Posted on

Arrivederci Boston

We have really enjoyed our last few days in Boston. We highly recommend staying in the North End (Little Italy). It’s beautiful, tasty, and easy to walk/bike/metro to anywhere.

We’ll close with some pictures…

The Holocaust Memorial.  Each of the columns represents one of the concentration camps. The number of each person killed in the camp is painted on the glass.

Posted on

Ivy Leagues and Major Leagues

Yesterday DawnO and I celebrated our anniversary ‘Boston Style’ and it was wicked awesome.  DawnO started off her morning with a phone in radio interview and I got to sleep in a bit.  I informed Dawn that her anniversary present is waiting for her when we get home.  It’s a Venus fly trap!  I know, I know, it’s hard to believe how I came up with a gift that was practical and romantic.  (Thanks to Claire for finding it and taking care of it until we get home.)

We eventually got organized and headed to Harvard with both sets of parents.  We took a tour of the grounds which were quite lovely.  It was interesting to learn about all their traditions, superstitions and history.  For example, women didn’t receive the same degree as men until 1999.  How do you like them apples?
Afterwards we made our way to Fenway Park to watch the Red Sox take on the NY Yankees.  We got there early so we could enjoy our time at Fenway.  DawnO got to have her foot long dog (happy anniversary, indeed) and ‘crack beer’ while I enjoyed some park nachos and ‘gluten friendly’ pizza.  The game was great, though the Sox ended up losing.  The crowd was the most entertaining part for us.  I’d tell stories but I’m trying to keep this PG-13.
All-in-all we had a great day.  Tonight we’re going to have our official anniversary dinner  while our parents go to the ‘Book of Mormon’ musical.  I plan on having some New England clam chowdah.
And now for the pictures!
Apparently touching this dude’s foot brings good luck.  Immediately afterwards, DawnO lost her subway pass.  Good luck?  You decide.
The red chair marks the longest home run ever hit at Fenway.

Posted on

I kissed a girl…

Today was the running of the 118th Boston Marathon, and I was lucky enough to be a part of it. What a cool experience. The weather was perfect for me (aka a bit too hot for most people). There was a moment of silence in the athlete’s village for those who were killed or injured last year, but really the focus was on ‘Boston Strong’.

My goal for the race was to enjoy it. I was not focused on time, though of course along the way it’s hard to keep it out of my mind. As requested by my male (of course) running mentor/friend Terry, I took a picture of myself kissing a girl at Welsley College. This is a tradition, and it was serious. At least 300 girls held signs of different varieties (“kiss me I’m Italian”, kiss me I’m a first year”, etc, etc.). I chose one that said “kiss me and you’ll run faster”!
I felt really great up until the last 2-3 miles (pretty much the usual for the marathon), and finished with my second best time of 3:24:41. It was great to have a big cheering squad (robO, my parents, robO’s parents), plus all of those who were cheering while tracking online!
We spent the rest of the day wandering around, then I had a great dinner at Quincey Market, followed by a cannoli from the famous Mike’s Pastry.  We’re looking forward to checking out Harvard, then our Red Sox/Yankees game tomorrow.