As soon as I walked in, my brain started spinning. Look at all of these pastries. Thats not even all of them. There were cases of cheesecakes, heaped with pistachios or fruit. 

Chris and Salah enjoyed their sandwiches, I did not. My sandwich had eggplant, cucumbers, scallions, and hard boiled eggs on it. It tasted like nothing. Lets get to the real business. 

My childhood dreams came true at Tatte Bakery and Cafe. I had three pastries at once. (Well, we shared them all, but still, perks of being an adult, right??) 

My absolute favorite pastry was the blueberry cheese danish. The mix of sweet with a tiny bit of savory reminded me of a piece of warm buttered toast with jam on top (one of my most favorite foods of all time!). Chris and I are still discussing how great it was... 

Left to the danish was a peach tart with thick sugar cookie crust. Not much to say about this, but I guess if you like sugar cookies, you'll probably really like this choice! The Chocolate Rose, on the bottom, was like a cinnamon roll but with chocolate instead of cinnamon sugar swirl. This pastry was dry, lacking flavor, and definitely could have used more chocolate within the 'petals'. 

Next time we are in town, I want to try EVERY TART IN THE BAKERY CASE! (Maybe I will walk in a continual circuit, stopping at every Tatte Cafe & Bakery in Boston.)

Tatte Bakery & Cafe

Highlight: The danish, and any other muffin type baked good!! Also, my well traveled friend Salah, said they have the best pastrami he'd ever tasted! 

Avoid: The Belakani sandwich, it tasted like a cardboard box, no flavor whatsoever. (How could I even be concerned about that with all the baked goods surrounding me????) 

After dessert, I mean breakfast, we walked over to the cozy area that is Beacon Hill. The gas-lit lamps, beautiful row houses, and brick sidewalks will bring you back into time. I almost expected to see a Christmas roast in a store window and carolers on the corner.  Beacon Hill still has a few cobblestone streets, including Acorn Street which is one of the most photographed streets in Boston. 

From there we walked over to Boston Public Garden. I really appreciate public green spaces. I didn't realize it until the last couple of times we traveled back to Minnesota and I realized it was one of the things I missed most about where I grew up! 

Along with the infamous Swan Boat Rides, there were picnics, a bachelorette party (best idea EVER!), two separate violinists providing a soundtrack for the afternoon, and a park employee trying to smoke out a beehive. (That also involved dodging dive bombing honey bees {p.s. I think Mary Poppins could have been set here if London wasn't available.}) Cross the street from the park and you'll find a shopping area akin to Chicago's Michigan Avenue, dotted with cupcake bakeries and coffee shops. 

For a midday snack, we stopped off at Flour. (If I could insert the fireworks emoji's right here I would.) Joanne Chang, the chef of Flour, has been a James Beard Award Nominee for Outstanding Pastry Chef in 2011 and 2012, and Best Chef Northeast in 2013, 2014, and 2015. You CANNOT go wrong with anything from Flour.

Here's the highlight: COOKIES. See that photo below? To the left is the chocolate chip cookie. I was suspect of it at first because its so flat, usually meaning lots of butter and not much taste. Boy oh boy oh boy oh boy. I'm pretty sure discs of chocolate are used for this cookie because the chocolate chip part spreads out so far. I don't know, but I was quite happy! In the middle you have the peanut butter cookie with sea salt on top. Notice the thickness of the cookie. It is dense, decadent, and chewy. To the right is chocolate chocolate chip. A cloud of light, chewy, chocolate. I DIDN'T EVEN CARE THAT THERE WERE NUTS IN IT. I immediately started to speculate the ingredients used in this fine specimen of a cookie, and for the rest of the trip I dreamed of nothing but these cookies. 

Flour needs to be at the top of every 'Where to Eat in Boston' and/or 'Best Places to Eat in Boston' list out there. 

Flour

• Highlight: E V E R Y T H I N G. Try the egg sandwich!! (Update: We made a return visit, stay tuned!!) GET ALL THE COOKIES. 
• Avoid: ...missing any and all opportunities to visit Flour. 

For dinner on our first full day in Boston, we went to Myers & Chang (owned by Joanne Chang and her husband). The only reservation we could get was for 10:15 pm! Their chef was a James Beard Award Nominee for Best Chef Northeast. It was good, you should try it, especially if you are an adventurous eater. I had the Green Monster which was a whole bunch of green vegetables, wheat berries, and a delicious sauce. I've never had anything quite like it before! If you go, please order the Bao Bun (they have a vegetarian Bao Bun too)! I've read they have great cocktails, but their list looked lackluster to me. 

Myers & Chang

• Highlight: Bao Bun!!! The Green Monster was good too, a great option for vegetarians! P thought the ribs were pretty good. 
• Avoid: The vegetarian pot stickers with edamame. I'm pretty sure they were lined with wasabi flavored toothpaste. 

That will wrap it up for our first day in Boston! BUT THE COOOOOKIES FROM FLOUR!! ! ! ! ! ! ! I loved them. And I loved the charm of Beacon Hill. The End!  What are your favorite things to do in Boston?? What should I add to our list for next time?? Leave me a comment below!!