Boston

Here's a few tidbits from my conference trip to Boston.

Some Italian dude with a big belly tried to get me to pay $12 for my salad (4 slices of tomato, a can of tuna, onions, basil, and olive oil) and $18 for the piece of grilled chicken he put on top of it for me, as if it were two separate meals.  I am proud of the fact that I was able to talk him down without the mob coming after me.  Italian restaurants in North Boston are not so gluten-free friendly!  I feel a little guilty we didn't go back there because I know Dave would have appreciated the pastries. 

We hit up the Union Oyster House later in the week and splurged for a nice meal with Dave's research group (my old group).  I got this "medium" sized lobster and a baked potato for $28!  I was in heaven!  The waitress was super polite, unlike all other food service I received that week.  I highly recommend this.

We also did the barking crab with Dave's family Friday night and we enjoyed crab legs, lobster, and other goodies.  Yummy seafood, cool ships.

I ate this dude.  He was tasty. 

Classic Boston dining.  I highly recommend it!

Dave pretending he's short.  Me looking like I need a haircut.

 We visited Cheers.  In typical Bostonian style, they were rude to us and angry that we had a large group.  The food was typical American fare, but surprisingly affordable.  They also had Woodchuck Cider on tap!  Score for the gluten-free freaks! 

I couldn't get my flash to go on, so Dave was trying REALLY hard not to fall off.

We walked back through the Boston Commons and took these pics near the frog pond, which apparently doubles as an ice skating rink during the winter! 
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My good friend NavyGirl does a Cheers and Jeers post every now and again, so I'm taking her idea and doing Cheers and Jeers to Boston, then there's more pictures below.  I'd divide this into two posts, but honestly, I'll just forget to post the second one, so here it is. 

Cheers to Boston for being totally tiny.  We could walk across the whole city in about 25 minutes, which we did, several times.  We only had two days to see the city after the conference and we probably put in 4 miles the first day and 6 the second.  Dave's parents are troopers for keeping up!  When you look at a map of the area, you might think it's like NYC, but in reality, we were able to be anywhere we wanted to be with very minimal effort.

Jeers to Boston's lack of working pedestrian crossing signs.  Why should I push a button and wait at an intersection for the white man if the light never actually changes?  I can't tell you how many times we played frogger on some busy streets.

Cheers to the Freedom Trail.  Even though this trail consisted of a few lame spots and other spots we had to either wait an hour for a tour through or had to pay to get into, which we didn't, this trail is literally a red stripe that leads you through all of the historical stops in the city.  It was so easy to just follow the red line to where we needed to go next.  I think all cities should have a trail for their tourists to follow!

Jeers to the lack of recycling bins.  Okay, so the hotel doesn't recycle.  Hotels in San Francisco totally recycle, so we are a little spoiled.  I get a pain in my heart when I throw away a plastic bottle, glass bottle, or a newspaper.  It happened over and over at the conference.  PATHETIC!  I thought it was just the hotel, but upon checking out the rest of the city, even the AMS headquarters, there was no recycling.  In fact, I brought home 4 newspapers and recycled them at the Denver Airport out of guilt. 

Cheers to Southie.  Our first four nights we stayed at the Omni Parker House, the longest running hotel in the country, and the home of the conference, but last three nights we stayed at a vacation rental home in Southie.  Despite imagining it to be kind of like Ben Afleck's "Gone Baby Gone," you know what?  The apartment was cute, the neighborhood safe, and we even went to an Irish Pub and didn't get any dirty looks.  It was easy to just grab the subway and get downtown in a matter of minutes.

Jeers to rain.  Not just rain, but thunder and lightning.  Where is a person to go when it's raining and your home is not nearby?  A bar, that's where.

Cheers to Kennedy's pub for keeping us dry and liquored up while it rained.  I particularly enjoyed the Milky Way Martini and the amazingly talented singer and guitar player who covered Mumford and Sons.

A beautiful day downtown.

Near the Quincy Market where we ate lunch every day.

Some sort of cherry tree with carnation-like blossoms.  Dave is flirting with a squirrel.

This picture seemed perfect until I noticed that woman on the right.  Thanks a lot, girl!

The aquarium had penguins!  And sharks!  And seals!  And huge sea turtles!

Alright, now that I'm done with my 4-day conference and 2-day vacation, I need a vacation!  It's finals week!  There is a break in sight!  Dave should be flying in any moment, my laundry is done, groceries bought, suitcase empty, and I'm hoping to get to bed early!  Time for a quick shower so my 8am final is a little less painful tomorrow.  Cheers!