Within a few days of returning from Maine, we tried to get in and around the city as much as possible before the real world caught up with us. Our weekends now can get pretty caught up in graduate reading, grocery shopping, going to the laundromat, grading papers, ND football games, and going to bed before 11. We knew with all of those enthralling things vying for our time it wouldn't always be easy to head downtown. So here is a bit of the exploring we did early on. Other explorations tend to be few and far between but we are working on it.
Steve took us to the Saint Anthony's Feast in the North End. It was like a religious procession mixed with the New Jersey State Fair. Is that judgemental of me? I know I know that not everyone from Jersey belongs on the Jersey Shore/ Real Housewives but 75% of this celebration did.
So the scene is like this one from the Godfather. I was forced to watch the scene before I was able to attend, don't be fooled into thinking that I had actually seen it. A plastic Saint Anthony with money ribbons. I cannot describe it so you could understand because I still don't really understand.
TRADITION.tradition.
It was super crowded and excessively gaudy but at the same time completely wonderful. We each got an Arancini di Riso and it was an immediate sense of Rome-sickness. In a delicious way.
And there was one booth with a cooking show that made muscles. Naturally we watched the whole thing for the sake of free samples. And because real life Food Network!
They even had live music alternating between very American and very Italian.
We had a great evening and were super excited Steve invited us to leave the comfort of Park and Rec on Netflix to see what the city had to offer.
The next day, as per the extended invitation of Steve, we went to mass at his parish near Fenway and he took us on a walking tour of the city. And if you know Steve, or if you don't, you know that his idea of walking is for me a brisk speed-walk and crossing the street means "Ah we can make it" and a sprint for your life the hyenas are coming. Meredith and I struggled but still loved learning everything he knew and read from plaques.
Worlds smallest suspension bridge.
It's a beautiful city and we are plotting for many brunches to come to try and explore smaller nooks of it, taking advantage of the little things. That's why I am so glad I was in DC for the past four years, it taught me the art of learning a city, mainly because I did it wrong for two too many years.
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