Boston is about two hours away from Cape Cod and we had the chance to spend a day there last week. We covered Chinatown, the Financial District, Faneuil Hall, Boston Commons and everything in between, all on foot! Of course central Boston is tiny in comparison to NYC but I really enjoyed it nonetheless.

Food was first on the agenda. We chose a Vietnamese place called Pho Pasteur on Washington St. Around lunchtime, it was abuzz with customers, which we took to be a good sign. Boy, were we wrong.

We were promptly served our spring roll appetizer. These were pretty standard, but things took a turn for the worse shortly after.

I forget the exact name of this dish but it was some sort of sauteed duck leg entree. I expected the crispy, pan-seared kind, enveloped in something dark and rich, but what I got instead was boiled and gummy, in a thick, gelatinous sauce. Yuck. Rene had a beef-and-noodle dish that was better than mine but still not good. I was so disappointed that I needed a drink ASAP…

We stopped at an open-air bar/restaurant called Barking Crab that’s located right on Charles River and decided to drink Bloody Marys.  A Bloody Mary is always either a hit or a miss – never in between. This one was unfortunately a miss – along with a buzz, it gave us both heartburn. Other than that, Barking Crab is a pretty cool place to have a drink – though I do recommend having whatever is on tap instead of a mixed drink.

Yours truly on the beach in Provincetown

Provincetown is an adorable little resort town on Cape Cod. The main road (Commercial St.) is filled with shops, art galleries, bars and restaurants.

To conclude our first visit to Provincetown, we decided to eat at a little place called Burger Queen, after seeing a sign out front that advertised lobster rolls for $9.95. I wouldn’t call myself a fan of lobster, per se, but this did sound like a good deal. Unfortunately, the roll was just meh. Too chewy and lackluster overall.

During another visit to P-Town, we stopped at a place called Mojo’s. I had their catch-of-the-day sandwich, which was flounder, and it was delicious. The fish tasted really fresh and had a silk-like texture.

The chowdah was okay – the one at Moby Dick’s was way better (not photographed).

Narrow streets that show off quaint inns and houses like this one branch off from Commercial St.

And this is me and Rene on the beach! Looking all naked…

Aside from everything, the best thing about my trip was being completely idle. Seriously, when I got back home, I felt shiny and new (Like a virgin – Hey!). Vacations work miracles, ya’ll.