August 26th 2017: Exploring Gordon College, Wenham

While my other half was shopping at the Northshore Mall in Peabody, I decided to venture out for a bit, visiting a few places in Beverly

Beverly High School

Innocenti Park

before heading to the Gordon College campus in Wenham.

After exploring the college, it was time to head back to the mall, where we got the new Horchata Almond Milk Frappucino from the Starbucks there.

For once, I really liked the drink, because it wasn't bitter at all. Not a bad day of exploring in a short period of time.

Recommended Places to Visit: Wenham

Recreation

Water Bodies

Wenham Lake
52 Cedar Street

Longham Reservoir
19 Dodges Row

Beaches
Pleasant Pond
End of Pleasant Street


Museums
Wenham Museum
132 Main Street


Hiking
Recommended:
Grand Wenham Canal
End of Old Town Way

Tried:
Cedar Pond
Cherry Street near Old Town Way

Architecture

Monuments

War Memorial
Monument Street and Main Street

Memorial
Main Street and Arbor Street

Places of Worship

First Church in Wenham
1 Arbor Street

Schools
Buker School
5 School Street

Gordon College
255 Grapevine Road

Historical Buildings
Old Wenham Church
8 Dodges Row

Restaurants

Highly Recommended:
Breakfast
Wenham Tea House
4 Monument Street
Recommended Dishes:
Bramble Liege Waffle

November 7th 2015: Meals in Natick and Wellesley

We started off today with a small snack at Rice Theory, a Thai takeout place in Natick,

getting the Hot Fish Cakes

and the Thai Iced Tea.

Pretty good actually for a small takeout place with a small menu.

For a more filling meal, we headed to Cafe Mangal, a really nice looking Mediterranean cafe in Wellesley.

We got the Turkish Tea, which came in interesting glasses,

and the Turkish Lashmacun (thin dough spread with ground beef and lamb with tomatoes, onions, peppers and spices).

which was amazingly good. the dough being crunchy and the meat being really flavorful. Definitely come back here again.

Late in the afternoon, we were in Wenham, where we checked out a little of Gordon College,

on the shores of Coy Pond.

With that, we called it a day.

May 17th 2015: Exploring the Town of Wenham

I started out early this morning in the town of Wenham, going for a walk alongside The Grand Wenham Canal, going on the left side to avoid the same mistake the last time I was here.

Nice quiet walk up the entire stretch of the canal, with a layer of fog over the canal.

When I was finally back at my car, I decided to head across the road for another hike at Cedar Pond. The path I took here is shown below in black.

There were okay views of the ponds here,

but overall, not really worth the hike.

I visited a few other places in town

Pleasant Pond Beach

Memorial,

Arbor Street and Main Street

Longham Reservoir, 19 Dodges Row

before heading to the Wenham Tea House for breakfast, set within a colonial home with nice decor.

I went with the Bramble Liege Waffle (blueberry coulis, honey mascarpone cream cheese, graham cracker crumble crust),

which was interesting both in shape and in taste because of the different kind of dough used. The blueberries and cheese just made it even better. Small but delicious.

A last touch was to come with my bill, which came in a small cute basket.

From here, I crossed the road to visit the Wenham Museum. I was impressed by the extensive train sets built here, and to learn that Wenham Lake was once used for harvesting ice. Pictures I took here follow.

Done with the town of Wenham for now, I headed into Salem to grab a dozen macarons from Melita Fiore, a nice cafe with a slightly French atmosphere.

I managed to get 4 flavors, namely the Blueberry, Champagne, Chocolate Mandarin and Chocolate Banana macarons. Pretty good.

From here, I rushed back into Boston, where I was a little late for my meetup brunch at Myers + Chang. Thankfully, there were so many no-shows that my friends waited for me to arrive.  A pretty hip place with an Oriental feel. I was expecting a typical brunch menu, but it actually is very oriental and tapas sized in nature. We got the Wok Roasted Lemongrass Mussels,

the Ginger Scallion Bok Choy,

the Pomegranate Duck Wings with Praline,

the Kimchee Quinoa Bokkeumbap with Bulgoki,

the Asian Braised Beef Bao

and the Braised Pork Belly Bao.

I did not care for the buns, and the pomegranate flavor of the duck was a little too strong. Thankfully, the vegetables were pretty good, and the sauce for the mussels was so good we even got some toast to dip in it, but the best dish of all was actually the quinoa, which was really flavorful with a kick to it.

Overall, a pretty good meal.

From here, I headed to North Andover for my last hike for the day at Foster Farm Conservation Area. Along the way, I saw a turtle trying to cross the road, and decided to stop for a bit and help it across by picking it up. 

My good deed for the day.

At my destination, the path I took is shown below in pink.

Other then some views over the rolling fields, there wasn't much else to see here, even at the power lines, especially with the paths being not well tended to.

With that, I called it a day for sightseeing, ending off a pretty eventful weekend.