Day of free ‘stuff’

So you know how I spoke about my laziness in the last post? Turns out it isn’t just me being lazy but I have a cold, a cold! I’ve had about 2 bouts of cold in the last 7 years and then I get a cold now! Had forgotten what it feels like, quite amusing really, except the runny nose obviously.

So anyways, that meant I had a very lazy start to the day, or should I say lazier. Tea in bed after breakfast lasted couple of hours instead of an hour, reading in bed after that lasted another hour. You get the idea. But the sun was shining (I still cannot get over the fact that the sun shines in the winter here! Whoop whoop!) and I wanted to feel the warmth on my face so I went for a quick walk to the park. But it has gotten chillier in the last few days and what with having a cold I couldn’t say out very long. So instead I hopped on the train to go to this restaurant called James Hook and Company in South Boston to try their much raved about Lobster Roll. In fact, these guys were voted as having the best lobster roll in Boston in 2013. The main part of the restaurant is quite small, just a few tables and they are really a fresh fish selling company (with fresh clams and lobster on display) but they have a massive open area outside overlooking the harbour which would be ideal in warmer weather. Today however I headed indoors.

With a big smile on my face I ordered the large lobster roll. One of the chefs prepared it for me and brought it to my table and took my card away for payment. I immediately started fidgeting with my camera to take a good picture of my food. The chef came back with my card and said he’s only charged me for a small roll! Sweet! Pleasantly surprised at this nice gesture, I tucked into the creamy lobster meat and it was gooood!

Eyes closed in enjoyment, head nodding in approval I continued eating my meal. The same chef comes back to give me a small portion of Lobster Bisque, for free!! Ha. Free food, delicious food, makes Razia happy. The bisque was absolutely fab I tell you. Creamy with just the right hint of spice. After thanking the chef and making small talk he told me he has a better way of making lobster roll. He usually selects the meat from only the knuckles of the lobsters (instead of the mixed meat that I was eating) and instead of adding mayo he usually drizzles the meat in hot butter. WHAT??!? “I want!!” I screamed in my head. But I think my eyes nearly popped at the mention of hot butter. (For those who don’t know, my last name is Makani and with the addition of a “h” as in Makhani the meaning of my name changes to “buttery”, so it’s not my fault I love butter, just saying). Anyways, the chef goes away and I am eating my delicious lobster roll now wondering what it would taste like with hot butter all over it and guess what?! The chef came back with a sample of lobster knuckles with hot butter all over it and oh my dear lord!! That blew me away. I am definitely going back for that buttered lobster roll! I will delay my return flight to London if I have to but I will go back. Filled up and content with my (second) lunch I thanked the chef and promised to come back for the buttered bad boys.

I then made my way to the Institute of Contemporary Art and being Thursday the entrance was freeee. I saved $15 which doesn’t sound like much but hey, it’s 2 days accommodation in SE Asia!

So this museum was interesting. At times I was like, “what am I looking at?” But there were displays that made you stop and think how that picture was taken and if it was really a picture or a painting. My favorite picture (the one I can remember) was of a couple praying in their farm during a break from work but instead of farm tools they had pistols in their hand, instead of a pitch fork in the ground there was a rifle beside them and instead of a sun in the background there was a mushroom cloud with a flare underneath. Now that is seriously contemporary .

They also had a fiber art exhibition where sculptures were created using well, fiber.

It was hard sometimes to make out what you were looking at but it was a good experience nevertheless. Some sculptures were very vibrant, one made to look like some sort of an animal, one with a black background and lots of what looked like blond hair (yikes!). The most interesting was a live artist crocheting herself (depicting how we create our own environments, deep stuff!)

So that done it was time to come back home. I walked along the Fan Pier hoping to get some decent pictures of Boston at night, I think I succeeded.

When I reached home I got a message from a friend back in the UK saying that he has lost the receipt of my new camera which he was supposed to post to claim a free fuji lens for me…Grrr!! So I got free food and free entry to the museum today but also lost a free lens worth almost 200quid! But I’ve had a really good day to dwell on that now. I would have to try really hard to get really angry, which is too much effort and pointless. Oh well, I cannot miss something I never had.