July 6th 2014: Watching Cirque du Soleil: Amaluna in Boston

This morning, I woke up early to head to Saugus for some early morning hiking at the Breakheart Reservation. The path I took here after parking at the Kasabuski Arena to explore the entire place is shown below in pink.

The walk from the Ridge Trail and all of the Ash Path was pretty uneventful, only getting interesting after getting back onto the Ridge Trail, where the views were pretty good.

I chanced upon a deer in this area, who was totally not afraid, but curious about me,

constantly staring at me, turning its head as I walked around it.

Castle Rock had the best views of all, especially of Boston in the distance,

although Crow Hill, which I managed to climb up through the discovery of a side trail, wasn't too shabby either.

Continuing on the trail led me to the power lines, where there were more views to be had.

Reaching the road, I headed toward the Pearce Lake beach, which was pretty serene.

Pearce Lake itself was beautiful as well.

I tried to find the path to Eagle Rock, ending up on the Jeep Road instead. Thankfully, I found signs for the right path on the other end, and got up to the views of Pearce Lake below.

Back down on the Pearce Lake Trail, I took more pictures of the lake

 before heading over to Silver Lake.

From here, it was up Breakheart Hill, with some decent views,

then down to the old mill dam site, which was pretty swampy.

Finally heading back to the start, I went into the visitor center for a bit, which had some exhibits and animals as well.

Leaving the reservation for good, I decided to head to the Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site next.

There is a small museum with dioramas of the iron making process,

It was then on to the actual thing outside, where the views of the Saugus River were pretty nice.

Pictures I took of the various buildings follow.

With that, I headed to the Allston area of Boston to pick my friend up for brunch with other friends at Sam's at Louis in the waterfront area, passing by a few monuments in Cambridge.

Central Square Public Library

Crossroads, Pearl Street and Green Street

Sculpture, 200 Sidney Street

This place is pretty fancy, being on the second floor and with views overlooking the Fan Pier area.

For food, I decided to try the Big Pig in a Blanket (garlic sausage, ricotta pancake, buttery sriracha-maple syrup),

while my friends got the Crabby Eggs Benedict (homemade English muffin, tasso ham hollandaise, fried eggs)

and the Corned Beef Hash (Poached Eggs, Toast).

I have to say the food was simply delicious, especially the sriracha inused maple syrup for my meal, and that for the eggs benedict. A definite recommend from me, especially with the blackboard outside where one can draw on it with chalk to their heart's desire.

After our brunch, we walked along Northern Avenue to get to the Cirque du Soleil tent area at the junction with Tide Street, passing by the beautiful Boston Fish Pier area,

where there were moon jellyfish in the water.

We reached the tents,

and in good time, as the show started soon after. I have to say Amaluna was pretty impressive, especially the Chinese gymnasts, the balancing act and the juggling, as well as the contortionist, all blended into the plot, although the side entertainment was a little weird at times.

After the show, I dropped my friend off, and returned to the Seaport area for more eating at Empire, a really chic Chinese restaurant.

With my Groupon, I got several small plates, namely the Wagyu Beef Nigiri (crispy shallots, QP, dark rum glaze),

the Lobster Cupcakes (pressed sushi rice, spicy garlic butter, broiled Maine Lobster)

and the Salt and Pepper Calamari (flash fried in wok, fresh peppers, sambal oelek, green papaya pickles).

The melt in your mouth texture of the beef was out of this world for me, while the cupcakes made of rice were a really interesting concept, and the restaurant's take on the popular dish in many Chinese restaurants here made it the best I've ever had, especially with the level of spice and crispiness.

I had to get dessert as well, getting the Chocolate Macadamia Nut Tart (sweet chili, brown butter caramel).

The flavor was so intense and sinful that I could only eat 2 pieces before calling it a day, and had to pack it to go. A simply fantastic dining experience overall though.

From here, I went to my friend's place to pick up her bike for our bike ride in NY next week, and with time left before the sun set, I decided to head to Westwood to explore the Martha Jones Conservation Area. I initially thought the path from the end of Tamarack Road led to the pond here, but the access is actually from outside the Martha Jones School itself on Reservoir Road. The pond itself was nothing much to see though.

With that, a long Independence Day weekend of fun finally came to an end. More cycling to come tomorrow and the week ahead.