The weekend following Chris and Kelly's wedding, Stewie came to visit. She's a teacher and took advantage of her well-earned fall break to join us for a renowned New England autumn. On Friday, she walked the Freedom Trail and stopped at Mike's before joining us at Zaftig's for an evening of conversation and Jewish food.
We spent Saturday and Sunday zipping around Boston — Harvard, Beacon Hill, the Public Garden, the aquarium, SoWa Open Market, and Chinatown.
Megan and I both enjoy taking lots of photos wherever we go, so we spent a lot of time in the more picturesque areas of our walking tour, snapping away. It's fun to have a comrade-in-camera!
Megan left the weekend plans up to us, only requesting a trip to H+M. A word of advice — avoid this store on weekends if you prefer an under 20-minute dressing room wait or desire a relaxed shopping experience. Thankfully, that was our last stop of the day and were in no rush. Lesson learned.
Unrelated (I think), we've been informed the world will end on Dane's birthday this year (hour: still unknown). It's a Saturday, which is a little dissapointing — I'd rather be raptured on a Monday.
At the SoWa Open Market, Ian and I picked up some handmade soaps (his and hers).
All the shopping triggered an appetite. Thankfully the market also hosts food vendors. Ian and Megan opted for barbeque pulled beef and pork sandwiches, respectively. I indulged my comfort food itch with a gourmet grilled cheese — Cabot cheddar on hearty french bread, and shared dessert with Ian. I'll be experimenting with banana + marshmallow + nutella grilled between two pieces of bread.
For a 4 p.m. snack, we received a lesson on olive oil, complete with tasting. To my tastebuds' surprise, we learned for olive oil, as for wine, weather, location and fruit ripeness have a big impact on flavor. And yes, you can tell a difference.
We walked through Chinatown on our way back to the T, then decided to call it a day. We went home, opened a pomegranate, and watched Top Chef: Just Desserts over some cheeseburger pasta and Mike's cannoli. A relaxing end to a great weekend.
Stewie — thanks for visiting, and we hope you had a great time in Boston!
For more photos, click here.