Students often get burnt out doing work during the middle of the year. It’s easy to get lost in schoolwork and due dates at Lexington High School, so taking breaks is an important part of self-care! 

One way you can do this is by taking a trip to Boston’s North End, nicknamed “Little Italy”, to experience Italian culture. A notable bakery located in the North End is Mike’s Pastries. Although they have a variety of pastries, they’re best known for their cannolis. When trying one myself, my taste buds were in a state of bliss. Eating good food made me forget about most of my worries. 

There are also a variety of other shops there, such as bookstores, a record store, and clothes stores. If you don’t want to spend money, there are many other things to do in the North End, such as visiting Christopher Columbus Waterfront Park, which is away from the commotion of the shopping area. Rose Kennedy Greenway is a great place to visit as well; it’s a large grassy area that you would pass by on the walk to the North End. 

Despite its wonderful food, there’s one big factor that we can’t avoid: the commute. The trip to North End from Lexington takes roughly an hour. At Alewife, you take the red line to Park Street, which takes around 30 minutes. After, you switch to the green line, and ride the T for another ten minutes until you reach Haymarket. The entire trip is also dependent on the weather, but even with warm weather, there’s a lot of walking around. It’s never fun to tire yourself out when you’re trying to have fun. To lessen that load, I recommend packing light for the trip and using a mini backpack. Regardless of all the cons this visit holds, you’ll still be able to leave North End with fond memories, wistfully wishing for a day when you can eat those same tasty cannolis in the LHS cafeteria.