Only Got $20 in my Pocket

Well it's been one helluva week.

Mozart opera rehearsals and performances, meandering around Boston at all hours of the night, hanging out with great company, telling jokes, and frequenting the Faneuil Hall area of downtown Boston is basically a summary of awesomeness that's been happening. So far, this has been one of the best summer vacations I've had (since I was a kid, when I didn't have to work and actually got to go on vacation).

Let's start with Haymarket.

Haymarket is a huge outdoor market place located just steps away from Faneuil Hall, the market itself is centuries old, and around the corner there are tons of historic pubs. It's open only on Fridays and Saturdays, with the specific hours of "from dawn 'til dusk", and it's usually crowded with people from all walks of life. They sell produce at rock bottom prices, and there are little specialty shops selling cheese, meat, fish, and spices among the many stands that are set up.

Walking through, I wouldn't have to tell you that most vendors are Italian, from the north end, and clearly have been there for generations. Yelling to each other in thick Italian-Boston accents really adds to the...Boston-ness of this whole outdoor produce party.

The thing about it is that Haymarket is sometimes hit or miss. I went with $20 and bought an entire weeks supply of produce. However, sometimes you get what you pay for. Grapes, being sold for $1 a bag...most of them were good but a few were a little sour, bought a delicious melon, weird plums that were delish, 4 peppers, a pound of cherries, kiwis, nectarines, peaches, asparagus, an onion, 2 bags of baby carrots, and some blueberries. Shopping at haymarket is fun, but it's an art:

First, do a walk through of all the stands and when you find good looking produce, go for it. The vendors usually let you pick your own, but sometimes they just fill a bag with what you want. (If it's between $2/lb of cherries, and $1/lb, splurge those 100 extra pennies.)

Second, if you get to pick out your own, don't just assume it's market quality. I once bought two melons for a dollar each, and when I got home realized that one melon was completely gross and covered with mold. The other was totally fine, and was delicious...and still, I only paid $2 for a good melon, which is less than what you would find at Shaws.

Third, it's really easy to get carried away. I definitely bought more than I could comfortably carry this time, but totally worth it when I got home. It's good to go with a list of things you need, rather than just buying large quantities of everything.

Fourth, if you're a girl, you will get hit on by the Italians. Just accept that it's going to happen, and run away.

Fifth, enjoy your purchase!

Haymarket next to Bell in Hand, historic building, old tavern, huge tourist attraction. 

And this is only about a third of the market. 

Mucho produce

yum city

And when I'm not ambling around markets (which I usually do alone), I enjoy spending time with friends and Mr. Mozart. This past weekend I saw this glorious movie:

Adorable monsters and great story aside, it was hilarious and paid tribute to just about every college movie ever made. Then we went to Tasty Burger (popcorn was my breakfast, burgers were my lunch...I don't usually eat like this, but I've made my six year old self very happy). Then we had to stop into J.P. Licks, a Boston ice cream favorite. I even had dairy free ice cream (chocolate coconut, thank you very much, not the usual vanilla, that's usually all they have). Then we went shopping in the pru (Prudential building) and there might have been a very good sale at J. Crew. Didn't go crazy, but got a couple nice things for once.

Then the evening started. I was able to hang out by a fire pit, and took part in an awesome after-hours dance party in Somerville that was held at a venue very similar to Rise (I have cool friends). When we left around 6am, we decided to head over to the IHOP in Harvard Square for breakfast, then I was able to get about 3 hours of sleep before it was time to get ready for the opera.

Christopher Columbus Park, our outdoor outreach opera concert venue.

 The opera performances were all so amazing. Performing in Faneuil Hall was a new thing for me, as I have oddly enough performed some new music in Christopher Columbus Park before. We had a great audience turn out, I made some great new friends, reconnected with some old, and had a wonderful time being out and about in downtown Boston with my clarinets.

After our final performance, the other clarinetist and I began our night of adventure...except we didn't know it was about to be a night of adventure. We helped ourselves to some appetizers and sangria and a nearby Legal Seafoods, then we went across the street to wait for some friends who were meeting us for drinks at Boston Harbor Cruises of all places, which has a nice outdoor bar area. Then we decided to take a nice walk around the harbor. We told funny stories, jokes, made some really great and some really terrible puns, and then we happened upon a tent. It was right on the water and was empty, it looked like maybe it was a tent that was used for some sort of outdoor reception. We went inside, where the acoustics were amazing, and we had our clarinets, so why not serenade ourselves with Mozart? We also unintentionally serenaded this dude who was outside fishing, who caught a 24-inch striped bass. We were a little hesitant to pull out our clarinets at first, since we weren't sure if we would be found and kicked out, but what's the worst that could happen? They tell us crazy hooligans playing classical music to leave. We walked around forever, caught the last T, and played Mario Kart well into the night.

Summer is great, this city is great, and I'm so glad I get two more months of this awesomeness. 

I'm also super excited to be watching this movie very soon:

Happy Summertime!