Boston

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Cambridge and Boston, MA

We arrived in Watertown, MA, right outside of Boston on Sunday night to stay with Cihan, Can’s cousin. That night, we took a short drive into Cambridge to look at Harvard University campus and had an all you can eat dinner at Fire and Ice restaurant, escaping the pouring rain that began as we wandered through the small town. After, Can got a hold of his friend Sena, whom he hadnt seen in about 8 years, and we made our way to her flat in Cambridge so they could catch up. After, she gave us a nighttime driving tour of Boston by car.

*The weather cleared up enough the next day for a full day of sightseeing…We started by attempting the Freedom Trail, a red line running through central Boston to various historical sights. Of course, none of them are Europe or Turkey old…Can wasn’t too impressed by the first public school established in the 1800s. On the way we happened upon the beginning of the June 1 parade, and watched while the participants organized themselves, along with some English tourists. After getting through most of the trail, we wandered down the pier in search of No Name restaurant, listed in our guide as a cheap, but delicious seafood restaurant located beyond the Boston World Trade Center on the pier. On the way, we passed beautiful residential areas on the foot of the piers, and boatboys tending to their owners massive yachts. When we arrived at the restaurant, we saw other tourists, including an older French couple with their guide, but also a few locals, assuring us that the food wouldn’t be a complete tourist trap.
After, we met up with Cihan and his roommate Emre, both learning English in the States for the next 9 months, and wandered to Little Italy on the North end of town for a canolli, courtesy of Mike's pastry, another suggestion of our tour book---and Cihan and Emre's first!
As the weather was quite sunny, we went to the pier for a beer, walked passed the bar that inspired the American TV show Cheers, and then walked through Chinatown to Emre's car. That night, we caught up with Katy's friend, Justin, who attends Boston College, for drinks near his flat before going back to Watertown and passing out for the night.

*Tuesday was a relaxing day...The weather was quite warm so we spent the majority of the day wandering along the water and soaking in the sun. Eventually, we made our way to Quincy Market to meet Cihan, and later our friend Shawn, who worked with us in Switzerland arrived to show us the local bars and take us to 21st amendment for good burgers. We spent the rest of the night with Shawn, Cihan, and Laura, a friend of Katy's from college, barhopping and discovering asome of Boston nightlife.

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