You wrote it, I believe.
Edit: No apology necessary. Your posts are informative, entertaining and fun. But I can do without the gratuitous vulgarity. I’m funny that way.
I know.
And by the way, it’s not just the Irish. On St. Paddy’s Day, everyone is Irish. So, they are not the only ones “hurling.”
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Absolutely true. It’s an excuse for people of all backgrounds to let loose in however way they please in Boston and nearby.
I stay away…far away. Meaning, I stay at home!
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Bad though all this is – and I agree with all the sentiments above – I submit New Year’s Eve on the streets of Edinburgh as a worthy competitor. I was there once and when two bottles went whizzing past my head in quick succession – apparently that’s how you dispose of empties – I went home. Early next afternoon, people were still staggering around, and one of them was hanging upside down out of a window. There were only a couple of flights from Edinburgh to London that day, both operated by English pilots who flew up then back.
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That’s why January 2 is a holiday in Scotland as well as the 1st. The country as a whole needs 48 hours to recover 
As a Boston ex-pat here, I’d say Hogmanay (NYE in Scotland) just slightly out-wilds St Paddy’s Day in Boston. Though I’ve been told Up-Helly-Ya fest in Shetland out-parties the both of them 
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Thanks so much, everyone! We have heeded your warnings.
Here is what we decided:
Thursday night - reservations at Oleana
Friday - early lunch at Select Oyster; dinner at haley.henry (both reserved)
Saturday - breakfast at Flour; dinner at Myers & Chang (reserved). We have nothing planned for lunch this day, and would welcome any ideas. We plan to spend the day wandering, going into used bookshops and stores, walking.
Sunday - pickup pastries at Flour, pick up something from Eataly for lunch before or at airport
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If we end up with nice weather for Saturday and you’re up for a walk, I’d recommend walking through the North End and then over the N Washington Street bridge* to Charlestown Navy Yard. The Navy Yard has a cool view back on downtown and you can get very good sandwiches from Dovetail right there for lunch.
You can also catch the MBTA ferry back (it goes into Long Wharf) if you’ve had enough steps for the day! It’s a steal for a pretty ride.
*The bridge is under construction but the pedestrian path was open and quite safe when I took it a few weeks ago. More local folks can chime in if that has changed.
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I eat corned beef and colcannon at home. I love St Paddy’s, and I might wear green, but I have never taken part in the sloppy type of celebration in NYC or Boston. I have been in NYC on St Paddy’s several times by coincidence, and I manage to avoid the sloppy parts.
I might enjoy a green donut , though.
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I agree, that MBTA ferry between the Navy Yard in Charlestown (Charlestown like the North End is a neighborhood of Boston) and Long Wharf, location of the aquarium, is a beautiful, short, cheap boat ride with spectacular views of the city. You can pay on board. Saturday forecast is partly cloudy, no rain, high 56 degrees. Go up the steps on the boat for outdoor seating.
I’ve never eaten at Dovetail (I think I remember that digga might have) but have often enjoyed their sister restaurant Brewer’s Fork (also in Charlestown but not that close to the Navy Yard). Dovetail serves brunch on Saturday and they also have a shop with take out sandwiches and other food.
There is another restaurant near the boat dock, Pier 6. It has great water views and ok, not great food. They serve brunch on Saturday.
We have walked past the outdoor wine and beer garden near the boat dock, The Anchor. The setting is enticing; the food looked so horrible we didn’t investigate.
https://dovetailcharlestown.com/
I can’t comment on the North Washington St. Bridge situation.
Have a great trip, PP!
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I have been to both Dovetail (we only got food from their market and everything was great) and the Anchor (go only for drinks). While Charlestown is a fun suggestion, I think that’s a bit too much ground to cover to get from there and then to the South End for dinner at Myers + Chang (one of my favorites in Greater Boston; I hope it’s still good). Especially if time is short and they may have to compete with drunk folks for an Uber/Lyft/cab.
Depending on which flour location @pistachiopeas and friend are going to for breakfast, it might be nice to wander around Beacon Hill/Charles St/Public Garden. There should be no drunk fools hanging out in that part of town. The Liberty Hotel at the top of Charles St is kinda cool and has several food options. There is also a Tatte location on Charles Street which I think @sallyt mentioned earlier.
Hope you have a great time. Feel free to post real-time questions.
ETA: the Harborwalk is a nice stroll. If you like museums, you could pop into the ICA (but it’s small and I have sometimes felt underwhelmed; good museum shop, though). Restaurants are a bit touristy, especially near the aquarium. The only place I’d recommend is the Sail Loft and it is a dive and will be crowded this weekend.
The Seaport gets a lot of flak and rightly so, but I still think it’s fun to walk around there. Anyone have experience at Chickadee?
I wish Harvard Sq was still charming. Hardly anymore bookstores/interesting shops left standing. But walking along the Charles River on the Cambridge side of the river is still an iconic Bostonian experience.
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I’ve had a good meal at Chickadee. Committee is very good and Nautilus in the Seaport is excellent. @pistachiopeas , lmk if you go to Nautilus and I’ll make some recs!
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Oooh, yeah! Go there, even just for a drink. The building used to be a jail and there are lots of artifacts and photos as decoration. I had a work event there several years ago, it was an amazing venue and I’ve been looking for an excuse to go back!
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Chickadee was quite wonderful on several occasions I went, all pre-pandemic though, so dated information.
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If they take the T ferry between the aquarium and Charlestown, they can avoid Uber competition. It’s about a 30 minute walk from the aquarium to Myers & Chang. But there will be lots of St. Patrick’s revelers.
Rodney’s, the used bookstore that was in Central Square, Cambridge pre-pandemic, relocated to 23 Church Street in Harvard Square last September. No website. And the independent Harvard Bookstore on Mass. Ave is excellent, including a large selection of used books, many from university presses, in the basement. The huge Harvard Coop bookstore isn’t bad for a Barnes and Noble.
The Grolier Poetry Bookshop is still at 6 Plympton St. Open only Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, 11 - 7.
But digga is sadly entirely correct. Harvard Square is a very faint version of what it used to be even a few decades ago, and unrecognizable from what I first encountered in 1973, when there was a bookstore on every corner and quirky independent shops.
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Just hijack a car.
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While one can walk from the North End to the Charlestown Navy Yard via the N Washington St bridge, a much much more enjoyable way to walk between the two is to leave from just to the west of Lovejoy Wharf (roughly where Alcove restaurant is), and cross over the Charles River Dam via the Gridley Locks footpath (don’t forget to play the Charlestown Bells!!) which brings you into Charlestown and the Paul Revere park. Walk ahead and to the right, passing under N Washington Street, then proceed straight ahead on Constitution Road into the Charlestown Navy Yard.
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