We Pah-ked Our Cah in Hah-vahd Yah-d

I know this post is slightly delayed, but I have been so busy this past week I haven't had the chance to write it out. For your extra amusement, I am writing it as I am standing in the community kitchen waiting to cook the macaroni for my mac-n-cheese (yes, this is how busy I am. Pathetic, I know).

As many of you know my best friend, Chandni, is brilliant and is currently in her first year of medical school up at Albany Med. When I decided to come to GW we were both SO excited to be on the same coast again... little did we know how busy we would both become. How many times did we see each other in the fall, you might ask? None. When we were both back in California for winter break, however, we decided to make a pact and fix this problem.

The solution was not Chandni coming to DC, nor me going to Albany. Instead, we met up in Boston (where I have never been before), and stayed with Chandni's good friends from undergrad, Alison and Kate. I was so excited not only to see the girls, but also to explore a new city.



Just as you might expect, my flight from Baltimore to Boston was delayed (I have the worst travel luck when I'm going between east coast cities!). I finally arrived in Boston and was happy to be picked up by Chandni in the same car she had all throughout high school - it felt like a time warp, it was awesome. We went directly out to Alison and Kate's apartment in Porter Square, an area north of Boston between Somerville and Cambridge. Friday night we did not do too much because we were exhausted from the work and school week, but Kate and Alison took us to their favorite pub for dinner. It was fun to just hang out and catch up.

Saturday morning we woke up early, grabbed some breakfast, and took off to explore the city! We first walked through Cambridge to Harvard Square (and through Harvard Yard, obviously), then took the train into downtown. We started off in Boston Common, worked our way down Newbury Street, and all the way out to Fenway Park! Although it was 45 degrees, it was SUNNY outside, so we were all very excited to be out and about in the nice weather.

Later that evening we met up with Lange, another friend of Chandni and I from high school who is in his last year at Harvard. He gave us a special tour, taking us into Harvard's dining hall (another Harry Potter-esque building), Harvard's observatory, and Harvard's own pub. He also took us to Kirkland House where he currently lives, and where Mark Zuckerberg used to live! After touring we went to dinner at a Korean restaurant, bid farewell to Lange, and settled down to hang out for a bit in another pub (upon Lange's suggestion) in Harvard Square. Best part? People watching, and the special cheese fries the waitress ordered for us.

The next morning we got up and went to Chandni's cousin's house in Cambridge for a pancake breakfast. Chandni's cousin has a 6-month-old baby named Leonardo, an adorable, chubby, half-Indian half-Italian baby. We played with him for a while before heading back in downtown Boston to check out Faneuil Hall and get Italian food on the North End. I had lobster ravioli (delicious), and got a serving of Boston Creme Pie to take home with me!

Clearly, since we were having such a good time together I was kind of late to the airport...and when I say kind of late, I mean I walked up to the gate as the plane was boarding...oops! But it is alright, because I made it back to DC no problem.

As previously mentioned, the week following the trip was crazy, from normal work and school plus making up the work I should have done last weekend. I decided it was definitely worth the trip though, and I want to go up to Boston again soon!