i took the number 1 dudley bus out of harvard square to meet dan for lunch at the bombay cafe in boston. i'd been there once before, back in november 2009. i don't think the food is anything special, but you can't beat the $7.95 buffet price. afterwards i went with mike and dan back to their office where we bumped into carl on our way up the elevator. i could've stayed there all day, just looking out the window of their 23rd story office, but dan had to get back to work so i left. instead of going back home, i ended up going on a photographic architecture walk around the area, documenting any building that looked remotely romanesque. i didn't get home until after 3:00.

central square cambridge (as seen from the 1 dudley square bus):

bombay cafe (175 mass avenue, berklee music school area):

view of boston from the 23rd floor of 101 huntington avenue:

here's something i never noticed about the trinity church: the central tower (with the red-bricked roof) is actually quite tall. from the ground level it's hard to properly gauge it's height, especially next to the much taller john hancock tower. i've always imagined trinity to be kind of short and compact, but seen from the 23rd floor of 101 huntington, the central portion is almost like a mini-skyscraper in it.

first spiritual temple (26 exeter street, hartwell and richardson 1885, romanesque) southern face:

first spiritual temple western face:
i remember this place when it used to be a bookstore. it was also a long-standing theater, but that was before my time.

76 newbury street:
not sure who designed this building nor the architectural style, but the ornate doorway is definitely romanesque with interesting little carvings. i also like the polychromy.

misc. sights:
hotel victoria (275 dartmouth street, john faxon 1886) is an example of moorish revival.

boston art club (150 newbury street, william ralph emerson 1881 queen anne style, now the snowden international school):

commonwealth avenue:

newbury street:

back at home, i helped my mother find a new heating oil company. she wanted me to try cubby oil, which i found out when i called that they only do yearly automated contracts. we ended up going with fawcett oil, at $3.699/gallon (less than cubby, which was $4/gallon after a first time customer discount). they didn't require a contract, but will call orders require 3 days notice and at least 100 gallons minimum. as for me, i have gas heating, so i'm at the mercy of nstar when it comes to gas prices.

i ate a lot for lunch: 3 full plates of food plus some rice pudding for dessert. i should've never gotten that 3rd plate, but the bargain hunter in me wanted to get my money's worth, so i willed myself to eat more. i probably could've skipped dinner, but i heated up a can of soup (campbell beef gumbo, wasn't that good).