BOSTON AND PROVIDENCE IN 3 DAYS

A DOUBLE SERVING OF NEW ENGLAND: There are an almost unlimited number of possible travel itineraries for New England: beaches, islands and mountains; cities and towns; food and drink; forests and parks; art, museums and galleries; professional, winter and water sports. It’s all there and more. But, New England also is personal for me. Its two largest cities hold a special place because of family connections and my own experiences and major life events. My late parents were born, grew up and married in Providence. I earned a degree, ran a marathon and got married in Boston. Being Red Sox fans (Bo and Paw) is the tie that binds, of course.

Obviously, Boston and Providence more than warrant a separate visit dedicated to each city. Both are dynamic and fun and interesting and historical and really offer something for everyone. I recently spent a long weekend visiting with family and friends in both places, which allowed me to shuttle back and forth, and so what follows is a taste of these two cities if you had but a weekend to sample both.

It’s less than 50 miles from the gold-domed Massachusetts statehouse atop Beacon Hill in Boston to the all-white marble Rhode Island statehouse, presiding over Providence. Though similar in age and their New England pedigree, they otherwise are very different capital cities in size and character and history.

Boston, of course, almost needs no introduction as one of America’s most iconic cities, known for its politics, sports fans, world-famous cultural institutions and prestigious institutions of higher education. Yet, it simultaneously can be a very down-to-earth, rough around the edges kind of town.

The rabble-rousing founder of the Rhode Island colony established Providence, which just celebrated its 375th birthday. Roger Williams, who also established the very first, First Baptist Church in America, did not get along all that well with the Puritans of the Massachusetts Bay Colony because, in part, he really took religious freedom and an anything-goes mindset to the limits (in the Puritans’ view anyway). Following a long period of prosperity based on shipping and manufacturing, Providence slipped into a period of decline in the first part of the 20^th Century, earning a reputation for corruption, organized crime and a premature declaration of its demise. Providence later emerged victoriously from a much-reported renaissance.

Today, Providence is an exciting, historic and youthful capital and college town. This city of about 200,000 (with about 1.5 million in an MSA that includes a swath of southeastern Massachusetts) has adeptly harnessed its tremendous resources, human and otherwise, to create a very fun and progressive and livable place, focused on the future but with its tremendous history proudly on display.

BOSTON - EXPLORING BEYOND THE HUB: When I first arrived in Boston to attend graduate school at Boston University Law School, I briefly was confused by the reference to the “Hub,” which I noted in the newspaper article headlines. All was revealed when I learned that “Hub” was a reference to the city itself, as in hub of the universe. A touch arrogant? Perhaps. But, in many ways, Boston is its own universe. The heart of the city is so stuffed with history and cultural attractions and colleges and professional sports and monuments and shopping and dining, it’s possible to forget that Boston presides over a dynamic region of more than 4 million, and that much lies beyond the central core comprised of downtown, Beacon Hill, the North End, the waterfront, Back Bay and the South End. At the same time, there are plenty of reasons to stay close in. The city’s many attractions don’t rest on their laurels, changing and expanding over time. Case in point, the famed Museum of Fine Arts, located just to the south of the Back Bay and between the Northeastern University and the Longwood medical campuses. Already a world-class museum, the MFA in 2010 debuted a new wing dedicated to the Art of the Americas. This stunning addition beautifully showcases the MFA’s collection of American and colonial art.

Yet, part of Boston’s appeal does lie beyond its core, in the outlying neighborhoods and nearby towns and cities, each with their own personalities and histories. Beyond the city limits, Cambridge – home of course to Harvard and M.I.T. – is a key visitor destination in its own right. There’s also Newton, Brookline, Lexington, Quincy and, a bit further out, the seaside towns on the North and South shores. But, within the city limits of Boston, there are several great neighborhoods to explore. On my most recent visits, I have been hanging out with good friends who live in West Roxbury, and they have been introducing me to a few of their new haunts in some of the city’s less-visited residential neighborhoods.

On a recent April visit, my friends picked me up at my hotel, the Taj (formerly a Ritz Carlton), which sits across the street from the beautiful Public Garden in the Back Bay and we headed to Dorchester. One of the city’s oldest neighborhoods, Dorchester was an independent city until it was annexed by the City of Boston in the 19^th Century. Throughout its history, Dorchester was known as a neighborhood of Irish immigrants. Today, that strong Irish presence prevails, but it has been augmented by new waives of Caribbean and Southeast Asian immigrants, as well as by the growing presence of some of the city’s GLBT residents. Dorchester also is home to UMASS Boston and the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library at Columbia Point, which offers spectacular views back over Boston Harbor and the city skyline.

A great neighborhood place for dinner and, later in the evening dancing, is D Bar on Dorchester Avenue. The menu is reasonably priced and eclectic, and the friendly service makes this a very enjoyable night out, particularly in warmer weather when the outdoor patio is open.

A little further out are two other neighborhoods showing new signs of retail and gustatory life as the search for affordable, close-in housing brings new residents and demand. Jamaica Plain, or JP as locals call it, was one of Boston’s original streetcar suburbs and today is a diverse residential community with immediate access to the city’s Emerald Necklace, the string of inter-connected parks designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. On a recent Saturday evening, my friends and I had a delicious, locally sourced meal at 10 Tables on Centre Street in JP Centre. As the name suggests, the dining room is small, but the owners recently took over the adjoining space and added a laid-back bar where a meal also can be enjoyed. On our visit, I also benefited from Boston’s quirky local laws. It seems as if 10 Tables did not yet have a full liquor license, but that did not prevent it from distilling its own “cordials.” Result being, the Thai Basil Gin Martini made on premises was as tasty as the food.

Yet another outlying Boston neighborhood with its dining and retail scene seeing new action is Roslindale. In Roslindale Centre, centered on Washington Street, are a number of interesting shops and good places to eat. For an intimate meal with good friends, try the delicious Italian trattoria fare at Sophia’s Grotto on Birch Street, where I can personally vouch for the pumpkin sage ravioli and calamari. Three different neighborhoods, three restaurants and three new items to add to my endless list of reasons why I love Boston so much.

“DIVINE PROVIDENCE:” Roger Williams named the Rhode Island capital to give thanks, as the story goes, for God’s divine providence in delivering the religious colonist and his followers from the less than hospitable Puritan neighbors in neighboring Massachusetts. Nearly 400 years later, I think he’d be impressed with his city. Having survived much, Providence today is a great visitor destination and a perfect base for exploring all of the Ocean State. There is much to see in this the smallest of U.S. states. To learn more about the founder of Rhode Island and his ideals for religious freedom, stop by the Roger Williams National Memorial on North Main Street.

Although you will need a car to explore beyond the city, central Providence is compact and many of the its highlights and attractions are within easy walking distance. There are several lodging choices downtown, including the reopened and once-again grand Providence Biltmore. On my most recent visit, I stayed at two of the city’s newer hotels. The Renaissance Providence is a smart, luxury property housed in the former Masonic Temple and immediately across the street from the Statehouse.  The service is warm and efficient and its Temple Bar is a great place for drinks or a meal. I spent my second night in town at the Hotel Providence, a stylish boutique hotel housed in two historic buildings along Westminster Street, historically one of the city’s main retail avenues.

Although Providence’s department stores of my parents’ generation are long gone, Westminster Street today houses several interesting local stores. Eno is an intelligent liquor store selling a well-chosen selection of wines and spirits, including a tasty cranberry-infused vodka from Martha’s Vineyard. Across the street is the small but well-stocked Symposium Books; a locally run bookstore always speaks well of a city, in my view. Next door is Tazza, a coffee house, bar and restaurant that’s a good place to take a break throughout the day. Today’s retail scene downtown is dominated by the nearby Providence Place, which is anchored by JC Penney, Macy’s and Nordstrom, with several floors of national retailers in between, such as Apple, Banana Republic and Brooks Brothers.

Providence has always been a town that took its food seriously. Layered on top of New England seafood staples were the delicious contributions of the city’s Italian, Portuguese and other immigrants. Moreover, one of Providence’s many assets lies in the fact that the city is home to the main campus of Johnson and Wales University, a leading culinary school. Many of J&W’s students and graduates have stayed on, adding to the dining scene. Today, there are a number of diverse dining options, both downtown and in some of the adjoining neighborhoods. Among the current top dining options in central Providence are Al Forno, Local 121 and Gracies.

Looming immediately to the east of downtown – and a comfortable walk back downhill – is College Hill, home to some of the city’s most historic streets and two of its most famous institutions, Brown University and the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). The Rhode Island Historical Society offers walking tours of this beautiful neighborhood. During my recent visit on a sunny December weekend, I took my own tour, walking from the statehouse through downtown and up the hill to the Providence Athenaeum, an independent membership library that opened its doors in 1838. Next up was the RISD Museum of Art. In addition to its place as one of America’s premier art schools, RISD also is home to one of the most important art museums in New England. Along with its extensive permanent collection and varying temporary exhibitions, you also might see some of RISD’s current students’ creations. There is a well-stocked gift shop for some unique Providence souvenirs.

I then made my way across the beautiful campus of Brown, an original Ivy League member founded in 1764 and the seventh oldest college in the United States. After checking out the Brown University Bookstore and the shops lining Thayer Street, the main retail strip on College Hill, I grabbed lunch at Café Paragon, where the chicken pesto Panini and sweet potato fries hit the spot.

After a really fun, late night catching up with my cousin, I went for a run the next morning. Leaving the Renaissance, I made my way past the statehouse to the path lining the Providence River, where the city’s famous Waterfire is staged in season, and south towards India Point, where the river empties into Narragansett Bay, before circling back to my hotel. After cleaning up, I headed out in the direction of Wayland Square, a great place for local shopping on Providence's east side. I found some cool cufflinks at Milan, a men's clothier, and picked up some Christmas presents for the cook in my life at the Runcible Spoon, a unique kitchen and entertaining store featuring the hand-blown glass of Simon Pearce. As I prepared to leave town, I made a quick detour to Federal Hill, Providence’s Little Italy, to check out the storefronts decorated for the holidays. More good food awaits in this neighborhood immediately to the west of downtown.

For the next trip. There will be more trips – to both cities. They both are in my blood in too many ways.

DECONSTRUCTING LOS ANGELES

CHOOSING YOUR SLICE: It took me several visits to warm up to Los Angeles. There was the sprawl and the endless traffic. Also, it always seemed such an impossible assignment to try and capture this massive and intensely complex city during the time span of a single weekend’s visit. By contrast and with some planning, Manhattan and the Chicago Loop are so much more manageable for a few days. Oh, and for me, there also was the question of why I would choose to surround myself with a population who, on average, are fitter, more well-tanned and better looking than most of us mere mortals in less screen-tested locales.

In the end, it was a 7-week work assignment a few years back that flipped a switch for me. Getting to live like a local, albeit out of a hotel room, for a few weeks allowed me to make a few important discoveries about Southern California. Most importantly, I simply needed to break down L.A. into manageable slices. In doing so with each opportunity to visit, I would be much more likely to really explore and enjoy a particular slice of America’s second city. Plus, there would be the correspondingly obvious need to return for more slices. I also discovered that, while Angelenos may be on the whole fitter than other regions’ denizens, they also have an obsession for burger joints, hot dog stands and food trucks, which made me feel less – well – lacking in self-control. What follows is a recent weekend visit’s order from the very tasty and extensive menu that is Los Angeles.

BREAKING IT DOWN: Weighing in at 3.7 million with a MSA population of nearly 13 million, the City of Angels is bigger and more populous than several states. It is its own world-scale economy with powerful sectors in entertainment, publishing, shipping, manufacturing, finance, healthcare and education. It’s also a potent and exotic mix of different races, backgrounds and cultures. One of the most interesting discoveries of Los Angeles for me was realizing that, while Hollywood may be the city’s signature industry projecting its images across the globe – and it’s a vitally important one – L.A. is much more than Hollywood – economically, geographically and culturally. Something I really like about Los Angeles as an East Coaster is that it represents the modern face of immigration in the United States. I think that’s a good thing, by the way. Just as New York, Boston, Baltimore and other Eastern ports of call welcomed – or at least admitted – immigrants from Europe and parts of Asia in the 19^th Century, Los Angeles is the face of 20^th and 21^st centuries’ immigration. The city is home to the largest number of any number of fill-in-blank-Americans, including Mexican, Vietnamese, Korean, Iranian, Salvadoran and others. The result is that L.A. today is a fascinating place to visit and experience a unique Southern California culture that is comprised of a great mix of languages, music, food and art. Way back in 2007, I ran my last full marathon – so far – in L.A., and the musical entertainment along the route included a Korean rap singer, which pretty much more than paid for the pain and suffering I endured on that particularly steamy March day.

In breaking it down, the choices and options admittedly are dizzying. Beaches, mountains or museums? Tracking the stars or getting a dose of the city’s unique cultural cocktail? High-end browsing in Beverly Hills or upscale consignment on Melrose Avenue? And, which neighborhood: Downtown, West Hollywood, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Culver City, Los Feliz, Silver Lake, Pasadena, Century City, Venice, South Central, the Westside, San Fernando Valley? You really can’t go wrong. In the end, it’s all good, so don’t worry. There will be another slice.

FIRST UP: DOWNTOWN AND LOS FELIZ: A conference brought me to town on my most recent visit. The conference was in Hollywood, but I decided to stay downtown. This is the historic center of the city that is defined today by the confluence of L.A.’s infamous freeways and, until recently, it was considered a moribund, dead-after-dark destination. Not anymore. Today, downtown is pulsing with a combination of old standby neighborhoods like the Garment District and Little Tokyo, a clutch of new hotels, restaurants and bars, and premier entertainment centers like the Staples Center – home of the Lakers and Clippers (NBA), Kings (NHL) and Sparks (WNBA) – part of L.A. Live, a large, multi-use entertainment, dining and lodging complex.

A number of trendy and/or luxurious hotel outposts have opened in recent years, including the Ritz Carlton Los Angeles and the Standard. I went with an old-school choice that nevertheless was totally up-to-date. The Westin Bonaventure Los Angeles is one of those, oh-so-70s cylindrical tower hotels that has managed to stand the test of the time with some very recent updates and renovations. A law school pal joined me for the weekend, so we splurged and upgraded to a suite, which gave us two pie-wedge-shaped rooms with a western view that included the Hollywood sign. It should come as no surprise that the hotel gym was expansive and packed every morning. Located just off the 110 Freeway, the Westin also is just two blocks from a Metro station. Yes, it's true; Los Angeles has a mass transit system. Granted, it does not get you to all the destinations you might seek, but it is well used and delivered me between the Westin and the conference hotel for about $2 and within 15 minutes, far less time and money than a cab ride would involve. Also, the subway stations and trains were clean and well patrolled. I really felt in on a real local secret: I rode the subway in L.A.!

Back above ground, one of the trends of the moment in trend-setting Los Angeles that was on full display downtown during my recent visit is the prohibition- or speakeasy-themed bar. There are several choices but, with a recommendation from relatives, my friend and I cleaned up after drinks in the Westin’s bar and headed to Edison, a bar lounge and restaurant getting high marks for its inventive, artisanal cocktails and featuring a clandestinely appropriate side alley entrance in a former facility of Southern California Edison. But, it was not to be. My bad in that I wore a recently acquired shirt from an earlier trip to Berlin, which was maybe cool but collarless, so I was denied admission. At first, I was annoyed, but then I realized I had just checked off a quintessential L.A. experience: not making it past the velvet rope.

We recovered quickly and had dinner at the street-level terrace restaurant of the nearby Standard, a sleek hotel housed in a former office building. My burger and fries was simple in design, but deliciously L.A. in its indulgent execution. My friend and I walked back to our hotel on a pleasantly warm evening with the streets still full of residents and visitors, and began planning for our first, full weekend day.

The next morning, I headed out for a run to work off some of the prior evening’s indulgences. Los Angeles is a perfect running city from a climatological perspective, but it can be a challenging place to find a pedestrian-friendly route. Not so downtown – at least on the weekend. I left the Westin and headed north on Figueroa Street for a short loop through the still-quiet streets that featured some famous landmarks, old and new. First up was the Walt Disney Concert Hall, the striking home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Designed by Frank Gehry, the Disney Concert Hall is all waves of stainless steel. Even if you’re not attending a concert, there is an outdoor garden with the Lillian Disney Fountain where visitors can enjoy a picnic lunch or just take a quiet break from the hectic city beyond. Continuing north, I looped past the Cathedral of Our Lady of Angels, the mother church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, which serves more than 4 million parishioners. The cathedral, which opened in 2002, is a beautiful and striking example of modern Gothic. It’s also one of the largest churches constructed worldwide in more than a century. Around the corner from the Cathedral is the iconic City Hall, familiar to many from its many appearances in movies and television shows. I then turned south, passing the Museum of Contemporary Art, which features a collection of American and European art created since 1940. I finished up my run with a final loop south through the Garment District, which with the right guide, can be a fruitful destination for well-priced jewelry and clothing.

Because my friend had never visited L.A., I was psyched to have the chance to serve as a tour guide for a city in which I have never lived. One of my favorite neighborhoods to show off is Los Feliz-Griffith Park. Los Feliz, located north of downtown and just off the Golden State Freeway (I-5), was hot a few years ago. And, while the trendsetters may have moved on, it remains a very desirable and close-in residential area with great restaurants and local shops along its two main drags, Vermont and Hillhurst avenues. And, then there is the park, one of the largest urban greenspaces in the country. One of my all-time favorite things to do in Los Angeles is to drink in the views from the fabulously Deco Griffith Observatory. You can’t just visit once either; there are the daytime views of downtown, Century City, the Hollywood Hills, including the sign, and the San Gabriel Mountains. In fact, in clear weather, the daytime views can stretch as far as Catalina Island. But you have to return to enjoy the brilliance of peering out over Los Angeles at night, carpeted in lights as far as one can see. I just don’t think I could visit L.A. and not make a stop here.

After making our nighttime visit to the Observatory, my friend and I had a great meal at Vermont Kitchen and Bar, which serves a well-executed and reasonably priced menu that includes flatbreads, several fish and meat choices and, on this visit, a delicious goat cheese ravioli in truffle oil. Other good dining options include Trattoria Farfella, a pasta place on Hillhurst, or the House of Pies Coffee Shop back over on Vermont. If you still have room, there’s also a branch of Pinkberry, the now-exported L.A. frozen yogurt sensation, near the intersection of Vermont and Sunset Boulevard.

GETTING OUT OF TOWN: Perhaps it’s counter-intuitive, but I have found that planning one day out of L.A. – even on a brief weekend visit – can help you manage your time and visitor fatigue in the city. There are lots of choices. You can stay relatively close in and check out Malibu (technically, you’re still within Los Angeles city limits) with its beaches and the Getty Center, or maybe head to the beaches of neighboring Orange County. You can head inland for a quick fix of desert rat-pack lifestyle in Palm Springs, or you can travel by car or train to San Diego to sample all that city’s many charms, including kid friendly destinations like the world-famous San Diego Zoo or, our son’s personal favorite, LEGOLAND in neighboring Carlsbad.

For this trip’s escape, we chose to head north to Santa Barbara, self-described as the American Riviera and a favorite getaway for Hollywood A-listers. The two-hour drive up Highway 101 takes you mostly along the spectacular Pacific Ocean coastline. Our first stop of the day for a late breakfast was in Montecito, a wealthy seaside village just to the south of Santa Barbara whose homeowners include Oprah. The village has a shopping strip just off the 101 that includes several good dining options, upscale clothing stores and a number of art galleries. Later in the day, we would return to Montecito to enjoy drinks and the lovely ocean view from the terrace at the Four Seasons Santa Barbara, a posh and well-maintained resort oozing old California style and charm.

In between, we headed to downtown Santa Barbara, a popular destination for shopping, walking and dining. State Street, which runs directly from the oceanfront beaches, is the main drag, but shopping opportunities are present on the adjoining streets, as well. Although today it’s lined with mostly chain stores, including branches of Macy’s and Nordstrom, State Street also offers some good restaurants, bars and art galleries, as well as the small but well-curated Santa Barbara Museum of Art. Just outside downtown is Old Mission Santa Barbara, one of the most important members of California’s historic chain of missions built by Spanish explorers in the 18^th Century, and which just celebrated its 225^th anniversary. It’s well worth the time to explore the mission and learn more about the role of missions in exploring and colonizing California. One other Santa Barbara must-do for which we unfortunately ran out of time is jumping into the delicious debate over which is the best taco joint in the city. Julia Child once tipped her hand to La Super Rica, but there are several other competitors that have helped make Santa Barbara a taco destination.

BACK IN TOWN, GO WEST: The freeway traffic on the drive back into Los Angeles from Santa Barbara, even on a non-rush hour, weekend day, was a grind, so we bailed when we got to the San Diego Freeway (I-405) and exited onto Sunset Boulevard for a more leisurely trip back downtown. This brings me to an important travel trip I learned while on the ground for 7 weeks. Despite the presence of a Metro system, you’re going to need a car in Los Angeles. Unfortunately, L.A.’s freeways are old and overcrowded, day and night, every day. It’s therefore easier and far less frustrating if you can plan your route using local, surface streets. This also makes spur-of-the-moment stops easier. Once off the 405, we found ourselves in the wealthy Westside neighborhoods surrounding the beautiful campus of the University of California, Los Angeles. Continuing east on Sunset, we passed through Beverly Hills, with its manicured luxury, and West Hollywood, a key center of Gay life in Los Angeles, before ditching the car at Melrose Avenue, a street of trendy and alternative shopping stretching between LaBrea and Fairfax avenues. Although it may have lost some of its edgy appeal with the inevitable arrival of Starbucks and clothing chains, Melrose Avenue still has some only-in-L.A. local shops, including some excellent consignment stores. And, believe me, what people to take to consignment stores in L.A. is not what you might find back home at your local used clothing store. On this visit, however, we focused our retail energy at Fred Segal, the local trendsetter for women’s and men’s clothing. It’s the kind of a place where you can spend $150 on a casual men’s shirt to wear with jeans, but also pick up retro, hip sunglasses for 10 bucks.

The next day, we left downtown and again headed west, stopping for lunch and some additional retail therapy on Robertson Boulevard. Beverly Hills has Rodeo Drive, but I prefer nearby Robertson Boulevard, which is adjacent to the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Given the fact that I mostly am looking and not dropping large amounts of cash when visiting such centers of high-end retail, Robertson Blvd. offers lots of great stores with a lot less attitude. Among its offerings, there’s a really cool Chanel concept store, a well-stocked Ted Baker branch where I liked basically everything, an outpost of London’s Allsaints Spitalfields, and one of my favorite Los Angeles stores, Kitson. It’s actually three stores along the boulevard, one each for kids, men and women. Kitson is not a department store, but it does offer a fairly extensive and well-chosen selection of clothing, accessories and gifts.

We rounded out the final day of this visit by going as far west as possible. Santa Monica is a beautiful, affluent beachside city surrounded on three sides by Los Angeles. In addition to being a beach resort destination in its own right, there are plenty of places to shop and dine in Santa Monica if you’re staying in other parts of the city. We were there to take a stroll on its famed pier, jutting into the Pacific, and watch the scene on a brilliant September afternoon. The pier includes amusement rides for the kids, street performers, tacky souvenir joints and a several places to have a drink or grab a bite to eat. The people watching was excellent and the scene of surfers and beachgoers against a backdrop of mountains and ocean was spectacular on the day of our visit. Although there was more to see, including taking a walk on the beach, my friend and I were due back downtown to meet my cousins for dinner. So, we made the drive back to our hotel and talked about what we might see or do when we next returned to Los Angeles. And, I know I will. Much like New York, London or Paris, Los Angeles is a world-class city that warrants repeat visits to further explore its many charms and diversions. You just have to break it down and accept the fact that you will always run out of time before you exhaust your list of “to-dos.”