A Few of My Favorite Things...

To pack the biggest punch possible out of our brief stint on the campus, Jason and I snuck over to Epcot on the last afternoon for a few hours to see as much as we could of that park before meeting up with the rest of the gang for dinner. We nibbled and drank our way through the international section of Epcot - trying to spend our remaining snack points! We enjoyed a couple of pints in faux U.K. and Germany, and solicited spring rolls in China, to no avail... we did end up with a few boxes of Pocky in Japan, which made good gifts for the rest of the troops who were finishing their day at the Magic Kingdom. By the time we got to Mexico, we were worn out. We had a pre-dinner churro, which may have pushed us over the edge half an hour later as we sat down to buffet with chef Mickey... Excess? Yes.

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Rides notwithstanding, by far one of the most successful tactics I saw employed at the Magic Kingdom to entertain the masses of kids was this simple trash can on wheels. It rolled inconspicuously out of a store doorway in the park, as though someone had pushed it and it had somehow broken loose down the hill. But once it came to a stop, it started wheeling freely in various directions... and talking. The kids were baffled. They looked underneath, through the garbage flap... they ran away... one kid even kicked it! From our vantage point (tuckered out from chasing kids around all day, on a nearby bench) we could see it was being controlled by a younger guy orbiting the crowd, seemingly a college student carrying a messenger bag and holding a hand up to his face, concealing a microphone. The kids were so focused on the trash can as the electronic voice teased them and described their outfits, they never looked behind them.

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So small, in fact, that I finally made it to Disney World, despite having somehow avoided it this long. I was surprised to find that it wasn't as much as a sales pitch as I'd always imagined. The collision (mine with the park) occurred when I spent a couple of days with Jason's family digging into the Magic Kingdom, an area of the park mainly dedicated to the younger set. I didn't expect to encounter nostalgia for any of the characters (cartoons have never really been my thing), but was actually wowed by the cleverness of some of the movie bites we saw during our visit. I suspect that the other movie features and rides are also impressive, although we didn't get to them on this trip. But fun as it was during the day, it was great to kick back with a drink by the pool at night in the seventy degree heat, cooling our fatigued heels - the kid in me didn't quite have the energy level I remember!

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Friends, I have stooped. I couldn't resist the impulse to pick up my camera when I saw the handsome Zach Braff (and his tuxedo-clad entourage) emerge from the Brattle Theater today. Seconds after I got this shot, the actor was mobbed with autograph requests and no doubt personal bodyguards and I was instantly sidelined. So while I didn't get to offer him an exclusive, local gal's tour of Cambridge or share musings on our top ten new favorite bands, now, when anyone asks if I've ever seen a bona fide celebrity in the flesh, I am ready.

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We hit a sunny and somewhat windy day in Provincetown, and these colorful pinwheel stationary kites were spinning like crazy as I stood waiting for my friends. This town is nothing if not colorful - every shop and storefront has it's own character and chain restaurants and shops are delightfully scarce. Sadly, it still costs something like $80 roundtrip to take the ferry out here from Boston, or I might visit more often.

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Okay, well, I'm not sure about his choice of partner, but here's Jason, putting his new dancing cleats to the test! We got to do a little sight seeing after dinner and then hurried back to the car, slipping over the slick street plaques as we went. I was excited to find Alex Trebek's star on the boulevard after watching all the Jeopardy parodies I could find last week with my sister... "You'll rue the day you crossed me, Trebek."

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Later on, after watching the Red Sox game, we drove around for an hour on (and off) Hollywood Boulevard, looking for parking. But even the more frustrating experiences are nevertheless experiences when you're away from home, and we had fun admiring the enormous store fronts, hopping from awning to awning to avoid the downpour, and laughing about our choice of restaurant, which was right in the heart of a neighborhood that appeared to be a clearinghouse for exotic dancer clothes. Jason called it the "undergarment district."

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 My mom wanted some more pictures of Jaipur, India, but the moment has passed in IndiaBlog, so I thought I'd update the original photoblog with a few shots, since it hasn't had much action in a while. Here are some of palaces and vistas of the beautiful Pink City.

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There is lots of new construction in Somerville and Cambridge - here's a new place that has been going up over the past year in Porter Square. I like how the reflection makes the building look bulbous and warped, particularly since the design is so modern in the first place.

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One of my parents' favorite pastimes - Antiquing! We must have gone into three or four antique stores in the town - all with their own style and musty heat from their airless attic rooms. I was browsing for a tall old-fashioned coat rack for my parents, but not a one to be found! We did see plenty of ancient English domino sets appealing to my mother!

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The creative store-front sign to one of my favorite kitchen shops. All kinds of exotic kitchen gadgets line the aisles of the store, almost luring me to buy something I definitely don't need, like a silicone slotted spoon or an engraved bacon press! The main streets of Concord are full of tourist-grabbing novelties carefully placed in adorable window displays.

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The second and third floors of the ICA comprise this 2-story auditorium that, surprise, looks out on the water. The only flaw I could see was the complete lack of entertainment.

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Here's a picture of the entrance to the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA). This shot is of visitors looking at a painting featured in the main lobby, but since it is taken from the outside, you can see the various reflections from the parking lot as well. I liked how the light flooding in was so intense that the room's perimeter is clearly distinct even from the outside of the building.

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The entrance to Boston's new ICA home. This is a building I often see from afar, but it was fun to finally get up close, standing at the entrance of a museum so long awaited!

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