Had to check my clock 3 times Monday morning…9AM? Really?? Wow! Another awesome night's sleep at Casa di Lopez :P After Donna got me prepped for the day with dried goji berries & more vitamins I headed back downtown to get packed up for my departure back to NYC the following day. I spent the afternoon wandering through the Quincy Markets, which were only 10 minutes walk away from my hostel. It was a warm, overcast, muggy day, & you could really sense the irritability as people pushed through the crowded market hall to get their lunch. I opted for sitting outside, away from the hustle & bustle.

I spent several hours wandering slowly through the surrounding stores, picking up a Red Socks shirt from a shop selling all manner of Boston sports team garments & paraphernalia, & a cute little knitted Koala for the Lopez family as a thank you for taking such good care of me. I timed the walk home badly & it started to pour, leaving me drenched by the time I was halfway home & realized I did actually have an umbrella in my bag…

In the afternoon I sat in the Starbucks in Harvard Square waiting to meet Gabby after work & chatting to a very friendly, very camp barrister on his coffee break, who thought my being from Australia was "totally awesome" hehe They had live music in the upstairs part of the café with a really talented girl playing acoustic guitar & singing all the kind of cruisey music I love so it was a very enjoyable place to wait for an hour or so, while blogging away on my laptop amongst all the brainy Harvard students doing legitimately demanding study :P

Gabby & I met Donna & Gigi back at Donna's apartment & then we all trouped over to Casa di Devon for another amazing home cooked meal. Such a sweet guy - he's new to Boston & doesn't know many people here yet, & he knows Gigi from when they were both in Seattle. So there he is entertaining 4 lovely (& unfortunately for him, taken :P) ladies & he took a photo of us all…he said it would make his Mum proud :P hehe She certainly has every reason to be!

So we sat & all had a glass of wine, and delicious chicken & vegetable kebabs, & Gabby & I played dress ups while Devon was preparing dinner after discovering a bunch of interesting hats & wigs in his closet :D When the Lopez ladies dropped me off at the train station after dinner I got 3 of the biggest hugs I've ever received in my life! It was so wonderful to spend this time with them & I really hope it won't be too long before I get to see them all again :)