I came up to Boston for a few days, with the main event being Dermot Kennedy at MGM Music Hall at Fenway. There is something pretty great about traveling solo for a concert, wandering through a city with nowhere you absolutely have to be, and just letting the weekend unfold around you.u

There is history everywhere, obviously. You can walk a few blocks and suddenly find yourself standing somewhere that played a part in shaping the country. But what I’ve really fallen in love with goes beyond the history.

It’s the neighborhoods. The old buildings mixed with the new. The pubs and restaurants tucked into places that feel like they’ve been there forever. The food. The accents. The people. The energy of Fenway on a concert night. The fact that the city feels big and alive without ever feeling completely overwhelming.

I spent the weekend wandering through the city on foot, taking in all of the history, architecture, witch-trial lore, oddities, and wonderfully weird corners of town. It was exactly the kind of fall experience I was hoping for, especially coming from Florida, where our seasons are basically “summer” and “slightly less summer.”

Between Boston and Salem, the weekend had a little bit of everything: music, history, food, exploring, people watching, and plenty of miles spent simply walking around and seeing where the day took me.

But the biggest takeaway from the trip was realizing just how much I genuinely love Boston.