This post is not sponsored, but Westin Copley Place covered my stay, activities and meals. All opinions are my own, and thank you to Westin for having me, and to Cercone Brown for organizing!

Flying back from GRR, I turned on my phone (in the approved wi-fi only! Paranoid flyer here.) to see a text from my friend Christine asking if I wanted to go on a press trip to Boston with Westin Copley Place. I felt so lucky at that moment, en route to a trip with my best friend several rows up and an opportunity for another trip coming up. I’ve become one of those people (and yes, I recognize the privilege in this following statement) who feels a little anxious without another adventure on the horizon, and so I was THRILLED, even if I’ve been to Boston quite a few times. I, in turn, asked the PR team if there was room for Tina, and pretty soon we had a little party going on.

Westin Copley Place

Christine and I took Amtrak up to Back Bay Station, which was a quick five-minute walk to the hotel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was the view from my room on the 30th floor. #notmad

And this was my beautiful, sun-soaked room. Press trips are usually pretty packed with little down time…but I would have had some serious down time on this couch/ottoman situation. I don’t know about you, but I am also obsessed with the Heavenly Beds that Westin has. I have had terrible insomnia in the past year or so, and I slept like an absolute baby.

Isabella Gardner Museum

Our first stop once we got there was to the Isabella Gardner Museum, where we had lunch and took a tour. First of all, the museum is GORGEOUS. I mean, look at that courtyard. I was also fascinated by Isabella’s story and really want to read this book about her. After receiving a large inheritance from her father, she decided to use this windfall to collect art, and start this museum. Incredibly socially progressive for her time, she basically didn’t give a F, and I clearly admire that independent spirit. I could have wandered this museum for hours!

I know my mom would have loved the museum, so I was a little teary under my sunglasses.

That first evening, we attended a cocktail demonstration on the top floor with Westin’s mixologist. I am probably laughing at myself in this photo. After a cocktail too many.

Westin Copley Place Yoga with Rebecca Pacheco

Our next day started out with yoga in this gorgeous space in the hotel, taught by Rebecca Pacheco, a Boston-based yoga instructor. I LOVED her—she was really funny and easy to connect to and relate to.

AND we did some inversion practice! The extent of my inversion game is basically just shoulder stand, so I love practicing other stuff—so long as I’m supported. (Life metaphors in here, too, etc.) Only took two people to get me up. Whatevs. If you’re in Boston, I absolutely recommend taking Rebecca’s class.

I’m going to say upfront that I’m not really a tea person, but Tea Forte was super cool. Though, what am I doing in this photo? Praying? Meditating? Instagramming? Studying my tea? I guess I’ll never know. They gifted us after with this awesome tea-over-ice set, so that you can brew hot tea and instantly ice it. I’m kind of obsessed, and it makes me understand tea as a ritual more.

Boston Harbor Boat Tour

Honestly, one of the best parts of the weekend was catching up with my friend Tina.  We met through our blogs way back in 2010, and have been friends since. In the summer of 2011, she basically lived on my couch in the summer as we trained for (and then ran together!) the NYC Marathon! We are both the same kind of weird/goofy/anxious person, and when we get together, even if we haven’t seen each other in years, it’s like nothing has changed. Even if everything has changed. (The last time we really hung out, Tina had no kids, and my mom was alive. So. Tangent: My mom called her “The Carrot Lady.”)

We went on a boat tour of the Boston Harbor, and it was so much fun!

 

The best part of that, by far, was how close we got to Logan—it was crazy watching the planes take off and land. By crazy, I mean a little scary just how low and loud they were.

Since we technically were on a wellness trip, and Westin’s investing big in the wellness space, the next morning was all about their wellness program. They have a whole wellness schedule, a gorgeous new gym with TRX and a Peloton bike, and! a Run Westin concierge. In our case, it was Erin Sunderland, the marketing director of the hotel. I loved her, and talked to her a lot throughout the trip—as social media professionals and runners…we had a lot to talk about.

She guided us on a three-mile run around Boston, running past all kinds of local landmarks, like the Boston Common, Acorn Street (known as the most photographed street in America), and along the Charles, where I’ve done a few reallllly long runs.

Sorry this is a bit blurry, but here’s two routes the hotel provides for when Erin and the other concierges aren’t around.

We stopped at the famous Make Way for Ducklings statue, and I kept it weird, as I have since 1983.

 

I’m just always really happy to run?

We ran over the Boston Marathon finish line…which I know some of you will have feelings about… but it was really fun. I really hope to qualify for Boston and run it some day, so this was a really powerful visualization. Also, I am trying to win here. You can tell how hard I’m trying by how vigorously my ponytail is swinging.

I’ve been to Boston a lot, as I’ve lived on the east coast all of my life, but it was fun to do some of this touristy stuff and see the healthy stuff. In my 20s, I visited my college BFF here a lot, but I mostly just learned about cheap beer. Westin comped my stay, but I would absolutely stay here again on my own dime.

Favorite city near-ish you? Fave hotel chain?