Boston Baby!

I’ve just got back from my last flight of my reserve month. I was rostered home standby from 3am – 9am and around 4 o’clock in the morning I got a call from crew control letting me know I’d be heading to Boston! I was pretty excited, as I’ve never flown to Boston before and I knew it would be wintery and snowy there.

I quickly packed my suitcase, got ready and made my way to our headquarters. The Boston flight is operated on a 777-300, which is exciting as I haven’t done a US flight on the 777 since I worked in economy! I was particularly looking forward to the CRC (crew rest compartment, our little bunk beds) as it’s so much bigger than on the A380!

Flight time was 13,5 hours, and we were kept busy most of the time. Once we arrived in chilly Boston (1 degree!) a few of us arranged to meet up for some dinner. Since none of us knew the area, the concierge recommended a restaurant called Legal Seafood. There seem to be a few of them around Boston, so we got a taxi to the closest one to our hotel.

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And since we were in Boston after all, it seemed only right to order a lobster roll! Delicious ๐Ÿ™‚

The next morning I woke up super early (always the case in the States, as there’s a pretty big time difference from Dubai) and headed to the gym. I’ve been trying to get back into my fitness and have been making sure to take my gym kit with me on layovers and actually use it, rather than letting it sit in my suitcase! I’ve especially been loving the Nike Training Club app, which has some great workouts which are really easy to follow.

After my workout I headed to breakfast, where I decided what my plan of action for the day was. Since none of the other crew were up to much due to the cold, I planned to take the hop-on hop-off trolley bus tour. At $37 it was a little pricey, but since I didn’t know my way around the city I thought it would be a good option.

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My first stop was the one closest to our hotel, the Boston Tea Party Ship & Museum. The trolley ticket actually includes a free ticket to the museum, but you have to do a little tour which takes 45 mins – 1 hour and I just missed the start, so I decided not to wait around for the next one.

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I hopped back on the bus and got off at stop number one, which was the area where Quincy Market is located. It’s a historic market complex in downtown Boston, which was constructed in 1824! It’s like an indoor market, full of all sorts of food stalls. I was still completely full from breakfast so I didn’t stop to try anything, though the bus driver had recommended getting some clam chowder from there.

I had a walk around the area, and it was lovely and snowy! There were also plenty of shops there, although surprisingly enough (for me!) I didn’t actually do any shopping.

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After a good walk around, I got back on the bus for a little tour til the next stop.We drove past Little Italy (which I most definitely would have stopped at had I been hungry!), the USS Constitution, the Boston Massacre site, and plenty of other interesting sights until my next stop, Boston Common.

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Boston Common is a central public park which dates back from 1634. It’s the oldest city park in the United States! It had a lovely blanket of powdery snow, and since it was the weekend, was full of families and people out enjoying the sunshine.

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I crossed over to the other side of the park, called Public Garden. It contains a large lake, and in warmer months you can find the famous swan boats there. Supposedly there are real life swans as well, though I only saw geese and ducks!

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I walked back to the bus stop and got back on the next one that came along. I decided to go up to the top of the Prudential Centre, which is a shopping mall that has an observation deck on the 50th floor. It was a bit of a rip off at $17, but a nice panoramic view of the city anyway.

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The bus then took me around some more of the pretty streets of Boston, and crossed the Charles River onto the other side, Cambridge. If you want to you can get off here and take the train to Harvard University, but since the last bus goes at 4 (and my wake up call was 7pm!) I didn’t have too much time to spare.

I stayed on the bus until it took me back round to where I started. I walked back to the hotel enjoying the last of the crisp fresh air I’d have for a while (luckily the flight back wasn’t quite as long as on the way over, only 11,5 hours!) just as the sun was starting to slowly go down.

Since I hadn’t eaten since breakfast, I thought I’d order one last lobster roll before it was time to head home. After all, who knows when I’ll eat lobster again! I also ordered a small bowl of clam chowder to try, and it was pretty tasty. Definitely not the healthiest of trips, I’ll be back on the salads now! ๐Ÿ˜‰

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All in all a thoroughly enjoyable trip, and a lovely way to end my reserve!

 

P.s. Follow me on Instagram & Twitter for more day-to-day updates of where I am in the world! ๐Ÿ™‚

 

27 Comments

  1. February 28, 2016 / 1:18 pm

    Hi Rachel! Writing from South Africa – and your blog is really great, thanks.

    I was wondering if you could write about packing your suitcase, I saw that you had a 6 day trip to Aus and then shorter layovers and I always struggle to pack less stuff in my bags! So any advice would be appreciated. What are CC baggage restrictions?

    Thanks โ˜บ

    • thedubaidiaries
      Author
      March 7, 2016 / 10:21 am

      Hi there! Thanks so much for reading. Yeah I can definitely do that, I did do a packing blogpost a while back but I have a few things that always stay in my suitcase. Next time I have a multi sector trip I’ll try and do one. We have the same baggage restrictions as passengers, 23kg I believe! ๐Ÿ™‚

  2. Porchรฉ
    February 24, 2016 / 12:45 am

    Hey Rachel! Just wondering I was on an EK flight last month and saw a few CC wear trousers. I thought EK had gotten rid of these? Or maybe I was seeing things lol!

    P x

    • thedubaidiaries
      Author
      March 7, 2016 / 10:12 am

      Hi there! The only ones that get issues trousers are the CSA (cabin service attendant, the girls that look after the shower spa in first class) but occasionally some girls get issued trousers if they have a medical issue (my guess is knee problems or something they’d need to cover up but doesn’t stop them from flying!).

  3. Ji Hyo
    February 21, 2016 / 12:52 am

    Hello, I noticed the airline suddenly included a requirement of minimum 160 cm whereas before it was just minimum arch reach of 212 cm. Would you know why this is? I’m 5 ft 2.5 inches and I’m planning to apply in the near future and this worries me a bit.

    • thedubaidiaries
      Author
      March 7, 2016 / 10:10 am

      Hi! Sorry I can’t help you with that one, I have no idea! Good luck ๐Ÿ™‚

  4. Eleanor
    February 20, 2016 / 11:49 pm

    Hi Rachel! Can you do a blog post about your makeup routine and fitness regimen? ๐Ÿ™‚ Thanks!

    • thedubaidiaries
      Author
      March 7, 2016 / 10:10 am

      Hi there, that’s a great idea! I’ll try and get someone to help me take some pictures for it ๐Ÿ™‚

  5. phil
    February 17, 2016 / 11:43 pm

    hi rachel

    iยดve heard that the company provides you accomodation free of charge, on the other hand they can enter your apartment any time also without letting you know in advance. is that true? or have you ever had bad experience?
    its just a rumour i hope.

    thank you bye

    • thedubaidiaries
      Author
      March 7, 2016 / 10:08 am

      Yes they do provide accommodation free of charge, however they wouldn’t enter you apartment without notice. If they do enter it’s for maintenance issues such as repairing the washing machine/fridge/oven, things like that, but you have to give prior approval. The only other time they’d enter is if you were getting a new flat mate and they were preparing the room for them for example.

  6. sairus
    February 15, 2016 / 9:35 pm

    hi rachel

    emirates open day in my hometown 3 months before iยดll turn 21 is there a point in going or should I wait that months to be 21 already at the date of the open day?
    …and how was is in your case?

    thanks ๐Ÿ˜‰

    • February 16, 2016 / 10:51 pm

      I went about a month before my 21st birthday! You never know, it might be worth a try ๐Ÿ™‚

  7. afaf
    February 15, 2016 / 9:11 pm

    hi rachel
    in the next section you will please tell us that we must buy in memory each city thank you

    • February 16, 2016 / 10:50 pm

      I usually buy a magnet if it’s my first time visiting that city …my fridge is quite full already! ๐Ÿ™‚

      • celma
        February 17, 2016 / 1:20 pm

        ok thank you ๐Ÿ˜‰

  8. ravi
    February 15, 2016 / 5:21 pm

    Do pilots also get accommodated in same hotels of cabin crew? when ever u say the crew went for sight seeing does it include pilots as well??..This is one of the best blogs I read about cabin crew n their life style n I appreciate your attitude to focus only on the positives of the job!!!!
    As u have written t a detailed report about what happens inside the aircraft..pls do a report about a turn around flight report this time!!!

    • February 16, 2016 / 10:50 pm

      Yes of course they stay in the same hotel! Sometimes they come with us to go sightseeing/for dinner, sometimes they don’t! Glad you like reading my blog ๐Ÿ™‚

  9. celma
    February 15, 2016 / 4:49 pm

    Hi rachel
    I discovers your blog today and i love it your are so stunning and nice , i am from algiers algeria and marseille in france sorry for my english is very bad but i learn actually english and read your blog help me a lot ๐Ÿ˜‰ god bless you

    • February 16, 2016 / 10:49 pm

      Hi there! Thanks for reading, I’m glad you enjoy my blog ๐Ÿ™‚

  10. Anonymous
    February 11, 2016 / 11:15 pm

    Hello Rachel,
    I really can’t get enough of this blog, you’re way of writing is so simple and classy. What I enjoy the most is your panoramic view from each country, they are magnificent, please don’t ever stop posting it feels like am sharing seeing the world with you. I know I should stop at that but am so sorry I do have one question and feel free not to answer. During flights do you choose the tasks you do on board? for ex. do you choose to serve food instead of drinks? I know that there is a briefing before flight bus do crew members switch their tasks?!
    Thank you so much!

    • February 16, 2016 / 10:48 pm

      Hi there! Really glad you like reading my blog ๐Ÿ™‚ Hm no you just kind of share the workload so everyone does a bit of everything ๐Ÿ™‚

  11. padma
    February 11, 2016 / 1:17 am

    hello rachel,

    does wake up call mean that someone really calls you?

    looking forward to your next post already bye ๐Ÿ˜‰

    • February 16, 2016 / 10:47 pm

      Yes either someone from the hotel reception or it’s the hotel’s automated wake-up call. In either case the hotel phone in your room rings ๐Ÿ™‚

  12. gabrielseed
    February 10, 2016 / 8:34 am

    Loved your post as usual and especially all of the awesome pictures. Random question, and my apologies if you’ve answered before. Who takes all of the pictures with the poses of you?

    • February 16, 2016 / 10:47 pm

      Glad you enjoyed the post! Either I ask a random stranger or I put the camera on self-timer, haha!

  13. Anonymous
    February 9, 2016 / 10:35 pm

    Nice job of Boston! One of our daughters went to school here so I have visited many times. For such a short trip to Boston- I think you did an awesome job at seeing much of what it has to offer. Boston is a great place for young people- it is full of energy. Boston Strong!

    • February 16, 2016 / 10:43 pm

      Glad you liked the post! I really enjoyed Boston, especially as it’s a bit smaller than lots of the US cities we fly to so it’s a bit easier to explore ๐Ÿ™‚

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