The Boston Traveler

Food Network personality Giada De Laurentiis, the granddaughter of famous film producer Dino, made a trip to Boston for her cable-television series Giada’s Weekend Getaways.
A highlight of her visit was a stop by the popular restaurant Sonsie, located in Back Bay’s high-traffic Newbury Street shopping district. The talented chef was hankering for some pizza to eat with her hands like a real Italian should, and she selected an absolutely divine looking recipe with a mixture of white cheese, corn, and smoked bacon from the menu.
I caught the episode recently during one of my regular Food Network phases, which is …read more

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Since CBS network’s local Boston TV affiliate WBZ is too stingy to allow embedding of its footage of last night’s Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular, I visited good old reliable YouTube, where several people who were spectators have uploaded their personal video footage of the event. Thank you!
I didn’t check out the display in person myself since the Longfellow Bridge, my favorite perch, was closed to observers. That didn’t stop me from watching on television along with the rest of the nation, though, and I could actually hear the pyrotechnics booming right in my living room.
One thing I …read more

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It seems the Franklin Park Zoo has a bit of a dilemma on its hands these days: two African Wattled cranes named Kotze and Pepe, members of an increasingly endangered species, are refusing to mate after they were introduced and housed together for that very purpose.
Wattled cranes only have an estimated 8,000 members left worldwide, and the zoo is attempting to help reverse the troubling trend and preserve the population by producing a hatchling in captivity. Kotze and Pepe could care less, however, leading to a very interesting and funny article at the Boston Globe about the predicament.
Watch the …read more

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It’s been a few days now, but Boston residents are still glowing in the aftermath of the Boston Celtics’ victory during the 2008 NBA Finals. That happened on the night of Tuesday June 17, of course, when the players, last in the East just one year ago after amassing the 2006–2007 season’s second poorest win-loss record of 24–58 — only the West’s Memphis Grizzlies fared worse, with a 22–60 record — defeated their West Coast rivals the Los Angeles Lakers 131–92 in game six of the NBA championships.
Three days later, the Boston Globe used the accurate description “a twisting …read more

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Following the Boston Celtics’ decisive 131–92 win over the Los Angeles Lakers in the sixth game of the 2008 NBA Finals on Tuesday night, it was trophy time.
The team members received their shiny gold reward during an enthusiastic ceremony immediately after the game’s final moments, and 30-year-old Paul Pierce was named the MVP of the series, as well.
In the video of the Trophy Ceremony below, head coach Doc Rivers and shooting guard Ray Allen each have the chance to speak a little about the victory, in addition to Pierce.
Forty-six-year-old Rivers should be particularly proud since the finals represent both his …read more

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Toodle-loo, Kobe and Company!
What a nice way to cap off the night — with an eagerly anticipated NBA Championship Title like the one the Boston Celtics snatched from their playoff rivals, the Los Angeles Lakers, just a few hours ago.
Before we get to the video of the rousing triumph — or bitter defeat, depending on your perspective — I list a few facts for Tuesday’s matchup:

The game at Boston’s TD Banknorth Garden was the sixth of the best-of-seven series
The final score was 131–92, meaning the Celtics clobbered the Lakers by an authoritative 39 points
At halftime, the Celtics led the …read more

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I’ve wanted to post the recipe for Boston Cream Pie for quite a while now, ever since I wrote about the historic hotel Omni Parker House.
That’s where the world-famous dessert was reportedly created in the mid-19th century by French chef M. Sanzian. The dessert has become such an essential component of the state’s identity it was designated the official Massachusetts State Dessert in 1996.
For the uninitiated, Boston Cream Pie is not a pie at all, but rather a cake, complete with a thick vanilla custard filling and a chocolate glaze on top typically described as a ganache made with …read more

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…or at least local dancer Michael Kim can.
The best dance reality competition on television, Fox network’s So You Think You Can Dance, just wrapped up its six-city audition phase for the current fourth season earlier tonight. All of the candidates who make it through the first grueling phase then move on to an even more difficult level of competition in the Las Vegas second round. A final cut is made at the end of that stage, and the far fewer people who survive move on to the final level of competition that results in a single ultimate winner.
One …read more

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Normally, I would post about a local Boston attraction today. But while looking for accompanying media, I came across interesting YouTube footage uploaded to the video-sharing website in December 2007.
Debatably titled Boston’s Deadliest Bike Messenger, the admittedly thrilling viewing material demonstrates numerous ways to get yourself — or someone else — in a fatal accident while riding a bicycle on the streets of Boston … or any other place for that matter.
There are rules of the road in Massachusetts that bike riders are supposed to follow just as much as drivers. If you plan to visit and use …read more

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You want fascinating? Boston’s got it — in the form of the ever popular Museum of Science, a Boston landmark and member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums that is home to the Charles Hayden Planetarium, the Mugar Omni IMAX Theater, and dozens of animals. The museum is situated steps from the Boston-East Cambridge border, right at the Science Park stop on the Green Line subway.
With a stated mission “to stimulate interest in and further understanding of science and technology and their importance for individuals and for society,” the museum hosts a number of intriguing interactive exhibits …read more

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