Adventures of G & T

I had a couple of days off so the Madre and I went off on another adventure (with lots of pictures!)

Day 1: The South End and Back Bay of Boston

Now this was a grand day because even though I was in Boston, I have never ventured into and really explored the South End so I didn't feel like I was in the city. It was spectacular. I am MADLY IN LOVE with this city. Street after street of brownstones, odds and ends, fun little shops, cafes, restaurants, laundry mats, bakeries, clothing stores. *sigh* Incredible.


I was in heaven.

I stopped talking for a bit and my mom asked if something was wrong. I was just so delighted and lost in day dreams of living in one of the chic brownstones that I had gone quiet. I mean can you imagine this as your home??

And this is your backyard?
But I have to tell you that the first reason we decided to go into the city this time, aside from our love for the city and having never explored this part of Boston, was to visit Flour.

You see my mom purchased this fabulous cook book and the owner has three bakeries in Boston and the treats look scrumptious, of course, so naturally we had to go see for ourselves. I know, you're seeing a pattern here aren't you? Bakery goods/ice cream/goodies and adventures. Yes, that's correct. We will drive just about anywhere to taste test a good bakery item. We like to compare to other bakeries and to our own recipes. Thus far, no one has come close to trumping my mom's Celestial Brownies. I doubt anyone ever will. I digress. Flour was quaint, charming, and had a fabulous ambiance.
We were starving when we got there and decided to order lunch before we loaded up on the goodies to bring home and try. I got a portabella mushroom, mozzarella, tomato, pesto panini, which was outstanding. Oh my lantus I will recreate this delectable masterpiece because it was perfect. The mushrooms added just the right amount of savory.
Madre got a curry tuna with sprouts, golden raisins, carrots, lettuce, on whole wheat. AH-MAZING. We will be having this for Sunday lunch. I'm pretty excited. We're on a curry kick right now. A dash of curry on baked vegets (that's veggies) is delicious and it's good with slow-cooked chicken too. Give it a try...
Having satisfied our hunger and sweet teeth (we got 7 different cookies, a huge brownie, an oreo cookie, and a fat chocolate cupcake with vanilla buttercream frosting), we cruised the residentials on foot.
Many of the streets had small beautiful gardens in the middle, which separated the street traffic (cool!) with fountains, benches, and little paths.
Some brownstone residents did a wonderful job with their small gardens, some not so much. Either way, it was neat to see gardens in the city!

Is this not one of the cutest pictures you have ever seen? We passed this girl and all of the sudden I realized she had a toy on a string, this is an old-school toy!!! So I turned right around, grabbed my camera and the little darling looked back just in time for me to snap a shot.
And of course we had to take a stroll over to one of my most favorite sections of town:
But really, our second reason for going into the city was to seek out this frozen yogurt place near Kenmore Square. We stumbled upon it a few years ago before or after a Red Sox game and have been meaning to go back ever since. We were afraid it wouldn't be there, but don't you worry...

It was!!!!!!!!!!! It's called Cafe 472. We HIGHLYHIGHLYHIGHLY recommend it. You choose chocolate or vanilla frozen yogurt as your base and then choose your mix-ins. It's comparable to Hogi Yogi (which is a west coast thing I believe), except this place is about 100x better. Madre got chocolate with raspberries and coconut. I got vanilla with oatmeal cookie and chocolate chips. Bliss!

Day 2: Kayaking in Great Bay (Newmarket, NH) and Ogunquit, ME

Madre and I made some great purchases a few years ago: inflatable kayaks. I know, it sounds weird but they are wonderful. They are easily portable, very sturdy, and very fun to have. Today we took them to the Great Bay, which really is a huge harbor that eventually empties out into the Atlantic. It's gorgeous.
It was quite the arm workout trying to get back in, fighting the tide, which was going out, but well worth it. It was a perfect day-perfect temperature, the water was pretty warm and gorgeous, we saw lots of birds (seagulls' cries are one of my favorite sounds ever--except in Salt Lake because that's just a cruel teaser!), and had a jolly time. And hey-I even got some more freckles!

For you mom, "TOES!!!"

And to end our day, we headed up to Ogunquit, ME to pay a visit to the Village Food Market for....some more Dolcelinos ice cream sandwiches! We even brought a cooler so we could stock up and store them in the freezer at home but...they only had 3 left when we got there so we snatched them and ate one in the car. I forgot to take pictures because I was SO hungry. We split the ginger/lemon cookie. Mmmmm just as good as the first one.

Grand adventures!

On a side note, can I just tell you how VERYEXCITEDIAM that it's almost September. Why, you ask? Well, that means it's almost AUTUMN and friends, I have waited 6 years to be back in New England for this season. I predict a photo frenzy so prepare yourselves, lots of gushing about how beautiful it is, a mosaic of colors really, and more adventures, probably up North and into Vermont. I. cannot. wait.