Friday Ian and I had to work, so Karen and Jeremy were left to their own devices. Might I add that it rained, giving them a less than warm welcome to the city. They still managed to see part of downtown and Harvard, but MIT was elusive in the rain with no tour guide. We warmed up their spirits with the Pioneer Woman's Chicken Piccata recipe. And FYI, it's less messy to eat when you use penne instead of spaghetti. Promise.
Saturday we slept in before we ventured out into the beautiful day. Our first stop was Fenway, where we took the tour for only $12 a person — well worth it! The tour guide was fun with lots of interesting information, and we got to experience the field and the view from the green monster. Photography is completely unrestricted, so we took lots of photos!
After the tour, we stopped for some "chowdah" at the Union Oyster House. It was tasty, but a little bit pricier than we planned — future reference, it's a tourist destination, and you can get cheaper, just-as-good-if-not-better chowder elsewhere. Of course, other places can't claim the title of America's oldest restaurant. If you do go, split your meal — two bowls of chowder and four lunches was way too much for the four of us.
Stuffed, we crossed the street to the Holocaust Memorial — a must-see for everyone who visits us.
We continued on to the North End, passing through a farmer's market on the way.
We spent some time in the Old North Church and a little Italian pastry shop across the street, where we saw the end of a sledge hockey game where the US beat Japan to win the gold medal in the Paralympics — it was entrancing.
We finished up our outing with a stop at the harbor near the ICA, where we made friends with a goose.
Exhausted from walking and still a little full from lunch, we rode the green line back to Brookline and decided to have a nice light sushi dinner at Fugakyu. It was the best gastronomical decision we made the whole weekend. Even at 9:30 p.m. there was a wait, but they made up the time with how quickly the food came out after ordering. And wow was it tasty! On top of the delicious food, most of the tables are enclosed in little boxes that evoke rice paper doors and rooms in Japan. The servers are dressed in kimonos and wear the traditional white socks with black sandals. It's definitely going on the list of places to eat whenever we have visitors.
We finished out our evening with Pass the Pigs
and Bang: The Bullet
.Sunday we introduced Karen and Jeremy to Reunion, where we're starting a new 10-week series on "Becoming Who We Are" and followed it with a visit to Boloco.
Fox took over tour guide duties and we went to the Esplanade, Beacon Hill and the Public Garden before Karen and Jeremy packed up and headed to the airport.
Thanks guys, for such a fun weekend and giving us another excuse to be tourist in our own city. We can't wait for you to come back for a Sox game!
As usual, there are lots more photos on Flickr — check out the rest of Karen and Jeremy's visit here!