Boston Day 2: Downtown, Harvard Square, and Cocktail Party

I made it home!! What a jam packed week I had at the Healthy Living Summit AND visiting my London study abroad flatmate, Mari. I will spend today recapping my weekend so get ready for a slew of awesome photos!

Friday morning, Mari and I took our sweet time getting ready and eating breakfast…like a lazy Sunday morning. I had a Stonyfield Farm French Vanilla yogurt plus quite the selection of cereals: Kashi Heart to Heart and TJ’s Triple Nut & Flakes Cereal. The 3 nuts were almonds, hazelnuts, and walnuts…all on the approved list

I also had a slice (or 2) of Mari’s mother’s banana bread. It was hands (and feet) down the BEST banana bread I have ever had in my life. It was super soft, magically moist and filled with chocolate chips!!  I got the recipe from her, woohoo!

Mari and her adorable house (where I am staying) in a suburb of Boston.

We started out in downtown Boston hoping to catch a ride on the Duck bus/boat tour but it was already booked until 5pm! So we decided to walk around and see the sights….

Spotted: Another farmer’s market!! They just keep coming to me

Mmmmmmm….I love baked goods from farmer’s markets!

It was such a magnificent day outside. Absolutely gorgeous. Perfect for exploring the city.

We walked through The Public Gardens:

It was a hot, sunny day. I can’t imagine how much this lady was sweating!!

The State House:

We also walked through Beacon Hill to check out some spiffy apartments.

Next we headed to Harvard Square in Cambridge, MA. The last time I was in the Boston area, I was visiting my brother at school here. Hunger all of a sudden hit me so we stopped at Au Bon Pain for a laaate lunch.

The lit case of baked goods staring me down…

They even had a computer to check out the nutrition information! I ordered before I spotted the computer but I was hungry enough that I really didn’t really care. I knew the the main components of my sandwich were good and tasty and that’s all that mattered!

A good tool for people that have food allergies and/or have not gotten a chance to do research beforehand though!

I got the Portobello and Goat Cheese Sandwich: Roasted Portobello Mushrooms topped with Goat Cheese, Tomato and Field Greens with Artichoke Aioli on Sun-dried Tomato Bread.

It completely and utterly hit the spot and so much more.

My view: The chess players that are ALWAYS out there playing.

We went back in for some dessert. My eyes went straight to these little guys. It didn’t take much time at all.

It was perfectly sticky.

We walked through Harvard Yard for kicks.

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Later that night, I went to Rustic Kitchen for the HLS Cocktail Party. It was a little nerve-racking seeing so many people that I’ve read about for weeks/months/years IN PERSON! It was a little You’ve Got Mail-ish It was so strange hearing people’s voices for the first time and actually have a live conversation

The mouth-watering menu:

Line up of all the eats for the night.

I got the Rustic Sangria White…2x…

I wanted to branch out and get a different drink the second time around but I couldn’t hold back….it was that good.

My plate of food under a big ol’ flash!

I later had some of this fantasmic Fig Preserve Pizza while chatting at the bar with Kath about iPhones, dietetics, and Great Harvest. She was just as cool and down to earth as the last time I met her in January for dinner.

This was my favorite item on the menu. I really want to try making this at home.

I couldn’t believe how fast time flew by Friday night. Being surrounded by so many fascinating women, all with a common interest, made chit-chatting so smooth and easy. You would have never thought we were meeting for the first time! Stay tuned for Day 3.

Tagged as: Banana Bread, Cereal, Chocolate, Goat Cheese, Macaroons, Mushrooms, Pizza, Ratatoille, Risotto, Salad, Sandwich, Sangria, Yogurt