Roadtrip up to BEANTOWN!

Last Friday at around 5:30pm, I was stuck in traffic. Friday afternoons are always the worst time for driving because everyone is in such a hurry to get home that tempers start flaring on the freeway. Fast forward to 9:15pm, and I was stuck in traffic once again, but this time Glen was behind the wheel. We left a bit after 8pm, thinking that we could beat rush hour traffic and all, but the GW bridge was clogged. So there I sat in the car, feeling ridiculously full from the ridiculous dinner that Glen’s dad fed me, but, I still got my shots in.

Once we passed the GW bridge, everything was smooth sailing. We arrived in Boston around 11:30pm and Boston College past midnight. After settling down, Amy took us down for some good late night grub at the dining hall- AKA wings, mozz sticks, chicken fingers, and of course, mint chocolate + brownie ice cream. Gotta love college late night eating.

And then, just 6 hours later, we woke up and went back down to the cafeteria. At 8am, there were already a swarm of people in the dining hall. I couldn’t believe how many people there were! Everyone was eating so healthy and in sweats. They probably all got back from running or practice. I think Glen and I were the only ones to get “regular” omelets. Most others got it sans the yolk. Maybe it was because I was hungry, but that omelet was among the top three I’ve ever had…

So an omelet, a blueberry Odwalla, and some potatoes later, we left to explore the campus. Honestly, visiting gave me this pang of regret, that I chose to go to a school in the city. Even if it was for that brief moment where I witnessed the winning touchdown or for those Sunday morning runs around the reservoir, sometimes I wonder what it would have been like to have gone to a traditional college. But then again, I had the time of my life in college, and that’s a difficult memory to just brush away.

Gasson Hall

We also went onto the football field. We had it allll to ourselves.

Afterwards, waited like 15 minutes for the T, or the “Charlie” to get into the city. The BC bus never came so we walked around the reservoir to get to the station.

There’s something about the T that just doesn’t make it feel like a subway. Maybe it’s not grimey enough. Maybe it doesn’t jerk and shake enough. Wait, I know, it’s not fast enough!

Once in the city, we walked through the Public, Commons, and onto Newbury St. Somewhere along the way, Glen got thirsty and wanted a Vanilla Latte. We stepped into a Starbucks along the side of a cobblestone path adjacent to the Boston Commons. That’s where I spied an almost finished French Press with two empty mugs and a canister of sugar. How rude.

And then, after visiting this little express shop, Glen got the urge for some espresso. We found a cafe along Newbury St. and stepped in. The shop was quaint and an aroma of chocolate and coffee lingered in the air. Notice how thus far, it’s Glen that’s been hungry. Not me nor Amy…

The barista working his magic!

If you go, get the Bavarian coffee. It’s iced coffee with chocolate and warm cappuccino foam. It’s the perfect icy treat after a long walk. Amy said it tasted like chocolate milk, but to me, it was more like a coffee chocolate shake. Still good for the price of $2 + tax!

And of course, they sell tarts and cupcakes with the blue Energizer bunny popping out.

I almost forgot- we passed by my favorite store! LIFE IS GOOD! They sell shirts with catchy logos and as always, a “Life is good” phrase is plastered somewhere on the shirt. Get one!

We wandered around for a bit and made our way to Quincy Market. Guess who we saw!

Yep, that’s actually a chainsaw in mid air!

It’s the Aussie street performer! Five years ago, when Amy and I visited some colleges in Boston, we saw him. He must rake in alot of money to still be here after all these years. And while he struggled to put his body through a tennis racket and juggled knives on top of a 12 ft. pole, this time, he had another trick in his bag. Juggling a chainsaw! I thought that was most impressive.

The show lasted for about 15-20 minutes or so. We stepped into the bustling market, which is essentially a glorified food court. We stopped at Boston Chowda, a popular attraction for all chowder lovers- except I wouldn’t know because I don’t eat that kind of stuff. Amy and Glen tried like three different chowders before deciding on the Butternut squash with crab meat.

Glen wouldn’t stop raving about how great it was. Amy couldn’t stop declaring how much she loved butternut soup. It made me feel like I was missing out on soup…

Does anyone else find that was funny as I do? All Glen needs is for his shirt to stick up! HA

We made a detour to the MFA, saw some art, and got really hungry. We were hoping to catch a late brunch, but at 3:30pm, yeah right. Eventually, we sucked it up and walked to Chinatown. We went into the first restaurant we saw because we were so hungry.

We got seated immediately, but it took them forever to take our order. We had to close our menu and put it in the corner of the table after what seemed like 10 minutes, but I’m sure it was only five. The lady was cheery at least.

What a waste. Someone left their leafy greens and sprouts for the garbo.

This would be the “vegetable pancake.” Definitely not a pancake. More like an overly greasy fried egg dough thing with more grease spilling out of it in each bite. DISAPPOINTMENT!

I guess you get what you pay for because that’s pad thai up there. If you’ve had pad thai, you know that’s not pad thai. That’s stir fried noodles with a lump of peanuts on the side and subpar pad thai sauce. And even if it was, it was it was sorta the worst pad thai I’ve ever had. But, I do have to admit, that’s being judged on a relative scale because I still found myself picking at it after I was full. All the dishes were under $8, so for the price, I can’t really complain.

Amy and Glen both ordered rice vermicelli with roast pork (or some variation). It sure looked good, but Amy said that it didn’t have any flavor. So she poured like spoonful and spoonfuls of the spicy hot sauce over it.

And that was essentially it. We were so tired after the meal that we skipped the Prudential Center, went back to Amy’s dorm, tried to convince Amy to live it up but failed, and finally decided to leave.

Anyway, even though Glen and I joked that you were a bad host, thanks for hanging out with us Amy!  Actually, even more important, thanks for feeding us with all that yummy but artery clogging food! We even bought you a Hallmark card, but in our haste to leave, it’s still sitting in my bookbag.

And thanks for driving Glen!

L’Aroma Cafe
85 Newbury Street
Boston, MA 02116-3087
(617) 412-4001

Boston Chowda
1 Faneuil Hall Mrkt Pl
Boston, MA 02109
(617) 742-4441

Pho Pasteur
128 Stuart Street
Boston, MA 02116
(617) 742-2436

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