Bah-stahn, Baby

The leaves are about to change colors. It’s about to get a little colder, a little more blustery. You’re going to see more people in Bruins jerseys holding medium sized Dunks’ cups. Boston in the fall, man. It’s a sight to behold.

Before planning your trip to Boston, choose your dates wisely. You absolutely, one hundred percent, do not want to go on September 1^st. In fact, if you’re currently in Boston, don’t even leave your house. This is when thousands of moving trucks and disgruntled parents flock to Boston’s streets to move in their precious college kids. This bombardment is city wide. Avoid at all costs.

But, post move-in day, Boston is lovely.

Boston is a walking city. The public transportation system, the T, is easy to navigate for newcomers. But, if you start around the Boston Common, you’re within walking distance of your perfect Boston day.

Just in between Emerson College and Suffolk University’s campuses is Brattle Bookshop. You can prowl around its outdoor shelves, digging for old copies of old favorites from English classes long past. It hosts over 150,000 of used, rare and out-of-print titles. Once you’re done shopping for books, stroll down Washington Street until you hit Congress Street.

A few blocks down Congress Street, you’ll find Faneuil Hall. Faneuil Hall is excellent for street performers and watching tourists fall off their Segways on the cobblestone streets and very little else. If you’re hungry, avoid the temptation to eat at Faneuil Hall’s food court. The Founding Fathers wouldn’t want you to eat a subpar $17 lobster roll.

Instead, venture down to the North End and feast. Giacomo’s will have the longest line, but some of the best pasta in New England. As a snack for while you wait in line, check out Mike’s Pasty or Modern Pastry. Their cannoli based rivalry is Boston’s equivalent of the Montagues and the Capulets or the Hatfields and the McCoys.

Spend the rest of your lazy day around the North End. Here, you’ll see Paul Revere’s House. You can also see the Old North Church where two Boston patriots were charged with hanging lanterns in the steeple, “One if by land, and two if by sea.”

Boston is a city for walking. Even if Boston is about 25 percent college kids, that’s no reason you can’t enjoy the college specials. And if you no longer have your dingy college ID to take advantage of that dollar-off deal, hang back and check it out. There’s gorgeous college campuses with painfully smart kids with large backpacks hurrying around. There’s excellent dive bars and even better sports bars. Where else are you going to find such dedicated and loud-mouthed fans? Boston is a city for 20 somethings (but in the best way possible). Even if the rent is painfully high, the beer is dirt cheap. And isn’t that what really matters in the end?