The day began with disembarkation from the MS Volendam. Disembarkation is never fun, as your bags have been out of your possession since the night before and you’re basically just sitting and waiting until your group is called to get off the ship. Today, that process was made worse by an icy downpour. I felt really sorry for the Volendam crew, who were stationed at each point of the offramp and between the ramp and the terminal building. They were all soaked, none had raincoats, and I’m sure they were all freezing.

We grabbed our luggage and headed out to get a taxi, which meant standing in the rain for around 10-15min behind dozens of other shipmates doing the same thing. Eventually, we got a cab and made it to the Omni Parker House, a gorgeous, historic hotel in the heart of Boston.

We all popped into the hotel’s restaurant for some coffee and juice while we decided what to do with our day. Since I have a penchant for sampling foods and drinks that are named for places while I’m visiting those places, I knew I would have to have a Boston Cream Pie while in Boston and that opportunity presented itself right away. Even better: the dessert was invented right here in this very hotel. Bonus points!

If you’re wondering why it’s called a pie when it’s clearly a cake, it’s because the two kinds of desserts were often baked in the same pans back then and the terms were basically interchangeable. It’s two layers of vanilla sponge cake with a custard-like layer of crème pâtissière between them, covered in a chocolate ganache. The Omni Parker version has shaved almonds around the outside. Delicious.

Plans to go exploring got washed away by the downpour still happening outside, but within the hour, our room was ready. We’re on the 12th floor in a hotel that was built (originally 1855, current building 1927) when it was still considered taboo to put a 13th floor in your hotel, even if that’s how many floors it has.

The room is smallish, but nice and clean.

It’s in a great part of the historic part of town, which we discovered when we went walking a bit later when the rain let up.

We came back to the hotel for a shower and refresh before heading down to meet the group for drinks. Lunch was a PayDay bar. Don’t judge. Rob and I both love these and you can’t get them in Canada. (It’s a thin ribbon of nougat rolled in caramel then coated in salted peanuts) When Rob and I were dating, he’d go home with a bunch of PayDay bars and show up on the next visit with a bunch of Coffee Crisp bars for me, which you can’t get in the US.

Decided to check to see who’s reading this thing, since I spend at least 2-3 hours a day on it… No surprise, most of the traffic comes from Canada, and another bunch of folks in the US.

After that, there are folks in Australia (Hi, Doug & Heather!), France (Hi, Robyn!), the UK (cheers, Liam!), Malaysia (‘sup, Barb and Roger!), Norway (hi, Ian and Jørgen!)… all of those expected. But you never know who finds your site and decides to keep up with your travels… like a bunch of people in Germany, Belize, and Portugal. Hello to all of you as well!

Met up with the group at the hotel bar to use our free drink coupons, then headed up the street one block to Emmet’s Irish Pub.

It’s the loudest restaurant I’ve ever been in. It was louder than some concerts I’ve been to. There was a guy playing music in one corner with his amp cranked to 11 like he was in Spinal Tap. Then there were TWO “girls night out” groups apparently competing to see who could out-squeal the other. And the place was packed to the hilt and everyone was attempting to talk.. err, scream over the musician and the drunk sorority wannabes.

The sensory overload was overwhelming. I was struggling pretty hard and spent some time with my fingers in my ears just to turn down the intensity a bit. The musician ended his set about 15 minutes after we arrived, so that helped. Then the food came and it was all worth it. Legit, it was the best shepherd’s pie I’ve ever had. I think the gravy was probably made with Guinness. Whatever they did, it was really, really good.

If you’re unfamiliar with shepherd’s pie, it’s ground meat, peas, carrots, onions, and gravy sitting under a blanket of mashed potatoes. Yum. After dinner, I had an Irish coffee, because supposedly theirs is the best one in all of Boston.

Then we went out into the peace and quiet of downtown Boston (compared to the hurricane of noise in the pub, it seemed quiet) and went back to the hotel. We said goodbye to the rest of the group, as they’re flying back to Calgary tomorrow while Rob and I head off on another adventure.

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