We opened the next morning with a breakfast at Mike’s City Diner on Washington – a longer walk than nearby Charlie’s, but the day was already shining in sunny style, and walking among beauty makes for easy talking. It had only been a few weeks since I’d been there, but it was Noah’s first time, so an introduction seemed apt. We took our time as the place slowly started to fill up, then made our way further into the South End for the next planned excursion.
Sunday mornings at the SoWa Market were how I used to close out my weekends in Boston, and it’s been a few years since I’ve gone. On this day Noah was up for the visit since he likes a vintage hunt, and I thought they still had a vintage market somewhere. We browsed the food stands and stores, then found some t-shirts and a suede coat to go with my own upcoming autumnal theme.
As we sat down for a breakfast dessert of ice cream (a rule-bending habit we had started the night before) a bank of gray storm clouds looked to be moving in, but they seemed isolated enough not to cause an issue. We discussed where we want to go next, and Noah mentioned that he usually ends up near the harbor at some point on each of his trips here, so we headed in that direction. After making it only a few blocks, the rain began – at first just a bit, with only a few drops, then it got a little heavier so we hustled into a canopied park, sitting down on a dry bench beneath some trees. I thought we might wait it out, but it only seemed to get heavier, and without umbrellas or jackets we were at the mercy of the sky, so we made a quickened walk for whatever nearby restaurant could be found. Eventually, we found Citrus & Salt, ducking in just as the heaviest downpour arrived.
While we had only eaten a couple of hours before, a snack seemed good since we had some storm time to pass, so I told Noah I’d order some guacamole and asked if he liked oysters. He said he never had them before but he would try. One of my nephew’s many admirable attributes is that he is willing to try any sort of food you might suggest, and more often than not he ends up liking it and adding it to his repertoire. It makes for fun dining experiences, and on this day we shared a plate of oysters – his first, continuing his own culinarily adventurous weekend.
As our impromptu meal concluded, the sun came back out and the sky shone blue again, so we continued our way toward the harbor, where we detoured through Fanueil Hall, then found the path to the Charles River and followed it back toward Copley.
Passing Commonwealth, I remembered the elephants were in town, and as I hadn’t seen them yet it seemed the perfect time, and the perfect company, with which to meet them.
Returning to the condo for an afternoon siesta, I looked up place that offered Peking Duck to make up for our change of plans the night before and found Novo Lantern which was a much closer walk than Chinatown, so I made a reservation for us. This was Noah’s second first try at a new dish, and he ended up loving it as much as I did. The first time I had Peking duck was with my Uncle Ding – and the second was with my Uncle Roberto – so perhaps it’s a Filipino Uncle thing.
Noah and I had a deep discussion about things over our assembly of the duck – the very best sort of conversation that you can have with a cherished family member – the kind that makes you feel alive and grateful and happy, the kind that makes you feel like this is what life should be like always. He’s a good guy. I feel lucky that he’s growing into such a decent young man, and that he still likes spending time with his crazy Uncle, whom he counted as the most interesting person he knows. Such praise deserved a treat, so I took him to Aquitaine for a dessert of chocolate bread pudding, then we called it a night…
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