With Alex graduating from Northeastern University with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, we made plans to attend the two graduation ceremonies:
- Khoury College of Computing Ceremony at Matthew's Arena, May 2, 14:00 EST
- Fenway Park, May 5, 16:00 EST
Wednesday, May 1, 2024
After waking up, dressing, and packing, we ordered UberX to San Francisco Airport. There was heavy morning traffic, and we arrived around 9:40 p.m.
Since I already had TSA Pre-check on my tickets, we quickly walked through security and stopped for breakfast at the Ritual Coffee Roasters. We ordered the following breakfast items:
- Boris: Plain Croissant, Mocha
- Inna: Ham & Cheese Croissant, Latte
- Lunch Take Away, Sandwiches for the flight
Our JetBlue flight #334 from San Francisco (SFO) to Boston's Logan Airport (BOS) was initially delayed but resumed normal departure at 11:26. We departed slightly delayed at 11:48 but landed in Boston ahead of schedule at 19:50 EST.
The flight was smooth, though Inna and I had a cold. Inna watched some movies, ie. Erin Brockovich, while I listened to two books:
- Amor Towles: Table for Two
- Alexander McCall Smith: The Good Husband of Zebra Drive
I finished listening to Amor Towles' Table for Two. It was a collection of marvelous short stories.
After landing at Boston's Logan Airport, we finally found our way to the UberX pick-up in the parking garage and ordered Lyft. However, our Lyft driver would be too long a wait, so we canceled and re-ordered UberX.
We checked into our Hyatt Regency Cambridge Hotel, room #1429. After quickly unpacking our suitcases, we decided to head for dinner before everything closed.
We decided to visit Little Donkey on 505 Massachusetts Ave for dinner and ordered UberX to take us there (it was late, and we were unsure about directions). When we arrived, the restaurant no longer served dinner (only drinks), so we proceeded to Si Cara Pizzeria nearby.
At Si Cara Pizzeria, we ordered the following:
- Appetizer: Fried Bussel Sprouts, Mixed Greens Salad
- Pizza: Calabrian Chicken
The Mixed Greens Salad was excellent, and the Calabrian Chicken Pizza was delicious. The pizza dough was thicker than Neopolitan, but it was still tasty.
We stopped by for Bubble Tea at the Jaho Coffee Roaster next door. It was still open late evening (a bit unusual for coffee shops). We ordered Bubble Tea, but it was too sweet.
Thursday, May 2, 2024
I was hoping to wake up early at 06:30 and go for a morning walk along Charles River. However, when I woke at 06:30, I was still too tired and jet-lagged. I slept until 07:00 and then showered, shaved, and dressed.
I worked for a few hours until Inna woke, and we decided to visit the nearby Flour Bakery for our morning breakfast. After a 20-minute walk, we entered Flour Bakery (packed with M.I.T. students) and ordered the following items:
- Boris: Avocado Toast with Salmon, Mocha
- Inna: Avocado Toast with Salmon, Latte
- Desert: Pain Au Raisin
The Avocado Toast with Salmon was excellent, and my mocha was delicious. The pain au raisin was not bad.
After breakfast, we returned to our Hyatt Regency Cambridge Hotel. While I worked downstairs, Inna had her make-up done to prepare for the graduation ceremony later in the day.
When Inna was ready, she messaged me, and I returned to room #1429 to get dressed for the graduation. I put on my newly purchased Ted Baker suit, and we ordered UberX to take us to Matthews Arena for Alex's Graduation.
Unfortunately, both Lyft and UberX had very long arrival times, so we decided to use the taxi already waiting at the hotel. The taxi took us to Matthew's Arena in 15 minutes, and we arrived just as the arena opened. We found some nearby seats in section 10, row F.
Alex's friend, Iggy, also joined us a few minutes later, and we sat down, waiting for the procession to start.
The 600+ Khoury College of Computing students walked in two separate lines and sat in front of the large stage. Elizabeth Mynatt, the Dean and Faculty of the College of Computer Science, walked in next and started the proceedings.
Elizabeth Mynatt gave the first talk, outlining her vision of computing for the benefit of mankind.
She congratulated the class on going forward through a tough time of COVID-19 and overcoming unexpected challenges.
Sara Takhim, a 2024 senior graduating with a BS in Computer Science, gave the next talk.
After many speeches, the degree-granting ceremony started. After about an hour of waiting, I saw Alex's name flash on the screen and took photos of him shaking the Dean's hand. It was an exciting moment for Inna and me!
After the ceremony, we met Alex on the steps of the New England Conservatory and walked to 354 Huntington Ave to meet Jeannie Paradiso (our photographer for the event). Once I found her, she took photos of Alex and us at various locations. She had scouted the campus before and had some exciting locations in mind for more interesting images.
Luckily, the weather stayed clear and did not rain until 17:30, so we could finish all the photography. I am looking forward to seeing her edited photos.
Inna and I returned to our Hyatt Regency Cambridge Hotel with UberX while Alex and Iggy hung out alone.
I made reservations at Bar Vlaha for dinner at 19:15, and we ordered UberX to take us there. There was unexpected traffic, and we arrived later than expected, at about 19:30.
Alex and Iggy were already at our table, and we joined them. After looking at the complex menu, we ordered the following items:
- Drinks: House White wine (greek), Champagne
- Appetizers: Horiotiko Psomi (Bread) x 2, Spreads, Alevropita Pie (half), Manitaria, Vatrahos
- Salad: Horitatiki (Greek Salad)
- Boris & Inna: Arin Stin Souvla (lamb)
- Alex: Agriogourouno (boar)
- Iggy: Psita Lahanika (vegetables)
We liked the breads, appetizers, and all of our entrees. The food was excellent, and the service was fast and efficient.
After dinner, we returned to our hotel.
Friday, May 3, 2024
I hoped to wake up early at 07:00, but when I woke at 06:30, I was still too tired and jet-lagged. I slept until 08:30 and then showered, shaved, and dressed.
We decided to visit the nearby Flour Bakery + Cafe for breakfast. After a 20-minute walk, we entered Flour Bakery (packed with M.I.T. students) and ordered the following items:
- Boris: Avocado Toast with Salmon, Mocha
- Inna: Avocado Toast with Salmon, latte
- Desert: Pain Au Raisin
The Avocado Toast with Salmon was excellent, and my mocha was delicious. The pain au raisin was not bad.
After breakfast, we returned to our Hyatt Regency Cambridge Hotel to work the rest of the day.
Both Inna and I were very busy with work and did not stop until 19:20, when we needed to dress and catch UberX to our dinner at Ostra downtown.
After arriving at Ostra, we were seated at a lovely table for two and looked at the menu. After getting our drinks, we ordered the following items after consultation with our waitress:
- Drinks: Pellegrino, Island Smash
- Appetizer: Sea Bass Tartare
- First Course: Gnocchetti, Octopus
- Entree: Monkfish
- Sides: Exotic Mushrooms
- Dessert: Chocolate Torte
The food and service were exceptional—at Michelin 1-star level. The Sea Bass Tartare was delicious, and the Octopus and Gnocchetti were expertly prepared. I am usually not fond of Octopus, but I enjoyed this preparation.
The Monkish and exotic mushrooms were also delicious. For dessert, we enjoyed a mouthwatering Chocolate Torte. Although expensive, we were pleased with our dinner.
Saturday, May 4, 2024
After waking up at 07:30, I showered, shaved, and dressed. While I did some work, Inna showered and dressed. We took an UberX to Tatte Bakery & Cafe on 80 Boylston St., where we met up with Alex.
We found a couple of tables downstairs and arranged them into one. Inna and Alex ordered the following items:
- Boris: Croissant Breakfast Sandwich, Mocha
- Inna; Egg-in-a-Hole, Latte
- Alex: Salmon Sandwich, Latte
- Dessert: Pistachio Croissant
The croissant was excellent, and my mocha was delicious. However, I wish the Tatte staff had cleaned the tables better.
From here, we walked through Boston Common Park to the Charles River Esplanade. We enjoyed watching the small sailboats tacking on the Charles River. As our walk continued, we walked east towards the Longfellow Bridge and westward along the Charles River.
We walked across Harvard Bridge to Newbury, where we reminisced about the coffee shops we had visited a few years ago (during the winter when Alex first started at Northeastern).
While on Newbury, we stopped by Central Perk Coffee, a favorite Friends haunt (copied from New York City). We ordered three matcha lattes and sat on couches (like in the Friends TV Show), discussing Alex's Northeastern days.
From there, we walked to the metro and rode the T to "Government Station," where we disembarked. We walked past the Bostons Seasons Beer Garden to Faneuil Hall, Quincy Market, and Market Street. We liked seeing all of the various sail and motorboats in the bay.
From there, we walked north along Commercial Street to the Bocce Ball courts, which were nearby.
Having walked about 5 miles, Alex decided to do a few other things, and we split up. Inna and I ate lunch at Legal Sea Foods at Copley Place (80 Huntington Ave). We used Lyft.com to order a car, which arrived in 20 minutes.
Legal Sea Foods is located in a fancy Copley Place Mall, and we wandered around the mall until we found the restaurant on the third floor. After sitting down, we ordered the following items:
- Boris: Crab Roll & New England Clam Chowder, Cole Slaw, Fries
- Inna: Lobster Roll & New England Clam Chowder, Cole Slaw, Fries
The New England Clam Chowder and my crab roll were delicious. However, later, I developed some feelings of indigestion.
After eating lunch, we ordered UberX to take us to the Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum. However, when we walked into the entrance, we noticed a sign that it was closed for some special event.
Nevertheless, we decided to visit the nearby Museum of Fine Art. We stopped by the Japanese Garden and then walked to the main entrance. MOFA closed at 17:00 in less than one hour, and we decided not to pay the $27/person entrance fee. Since it re-opens on Sunday at 10:00, we decided to visit it the next day.
Instead, we returned to Northeastern and took photos of Khoury Computer Sciences buildings. We strolled around the campus for half an hour and then returned to the Fenway Garden Society Park. We did not realize that many small plots assigned to various Bostonian families (since WW2) were used to grow vegetables and flowers.
After walking around the gardens, we returned to our hotel for rest and relaxation. We ordered a ride using Lyft, but it was slow to arrive, and Inna's iPhone was on the verge of running out of battery power.
While in our hotel room, Inna took a short nap while I checked work email.
I made reservations at Buttermilk & Bourbon (in Newbury) on 160 Commonwealth Ave for dinner. After arriving there, using UberX, and waiting 10 minutes for our table, we were seated in a corner of the restaurant. Alex was running late but arrived in time. After looking at the Southern delicacies, we ordered the following items:
- Drinks: Strawberry Julep (did not like, returned), Moon Flower, 2 x Heat Wave
- Appetizer: Biscuits, Baked Brie with Bread, Watermelon Salad
- Entrees: Fried Chicken Thighs, Ahi Tuna
Although the service was slow, and the Strawberry Julep tasted like medicine, we loved all the other drinks and dishes. The Heat Wave Margarita was excellent. The fried chicken thighs and the Ahi Tuna were exceptional. The watermelon salad was delicious, too. I did not like the Baked Brie as much as Inna (and could have skipped it).
After dinner, Alex headed to meet with Iggy while we walked (about 40 minutes) to our Hyatt Regency Cambridge Hotel.
Sunday, May 5, 2024
I woke early, at 07:00, showered, and dressed. Inna dressed quickly, and we walked to the Tatte Bakery on Harvard Square. When we stayed in Boston a few years ago, we used to eat breakfast and lunch at Tatte Bakery almost every day, and we missed the delicious breakfast sandwiches and pastries.
Our Hyatt Regency Cambridge hotel was about 40 minutes away (by foot) from Havard Square, and we started our morning walk. It was cloudy and somewhat chilly outside, and I had to wear my hoodie most of the way there. We saw many runners on the trail and rowers on the Charles River.
On entering Tatte, we were surprised it wasn't crazy busy (as we recall it always was). We may have been too early on a Sunday. Upon looking at the menu (unchanged from a few years ago and with prices also unchanged), we ordered the following breakfast items:
- Boris: Breakfast croissant, small mocha
- Inna: Sandwich, small latte
- Dessert: Cookie
The breakfast sandwich and mocha were prepared more quickly than I recall. We found a lovely table upstairs where we used to hang out and sat down, enjoying the view of Harvard's buildings outside. Unlike last time, there were guards at all of the Harvard Entrances (probably protecting Harvard from undesirable protesters).
Once we finished our delicious breakfast, we ordered UberX to Boston's Museum of Fine Arts. In about 15 minutes, we arrived there (before the official 10:00 opening) and queued up in line for museum tickets.
The museum turned out to be quite large, and we began our tour with a visit to the second floor, where we explored Dutch (Netherlands & Belgium) paintings, followed by English, Venetian, and French painters. There was a fine collection of Monets and a few Renoirs.
After a few hours, we grew tired and decided to eat lunch at the museum's cafe downstairs. We were seated at a lovely table and ordered the following from the menu:
- Appetizer:Lioni's Burrata
- Boris: Salmon Entree, Hot Tea, Cappuccino
- Inna: Scallops, Hot Tea, Capuccino
The Burrata was excellent but small. The Salmon was not bad, and Inna liked her scallops.
After lunch, we continued exploring American Art, which included many paintings of Paul Revere, Samuel Adams, and George Washington.
Inna also wanted to see the small fashion collection with famous dress designers. She enjoyed it more than me.
At around 14:15, we decided to head to Fenway Park to see Alex's Northeastern Graduation. We followed a long, crowded line of parents and graduates and queued up in a very long security line. After getting through security and showing our tickets, we walked inside the stadium, looking for the best seats.
The band was already playing, and graduates entered the stadium to get seats. This procession continued for about an hour.
We found seats in Section 111, row CC, outdoors but with an excellent view of the graduates and the stage. Iggy and Sahith joined us a few minutes later.
We noticed Northeastern graduates coming in, and it took a long time for all 4,000 graduates to sit down. During the ceremony, it started to drizzle, and most graduates put on ponchos.
After the ceremony, we met Alex under the stadium's flagpole. After a short conversation and a few photos with his friends, we left him to enjoy his special day while we returned to our hotel.
I made reservations at the Banks Fish House for dinner at 19:30. We ordered an UberX and were promptly taken there. After checking in, we were taken to our table upstairs. We waited a few minutes for Alex, Iggy, and Sahith to join us.
We looked at the menu and ordered the following items:
- Drinks: Saratoga Sparkling water
- Wine: 3070 St. Christopher Riesling, Mosel, Germany
- Appetizer: Ceviche, Tuna Tartare, Arcadian Greens
- Soup: Clam Chowder (Alex)
- Bread: Rolls, Cornbread
- Alex: Lobster Roll Hot
- Inna: Lobster Roll Host
- Boris: Jumbo Scallops
- Iggy: King Salmon
- Sahith: Bolognese
- Sides: Truffle Fries
- Dessert: NY Cheesecake
We had a wonderful dinner and enjoyed our conversation with Alex, Iggy, and Sahith. The Ceviche and Tuna Tartare were terrific, and my jumbo scallops were delicious.
After dinner, Alex returned to his dorm to pack while we ordered a Lyft to our hotel (as it was still raining).
Monday, May 6, 2024
After waking up at 07:00, I showered, shaved, and dressed. I had a few more minor items to pack before heading to Boston's Logan Airport for our return to San Francisco.
We coordinated our arrival at Logan Airport with Alex, who had multiple suitcases he needed to check in for our flight to San Francisco.
Our flight to San Francisco was slightly delayed. However, we had to wait over an hour for our suitcases on landing. JetBlue was very slow.
Northeastern Graduation Trip
Highlights
- Alex's graduation from Northeastern's Khoury College of Computer Sciences
- Dining at the following restaurants:
- Ostra Seafood Restaurant
- Bar Vlaha Greek Restaurant
- Buttermilk & Bourbon
- The Banks Fish House
- Flour Bakey + Cafe in Cambridge
- Tatte Bakery at Harvard Square
Lowlights
- Rain during Sunday's Graduation Ceremony at Fenway
- Very busy at work (especially on Friday), with little time to visit Tatte during breakfast or lunch
- Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum was closed on Saturday.
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