(I was sad to hear that the “Cheers” bar at Boston’s Faneuil Hall Marketplace closed. The original one is still open.)

Making your way in the world today takes everything you’ve got. Taking a break from all your worries sure would help a lot. Wouldn’t you like to get away?  Hello, Cheers !

Yup, I needed to get away! Last week, I went to Boston,  Massachusetts for a quick day-and-a-half mother/daughter getaway with my youngest daughter, Samantha, before she goes back to school for her senior year (time flies!). It’s hard to believe that I haven’t visited Boston yet, considering I only live a three-hour drive south from Boston and have been to Worcester for my amazing, unbelievable Garth Brooks concert. I am the Virgin Traveler though and there are a lot of places I haven’t seen yet. I had a quick stay in Boston and tried to jam in a few fun things before we had to head back home.

Of course, the film and television lover in me had one goal in mind — to get to Cheers, the pub that inspired the television show of the same name and is also mentioned in my book! If you’re not familiar with the sitcom, it ran on NBC from September 30, 1982, to May 20, 1993, and starred Ted Danson, Shelly Long, Kelsey Grammar, Woody Harrelson and more. The show earned 111 Primetime Emmy Award nominations (wow!), with 28 wins. I loved Cheers — and it’s spinoff Frasier — and I wanted to sit at the bar and feel like the characters Norm and Cliff did — okay, maybe not Cliff. LOL

Founded in 1969 as the Bull & Finch Pub, Cheers Beacon Hill became the original inspiration for the setting of Cheers and, today, there are actually two Cheers locations — the replica is located at Faneuil Hall, so keep that in mind if you visit. They pretty much look the same and which one you visit really depends on your plans.  Now, I don’t know why I think like this, but I always think that a place is going to be different than it actually is — that Cheers will have a few locals in it like it does on television and I’ll stop by and feel like one of the bunch. I thought this way with Niagara Falls too — that there wouldn’t be a ton of people there. What am I thinking??? LOL It’s a tourist spot and Cheers is absolutely jammed with diners and those visiting their gift shop.

I did sit at the bar — nobody knew my name LOL — and ordered Diane’s pasta (left), a dish of pasta and veggies. They had a lunch portion size for under $10 and it was a perfect lunch size. I’m always grateful for that because it’s a) cheaper than a full meal which I’m not going to eat and b) prevents me from having leftovers that I have to worry about finishing on the road or finding a way to heat up in the hotel room (some hotels make that easier than others).  The dish was very tasty and the pasta and the veggies were very tender.

Samantha ordered a barbecued chicken flatbread pizza, listed under “Sam’s Starters,” so it was fitting! I snuck a taste and thought it was pretty good. I think I liked it better than Sami did though. After we ate, we went to the gift shop where I bought a t-shirt for my honey, a Cheers rootbeer, to go along with my Game of Thrones beer, and a Cheers magnet. I’m not big on a lot of souvenirs other than postcards and magnets, so this was perfect.

We didn’t have a ton of time to spend here, otherwise I would’ve tried more foods, had a drink and hung out a bit more, but I really enjoyed sitting at the bar in this iconic venue.

I don’t really have any tips for going because I really didn’t wait that long for a table, the food came pretty quickly, it was affordable and tasty. For more information on Cheers, visit https://cheersboston.com/locations.

The next time I go to Boston, I’m going to visit Wahlburgers, the restaurant chain of Mark Wahlberg and his family.  I wish I could’ve visited this time!

Where did I stay you ask? Well, let me tell you about this great hotel — the Aloft Boston Seaport District. In full disclosure, I was a guest of the Aloft that one night I stayed there, but I would never tell you I liked a hotel just because they gave me a bed to sleep in if I really didn’t like it. So, in all honesty, I loved it. It is a contemporary hotel and the rooms were super clean — my number one requirement. The beds were really comfortable and the staff was so nice. If I go back to Boston, I’m staying there again.

I’ll be writing a separate post on Aloft Boston Seaport District where I’ll share more photos, but in the meantime, head on over to their Instagram page and check out my story when I took over their account! So fun! Thank you to the staff for putting me up at the hotel and letting me participate in an Instagram takeover! I’ll definitely be back.

Don’t forget to check out my Reel Travels podcast.