Soaking in the city

There's nothing like having out-of-town guests to make you see your city in a new light. First of all, we went to Friday night's Red Sox game, and yes, we stayed until the Yankees lost. We got sprayed with champagne by Josh Beckett

and watched Jonathan Papelbon dance a mad Irish jig on the mound -- and wander around with a Bud Light box on his head. Not bad for a first trip to Fenway, eh?

On Saturday, we wandered through the city, stopping at the historic Union Oyster House for oysters and Boston Lager, then at Mother Anna's in the North End, where we sat on the patio drinking Peronis and sopping up marinara sauce with anything we could get our hands on, including our hands. Next up was cigars and martinis at Stanza dei Sigari. The air was thick and stinky, and the Madonna and INXS on the stereo was a bit out of place, but our guests loved every minute of it. But then, they live in teetotal-ing Utah, where finding a drink can be a major ordeal.

That's never a problem here. Heck, in Boston even the professional ballplayers smash beer cans on the field.