Desserts, travel, rowing, being classy

Our adventures ended at a Denny's at midnight. I ordered a cup of coffee for me a brownie a la mode to share. A brownie a la mode, it turns out, is a brownie covered in hamburger sauce, as well as ice cream. We were in San Francisco for the ballet, looking chic, watching young potheads come in for a snack.

The adventures started a week ago in Boston. We were in the area for C--'s friends' wedding. In Boston, we had drinks with friends; we stayed with C--'s brother, his roommates and two cats; we walked all the way along the river, once in the sun, and once in intermittent hail and rain. The Boston marathon was to happen in a few days, and people were out training. Some of them were wearing hamburger costumes around their waists.

Back in C--'s home town we had lunch with the fiances at a Friday's, at a mall. Nothing fancy, very laid back and simple. I'm much too particular about my food to ever actively choose a Friday's as a place to eat. But there's something to be said for not going out just to ooh and ahh over your lunch. You go to hang out and relax, and the food is there because you are hungry.

C--'s mom made us pancakes, a Guinness chocolate cake with Bailey's icing, muffins, cookies, more cookies and ravioli and meatballs. Everything but the pancakes eventually found its way into my bag and on a bus to New York. Because New York clearly had a shortage of food. But that's getting ahead of myself.

I tried to show off and make bagels, but somehow they were sour. It's sad, 'cause they were really pretty, too.

The day of the wedding began at 6 in the morning. We woke up and lugged ourselves to Boston to catch a rowing race. Despite the hour being unfit for human consumption, the sun was out and it was very nice. We went to the boathouse to talk to C--'s rowing buddies. Rowers are hilarious and loud and kinda crude; it's a good time.

Back at C--'s hometown we nap, I put my dress on, C-- grabs the presents and we're off. The weddinhttp://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=861170919481276639#editor/target=post;postID=2542602551304988870g is out in the countryside. It's set in rolling hills, with two gazeboes and a little lake. The lake-lette was guarded by a grumpy swan. Apparently he was grumpy because he had recently been left by his lady-friend. But that didn't darken anyone's mood in the least. The bride was beautiful, the groom handsome and people kept chiming their glasses to make them kiss. (As a side note, when I get married, the glasses and silverware will be plastic.) The tables were set with these centerpieces of flowers that had a wonderful scent, and were quite pretty. We took one of them home with us afterward (not stealing- they asked us to.)

It was an interesting mix of secular, Jewish and nerdy traditions. The happy couple were married by a Justice of the Peace (with an awesome New England accent.) But, they were carried on chairs with the havah-magilla, being played in the background. It made me tear up a little. When they cut the cake, they played the portal theme song (an orchestral version), though it did make me wonder whether the cake would be a lie. The night ended with dancing, which is the one type of ceremony that bridges all traditions.

The next morning, I stuffed my little computer bag full of cakes and cookies, and we were off to the Big Apple. The friend we stayed with was not displeased with the great quantity of desserts that suddenly overflowed her fridge.

New York is really the best city, ever. The food is terrific. I went to a Jewish deli and had the best lox I've ever had. The Food of New York really needs its own blog post. If I try to cover it all I'll never get to work today.

We were visiting my friend T--, and my friend J-- was visiting her too. T-- and J-- are two friends from college. The four of us paddled boats in central park. It was 80 degrees and sunny. There were turtles piled up on sticks in the water, warming themselves. One of the islands was getting watered by a sprinkler, which also watered the lake a little. So we rowed out under the spray of water and cooled off.

The previous night, J-- was supposed to meet a guy for drinks at a gay bar. We went with him to hang out and have drinks. It was classy and relaxed . . . and the bartenders were wearing nothing but tight swim shorts. They were so so hot! And straight! (Probably so they don't hit on the customers . . .?) And I was the only girl in the room under thirty. Ahhh . . . we sat at the bar and had a great time.

Afterward we went to a comedy club. Five bucks; C-- got called up on stage by a woman wearing crazy high heals. Why is this city so amazing?

We got back home two days ago at midnight. The next day we went to the ballet and then went to the top floor of the Marriott for drinks with some friends. When we got there, our friends were still on the way, so we collapsed on some couches downstairs. I was seriously worried about our lasting even a few more minutes without falling asleep due to jetlag. But when our friends arrived we were hit by a second wave of energy. It was as if we were in college again.

The drinks there are absolutely amazing, the view is beautiful, and the night too short. At midnight we parted ways. C-- and I went to look for a diner so I could sober up a bit more over coffee and cake before driving us home.

The real diner was closed, so we found ourselves at the Denny's across the street. My coffee was less-than-stellar (especially after that yummy New York gyro-truck coffee . . . what do they put into that stuff?) and when C-- tasted the brownie, he thought it was a bit sour. Nah! It's just that our drinks were sweet, I said. But no, I tasted it, and it did taste a bit sour. And a bit bitter. My mind started inventing all the things they could have done to our chocolate sauce. Spit? Roofies? Why? Finally we called the waitress. She was ever so sweet about it, removed the brownie from our bill, and gave us another one, sauce-free. We tipped her a bit extra. Apparently the tubs of sauce all look alike, and we'd gotten the brown sauce that they sometimes put on burgers.

We stumbled home around 1 or 2 in the morning. I felt alive and happy in a way I hadn't done since college.