Today I took the day off, so I decided to use it to finish off several Groupons in the area east of Boston. I first headed for breakfast at
Barry's Village Deli in Newton. I had $30 to spend here in this place which I initially thought had no dining area, so I was already prepared for leftovers. I started with a red beet soup dish called Borscht, which came with a side of sour cream.
 |
| Borscht |
I'm not used to sweet soups like this, although it was a little salty, but I drank it all in the end anyway. I could not say the same thing for the rest of the dishes I ordered. I only finished half the knockwurst and bacon with Swiss cheese and mustard sandwich, while I could only take small bites of the Jewish PuPu Platter, which came with a beef knish, potato latke, Lokshen Kugel and chopped liver, all of which were really good in my opinion.
 |
| Jewish PuPu Platter |
 |
| Artie's Knockwurst and Bacon Sandwich with Potato Salad |
After packing my leftovers to go, I decided to add to the punishment by getting some dessert at
Rosie's Bakery in the Chestnut Hill area.
This place is actually pretty decent in terms of decor, although they did not serve much in terms of cupcakes, which I was hoping for. Instead, I had to get several brownies, a fruit tart, and a few meringue pie slices to get the $30 worth of dessert. The fruit tart was really good, although the brownies were really intense in flavor.
From here, my third deal was at the
Franklin Park Zoo in Boston. I parked near the Zebra Entrance and walked there. Even at this early time of day on a Friday, the line was already pretty long, but thankfully the wait wasn't too long.
Overall, this zoo is pretty big and nice, although I still have to say that
Southwick's Zoo is still better in my opinion. Pictures of the animals I saw here follow. Interesting stuff included an Indian peacock with its feathers open, prairie dogs eating, the Butterfly Landing which is nothing compared to the
Butterfly Place in Westford, although there was a hummingbird in her tiny nest, and the Aussie Aviary which is much like the Parakeet Landing in Southwick's Zoo but not as good, Bird's World, located inside a Chinese looking building where birds fly freely in different habitats, and finally the Zoorassic Park, with several life-size animatronic dinosaurs on exhibit.
 |
| The Zebra Entrance |
 |
| White Bearded Wildebeest and Plains Zebra |
 |
| Ostrich |
 |
| Prehensile Tailed Porcupine |
 |
| Indian Peacock With Feathers Open |
 |
| Spotted Tortoise |
 |
| Yellow Banded Dart Frog |
 |
| Black Tailed Prairie Dog Eating |
 |
| African Clawed Frog |
 |
| Mossy Frog |
 |
| Barn Owls |
 |
| Standing's Day Gecko |
 |
| Eastern Box Turtle |
 |
| African Spurred Tortoise |
 |
| Inside the Butterfly Landing |
 |
| Rows of cocoons |
 |
| Newborn butterflies |
 |
| Hummingbird and her nest |
 |
| Turtle in the pond |
 |
| African Lion sleeping |
 |
| White Tiger |
 |
| Southern Ground Hornbill |
 |
| Kori Bustard |
 |
| Sargent's Folly |
 |
| Masai Giraffes |
 |
| Bactrian Camel |
 |
| White Crested Hornbill |
 |
| Saddle Billed Stork |
 |
| Mandrill |
 |
| Ruppell's Griffon Vulture |
 |
| Gorilla |
 |
| Common Blue Tongue Skink |
 |
| Ring Tailed Lemur |
 |
| Red Eyed Tree Frog |
 |
| The train |
 |
| African Wild Dog |
 |
| Inside the Andean Condor Enclosure |
 |
| Andean Condor |
 |
| Statue at Giraffe Statue |
 |
| Chilean Flamingoes |
 |
| Budgerigars in the trees |
 |
| Entrance to Bird's World |
 |
| Sunbittern |
 |
| Hadada Ibis |
 |
| Tawny Frogmouth |
 |
| Violet Turaco |
 |
| Bali Mynah |
 |
| Gouldian Finches |
 |
| Darkling Beetles |
 |
| Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula |
 |
| Hissing Cockroach |
 |
| Brazilian Cockroach |
 |
| Walking Stick |
 |
| Waterfall |
 |
| Citron Crested Cockatoo |
 |
| Wattled Stork |
 |
| Juvenile T-Rex at Zoorassic Park |
 |
| Cryolophosaurus |
 |
| Compsognathus |
 |
| Dilophosaurus |
 |
| Massospondylus |
 |
| Sarcosuchus |
 |
| Deltadromeus |
 |
| Ornithomimus |
 |
| Chasmosaurus |
With that, it was time to visit the
Cyrus E. Dallin Art Museum in the town of Arlington, showcasing the art of the famous sculptor. This place is pretty small, although the artwork was pretty interesting. I was intrigued to know that
the golden statue atop the
Boston Massachusetts Temple in Belmont was made by the sculptor as well. Pictures of the sculptures I took here follow.
 |
Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory (left),
Captured but not Conquered (right) |
 |
Paul Revere (left), General William Sherman (center),
Governor William Bradford (right) |
 |
| Algerian Panther |
 |
The Scout (left), Appeal to the Great Spirit (center),
Sacajawea (right) |
The next museum I tried to visit was the Aidekman Arts Center in the campus of
Tufts University in Medford and Somerville, but it was closed till September.
 |
| At Aidekman Arts Center |
I visited a few other places in Medford before heading for a hike at the Rock Circuit Trail in the
Middlesex Fells Reservation.
 |
Honor Roll Park,
Winthrop Street near Brook Street |
 |
Condon Shell,
Mystic Valley Parkway near Winthrop Street |
Heading to the east side of the Middlesex Fells Reservation, I parked at the
Flynn Rink in town before heading into the woods. The trail I took here, which is essentially the Rock Circuit Trail after walking the Cross Fells Trail to the intersection with it, is shown below in pink.
There weren't many views while I was walking the north region in Stoneham, and I was starting to get disappointed when I reached the east side of the trail, there were several stunning views of the town of Melrose. On the southern side of the trail, there were nice views of the Boston skyline, and the ruins of the old 1899 MIT Observatory. Pictures follow.
 |
| View of Fellsway East, Soneham |
 |
| The several peaks on the east side |
 |
| Views of Downtown Melrose |
 |
| Southern Views of Boston Skyline |
 |
| Setting Sun |
 |
| 1899 MIT Observatory |
I managed to finish my hike, although I was thirsting for water by the end. After going to see what the Quarter Mile Pond nearby was about, which wasn't much, it was definitely time for me to get some water at my dinner place. My initial plan was to head to Habanero's Mexican Restaurant and Tequila Bar in Waltham, but as it was already filled with people, so I was forced to find another restaurant I had a deal at, which was
Savinos Grill in Belmont. This place is pretty upper class looking, and the dishes I got were really artistic.
 |
| Table Decor |
 |
| Starters |
 |
| Grilled Quail |
 |
| Grilled Lamb Top |
The Grilled Quail was a little too bony for me, while the lamb was good, but the meal was just a little too sour for my taste.
I will give this place a chance I guess, considering the creativity put into the food, and that I probably ordered the wrong dishes.
With that, a day of using my Groupons came to an end.
No comments:
Post a Comment