On to Boston!

It’s off to another adventure, and today I am heading to Boston, Massachusetts, USA to visit some friends.  The greatest part of traveling, I find, is finding more excuses to do more of it.  I am visiting friends that I met while in Japan (members of the parfait hunting club, no less), and I will be spending nine days with one of their families—a more than generous favor that I might have trouble repaying.

This is my first time visiting a New England state.  The closest I’ve been has been New York City, so I’m not entirely sure what to expect.  About all I ever hear is how much snow they get in the winter.  That and all that we learned in American History class.  I’m a sucker for history—and the Revolutionary War is one of my favorite American eras.  So, I think it naturally follows that I will be seeking out what historic sites I can find.

Unfortunately, I’ve done very little research.  This summer is a busy one, and so this trip is unplanned.  I am counting on my friend to help me out.

Aside from my time in Boston, my friend Kelly and I will be driving up for an anime convention in Connecticut.  I brought with me my cosplay outfit (based on Neirenn from the webcomic, Inverloch), as well as the yukata I received as a gift while in Japan.  This is also my very first anime convention.  From what I understand, it’s filled with a lot of geeks who wish they spoke Japanese and play far too many video games and watch far too much anime.  Sounds like it’s just my thing, huh?

In any case, this should be an interesting trip.  At the moment I am waiting for my flight to depart.  I’m in Washington D.C. where I’ve had a 2 hour layover.  I bought a ceasar salad for lunch and am enjoying the view of the capital from my seat.  I can see the Washington Monument and the white house from here—which is pretty neat.  I’m a little disappointed I don’t have time to visit.  I suppose that’ll be another trip.

Ah.  They are starting to board.  Boston, here I come!

LATER…

Arrived in Boston’s airport where Kelly picked me up.  Right away I could tell that Boston is a town of crazy drivers.  Cars push their way into each other’s lanes with noisy honks.

Kelly and I got a bit lost through Boston on the way to her house.  We passed through a lot of the downtown area– including the City Hall, which looks like an upside down slab of concrete.  Kelly told me that a while ago, modern concrete buildings were a big trend in the area…resulting in a lot of strange, on the verge of ugly, architecture.  “Interesting,” I think is a better term for it.

Kelly actually lives across the bridge in Cambridge.  Cambridge seems a lot quieter, with smaller buildings and less traffic–but it is still very urban in a lot of senses.  Kelly lives in an older house that has since been turned into apartments.  Kelly’s parents own the whole complex, renting out the other rooms to different people for extra cash on the side.

I find her house to be simply adorable.  Their portion of the house isn’t enormous, but it is cozy, comfortable, and a place I could see myself moving into (at least for a portion of my life).  They are on the second floor, and comes complete with two bedrooms, living room, kitchen, one bathroom, a small pantry/closet, office, and an upstairs room for storage.

Kelly’s parents actually sleep on a mattress up in the storage room…though she can’t understand why.  I have been given her parent’s old room to stay in.  It is decorated in flower rugs and quilts, and I love the view of a tree outside the window.  A lot of air blows through the apartment, so the whole place is comfortable.  I’m rather enjoying writing here on my laptop, lounging on my new bed for the week.

Their kitchen is full of organic and healthy foods–which completes their quaint home, and I simply love it.  Kelly and I sat down to eat whole wheat bread and fresh mozerella cheese–slicing each with a knife to our fill.

We toured part of Cambridge, so that I would have a good idea of places I want to hang out this week.  First we visited “Inman Square,” where she showed me several greats places to eat.  Mind you, these are all places she’d mentioned while we were in Japan, so I was extremely excited to now have a visual.

First and foremost, is Rosie’s Bakery.  This place is just filled with cakes and cookies and sugar, and I have been told it is a place I need to try.  It is on my list, and as soon as I sample its delicacies, I will let you know.

Secondly, is the 1369 Coffee House.  It is a small, and extremely cute coffee house just down the street.  Compared to the million Starbucks that I’ve already seen hiding in Boston and Cambridge alone (I’ve already counted 5 today), this is probably a much better experience while I’m here.  Again, I’ll update date you when I know.

In any case, my first day in Massachusetts is also Kelly’s 21st birthday.  In the evening we met with her many friends (including two other girls celebrating their birthdays this month) and headed to Central Square to the Tavern in Central Square.  It is a sports bar and restaurant with dozens of televisions, skylights, and dark wood/metal lantern decoration.  The food wasn’t too badly priced, considering the amount of food that we got for it.  It ordered a Chicken & Pear sandwich, as well as a red sangria  (I loooove wine, and I loooove fruit.  Hence–sangria = love).   It was fantastic! I’m sorry I forgot my camera, because that’s something I wish I could post for you.  I did have a lot left over, though, and plan to eat this week.

As a table we also ordered several appetizers (mostly fries– maple syrup and the waffle variety), a pitcher of white kiwi and watermelon sangria, and fried snickers for dessert.  As a present to the birthday girls, we also paid for their dinners…the grand total for the 15 of us was: $412.  Wow.  I’ve never seen such a long list on a restaurant bill–nor such a high number! Each of us paid about $35…which, considering that included alcohol, appetizer, dinner, and dessert (with plenty left over), that’s apparently not too bad for Cambridge.

Stuffed and hardly able to move, we walked back to Kelly’s house.  We got the wireless internet to work on my computer, and then I was out like a light bulb.  Not a bad day, on all accounts. ^_^