Nobody does St. Paddy’s Day quite like Boston (except for actual Ireland, of course.) This past Sunday marked South Boston’s annual St. Patrick’s Day parade, with a slightly tweaked route because of the city’s lingering snow mound problem, and I had EVERY intention of making it to the sidelines to watch, clap, and cheer with everyone else- but with the on/off rain, packed public transport, and no place left to park by the time I’d made it into Southie- it was a lost cause. Sean and I ended up heading down to the waterfront, instead- where there was still plenty of Irish spirit on display and still plenty of coffee (sans-whiskey) to keep me going as the weather changed from rain, to sunshine, and finally to an insane amount of snow/sleet over the course of a couple of hours. Spring has to be here soon, right? RIGHT?!

Between Sunday’s festivities and the actual holiday falling on Tuesday, I had more than enough time to partake in the yearly traditions- like listening to a lot of Dropkick Murphys and The Pogues, and watching the first “Boondock Saints” movie while drinking a green beer. I understand those “traditions” might only be limited to my circle of friends and myself, but they just feel so right after all this time.

If I haven’t fled for the West Coast by this time next year, I will definitely be making it to the parade (on time) in 2016. It’s always a lot of fun and I highly recommend anyone visiting the city around St. Patrick’s Day to check it out. It’s just one of those things that everyone has to do at least once when they’re in Boston.

Speaking of- I’ve been putting together a “Things To Do in Boston” type of post. I’ve been debating doing it for a while now, but have only recently started the rough draft. I really love my city, and I’m often asked by those visiting for the first (or tenth) time what there is to do around here. There’s always the usual tourist-y things- like going to Fenway or following the Freedom Trail if it’s nice enough outside (no judgment here. Tourist-y stuff can be really fun sometimes!)– but there’s also a lot of really cool, interesting, and less-crowded places to visit, too. Plus, our bar and restaurant scene is pretty impressive!

I’m hoping to have the post up sooner rather than later- especially now that the nicer weather is trying so hard to fight it’s way through here!