Boston, Days 1-2

Over the long weekend, I took a little vacation. It was not just that I wanted a vacation, it was to the point of NEEDING one. I owe my folks the world, as they cared for L&L while I was gone.

Saturday night, T picked me up and we went directly from the airport to Harvard Square. There we met up with friends for dinner at Border Café. I went to college with Dave, we were in a poetry class together; he married his longtime girlfriend last year.

As can probably be discerned by the photo, I had a few much-needed cocktails over dinner. Afterward we walked around. It was a great night, warm, with lots of activity going on. As we walked around, Dave and I made note of all the changes there since we were in college. The Greenhouse Café is gone, so is the Tasty Diner, which has been replaced by an expensive children’s toy store. And no more Wordsworth! Au Bon Pain no longer serves Orangina, either. At least the chess players are still there. Made me feel old, because it’s been so long since I lived there; I moved home in 1994.

The first time I went there was with my mom when I was a teenager and looking at colleges in the area. She and I had parked at Alewife and took the T. When we got off the escalator, I still remember how overwhelming all the lights at night were, and the people, the bustle, the shops, everything. Prior to that, the most metropolitan place I’d ever been was Disneyland. But now, nearly 20 years on, Harvard Square feels like “home,” and brought back a lot of nostalgia! The authors that came to the Brattle House, the street performers, the book stores, the hanging out at poetry readings and in cafes smoking—it all reminded me of my “old” life, before L&L, when I got to go out wherever I wanted, whenever I wanted. (But I’m far more fulfilled with L&L than I ever was before, of course!)

Naturally, we went to the great book shops in the area, and we went a little crazy, as Dave and his wife are avid readers as well. In short, just a few hours after getting off the plane, I was already in danger of exceeding the weight limit on my bag for the return flight! Yes, I need more books like a hole in the head, but couldn’t resist just a few.

I stayed with T, who lives with his mom and brother in a quaint Boston home. Always a great host, he left a mint on my pillow…

Next morning we all went to Mass at T’s home parish, which is pretty large. Interesting setup, that one. One of their longtime priests left in order to get married, and the guy that replaced him IS married. Apparently, because he was an Anglican minister and converted after he was married with a family, he can be there, but the other one can’t b/c he was faithful from the cradle on. It maketh no sense to me. T’s mom said this newer one uses a ton of incense at some of his morning masses, and it practically chokes the nuns living above the chapel, because the scent wafts upward and they have to keep the windows open rain or shine to dispel it.

Next up, we took the train to the MFA to see the European Masters “exhibit.” I put this in quotes for a reason. After searching the museum, we finally asked a guard where it was. It’s usually pretty obvious where a special exhibit is, and I know that museum almost as well as their curators. The guard pointed us to a rotunda area where there were SIX, yes, only SIX paintings in this “exhibit.” Fine paintings though they were, I felt a bit cheated having just spent $32 for us to view six paintings! Of course, the museum has a lot of great works: Monet, Gauguin, Cassatt, Sargent, Rodin, Renoir, Degas, etc. But I’ve seen those dozens of times before. Last year’s Hopper exhibit was astounding and I planned my last vacation around it; I wasn’t expecting anything near to that, but still!

Legal Seafoods made up for that grand disappointment. Then we closed the day out with an IMAX show near the Aquarium; this one was about the Grand Canyon, in 3-D. It was an excellent show, however I would not recommend watching anything in 3-D on such a large screen after drinking two strong white russians.

To be continued!