I took the cannoli

I have been enjoying my time in Boston. I've been traveling around the North End mostly and taking a lot of pictures. You may have seen some of them in my last two posts. There are more here. I hope my camera battery holds out until I return to Minnesota.

On Tuesday I purchased a book from Booksmart anticipating my trip. I was originally going to buy "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan but then saw "Collapse" by Jared Diamond and lost interest in Sagan. I had already started reading "Collapse" but also, I am a big fan of Diamond and I new I could stay interested in the book. I also considered Sarah Vowell briefly, I've already started some of her books as well. Collapse has been interesting but now as I'm wondering along the Freedom Trail I wish I had chosen Vowell.

Another book I should have bought, in retrospect, was an Italian phrase book. It didn’t occur to me that I would need one but this morning I wondered into a pastry shop looking for some breakfast and was unable to ascertain the contents of a certain lobstertail. My mind immediately started wondering how I it could be possible that I completely lack any understanding of basic Italian. Apparently, it was a poor decision anyway because I ended up leaving with something of seemingly similar consistency but half the size and shape of the lobstertail. I also got a chocolate filled cannoli which I guess I may have never had before.

I made great time at the Museum of Comparative Zoology yesterday and completed my work in one day. Having planned to work for two days I now have a free day in Boston and have been thinking about what to do. There are many museums and galleries and tours and boat trips to go on but with entrance fees of between $20 and $30 I’ve decided the cheapest thing for me to do is eat. And there is plenty of eating to do; pizza, calzones, gnocci, cannoli, gelati. I’m a little worried about gaining back some of the almost ten pounds that I lost on our journey from California to Minnesota, but with all the walking I’ve been doing here it’ll probably balance out. I think it's funny that so many restaurants advertise "Italian food" because, really, what else are they going to serve.

Presently, I'm sitting in the window of the Boston Beanstock Coffee Co. watching a traffic officer consider an illegally parked Chevy Avalanche. She points to the people sitting outside with her pen, eyebrows raised and a curious frown. The coffee drinkers shake their heads. She looks across the street to a large, gray haired barber. He shrugs, his palms out. She points at the barista. He doesn’t know and makes a half hearted attempt to alert his customers. After going next door, and asking everyone in sight on the street, she reluctantly prints a ticket and continues up the street.

Tomorrow, I’ll rent a car and see other parts of New England. My first stop is Walden Pond and then on to Portland, Maine. I’ll stop at a couple places on the coast and look for migrating seabirds, then camp in the mountains in Vermont.