weekend, but she worked for the same company as my hubs many years ago. There were other 'small world' moments which I think happen more frequently in the expatriate community than in other walks of life, and they never fail to bring a smile.

One of my most favorite people in the world-

I haven't seen her since 2007,  and while we catch up on the phone now and then there is nothing like a conversation in real life.

The weekend was organized by two women in the group who now live in the Boston area and they did a fantastic job of managing all the details that made it easy for the rest of us to just enjoy. I will not even mention the weather because ugh...kinda felt like we were all back in England.

Speaking of England, as we headed out the door on Saturday my friend put a hand in her coat pocket and pulled out this-

A train ticket from our little village into London along with a map she'd printed to get somewhere back in 2006.  2006?  Wasn't that just yesterday?  The four of us standing there all had a bit of a moment. It's not just me, y'all.  My friend lives somewhere warm now so not much need for a long raincoat. She hadn't put her hand in that pocket in forever.  Not since her son and my daughter1 graduated from high school together.  Her son and my daughter1 who are now both gainfully employed college graduates living in apartments of their own.  Yes we did have us a little moment.  

Saturday morning a group of us trailed behind our guide for an Historic Boston walking tour. The rain took a blessed break and our guide was fantastic.

His name was Terry and he was a drama student at the local college, but for our purposes was dressed in colonial garb and calling himself, Ebenezer, aka John Hancock's younger brother. He definitely had a gift for this sort of thing.

Naturally when the tour ended we were back to our old ways. 

You know-shopping...

and lunch...

Let's just say its a good thing we walked all over this city.  

Saturday night was another group dinner followed by a ghosts and graveyards tour via trolley. It was fun scary, not scary scary, and the guides were entertaining. About five minutes after the guide began his spiel, which included asking us questions, he realized he may have met his match in this group of women.  

As is the case with all weekends, but especially weekends spent with old friends, it ended way too soon.  Prior to the weekend I'd never spent any time in Boston, but I definitely want to get back there someday.  Next time I'll bring the hubs.  

After all... ' I'm the number one fan of the man from Tennessee.'