The annual Jamaica Pond Lantern Parade with its Dutch cultural roots, started in Jamaica Plain in…read more1984, is a great community event and loads of fun!!! Open to everyone and anyone, as the sun starts to set on two evenings each year, hundreds if not thousands of people gather near the boat house at Jamaica Pond around 5:30pm for live music, hot freshly pressed cider, pastries, and empanadas. Some adults and many children arrive in their Halloween costumes. At 6:30pm the parade begins and continues around the pond with many people carrying lanterns. Lanterns were on sale for $5.00, $10.00, and $15.00 at the event. The lantern I purchased for $5.00 was a decorated two litter soda bottle with a candle glued to the bottom. Apparently there are lantern-making workshops occurring before the event in which you can make your own.

I can't believe Franklin Park had so many lights…read more IT's AMAZING ‼‼ The amount of detail and work that went into putting up these light displays is beyond even my imagination. It must take at least a month to install everything and then troubleshoot bulbs that don't work. If you have never been there, you have to go this is just an awesome site. I cannot believe that they only leave one month between the Boston lights and then the Christmas lights because they're gonna have to take everything down and then put all the Christmas lights up. I can't wait to go. I mean it's just gonna be amazing. Long in depth reviews, but for this one all I have to do is tell you to go and enjoy because it's amazing. I would like to tell everyone is to bring a snack with you or eat before you go because the concession stand is very expensive just a heads up. Put on a jacket and some gloves and get ready for the Christmas lights cause I am so excited to see what they look like if it was anything like the Boston lights you have to see it. It's amazing. !! I really didn't count to any staff actually I didn't even see any staff other than the girl that was in the booth and she was fantastic right on .

10 out of 10! We went at 5pm on a weekday and got to walk around 3 times with little to no crowds…read more It honestly worked out perfectly since the sun started setting at different points giving the light installation a different view each moment. Plenty of free parking. The staff were great and having pop up food and drink stations kept us plenty engaged. Pro tip: there is a red lantern riddle station, go there, answer 3 riddles at the white tent behind you correctly, and you'll get a small prize. The sohn is super small, but now you know! We will definitely be back again next year!

Roslindale Village got one of the first Boston parklet installations. Parklets are interesting city…read moreinstallations designed to create more outdoor and social spaces. They are usually constructed within 1-2 city street parking spaces. Popular in other urban areas, Boston is slowly rolling them out here. The parklet is actually at the intersection of Cohasset & Corinth right in the Village. The install seems to be a big success. It's rare to see it empty when walking by - there is almost always someone or a small group hanging out there. Fornax Bakery takes good care of it and someone always keeps the doggie water bowl topped up.

Pizza Bianca (9.5/10): Fantastic bread, bursting with aroma. Nice texture as well. We got the…read morestracciatella/tomato relish/balsamic/basil with it. Tasted SOO good. Very well balanced - I especially liked the stracciatella. Taleggio Capeletti (7/10): A bit too rich and too salty for my tastes. I think this dish just needed something to cut through the richness. Still really good nonetheless. Lumache (8/10): The chew on the pasta is impeccable!! The chew on those mushrooms is also insane. Texture-wise, this dish was a home run. For some reason, I kept getting hints of something resembling boar taint in the sauce flavor itself. Not sure why... I don't think there was meat? I feel like I would've given this dish a 10/10 had it not been for the hint of that flavor. Service was very friendly and fast. The restaurant is small, but the seating didn't feel too tight. Even though I gave it a 5/5, I actually don't know if I would come again. The pasta was very steeply priced for not that much food. Although the capeletti was surprisingly filling, I'd rather feel full on carbs than full on pure butter and cheese.

Another 10/10 visit to Tonino in the books!…read more It's such a hard reservation to get, but so worth it. I'm actually getting salivating while posting this review and looking back at my food pictures. I get the Eggplant & Ricotta Pizza as my appetizer and the Rigatoni Amatriciana as my entree each time I go - because they're consistently amazing. The service is always warm and friendly, and I also love the music playlist they play. Believe the hype & come to Tonino!!

Brookline is our home for the week as we visit our daughter in Boston, very walkable (though their…read moretraffic lights are confusing, no cars move while pedestrians walk, even in the same direction). People are friendly--2 guys were sitting on our rental stoop chatting and very politely moved out of our way as we left, apologizing though there was no reason to ;). We walked a mile to Whole Foods yesterday carrying our groceries home among the 4 of us. We passed the gorgeous public library and through some amazing residential neighborhoods (the architecture!) Great first impression!

If you want a free line of Coke because you have no money, then what you want is a Broke-line. And…read moreI'm sorry but unless you're a really sexy person willing to put out (in which case is it really free), then you probably won't find one. I don't even do drugs so don't look at me. Brookline is a really nice and fancy and relaxing City to the south west of Boston which is really part of Boston, let's be honest. You'll find lots of suburban niceties here but also some citiness and some cool stuff in terms of food and drinks and just in general I really like it here.

If you love street art and exploring, head here. Underneath the highway are several colorful murals…read morethat make powerful statements. Each mural comes with a sign about its story and artist. There's also a dog park and tennis court underneath the highway. Once done, head to Albany Street for a beautiful view of the skyline. It's also a short walk to Chinatown, which is worth visiting.

Awesome idea! A space not utilized turned parking area/art park. Don't want unwanted graffiti? Let…read morethem do it! This way you have beautiful art and a space for the people. You can park and then wander around the area. There was a dog park, seats along the water for sunbathing or just catching your breath! A lovely walkway lined with about 30 colored line leads you throughout the underground. Plenty of space to take in, relax and enjoy the art or the people you are with. I love graffiti! My husband heard about this and surprised me for Mother's day with a trip here with the kids. Thanks Boston for have a commissioned space for these artists. I love how you have given the people a great place and have also given the artists the ability to showcase their talents. Tips: wear sneakers, bring sunblock and snacks for the kids. No public bathrooms.

I don't usually review landmarks, but if frickin' santacon gets a local flavor listing, then the…read moreDorchester giant copper pear should too. This square has a bunch of random bits of art strewn about, including the notorious giant pear. It's kind of upsetting with this pock-marked wrinkly skin and weirdly long stem. But somehow all its weirdness just makes it that much more endearing. Kind of like Dorchester. I wouldn't say come here for the pear, but in the middle of eating at all the awesome little places around here, wouldn't stop to admire this, well, whatever it is.

Delicious food & delightful ambiance! The Lobster ravioli &…read moreveal parm are to die for. The Tiramisu is a wonderful desert to end your meal with.

We had a reservation and arrived on time. We had to wait an extra 1/2 hour for our table. Servers…read morewere polite but slow on taking our oerders. Food was average; wine was quite good. Eaten there 3-4 times in the past but don't remember those experiences being as mediocre as this last one.

Outside and inside seating It was beautiful night so we set…read moreoutside. Fairly extensive wines although mostly reds Pizza one of their specialities Others ordered specials of evening Pork tenderloin and seafood pasta Service great, European style in that they did not hover or rush us but were attentive

I'll need a second visit to Sophia's. I went during the heat wave (108° index) and there's no way I…read morecould sit outdoors in the blazing sun. Note: they don't have air conditioning inside either--but we were seated in a booth under a ceiling fan. It was tolerable. They did seem to gate-keep ice cubes--we had to keep asking for them. The calamari was pretty standard except for the cornmeal batter, which I enjoyed. The sausage, peppers & onions were delicious but I needed some yellow mustard to get the Fenway feel. My eggplant parm was saucy and delicious. The pasta is homemade. My date had the mussels over polenta--this is more saucey and less brothy. The heat really impacted my date night vibe and I'll have to go back in cooler weather. I thought the dessert choices were limited (only 3-tiramisu, lemon cake, and cannoli). Not a gelato or sorbetto in sight. Julie was an excellent server who checked back often and offered suggestions when we asked.