DAY OF FOOD: last day in Boston

The last day in Boston Mom and I just…ate. But it was so worth it!! The picture above is in front of Flour Bakery+Cafe, which was so yummy. (Also, as you can see I have the bakebook and the stuff in the book turns out just like the stuff that is in the shop!) We got a bunch of treats, but more on that with the last picture at the bottom. (Also just note that Boston's South End is a bit sketchy.)

After Flour, we drove to Downtown Boston (it's by Quincy Market) to find Little Italy and Mike's Pastry. They are famous for their cannoli so that is what we bought (along with a cream puff). I liked the plain cannoli, it was a nice crispy shell with super thick, sweet ricotta filling. (Mom's not a fan of plain.) The peanut butter chocolate one is also good. My two cents is to eat everything fresh. Since we were going home that day we tried to save some stuff for everyone at home and that turned out…okay. 

(This picture is of Little Italy. Lobster rolls here are good! And there's a lot of nice restaurants and pastry shops.)

(Mike's Pastry!) Note: cash only! 

(My favorite: cupcakes! but we didn't get any.)

Left to right, top to bottom: Flour bakery! The famous sticky bun and hazelnut dacquoise (Mom said they were good!) The plain cannoli from Mike's (I liked it).

Pain aux rasin (brioche raisin snail! So yummy! It's a brioche with pastry cream and golden raisins.) Plain brioche with cinnamon sugar and pastry cream in the middle. Coconut macaroon (best one I've ever had, and I will be making this recipe from now on!) and a cheddar chive scone (I liked it but you have to be able to tolerate dry baked goods because that's what scones are! DRY.)

Bye for now!

Love, marissa

Harvard University and ISI Worlds!

Today was the team competition for ISI Worlds and both the Dazzlers (my team) and the Dolls (the younger team that I used to skate for) performed very well!! There were a few spills here and there, but nothing major, and overall the routines looked great. It's the best we've skated all year and I am reallly happy! It's our friend Alison's last performance with us though (because she's going to college!) so that was kind of sad. But she's coming back to visit us!!

After the competition was over Mom and I went to Cambridge to see Harvard. If you ever go there, parking is awful (but we were lucky and found some street parking quickly). Since we were going to have dinner with Mom's cousin that she hasn't seen in about 30 years, we only had about an hour (and the admissions offices closed at 3:30 and by the time we got to Harvard Square it was past 3:30) so we just meandered around the campus and the square.

Cambridge is really different from downtown Boston and Cambridge actually reminds me of San Francisco. But even then it's still different (probably the weather)- usually it is much more humid and warm. Plus it rains SOOOO much!! We got caught in a flash flood yesterday and I haven't seen that much water in years, or maybe ever. 

Also, on a geeky side note, I saw the first parish built in Cambridge (in the 1600's!) and also a cemetery where revolutionary war soldiers! (Another side note: the American Revolution wasn't actually a revolution...because the government didn't really change. I would call it something more along the lines of separation. The American Separation. Revolution just sounds cooler I guess.)

Bye for now!!

Love, marissa

Wellesley College and Boston College

This morning I went with Sofia to Wellesley College. It's located in a town called (you guessed it) Wellesley in Massachusetts. The town of Wellesley is super adorable (and I have to admit the architecture of the houses and buildings in General is so quaint and colonial. I love it! Regarding Wellesley, it is an all-girls liberal arts college and the campus is huge and very secluded. We did a lot of walking today. It is a very beautiful and nature-y campus with a very strong and rigorous (in a good way!!) academic program. The girls who go here love to learn. It's basically a giant sorority for girls who want to achieve. It's about 30-45 minutes from Boston so, no distractions!! Wellesley also partners with other schools including Babson and MIT so students can take classes  at the other universities for credit. I think one could obtain a degree from MIT through Wellesley (but double check on that because I can't quite remember). 

After Wellesley we went to Boston College (but Sofia wouldn't take a picture with me; photo creeds to her for this one above!) and the campus was really beautiful. The students here are also very passionate about what they are studying as well as the clubs and activities they are involved with. It had a very enthusiastic vibe. Plus, BC has a chocolate bar! Yum. Even thoug BC has "college" attached to its name, it is a university with several colleges within in, like the schools of management, education, arts and sciences. Please note that the school of management is very popular and that if you even have a remote interest in business (or something related) apply to the school of management. Otherwise you have almost zero chance of transferring from a different school to the school of management. 

Both schools use the Common App and a holistic admissions process. They also offer early action (in addition to early decision). I think I am going to apply to BC. 

bye for now!

Love, marissa