Busy Days

Seen in the Museum of Science gift shop

Clearly, I have not been doing a good job of documenting our activities. These pictures date back to last week. Ray and Molli and I went to the Museum of Science on Tuesday morning. Molli had to go to class after lunch, but Ray and I stayed until we were worn out. It is an interesting mix. Some exhibits seem very dated, but there are some awesome interactive parts that were lots of fun. I really like the idea that a museum should teach you about things you need to know in your daily life, like nutrition (and solar energy). We had lunch in the cafeteria, pretty mediocre but better than some museum restaurants. There is a view of the river from the cafeteria that almost makes up for it. The museum is built over the river. We got there on the train--yay! Almost no walking, so we could save ourselves for the walking at the museum. Yes, they had dinosaurs...I did not take any pictures of them!

The least pleasant part of the adventure was the trip home. We probably should have left earlier. We had to change trains twice, due, in part, to construction. Government Station is closed for renovations (for two years!). That is where we would normally have switched to the Green Line. Instead, we waited almost half an hour (and let two very full trains go by) for the Orange Line, took it one stop the wrong direction and then got the train going the way we wanted. And that's the recommended way to do it (for the next two years). This turned out to be right about 5:00 p.m. There were a lot of annoyed people and it was pretty darn hot down there. Some people push and shove their way on, in spite of others who have been waiting longer. And some crowd on while others are trying to get off. I was glad we didn't really have to hurry.

The next day, Molli had class, but not too early. Ray and I spent the day exploring on our own, without much agenda. We started by following her to campus (Northeastern University) and enjoying a "pain au chocolat" at Au Bon Pain, one of several restaurants that are actually in the Recreation building, where the gym is. Molli and a friend were "running" on treadmills, while Ray and I were sitting and eating.

Christian Science mother church

I read (on my iPhone, of course) about an interesting attraction nearby that I thought Ray would like: the Mapparium. This is a large stained-glass globe from 1935 that you can walk inside. It was really amazing. The acoustics are cool and they read quotes from world leaders like Ghandi. Interestingly, this is part of the Mary Baker Eddy library. Having paid our $6 to get in, we looked around the rest of the museum after our Mapparium tour. OK, I am not a huge fan of Christian Science. Au contraire. But this woman was really a trailblazer! She also moved 65 times in her life. At a time when women were not expected to speak or write in public, she wrote a book, founded a religion (or sect?), and started a well-regarded newspaper, the Christian Science Monitor--when she was in her 80s!

my traveling companion

Then, we rode the train to the end of the line--Revere Beach! It looks like a movie from the 1930s, too. It was hot and humid, but there was a nice breeze from the ocean. I put my feet in twice, but Ray did not want to be sandy on the ride home. There were amazing sand sculptures there. I don't know what they do to stabilize them and make them last, but I'm glad I saw them.

That night, we had dinner at an Indian restaurant with Molli's employers. She babysits for a little boy, whose parents are both doctors from India. The food was delicious and they treated us. The little boy is very smart, but has a little trouble sitting quietly. He's just turned 5. I enjoyed meeting them very much. We went for yogurt afterward, keeping him up late, I'm afraid.

parked on the street near Molli's (it's where we buy groceries)

Museum of Fine Arts

The only unpleasant thing to happen so far: I lost a contact lens. I think there was sand in my eye from earlier in the day (it was windy at the beach). I took my lens out on the street, overconfidently, having done it many times over the years. I thought I got it back in my eye, but not in the right place, but it was gone. I always travel with a spare pair, even though it's been probably 20 years since I lost one, so it was only a minor crisis.

A Regency room

The next morning, Thursday: the Museum of Fine Arts. Molli again had to leave after lunch, while Ray and I stayed longer. The lunch at this museum was excellent, worth a trip even if you weren't visiting the museum. We were fortunate in that a friend of Molli's lent us her mother's membership passes so we didn't pay to get in. Molli gets in free as a student. It is a great museum and we could happily spend a couple more days there. We did not go to the second or third floors and didn't see everything on the floors we did visit.

Gaugin: Where Do we come from?

We saw some American art (and furniture), some European art (including Gaugin and Picasso), and a few pieces of Asian and African art. Our favorite exhibit, though, was Jamie Wyeth. Jamie's father and grandfather were also artists (N.C. and Andrew). My grandmother had a piece of Andrew's art, which, hopefully, someone in the family still has. He painted a lot of scenes in Maine, which I love. He also was good friends with Andy Warhol, and other celebrities. Ray and I both really enjoyed his work.

Art on the ceiling, made of styrofoam cups!

Loved the Jamie Wyeth exhibit--he was a friend of Warhol

His wife Phyllis, raced horses and buggies (how'd he get the horses to pose?)

View from Molli's apartment in the big city...love the trees

We had two of Molli's friends to dinner that night. I made the amazing spinach vichyssoise, a couscous salad, and lime pecan bars. We stopped at the grocery store on our way home from the art museum and bought most of the ingredients. It was rather good, if I do say so myself, especially considering the conditions under which I was working (and my fatigue). One of the young men is a vegetarian, and it was a lovely menu for a warm night in the city, imho. Five at the table was a bit crowded, but we enjoyed the company.

 

OMG---yes! lobster with pasta carbonara

I liked this window shade pull in the Olmstead museum

On Friday, we had lunch with my cousin, Ellen. In fact, she treated us at a tiny Italian restaurant in Brookline, Pomodoro. It was wonderful--and great to talk with her. She drove us (we hadn't been in a car in weeks) to the Olmsted National Historic Site. Frederick Law Olmsted was the famous landscape architect who designed so many parks and private landscapes that you have seen or heard of. Central Park in New York was one of the first. The Biltmore is another that I have visited. This was his home and office toward the end of his life. His sons carried on the business and had more than 70 people working for them at times. Of course, they didn't have computers or the internet and had to make copies and blueprints by very laborious processes. Ellen handed us off to her sister, Dinda, who lives in Brookline, but had never been there! It was great to see her too, although we didn't chat as much. Olmsted's yard was a small oasis of manicured wilderness in the city. We lay on the grass and looked at the sky, fringed by tall trees, and thought, "life is good."

hundreds of landscape plans filed in drawers

Me and Abigail Adams, on the Mall

While Molli went to babysit, Ray and I got on the train to the mall (Commonwealth Street) and walked part of the way down it before taking another train back and meeting Molli home for some supper and our nightly ritual of watching "Leverage." It IS a good life.

Summer Arts

Copley Square view

Yesterday, we had our biggest adventure yet. We rode the train from Boston to Portland and walked around there for five or six hours before coming back to Boston. It was somewhat extravagant, but would have cost a lot more to stay overnight.

Yarn shop, Portland

We LOVED Portland. It was a beautiful sunny day, hot for Portland, but with a lovely sea breeze. When the train arrived, we had to wait for the city bus to take us into town. Ray studied the timetables and maps and we got transfers to a second bus and rode to a park where you can walk and look at the bay: sailboats and speedboats and people walking and sitting on the grass. We all got stains on our pants, but it was worth it. I could have sat there for hours, but that would have been something of a waste, perhaps.

We walked down to the harbor and admired the ships and restaurants. We finally succumbed and did some shopping. Ray rested outside most of the stores Molli and I went in. I can always justify shopping by buying Christmas presents! The trick is to buy small light things, since they have to go home on the plane (and then be mailed in some cases). They had some great stores there! Also, lots of other people.

We walked up the hill to the restaurant I had picked, thanks to Urban Spoon and Trip Advisor. It was something of a surprise, because it was really more of a bar, and there was no seafood on the menu. They did have lovely piano jazz on the sound system. It was a small, dark space, but the atmosphere was great, only about 10 tables. We had excellent service and great drinks. I had an excellent old fashioned, Molli had something with vodka and blueberries, and Ray had red wine (Pinotage). We ate chicken on skewers with peanut sauce, salad nicoise, and a Cubano sandwich (for Ray). Then we had crepes with Nutella--and blueberries.

Portland street

Molli held out for ice cream, so we walked to the #1 restaurant in Portland: Gorgeous Gelato. It was pretty awesome. We missed our bus to the train station, but there was another due in half an hour. We spent some time in a great bookstore, Longfellow. Books are not small and light for carrying home in your suitcase, but I still found several I couldn't resist, mostly used! Fortunately, they closed at 6, so we had to leave in plenty of time to catch the bus. We waited around the train station for a while. The train was about 15 or 20 minutes late.

The ride back was so pleasant. We were all tired and had our feet up on the seats and each other, like puppies or kittens, dozing and reading and listening to our music using headphones. Actually, Molli was working on research, since we had internet and electricity. We were back in the apartment in time to watch Leverage (well, it was about 10), and decided to order pizza! How good it tasted, but I think I am ready for some quiet, healthy living today!