College Visiting, Day 2

  The next day, we set out for Providence. Brown was the first school on our list. Basically, this was our thinking-- I'm only a junior and most schools (except Brown) are on break right now, so this was really a "just shopping" kind of visit. But what schools was a looking for? Something small, liberal arts, with few core requirements and good English, French, Art History, Russian, and Music. Now that I step back and look at it, that's pretty specific. What I didn't know was whether I would be into urban campuses or schools out in the middle of nowhere. Either way, it's so hard to get in anywhere these days... I really just want to keep my options open.

No lake shot while in New York: I'll have to make due with Central Park shots.

Makeshift oatmeal. It's always fun to cook oatmeal in a different house, in a different pot with a different bowl and different toppings.

We rented a car to drive down to Providence. No, this is not the car we rented, sadly, but this was a car in the rental parking lot and if I had my license, i would drive it.

I spent the car ride staring out the window and listening to tons and tons of new music (thanks, Henry!).

We just had half an hour before our 1:00 tour of Brown, but we were recommended Cafe Paragon for lunch by a friend, and we ordered as quickly as we could, stuffed the food in our mouths, and we were on our way. It's too bad we were in such a rush, because I like to take my time looking at menus. It was your typical student hang out, though, and it gave me a chance to observe the clientele/ Brown students.

My parents both ordered the lobster club, which had lobster, bacon, avocado, mayo, lettuce, and tomato. I ate some of the lobster and avocado out of it. I suppose I could have asked for it without the bacon.

I ordered the classic vegetarian sandwich standby: the portabello sandwich with brie, grilled portabello mushrooms, and roasted red peppers. It was pretty good. I was ravenous and devoured it all, except for some of the brie.

Here are some pictures of Brown. I'm going to refrain from commenting on the school itself... after all, some college admissions person is going to read this blog in the future, and I don't really know enough about any of these schools to make judgements.  

After our tour and information session, it was time to drive to Cambridge, where we were staying the night. Originally, I really wanted to eat at this restaurant called Oleana (recommended to me by my foodie bio teacher), which is a kind of contemporary Middle Eastern fusion concept, but we had been invited to dinner by a family friend. She realized at the last minute that I was a vegetarian, so she bought me a prepared pasta dish from Formaggio Kitchen, a gourmet foods store that we love.

The table was so beautifully set. She had made a rustic lamb stew with potatoes, peas, string beans, and carrots. Just the kind of simple and hearty meat dish that I would totally eat if I ate me. Alas, another meat craving. But see, it only happens sometimes.

There were some leftover string beans, so my dad found some garlic and stir-fried them quickly. He can really throw together dishes in five minutes.

I also helped make a salad with lettuce, tomatoes, and avocado.

The pasta dish that she bought me had caramelized onions and peas. It was delicious, but I ended up stuffing myself with carbs to make up for the lack of protein.

I also realized that I never photographed the dessert, but it was a delicious linzer torte, also from Formaggio.

Next post: Amherst!