Raw Adventure Day 2: Salem (and more Grezzo's)

Yet another thing I appreciate about the raw diet is the quality of sleep I now get because of it. Before, I used to have to sleep 9-10 (maybe more) hours, had to drag myself out of bed because of the sound of my alarm clock, and not really wake up 'til breakfast or a shower. Now, without any obnoxious beeping and with usually only 7-8 hours, I can get up perfectly fine on my own and feel amazing. So after the rough morning we had yesterday after only about 5 hours of sleep, I got 8 and I'm as good as new.

After getting out of our comfy king size bed, we went to the Radisson hotel's gym where I did some warm-up cardio on the treadmill (which I swear was stuck on an incline), an ab routine (4 x4 sets of 12 repetitions to target different ab areas + 2 minutes of plank + 1 minute of side planks), and 3 sets of 12 of chest, shoulders, backs, biceps, and triceps. I had to cram a lot in today only because we probably won't find a gym for the next couple days.

Then, we packed up and went for our second raw food adventure at Grezzo around 11am. I have to repeat before anything else that it's SO cold in Boston... I don't know how I'm going to survive Canada again when we move back... I don't even know how I did it for 4 years before moving back down to DC.

We started off with a green juice (which went through a Vitamix, not a juicer, since their's was broken... isn't having a broken juicer at a raw restaurant like having no rice at sushi place? and yes, my sister and I couldn't get to our favourite sushi place once because of that...). It was a mix of celery, ginger, garlic, cucumber, and some leafy green. Great way to start the day!

Had just enough time to digest that, before they brought out our BLTA with sweet potato chips and their 'pepperoni' pizzetta (which had watermelon radish as the pepperoni, yet another vegetable I had never even heard of... love discovering new foods!). I loved the creaminess of whatever they used as cheese on their pizzetta, I could swear it was real cream cheese. I also think you can never go wrong with raw wraps given my love for avocados, and this one definitely justified my belief! Another triple yum for Grezzo!

On the way out, we picked up two hemp brownies and a super chocolate cookie (super because it has blue-algae and other delicious superfoods) which we have yet to eat.

After another frosty walk, we were on our way to Salem. I haven't been there since my 11th grade class trip, but my love for Renaissance-styled costumes, quaint New England towns and houses, and old lore made it an absolute necessity for me to show Andrew. Salem definitely does not disappoint.

After I took a wrong turn, taking us pretty much to the exact opposite of town we should have been heading towards, we made it to the Salem Inn, where we dropped off our heavy heavy bags and immediately headed back out to discover (or re-discover) the town. Before heading out, at around 2pm, I snacked on a couple apricots and pieces of ginger, one of my nopal-chia-chili bars, and some more vegan chocolate.

Our love for architecture is making this trip so worthwhile. We walked

down Essex St. and stopped in all the little shops selling everything from chintzy 'witch souvenirs' to beautiful artisan crafts. We bought two little fairy houses which I intend to put into my wheatgrass planter until we get a garden (photos to come!) and I found little tartlet pans with removable bottoms which will be perfect for me-sized raw pies and treats + they'll fit in my dehydrator since I have the round model which is much trickier than the shelf kind (one day I will upgrade from the one I currently have!)

Obviously what draws most tourists to Salem is its history of witch trials. I've always been fascinated by why people have so vividly chosen to remember a crazy community of puritans who hung 20 people 300 years ago after falsely accusing them of being witches. When so many awful things have happened over the course of history, why the focus on the small town of Salem? I realize though, that humans are inherently irrational, and our interest in these witch trials are our way of trying to deal with our own personal and social insanity. Peer pressure, zealotry, fear of others, and a closed mindset are what led to the ultimate death of 20 innocent men and women who would not confess to being something they were not. It's a terrible story that actually makes me sick to my stomach when I think of the horrors that people have been and are still able to commit on absolutely no reasonable basis.

Coming to Salem was in part more than just a fun tourist trip for us. I knew that we were also coming here to pay respect to these 20 people and every other injustice like the ones they suffered, be they the prejudices put upon innocent people, the fear and suspicion (and incredible misinformation) that pagans have to face from others every single day, etc.

Once it started getting dark, we headed back to the Inn, but stopped by the Gulu Gulu for dinner. As I mentioned, very little choice for organic raw food in Salem, so we opted for their one vegan option on this cold night: a deliciously warm potato leek soup, as well as a veggie hummus platter sans pita.

We picked up our tickets for tomorrow evening before leaving. We'll also be spending the transition to the New Year at the Gulu Gulu for their Masquerade Ball (though I fear the cold in our costumes). Oh well, I'm a girl, freezing for fashion is part of what we do... Now back at the inn and in front of a warm fireplace, I'm ready to go to sleep to wake up for a kick-ass last day of 2009.

On that note, I really enjoyed Susan Power's post on her Rawmazing blog on establishing key principles to live by during the new year. I intend on doing this too, and have been putting together a mental list which I'll share with you come the New Year... there is so much I plan on doing, and a million ways I plan on growing! Happy New Year to all of you, and stay healthy!