Today, I had to bring my friend from Boston back to my place to stay the night as we have stuff to do tomorrow, so I decided to sightsee in the area. First, I decided to head to
Athan's Bakery in Brookline to use a Groupon to get some breakfast. This bakery is actually pretty nice inside, with a cafe area inside as well.
 |
| Cafe area |
 |
| Bakery area |
For $20, I decided to get 4 desserts, one a baklava like dessert, the Bolero (milk chocolate mousse covered in almonds and milk chocolate ganache), the Noisette (hazelnut Patisserie cream, toasted hazelnuts with chocolate genoise, in a ganache covered dome) and the Framboise (raspberry and chocolate).
 |
| Bolero (top left), Noisette (top right), Framboise (bottom right) |
I have to say, all the desserts were simply exquisite in taste. I definitely recommend this bakery to others.
Next, it was off to Boston to do some sightseeing there. First, I went to the Charlestown area.
 |
Teamsters Memorial Park,
Rutherford Avenue and Main Street |
 |
Hayes Square,
Vine Street and Moulton Street |
 |
Charlestown Firefighters Memorial Park,
Bunker Hill Street near Short Street |
 |
Old St. Catherine of Siena Church,
Vine Street and Moulton Street |
From here, I headed to the
Charlestown Navy Yard, with the intention of visiting the
USS Cassin Young. Unfortunately, the battleship was still undergoing repairs, and would not be ready until next summer. With that, I decided to walk a stretch of the
Boston Harborwalk, going from the Navy Yard all the way to
Constellation Wharf
 |
| Anchors on Display |
 |
| Boston Harborwalk |
 |
| Massachusetts Korean War Veterans Memorial |
 |
| View of Pier 8 from Constellation Wharf |
 |
| Snail Sculpture |
It was at this point that it start to drizzle as the effects of Hurricane Sandy started to arrive. I decided to end mysightseeing in this area and proceed to the
Massachusetts General Hospital area next. After managing to find a parking spot, I walked around the area in the rain, taking pictures of the surrounding buildings.
On finding the entrance to the Thoreau Path on Charles Street near Monsigneur O'Brien Highway, I decided to walk its path, stumbling across a rare white squirrel along the way.
 |
| White Squirrel |
I thought at first that it was albino, but when I looked closer, its eyes were black. As it turned out, it is actually a rare form of the gray squirrel which has recessive genes, making it white.
After emerging from the path, I walked around West End a little more.
 |
| Bobby Orr Statue outside TD Garden |
 |
Cardinal Cushing Memorial Park,
1 Bowdoin Square |
 |
| Massachusetts General Hospital |
Next I headed into the Financial District, parking near the
Norman B. Leventhal Park on Franklin Street and Pearl Street.
 |
| Norman B Leventhal Park |
 |
At Angell Memorial Plaza,
Milk Street and Pearl Street |
 |
| Angell Memorial |
Next was the Seaport area, where I finally managed to get up close to the
Bank of America Pavilion, which I had always seen from out at sea.
 |
| Bank of America Pavilion |
Nearby was the
Boston Marine Industrial Park, which I entered soon after. At this point, the rain was starting to get worse, and the winds were getting stronger too. This area is where
Cruiseport Boston, the embarking point for most cruises from here, is located.
 |
Rock Lobster Sculpture,
Northern Avenue and Haul Road |
 |
View from Dry Dock Plaza Park,
Tide Street and Northern Avenue |
 |
| Cruiseport Boston |
 |
| Arch III, Pappas Way and Summer Street |
After passing the Summer Street Bridge into South Boston, I decided to take a walk on it to take some pictures. Little did I know that the wind was really strong that it nearly knocked me off my feet. I was also in constant fear the whole time that the road signs might fly out from their bolts and hit me. thankfully, none did.
 |
| Summer Street Bridge, South Boston |
Boston Harbor from the bridge
From here, I headed toward the South End area.
 |
Old Saint Augustine Church,
226 Dorchester Street |
Next, I did some exploring of the
Northeastern University area.
 |
| Stetson Hall Back |
 |
| Stetson Hall Front |
 |
| Fenway Center |
 |
| Flame of Hope |
 |
| Marino Center |
 |
| War Memorial |
 |
| Bird in Flight |
 |
| Reclining Figure |
 |
| George S and Ellen Kariotis Hall |
 |
| School of Law |
 |
| David Playing the Harp |
 |
| El Gallo |
 |
| Orb |
 |
| Krentzman Quadrangle |
 |
| Richardson Plaza |
 |
| West Village Residence Complex |
I passed by Wentworth Hall of the
Wentworth Institute of Technology and the
Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral of New England in this area as well.
 |
| Wentworth Hall |
 |
| Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral of New England |
At this point, my friend called to tell me he was done with his activities for the day, so I went to pick him up. After doing so, we decided to head to
Yoki, a Japanese restaurant in Cambridge, for dinner. This place is a little like
Moksa in terms of upbeat, modern decor, although I think Moksa is better.
 |
| Restaurant Decor |
With my Groupon, we got the Yoki Mountain, made of finely chopped crabstick, octopus, shrimp, avocado, and fresh cucumber tossed with Yoki’s spicy mayo and peach sauce, topped with scallion, tobiko, and crispy rice, all served over a fresh piece of lettuce, the New Zealand Mussel appetizer, baked with Yoki’s special sauce and served over fresh slices of cucumber, topped with tobiko, scallion, and sweet soy sauce, and finally the Teriyaki Beef, served with stir fried Soba noodles and fresh mixed vegetables on a hot sizzling plate.
.JPG) |
| Yoki Mountain |
.JPG) |
| New Zealand Mussels |
.JPG) |
| Side Miso soup and Salad |
.JPG) |
| Teriyaki Beef |
The Yoki Mountain was pretty artistic, coming in a martini glass, and it was as tasty as the mussels, while the beef was cooked just right. To say the least, I enjoyed my dinner today.
With that, we headed home in preparation for our activities tomorrow.
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)