Sea-Food Gut

The AWP Writing Conference was exactly how I remembered it from the last time I went: so many panels to sit in on, so many old friends to reunite with, so many new places to visit, so much food to eat, and only a few days to do it all.

It's both unbearably exhausting and incredibly inspiring.

And now, somehow, I'm supposed to tell you about it without overwhelming you with photos. That's not going to be possible, so get ready.

Our quick trip started with a pretty flight.

We got to Boston late, but met some friends for dinner anyway. When you've got 4 1/2 days to see a whole city and attend a conference with 11,000 people, you try not to worry about things like sleep.

Food trumps rest.

Especially when there is so much to try: lobster bisque, lobster rolls, calamari, Boston creme pie, crab towers with avocado and mango, martinis with cucumber and mint, clam chowder and clam chowder and clam chowderrrrrrrr!


Here's Cedric and his first Lobster roll.

A friend and I ate falafel at a Mediterranean restaurant.

I couldn't get over their lamps. 

          

The first morning there, it was raining down some thick, sloppy snow.

Wet socks for everyone!

But we didn't mind. We just hid inside places and watched out the window.

Actually, gazing out windows is how I spent a lot of spare moments during the conference. The convention center overlooked some pretty views.

And even with the snowing and blowing, we wandered around to see some more.

One day, the sun even came out.

I hope the people who live in Boston appreciate their public library:

Look at it!

In one of the library's rooms, Cedric found a set of shadowboxes with people just his size.

Before we had to leave for the airport, we finally managed to find the bakery I spotted our first night. I was determined to see what pastries a place called flour might have.

The crowd inside prevented me from taking pictures of the case, but it was a glowing masterpiece of the most beautiful French macarons, tarts, cookies, croissants, etc. 

Here's Joe after eating a delicious BLT. He's been positioned strategically so you can see their adorable logo on the cup's sleeve. I love that the o is an egg yolk.

Can you see the sadness in his eyes? We ate in front of a window facing the city and its collection of neat old buildings. 

We agreed Boston is our favorite city so far.