Arts

The Best of Boston

Shopping Boston has so many places to shop, but the best place is Newbury Street. Newbury Street is the 5th Avenue of Boston. It has an excellent selection of high-class stores, spanning from Burberry London to Rugby Ralph Lauren, as well as smaller, less expensive boutiques and restaurants. The streets surrounding Newbury also have great shops, including the world famous Louis Boston. While taking a break, I recommend eating at Ciao Bella, a quality Italian Café located about halfway down the street. The Aquarium After you finish shopping, make sure you check out The New England Aquarium. It is one of my favorite places to go in Boston. Not only can you see a penguin exhibit, but you can also see thousands of fish and other marine life as you walk around an enormous vertical fish tank. General Admission to the aquarium costs $18.95. “They had this jellyfish exhibit that was really cool,” said Molly Shoemaker ’08, who recently visited the aquarium. “It was kind of nice to do something really unpretentious and simple.” If marine life is not something you are fond of, you can walk next door and visit the largest Imax screen in New England to see shows such as “Sea Monsters” or “U2 3-D.” No matter what, be sure to stop by Legal Sea Foods afterward. Right across the street, it offers some of the best clam chowder and fresh-baked rolls in the city. Boston Duck Tours The Boston Duck Tours are one of the most unique experiences you might ever have. A World War II amphibious landing vehicle, a combination of a boat and a truck, carries you around the city of Boston to see all sorts of historical and interesting sights. What makes the trip so special is that you travel not only on land, but also in the water. The tours are currently closed for the season, but will reopen in late March with a ticket price of $25. “They are a great way to tour the city while having a really fun time,” said Elizabeth Kelley ’11. Restaurants One of my favorite things about Boston is its vast selection of restaurants. Whether you are looking for seafood, Italian, Mexican or something else, Boston has it all. One place that you should be sure to visit is FiRE and iCE. This restaurant perfects ‘made to order’ by having you create your own plate of food. Here is how it works: after you are seated, you proceed to a bar with almost everything you could ever want to eat on it: meat, fish, vegetables and fruit. Similar to the stir-fry at Uncommons, you take what you want in your meal off the bar and put it on your plate. Then you hand your plate to a chef and they prepare your sauté with any sauce you want on a circular grill right in front of you. Furthermore, the atmosphere is a colorful combination of classic, modern and high-energy. Make sure that you make reservations before you go, because the wait at FiRE + iCE can be unbearable. But believe me, it is worth the wait.