Cape Cod. Boston. NYC

Chatham, Cape Cod: petal-strewn yard at a 150 year-old bank in this town ("CHAD-um") at the "elbow" of the Cape

Provincetown, Cape Cod: Race Point Beach is the northernmost point of the Cape (which I would call the third MCP joint, if Cape Cod is a bent arm and Provincetown is a fist.) Arriving too late to go up to Pilgrim's Tower and too early for the sunset.

Martha's Vineyard: the car ferry slots being sold out, a decision to take a guided tour was wise, but before the afternoon tour starts we spend way too much time in the not too interesting Vineyard Haven, where the ferry landed. 

Aquinnah, Martha's Vineyard: a sunset here would have been nice. The cliffs here spawned its former name, Gay Head.

Chilmark, Martha's Vineyard: a tribute to all Albanians! Conveniently located by the roadside to allow a quick drive-by but important enough to be included in our guide's narrative, somewhere between the movie setting of Jaws in Menemsha and the David McCullough house in West Tisbury.

Oak Bluffs, Martha's Vineyard: a large collection of gingerbread houses here

Oak Bluffs, Martha's Vineyard: a parting shot from the ferry. Hopefully this page will be protected from a virus, as I feature Mr. Norton's house (red one on right). Alas, we ran out of time and did not do justice to Edgartown, where we saw the stately homes just from the van window... I would have liked to take the short ferry to Chappaquidick and check out the site of Ted Kennedy's debacle...

Freedom Trail, Boston: an obligatory shot of Paul Revere with Old North Church in the background. Great weather for a self-guided walk on the easily navigable route. Earlier on the trail, another historic site, Old Corner Bookstore, is now a Chipotle!

Flour Bakery + Cafe: this Cambridge branch near MIT is kind of ordinary looking but the owner Joanne Chang won the 2016 James Beard Award for Outstanding Baker no less.

L'Espalier, Boston: a cheese course in this Back Bay restaurant. The food's OK, the service impeccable.

Harvard Commencement: at 6:30 AM, the lines to get in are already all the way around the Yard. Makes you wonder, "is this really worth it?"

Harvard Commencement: we do get decent seats. PhD candidates entering.

Hot and humid, but still preferable to rainy.

A Latin Salutatory keeps the audience quiet. Big screens are placed throughout the Tercentenary Theater in Harvard Yard.

Standing room only in front of Widener Library. Not sure what the band members are up to.

School of Design candidates

It's law school's turn and students rise with scary enthusiasm.

Go ahead, toss those caps, JDs. We are tossing away the 70K-a-year obligation, too.

The afternoon exercise speaker, Steven Spielberg: "We are a nation of immigrants... at least for now," drawing a big applause from the audience.

Chef's Table at Brooklyn Fare, New York: a great start to the holiday weekend in the city. Photography was not allowed during the meal, disappointing but understandable.

Exceeded my expectations. In the C-shaped 18-seat counter, we sat right next to the kitchen area. Chef Cesar Ramirez talked with us the ENTIRE time. Maybe because of our name dropping or our obvious admiration of his skills, it seemed he spent 70% of his time between preparations just chatting with us - explaining most dishes, describing his kids, and even sarcastically alluding to the seemingly frivolous lawsuit he's had to defend against.

Discrimination against Asians? C'mon. His entire cooking philosophy is based on Japanese cuisine, manifest in his dishes from a version of Chawanmushi with foie gras and Australian black truffle to the inventive matcha financier. Many others were memorable as well, including the yellow trout roe tartlet to a cooked vegetable dish containing no less than 30 items.  "I look for the best ingredients. It doesn't matter where in the world.": Hokkaido uni, of course, and also Langostino from Scotland and wild strawberries from Malaga. One of the best meals I have ever had.

Jungsik, NYC: presented as banchan, but obviously more like amuse bouche. In fact, the closest thing to Korean here is the name. A valiant attempt at creative fusion, but in the category of refined Korean-inspired cuisine, I definitely prefer Mingles in Seoul.

Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC: always a delight to come here. The massive column from Sardis during the Hellenistic period is part of the permanent collection, I believe. There also happens to be a special exhibition, "Pergamon and Hellenistic Kingdoms," going on.

This large Athena statue is part of that special exhibition. Most of the items are from Pergamon Museum in Berlin, which I had a pleasure of visiting to see the Grand Altar some years ago.

A stunning gold myrtle Macedonian wreath from 4th Century, B.C.