North End & The New England Aquarium

After returning from Maine, my body, in what was obviously a sign of disapproval, responded to me leaving that gorgeous town by getting sick. After a week and 2 days stuck at home, most of which were spent in bed, I was glad to be feeling better and eager to get out and enjoy the time I had left with Daph.

We searched and searched for restaurants worthy of a try before giving into the glowing reviews about the awesome food at Giacamo's in The North End of Boston.
If you live or have ever visited Boston and are familiar with Hanover St., you know you can't trip without falling into an Italian restaurant, bakery or eatery of some kind. Much to my gluttonous delight!

No special treatment here! You wait on line outside and are seated according to how many people are in your party and how many chairs they have available.
Being only two, Daph and I got seats pretty quickly overlooking the kitchen.

Giacamo's is a tiny space where our waitress, Jenny, encouraged us to "crowd in and get close like family."
They don't bother with menus either. Which I liked. You peer over to the left wall where the entire menu and daily specials are listed in colorful chalk on a large chalkboard.
















I started with a small fried calamari served with the house red sauce for dipping. This was my first calamari experience and I loved them.





















Daph ordered the caprese salad. This was standard, but he really enjoyed it.
















For the main course, I went with something else new to me, pumpkin tortellini, with sage and marscipone sauce. It was creamy and sweeter than you might expect. I thought the flavor was great, but after a few bites grew tired of the sweetness and wished I'd ordered something more savory.
















Daph ordered the fettucini with salmon in traditional red sauce. We both thought this was delicious. He was kind enough to share, so we ate from his plate together.
(I'll post a red sauce recipe you can make at home that rivals Giacamo's soon!)
















We loved our overall experience. We read reviews about rude waitresses/waiters, but saw none of that. Jenny, our waitress, couldn't have been anymore charming and welcoming. Giacamo's only takes cash.

As the restaurant is so small, no dessert is served. For dessert we walked up a block to Mike's Pastries for cannoli's. After pushing our way through the ravenous crowd (which you're encouraged to do), I called out my order from what I gathered they might have. Mike's is so crowded you can't see the cases, and you have to order quickly.

We came home with Pistachio, chocolate chip, and lobster claw cannoli's (the latter is filled with traditional lobster claw filling, not ricotta), a whoopi pie, a piece of Boston creme pie (which is actually custard filled cake) and an eclair for my grandmother.
The pistachio cannoli's were our favorite!


















































Later in the week we used the free passes I got from the Boston Public Library to visit the New England Aquarium. If you have a library card in Boston, free passes are available at the library to most of the Museums and other attractions in the city. You just have to call to request a day and pick them up!
















I hadn't been to the aquarium in years and didn't remember it being so small (the outside is misleading), but it was. The things we did see were beautiful, but unfortunately, we saw no sharks in the ascending spiral tank! That's what we were really looking forward to. And the penguins. No fear, the adorable penguins still greet you upon entrance into the aquarium.






























































































The month Daph was here was magical for the both of us. I couldn't imagine it was possible, but I fell in love with him all over again, deeper than ever before. He arrived the man I planned to spend the rest of my life with, and left...(after eloping November 5th), My Husband. And the man I always will.

I'm so happy I could share that month with all of you, My Blogger Friends.