Cannolis, cousins and farewells

  Well today is my last day in the U.S. for nearly five months, and in celebration it has started snowing! Being from Southern California I don't get to see the snow all that often, much less it actually coming from the sky. I think that this last and exciting event is the perfect farewell to a relaxing stay with my aunt, uncle and cousins in Boston. Of course I will keep my fingers crossed that the lovely snow doesn't decide to keep me and my plane in Boston  for very long. I had best be on my way to Dar  and I cannot say that I would openly welcome any delays.
  I flew out of San Diego (rather tearfully I may add) to Boston on a red-eye about two days ago and unfortunately didn't get too much sleep (...chatty neighbor) so I was a little loopy when I was picked up from the airport.  Thankfully I had lots of time to unwind before seeing my cousins and uncle again, so I don't think I frightened them too much! The first day was pretty relaxing and filled with conversations by the fireplace...oh, and lots of good food. Thursday, Cindy (my aunt) gave me a tour of Boston as well as some of the surrounding universities. Unfortunately our walking tour turned into a driven tour because it was just a little too cold out, though I must say I enjoyed being warm and toasty in the car.  After being shown around we drove to the North End (Italian quarter of Boston) and looked, and looked, and looked for a parking spot. If I move to a big city remind me to never bring a car! Finally, just as we were about through with searching we found a spot (hurray!) and quickly hurried into one of the dozens of Italian restaurants in the area. Lunch was lovely (pasta of course!) and it was entertaining to listen to some Christmas music even though the holiday is over.  After lunch Cindy took me to the local pastry shop in the North End and I tried my first (real) cannoli. For anyone that has not had one, I STRONGLY recommended it!  I wonder if they will have cannolis in Dar....? With the tour over, our bellies full and some errands completed we headed back to the house where, only a few hours later, we ate again! I hope I am not as gluttonous in Dar or I'll come back big as a house!
  It was very nice to stop in Boston on the way to Dar for both family and sleep reasons, and I look forward to a break in Heathrow during which I will get to visit my cousins Paul and Michelle! I am truly appreciative of all these opportunities to see family, especially those that we live so far away from.

In front of the Italian restaurant!

  Well, it is time to say farewell (until next time) to America, family, and  most likely those yummy cannolis.  Everything is going well so far, so hopefully that carries over into good flights, new friends, and good exchange rates! Again, I have no idea what the internet connection/availability will be like in Dar for the first couple of weeks so don't panic if there aren't posts for a while. It is most likely that I wasn't attacked by a water buffalo but rather swept up in the busy schedule held by CIEE.