Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Boston: Day 2

I started Day 2 by going to Tatte Bakery & Cafe which Annie recommended! It was supposed to be a quick 15 minute walk there but I took a small detour and ventured through the Amory Woods Sanctuary and the Halls Pond Sanctuary. It was so gorgeous inside and really peaceful to stroll through the area especially because it was warm outside. Inside Amory Playground, there were also so many people walking and playing with their dogs. All of the dogs were so well behaved!! None of them were on leashes but the dogs weren't going crazy chasing each other or running up to random people.

Amory Woods Sanctuary

Halls Pond Sanctuary
Flowers found in the woods













After awhile, I finally made it to Tatte and got the pistachio croissant (also Annie recommended!) and the mint lemonade. WOW! Seriously it was probably the best pistachio filling inside a croissant I've ever had. The mint lemonade was also pretty amazing. The balance of mint to lemonade was just spot on!


After my morning meal, I took the T to Boston Public Market and roamed around the area for a bit. I just LOVE public markets!! There are so many cool things to buy and it took all my self control not to buy something from every (non-seafood) shop.


The next stop was across the Charles River to see the U.S.S. Constitution. The Constitution was built in 1797 with the original intent to protect American merchant ships from pirate ships off the coast of North Africa. It was also a major ship during the War of 1812 and apparently never lost a battle! Inside the U.S.S. Constitution Museum, I read all about the battles that the ship won and saw what it was like to live aboard the ship in the 1800s.

The U.S.S. Constitution is the oldest ship in the U.S. Navy (so cool right?!) and is currently undergoing construction and refurnishing in the dry dock of Charlestown

I got to etch my name in the copper furnishing plate that will be going on the boat when it finishes construction in 2017. Next time I come back, I'm definitely looking for my name!

I also walked over to the Korean War Memorial dedicated to the soldiers who lost their lives fighting in the Korean War

After finishing up there, I walked over to the Bunker Hill Monument, which when I first saw it up close, thought it looked oddly like the Washington Monument. Inside the Bunker Hill Museum, I learned that the artist who designed the Washington Monument (built after Bunker Hill was erected) initially submitted a sketch for the Bunker Hill Monument. His design wasn't chosen though but eventually, a similar obelisk type of design was used. That's why the two monuments looked so similar! I debated for a long time whether I should hike 300 steps up the monument to get to the top and finally decided on doing it even though I'm not a super fan of stairs. Around step 250, I was really hating myself but that all disappeared once I got to the top and was able to see a near 360 degree view of Boston, especially the amazing view across the river into downtown. Pretty worth it!

Bunker Hill Monument a top a hill. What a cloudy, warm, and humid day!

Beautiful view from the top of the monument

Wind, so much wind!!!

After walking around Charlestown for a bit more, I returned back to Boston Public Market and wandered around it again (couldn't resist). I ended up getting an Almond smoothie from Mother Juice and ventured outside until I found the Cancer Garden of Hope which was a tranquil area located above all the hustle of the city below.

Cancer Garden of Hope with brick plaques surrounding it dedicated to those who lost the battle to cancer

It was almost late afternoon by this time so I walked on over to the Historic North End (Boston's Little Italy) and shopped along its Italian shops and restaurants. Along the way, I saw a house with 14 1/2 as its address, the skinniest house in the city of Boston, and Paul Revere's house! Annie and George found me in North End and we went to eat Panza, a Italian place, where I finally tasted delicious Butternut Squash Tortelloni. YUM! George got an entire plate of seafood pasta (yuck!) and Annie got a baked ziti which was yummy and super cheesy.


A total butternut squash win
Just so many mussels and shrimp and who knows what!!

Baked ziti with meatballs and cheeeeeeese

Finally, the BEST night arrived and we made our way to TD Garden to watch the Men's World Figure Skating Championships. After following ice skating for so long, I finally had a chance to go see it live in person! It was one of the best experiences of my life but also super nerve wracking as I was rooting for my favorite mens skater Yuzuru Hanyu to win gold! He ended up getting silver (sad me) but we were able to witness Javier Fernandez pull off probably the best long program in world championship history! He landed all his jumps cleanly, including three quadruple jumps. With a combined score of 317, it was the second best score in figure skating history and the best score ever at any world championships!

Ahhhhh!!!! Major freak out moment.

During intermission, I went downstairs and watched the live broadcast for Ice Network because CHARLIE WHITE and TANITH BELBIN WHITE!!! They are both skating royalty in ice dancing. Charlie White most recently won the Olympic gold medal in Sochi 2014 with his partner Meryl Davis and Tanith Belbin (now married to Charlie, aww) was a Olympic silver medalist in Turin 2006 with her partner Ben Agosto. 

Yuzuru Hanyu taking his bow. So lucky to see one of the best male figure skaters in history compete.

Day 2 logged in a total of 16,600 steps and was packed with so many activities that by the time we got back, I was completely pooped! But the Warriors were playing the Celtics so George and I stayed up pretty late to finish watching that game....sadly, Warriors lost!

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