higher learning

Our final stop before leaving Boston was the Harvard campus, which was two subway stops away from our hotel in Cambridge.

The campus was very pretty, and I liked how the vast majority of the buildings had a similar look and feel to them. I've never been a fan of the hodgepodge of buildings found on the campuses of the two universities I attended, BYU (total hodgepodge) and the University of Minnesota (not terrible). Of course, the downside to having all the buildings look alike is that it's difficult to find your way around without signs or maps. Harvard has few of either, so I'm sure it takes a while for new students to find their way around.

Harvard would definitely be a cool place to go to school, even without its reputation for being at the top of almost every discipline for which it offers courses and degrees. Cambridge also seems like it would be a very cool college town.

eating our way through new england

As is always the case when we travel, we overdid it a bit on the food. We always enjoy trying new restaurants and types of cuisine, and Boston and Kennebunkport, Maine did not disappoint.

Beef tips with peppers outside of Fenway Park. We had Italian sausage with peppers and a hot dog (they call 'em "Fenway Franks" inside the park, but they were just good hot dogs) inside the park as well, but didn't take pictures of that.



Pastries from Mike's Pastry, in Boston's North End neighborhood. This was our first taste of cannoli, which we probably learned about from watching "The Sopranos". We were expecting them to be soft, but the outside is actually fried, and thus firm and flaky.



We also had lunch in the North End after we finished walking the Freedom Trail. While we were sitting in the restaurant (Ristorante Damiano), I saw Italian guys in tracksuits hugging and clapping each other on the shoulder and doing the kiss on the cheek thing, just like you would see on "The Sopranos". Cool and creepy at the same time. Anyway, we had meatballs, gnocchi, risotto with peas and prosciutto, and spicy fettucine alfredo. The dishes were small and overpriced, but the food was great.







We had Italian for dinner that night as well. We went to the Harvard Square location of Upper Crust, a local favorite, for dinner. They had great pizza (we had a veal parmesan variety) and lasagna.





We had discussed driving to Providence, RI for dinner one evening, mostly just so we could add another state to our list of places visited. After we got to Boston, however, I remembered reading about New England's famous lobster rolls. I found an old NY Times articles on them, and got the address for one of the places they recommended, which happened to be in Kennebunkport, Maine. You've probably heard of Kennebunkport, as it's where the first President Bush has his vacation/retirement home.

President Bush's home is right on the ocean. I wouldn't mind retiring to a place like this.




Our second stop in Kennebunkport was Alisson's Restaurant, the place that had been recommended by the NY Times. We shared some rockin' clam chowder, a lobster roll, and fish and chips. Everything was very fresh and very good, but the chowder was definitely my favorite.









Kennebunkport is clearly a vacation destination for wealthier people. Many of the homes looked super expensive and there were lots of little clothing, food and craft shops. I definitely wouldn't mind living there.



We stopped for a snack in Portsmouth, New Hampshire on the way back. Too bad it was raining--it looked like a cool place to walk around.



We had dinner in Boston's Chinatown one night as well. That food was pretty good, but I was disappointed that when I ordered my beloved beef chow fun, they told me they had run out of the noodles (ho fun). They offered to substitute udon noodles, and I accepted. It just wasn't the same, however.

Boston definitely beats Minneapolis for interesting, tasty, quality food.

Special thanks to Staci for recommending Mike's, Ristorante Damiano and Upper Crust to us.

The Freedom Trail

We spent the better part of last Saturday walking Boston's Freedom Trail, which winds its way past historical landmarks in Boston and Charlestown, across the Charles River. The trail is marked by red paint or red bricks, and takes walkers past some very interesting places (most made famous by the Revolutionary War) and through some very cool neighborhoods. It rained a bit while we were on the trail, but it was nothing we couldn't handle.



Boston Common


Massachusetts State House


Park Street Church


Granary Burying Ground


Inside King's Chapel


Old State House


Mike's Pastry, a famous bakery in the North End (Italian section of town)


Paul Revere's house


USS Constitution, "Old Ironsides"


Becca checking out a machine gun aboard the WWII destroyer, USS Cassin Young.


Monument to the Battle of Bunker Hill, in Charlestown. If I was going to live in Boston, this area would be my choice. It's very cool.


If you visit Boston, the Freedom Trail is a can't-miss attraction. Highly recommended. Just wear really comfortable shoes and bring a wide-angle lens for your camera. My trusty 10-22mm lens was my best friend that day.

a visit to walden pond

One of our final stops during our Boston excursion was Walden Pond, which was made famous by Henry David Thoreau's "Walden", which I've started reading since then. In my own words, Thoreau was advocating a simpler life, where people could be happier and get closer to the essence of their existence by freeing themselves of their possessions and obligations, such as debt. If you're familiar with "Into the Wild", the protagonist of that (true) story was heavily influenced by Thoreau.

Anyway, we saw a replica of Thoreau's small, self-made shack, and spent some time walking around the pond and taking pictures. It's a beautiful, quiet place, and it wasn't difficult to see why Thoreau enjoyed his time there. I'd be happy to chop down a few trees and shack up there myself.

MFA: 2.5 hours and $72 later

Our first stop in Boston was the Museum of Fine Arts. We got raped on tickets and parking ($72 total--ouch), but we saw some very cool art, including a few pieces by Van Gogh, who is my favorite artist. We also walked through the special exhibition they had going, which was dedicated to the Venetian masters Titian, Tintoretto and Veronese. No photos were allowed in that part of the museum, unfortunately, but at least photos were allowed everywhere else. I found that a bit unusual, considering you usually get tackled when you try to take a picture of a work by a famous artist like Van Gogh or Monet.

The Museum:



A very cool piece depicting the seventh plague Moses unleashed on Egypt, by John Martin:



I wasn't previously very familiar with the work of Manet (not Monet), but I really liked his choice of colors and brush strokes:



Four Van Gogh works. I used to have a poster of the first:

Red Sox vs. Mets

Becca and I spent the weekend in Boston, and went to the Red Sox vs. Mets game at Fenway Park last Friday night. As you might expect, the park was very small compared to others that we've been to. There weren't many seats, and the seats they did have were small and cramped. Still, it was pretty fun to go to the game and listen to the Sox fans yell at the Mets fans and cuss up a storm the whole game. We shared a hot dog and an Italian sausage during the game, and bought a steak sandwich with peppers after the game. I took my telephoto lens and got an usher to let me into a box area to get some decent shots from the top of the stadium. The Red Sox lost, but it was still a good game. You know me--it's not like I really care anyway.