Where did I go for the memorial weekend? Boston!!!
My friend Qiao was planning to go to Boston for a while and since Star is not here, I decided to join her. I went to Boston twice, the first time was thanksgiving 2006 and the second time was April 2010 for the conference. The first time was too cold and the second time I didn’t leave the hotel of the conference, so going there with warm weather was attractive!
We had an early flight so we got our breakfast at the airport

the bump is more and more noticeable these days.. specially when I wear a tight shirt.
We got an egg cheese sandwich at Subway

We arrived our hotel, Omni Parker House, a very historic hotel in the downtown.

Qiao was the planner of this trip. Check-in for us.

And then we started the walk on the Freedom Trail, which was 2 blocks away from our hotel. And look what we found, a “plantation” of flags


we went to Quincy Market for lunch. The food is really not spectacular there. Qiao had a mediocre lobster roll, and I had some cheap greasy chinese food.

and then we walked toward Newbury, a high-end commercial street

We decided to watch the Blue Man Group show, apparently quite famous.


It was not as good as we expected. Maybe we don’t know how to appreciate it, but really… there was nothing particularly funny or creative in it.
After that, we went for dinner.
Qiao started with a grapefruit cocktail

followed by 1/2 order of onion rings.

and the grilled steak and portbella sandwich as entree. This girl EATS!

the cheap chinese food got me quite full and gross for the rest of the day, so I had a beet and romaine salad with garlic bread.

The next day we went to Harvard Square first thing in the morning. There was a memorial parade going on.

We had breakfast at Au Bon Pain. I had an egg-white cheese skinny sandwich. Like it very much.

And then we explored Harvard Yard

touched the famous shoe. Qiao insisted that I touched it for the baby! Maybe she gets accepted at Harvard in the future!
For lunch we went to a korean place

Qiao had a bibimbap and miso soup

and I had a kimchi tofu stew

I love spicy korean stew. A pot of this and a bowl of rice makes a perfect meal!
We wandered around a bit more before heading to Finale, a popular dessert place.


we shared a three layer chocolate mousse cake

I also had a decaf capucchino.

Continuing with universities tour, we went to MIT.

how lucky are the students there to get to have this view EVERYDAY!!!

And then we walked back to Newbury for dinner. We found a cafe on the sweet that looked quite promising

the bread basket was quite good, specially those rolls, just those in France.

Qiao had lobstor roll (better than the Quincy market’s one for sure)

and I had a crunchy salad made with shredded raw cauliflower, carrots, bell pepper, arugula and goat cheese, with a lemon dressing.

I love goat cheese in salads!!!
Need to recreate it at home!
The last day we had an adventure waiting for us early in the morning. We were going to a WHALE WATCHING tour!!!!
We had a quick breakfast at Quincy Market. I had the turkey-bacon egg and cheese english muffin from Starbucks.

After 1.5 hrs on the boat we finally saw some BIG actions!!!


For like 30-40 minutes, we saw like 8-9 whales doing their things! It was amazing!!! Wild whales in their natural habitats!
When we arrived, it was pretty late for lunch, I was starving. We went to a japanese restaurant

I ordered seaweed salad as appetizer

as entree I had chili men, stir-fried shrimp, zucchini, red onions, peppers, mushrooms and snow peas in a spicy tomato chili men sauce, served on soba noodles.

The combination of being very hungry and that it was really tasty, I finished the whole plate within minutes!!!
Then we walked toward little italy. Found a place called Mark’s that specialized in Canoli

the place was packed.

Qiao got a pistachio one

and an almond one.

I had few bites on this one and it was scrumptious!!! No wonder so many people stopped by

Before we went to the Airport to catch our 8pm flight, Qiao wanted to have her last lobster meal. So we went to a place by the harbor.
She had a 1.5 pound lobster and enjoyed every bite of it! It’s nice to watch a girl who can eat that much! I’m truly impressed!!!
And then we head back to DC. Our flight arrive at 10 pm and then I drove back home by myself, arrive home just before midnight.
It was a nice short trip. I liked Boston this time even more than before. It’s such a gorgeous city, walkable, beautiful and young. After DC, it’s my favorite city in the US.
Q: What’s your favorite city in the US and why?





































































