Way back in September, Miek surprised me for my 26th birthday with tickets to see Rihanna in Boston — the show scheduled for March 10. We booked a quaint little Beacon Hill hotel through Jetsetter, and spent the next few months getting excited.

On our way down to the show last week, Miek got a weird 1-800 number call. It was Ticketmaster informing us of Rihanna’s “laryngitis” and need to cancel the Boston show. Slightly deflated <understatement>, we decided to keep driving and make the most of the weekend.

Despite dropping my debit card at the south-bound rest stop (and not realizing this fact until reaching into my wallet at a store on Newbury Street…), and mourning the canceled show, we still had a pretty fun time. A lesson for me in “going with the flow” and taking things as they come. When you’re with your best friend and it finally feels a smidgen like spring, few things can completely dampen spirits.

Some highlights:

1.) The snug Beacon Hill Hotel and Bistro. Gray-walled and archetypically “New England”, this hotel had class without being pretentious, comfortable rooms despite being small in footprint, and a world-class staff. The spunky blonde bartender gave us waters and sodas for free after an afternoon of walking the city, and the front-desk concierge stopped up late-night and fixed our Direct TV with a smile. Owned by an American and a Swede, the hotel is undeniably European. A nice departure from the “big box” hotels that pepper the city.

2.) Laughing at the ridiculously haughty and pompous worker at Levi’s. Look, I know you’re working on Newbury Street — the self-proclaimed “Rodeo Drive” of Boston — but come on, you’re hocking denim. The wardrobe workhorse. No matter how “museum quality meets boutique” you say they are, they are still jeans. And I found better ones for $10 at the Forever 21 down the street.

3.) Running through the chilly North End streets after dinner to pick up to-go cannoli at Modern Pastry. Miek lived in Boston during college, but had never been to this family-run Italian joint. It was well worth the wait.

xo Al