life, travel, stories – Join the journey, Love Raven
Dear Reader, Is it worth the hype? That’s the question I kept asking myself as more than one person talked up Cambridge’s A4cade. What is A4cade (probably pronounced “arcade”)? It’s a speakeasy-style, club-bar, arcade joint that has fancy cocktails and gooey grilled cheese sandwiches. That sentence alone is enough to entice me, but what is... Continue Reading →
Dear Reader, I’m peacing out of Boston pretty soon for the summer (more here), which is causing me early onset nostalgia for this city that is, hands down, just gorge. I’m usually a fan of words, but today, I’m going to show you rather than tell you why this Boston is lit af. So, without... Continue Reading →
Dear Reader, Even the most ordinary spaces can be grounds for adventure. The other day, my boyfriend and I convened for an unplanned late lunch at the Summer Shack in Cambridge, MA. We were seated outside beneath a tent under the bright blue, September sky and comfortable in the breezy, fresh air. The weather was... Continue Reading →
Dear Reader, Shopping during the pandemic has its challenges. When the lockdowns began in Massachusetts in March, we all turned to the internet for our needs and received our purchases through brown cardboard boxes in the mail. Amazon deliveries were so frequent to my apartment building that the storage lockers (where we sometimes receive packages)... Continue Reading →
Dear Reader, Clunky concrete buildings are so run of the mill in parts of Boston that it can be hard to see the beauty in the tedious industrialization. The Alewife bus and subway station is one such structure that blends right into the highway and office buildings surrounding it. At a glance, the Alewife station... Continue Reading →
Dear Reader, All dine-in service has been banned in the state of Massachusetts to help slow the spread of the coronavirus. While I naively thought that the governor’s proclamation only applied to bars and restaurants, in actuality the shutdown extends to all eateries--cafes included. Cafes are a place of community and commerce. While we all... Continue Reading →
Dear Reader, Where do the little pockets of culture lie in your city? Boston has a few different cultural centers including Chinatown in downtown, Lusophone neighborhoods in Cambridge, an Armenian constituency in Watertown, and Hispanic comunidad in East Boston among others (more here). Even where there is not a national or cultural community, many parts... Continue Reading →
Dear Reader, There was no winter this year in Boston. The Boston Globe made this pronouncement days ago citing unusually warm weather and fairly snow-free conditions all season. With just a few weeks before daylight savings, it looks as if we Bostonians may be able to make it to spring relatively unscathed. This weekend, we... Continue Reading →
Dear Reader, There is something sacred about cemeteries. When visiting a cemetery, guests must show respect by walking—not running—and generally keeping to themselves. In a cemetery, you won’t find buskers, chatty Cathies, or other dawdlers who can so often be found in public spaces. I recently visited the Mount Auburn cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts and... Continue Reading →
Dear Reader, Do you have a favorite coffee shop that you frequent? I have a top few that I rotate between. Having a regular haunt takes the guesswork out of your day. At best, it can be a convenient time-saver, however, at worst, it can trap you into a repetitive cycle. I so frequently get... Continue Reading →
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