Leaving at the end of a trip is always with mixed feelings. I loved Boston and there is still so much to see and do, and yet I miss my dog, I miss my home, and I’m ready to see family and friends again. I am not ready to go back to work! So I was sad yet not completely. I hit my snooze on my alarm several times but finally got up to peek out the window and see if it was a winter wonderland. I don’t know that it was quite a winter wonderland, but it had certainly snowed during the night. Then what to my wondering eyes did I see? A girl in a short skirt and what looked like flip flops, no coat. How could this be? I called Katrina over, neither of us could understand it!
I arose, and after I was ready for the day, I finished packing. We headed downstairs and left our luggage with the concierge. The snow was gently falling as we walked. We went for one last breakfast at the Boston Common Coffee Company around the corner from our hotel. It began to snow a bit harder as we sat and ate. I had tea and quiche. It was such a nice way to end the morning in Boston. It was kind of like Boston had held out by giving us good weather while we were there and traveling around but knew we needed to see the beauty in the softly falling snow before we left.
On our way to the "T" I stopped at the Brattle Book Shop to see if I could find some books that would be a good momento of my trip - and I knew that would be an older copy of Little Women. After all, Bronson Alcott had spent time in this bookstore - it just seemed appropriate. I did find some Louisa May Alcott books, but no Little Women. I settled for a 1914 copy of Little Men and took it to the counter. I did ask about Little Women and she told me it might be in the back at the children's books. I went back and found a copy from 1994. I bought both books and we were happily on our way.
We then hopped on the T and took it to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. It was still snowing when we arrived and we were quickly welcomed to the museum by a statue of a Native American on his horse with his arms stretched out wide to the sky. It was as if he was welcoming the snow fall, and yet he was only half dressed. It was a perfect romantic vision of the native who is strong and brave even in the face of nature, welcoming the elements.
I have to say that I am very grateful to have a student ID because it has saved me money in almost every museum I went in to. I'll also be able to make those tax write-offs for work... another perk of being a history teacher! We bought our tickets and left our heavy coats at the coat check along with my newly acquired books. We started our tour off in the Egyptian arts and walked through much of the possessions from the tombs. There were a number of amazing sarcophagi, funeral masks, etc. It's still pretty amazing to think I'm looking at a piece of art that is 4,000 years old! We walked into the Assyrian and Persian arts as well. I love the big panel friezes by the Assyrians.
There were plenty of Greek and Etruscan artifacts as well. One new collection I had never seen in any museums to my recollection are the seals that had been created. They were so tiny and delicate, carved into this small rock that would leave the imprint. One of my favorite pieces was a large statue of a lion carved by the Greeks with wings on it. It has no head (I don't know what my obsession with headless statues are but one of, if not my favorite, pieces of all time, is Nike of Samothrace - Winged Goddess), but the shape is graceful.
We walked through the American wing of art as well and I love to look at the furniture they have. They had a few rooms set up from two different mansions at the turn of the 19th century and then the mid 19th cent. One room was incredibly pink ( my mom would love it). Another room was so busy! I commented to Katrina more than once looking at some of these old rooms that I don't think I'd ever put the prints together that they had. The wallpaper might be a print, the floor rug another, and then the bed was draped with yet another non-coordinating fabric!
They had an interesting display of chairs explaining what each style had unique to let you know where it was made. They truly were beautiful! I liked best the one from London, but the others were quite beautiful as well. On one chair from Boston, they pointed out the owl design - the back of the chair makes an owl face. Owls have come back in again as the trendy thing, and I have to admit, they are really cute. Of course, I think you could make just about any animal look cute to me!
We made our way up into the art of Europe in the 1800's and there I saw my favorite spot on the whole museum - a corner of Renoir! I love Renoir and his three dancing couples are some of my favorite pictures ever! His pieces were even more beautiful in person. Not to mention that there was a stunning little bronze dancer by Degas. Monets also hung on the walls around....delightful room!
At this point Katrina and I started to move quickly through the rest of the rooms. This museum was a little overwhelming and I can see why the tickets are good for two days. Some other highlights I found - the John Singer Sargent displays, learning about and identifying with the Aesthetic Movement (which I think describes my taste pretty well), and playing a little computer design game based on the modern paintings in the room.
In the Chinese section, there were several pillows that had been decorated. Their pillow is certainly not the cushiony thing we think of today - it's just a hard, bowlish shaped place raised by a leg underneath it. I do think it looks more comfortable than having no pillow at all, but we are definitely spoiled by softness and comfort today!
After being thoroughly overwhelmed by art, Katrina and I left about 2ish to get some lunch and head back to the hotel. We walked up Huntington, the avenue of the arts, past the Boston Symphony which was held in this magnificent building. The Little Black Book recommended Moby Dick's for lunch and that's where we ended up stopping. It was a little whole in the wall Persian restaurant and had it not been for Katrina, I probably would not have chosen that place. I'm glad she did because I ordered their chicken curry on their own recommendation, and it was quite delicious over Basmati rice with some pita bread. So good!
We took the T back to our hotel area but decided to walk through the common on the way back and try to find the storybook characters over by the Swan boats area. The common was so pretty with snow covering the ground and the limbs of the trees. The twinkle lights were already on - even though it was just after 3pm (sun is down around 4:30 there). We saw a few kids running up with discs to slide on the snow. It was so fun to see their excitement! I also saw over by the frog pond a bunch of dogs frolicking in the snow with their owners and it made me miss my own Hannah dog.
We crossed the street off the common and into the Public Garden. The path was lined with snow covered evergreen bushes that made it the perfect winter scene. Across from there was another snow covered pathway that lay among trees with twinkle lights; it had truly a magical feel to it. We were a little distracted by the beauty of the scene and the time began to slip away. We hurried our walk back to the hotel, and we were a little turned around so we didn't quite make a straight bee line for the hotel. Katrina had a better idea of our route than I did, but thanks to my trusty little Black Book we arrived at our hotel. We regained our luggage from the hotel and they gave us directions to walk to the South Station where we would catch the silver line and take a bus to the airport.
The walk to South Station was easy, but finding the silver line once we arrived was not so easy! I think what happened is we followed the signs for the bus terminal, which was different than the silver line bus stop. We walked the stretch of the station only to be told be had to turn back from where we came. We did eventually find the right place and waited only a few minutes before the bus came to take us back to the airport. My time in Boston was almost over!
Virgin America was empty and we got right through the check-in and security and had an hour to spare. I bought some Chamomile and took a Dramamine to try to help me sleep. I took a second one just as we got on the plane so help me sleep more than last time. This flight was closer to 6 hours, versus the 4 1/2 on the way there. I was fairly drowsy and did sleep on the plane but awakened every 1/2 hour -hour.
I have to say that my experience on Virgin has only been positive. I took Virgin Atlantic to Scotland probably 13 years ago. Virgin America has probably one of the roomiest seating areas, as well. The flight home was a little bumpy at times, but the turbulence over all doesn't really bother me that much. I think it's just the idea of crashing. This time the flights were not too bad and I was napping much of it. We arrived back in LAX and I realized that I had a bit of a dramamine hangover - I was ready to sleep, but I still felt a bit drowsy.
A few things that I have forgotten to mention - I have never seen so many North Face jackets on people in my life - that apparently is the choice of winter gear in Boston. There was a Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts on what seemed just about every corner. Katrina also had a hard time finding her black gloves. More than one morning we played the game of, "where are Katrina's black gloves today?' She even had three black gloves with her, but it seemed like they were eaten by her other clothes! I think she went through every piece of clothing she brought with her to find them.
I am back home now in the warmth of Southern CA - even though it's a cold snap right now. This is not cold in comparison, but I think first off, in Boston, you do a better job dressing for the cold (or at least I did - always had two layers on the bottom and three on the top)! Plus, I think you just get used to it. My nose or hands were cold a lot, but my core wasn't, thanks for my down coat.
Hannah was happy to see me, as I was her. Now, to figure out how to split my time up on the east coats and the west coast...
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