Our first post-Covid vaccinated journey was a long weekend with Allie in Boston.
Thursday, May 20
We drove up to Boston to see Allie, eager to see her and Perri. We brought a few goodies for her and Perri, mainly blankets for their new couch and food that neither Perri or Allie really needed.
The trip took its more traditional 8 hours or so, about an hour longer than when I made the drive in January and February to fetch and return Allie. Traffic was definitely heavier — not terrible but certainly thicker, with several construction or accident delays in Connecticut. I decided to avoid the GW Bridge in Manhattan and took the Tappan Zee instead, and we made a total of three quick stops which also added time. All in all, it wasn’t a bad trip; we got to Boston by 5:30 when Allie’s workday was nearly done.
We stayed this time in the guest apartment in Allie’s building, number 602, one floor below Allie. It was quite nice — nearly the same layout as Allie’s studio efficiency, well decorated and equipped. It cost $200/night, about the same as a good hotel in the area and was much more convenient for visiting Allie and Perri.
We had take-out dinner from the Dumpling Cafe just a half-block from Allie’s building. They had a huge variety of dumplings and other Chinese goodies. We easily decided on dumplings and scallion pancakes. Barb chose a noodle dish that came out kind of gloppy. I chose a beef and chicken with basil entree that we didn’t end up needing and also wasn’t particularly good. The pork with chive dumplings were quite good and would have been enough, along with the Chinese broccoli Allie ordered. The Taiwan-style fried dumplings were so-so. All could have used some vinegar and hot sauce, neither of which were provided or offered.
As we waited to pick up our order, Allie and I talked about the other restaurants up and down her block and in the immediate area. There are many she hasn’t tried but wants to, like Penang just next door. It occurred to me later that if it were me, I would take the opportunity of living downtown to set up a schedule of trying new places. Once a week, make a point of trying one or two new dishes at a nearby restaurant to try to figure out what things I like. I would make a little spreadsheet or something to keep track of what I liked and didn’t, and make a rule not to repeat dishes within 90 days. It’s not necessarily a rule for life, but seems like a good way while Allie is living downtown to force oneself to try new cuisines and dishes to find out what kind of dishes she likes.
After dinner, we settled on Allie’s new and very comfortable couch to watch Ted Lasso, an Apple TV show that Allie had seen and recommended for us. We liked it too, chugging through four of this first season’s episodes. It was sweetly fun — Jason Sudekis as an American coaching an English football team. Perri was a sweetheart, welcoming us and settling into her routines as if nothing had changed.
Friday, May 21
Today’s schedule was to have brunch at a crepe place, do some quick shopping so Barb could get some shorts, and then head over to the Isabella Gardner Museum for the afternoon. Dinner was at an Italian place in the North End where Allie made reservations. Sounded like a winning day to me, and it turned out just so.
We wandered out first for brunch crepes from Cafe Bonjour a few blocks away. We had to wait quite a long time outside for a table for three to open for us, but the girls used the time to go shopping for shorts and flip flops at Old Navy. Once we finally did get a table, the girls’ two crepes — one savory salmon and one sweet nutella — came out well before my Mediterranean crepe, but we finished at about the same time. The crepes were nice, not entirely worth the long wait but still pleasant. It was, also, our first meal indoors — there was no alternative for outdoor seating and the restaurant was quite packed. Back to normal, here were come.
We came back to Allie’s to play with Perri a bit before heading out to the Isabella Gardner museum. We had to wait a little while for an Uber to drive us the couple of miles there. Allie had been saying there has been a shortage of Uber and Lyft drivers during the pandemic. She explained that since Boston (all of Massachusetts, I guess) is still officially under Covid emergency orders, that means Uber and Lyft can’t do any surge charges which is where drivers really make their money. So, in addition to the inconveniences of driving with masks on, keeping the car very clean, driving with windows open and passengers in the back seat only, it’s not very profitable for the drivers so there aren’t as many cars out. We waited about 15 minutes for a car, which isn’t bad but not what it used to be.
We got to the Gardner Museum a bit after 1:30 for our reserved slot. We commenced to wander through this quirky testament to one 19th century lady’s ideas. The museum was built specifically to house her eclectic collection from around the world, and her endowment ensures that nothing much has changed since she laid it out more than 100 years ago. The museum is currently notable for (and we are visiting because we watched) a Netflix documentary about the 1990 heist of $500 million of works, still unrecovered.
The museum’s courtyard is rightly famous, a recreation of a Venetian palazzo with a wonderful selection of potted flowers and plants completely changed out every 6 weeks or so. We took some time to admire the courtyard, though you can’t actually walk into it.
The museum’s collection of art is crammed over three floors of rooms, darkly lit, per Isabella’s instructions. Very few pieces are marked and there are no visible curator’s notes or anything to guide you. There is a website with extensive notes and a sort of room by room audio guide, but it was cumbersome to use — I didn’t like walking into each room and having to spend a few minutes reading or listening to my phone before taking in specific pieces. But if I didn’t use the phone, I hardly knew what to look for, and I’m sure passed by some interesting stories and important artworks. There was a guard in each room and they could offer a few comments and directions. Barb started talking to them but I’m not sure she really got much useful information.
We saw all three floors, including the rooms and empty frames where artwork had been stolen, but it became overwhelming before very long. A self portrait of 23-year old Rembrandt was notable. The collection of letters and notes signed by an array of presidents, royalty and actors was interesting (John Quincy Adams and Ben Franklin had exceptional penmanship). But overall there was little rhyme or reason to the collection, at least to my untutored eye. The upper floors offered some nice views of the courtyard, though.
We got back to the lobby, bleary eyed, and I was surprised we had only been in the museum for 90 minutes. I’m sure we didn’t do it full justice, but I felt like we’d seen enough. I will have to take a much longer time reading about the Gardner collection to really figure out what I missed and whether to go back for a closer look.
We decided to walk back to Allie’s, via the Fens park, Boylston Avenue and the Commons. It was a long stroll (for us), more than two miles, but pleasant. The temperature was maybe 80 degrees, and humidity was low. Allie noted there were far more people on the streets than just a few weeks ago. Many still wore masks but we and plenty of others did not while outdoors. Barb found a Talbots and ordered a dress to deliver to Columbia, thereby avoiding an online encounter. We were dragging a little by the end of the walk but made it back in time for a little nap and a shower for me.
Allie and I went to her pool deck for cocktail hour, accompanied by a duo on guitar and flute. It was a nice interlude for a chat, though mighty breezy. Then it was time for dinner!
We walked another mile or so to the North End for dinner at Panza. All the North End restaurants have expanded their outdoor seating, taking over the parking lanes of Hanover Street, the main drag. It makes for a more European ambiance, though there was still quite a mob of cars in the road and pedestrians on the sidewalks. We got a table outside and had a very nice meal, very quickly served. Calamari was fresh and excellent. Caesar salad was crispy and cold. The free bread was excellent with oil, cheese and pepper. Barb had veal picatta, Allie got lobster ravioli and I had a special of tagliatelle with shrimp in a Gorgonzola sauce. All very good and twice as much as we could consume, so we brought lots home for leftovers.
We came back to Allie’s, 16,000 steps later, and watched a couple more episodes of Ted Lasso. Then it was bedtime for a good night’s sleep.
Saturday, May 22
We had a good night’s sleep, resting our bones from the day’s pedestrian and gastronomic exertions. Once we finally arose, I went to Allie’s while Barb did her aerobics workout. Allie had already started working up a spreadsheet of restaurants and meals, per my idle suggestion. She did very quick and comprehensive spreadsheet work; I hope it proves to be a useful tool for her.
We stumbled across Babe on TV and greatly enjoyed it once again, especially the mice. Allie and Barb say the mice remind them of Laurie and I giggling together. True enough.
Continuing our adventures, we considered ordering brunch items from the nearby Tatte Bakery but instead opted for leftovers from our previous meals. Shakshuka can wait for some other time.
After Babe we sort of watched a few short Shaun the Sheep episodes before heading out to tea for the girls at Boston Harbor, Allie’s belated Mother’s Day gift. While they tea’d, I found a spot nearby on the harbor and watched the boats and people go by. There were several wedding parties getting photos done, and quite a few pedestrians on the harborside walk. I walked a bit of the harbor promenade myself before coming back to the hotel to admire the impressive array of 16th-19th century Boston and New England maps displayed in the lobby, courtesy of the Boston Public Library collection. The girls thoroughly enjoyed their tea, proclaiming it one of the best they’d had in Boston. I enjoyed a little turkey sandwich bite that Barb rejected.
We walked back to Allie’s apartment, via the Chinatown gate where the girls agreed to a nice photo. Back at Allie’s, we played with Perri and I watched the first half of Nomadland while Barb and Allie sort of snoozed. The film moved along slowly would need more time the next day to finish it.
Eventually it was time for dinner at Toro, a tapas place Allie really wanted to try and one of Boston’s best restaurants. We Ubered there and back because the walk was not through the best neighborhood at night, though it was just a mile down Washington Street.
Once there, we were led through the dark, packed and very noisy restaurant to a very pleasant and quiet rear courtyard. I’m so glad we weren’t inside. We chose a variety of tapas including gambas al ajillo, pimientos, marcona almonds, grilled asparagus, grilled duck legs, street corn, and a risotto. We finished with churros and an Idiazabal cheese. All were quite good. We (I) could probably have ordered another plate or two but it was just as well we stopped rather than get further stuffed.
We reminisced about Spain, especially San Sebastian. Allie paid me the compliment that she always likes traveling but especially enjoys it with me because we eat so well. She has inherited many of my food tastes, which is gratifying. The evening was fun and very tasty.
We Ubered home to find a whole bunch of fire trucks and emergency vehicles outside Allie’s apartment building and many people milling on the street. It seems there was a dumpster fire or something in the garage across the street and one of the tall apartment buildings had to be evacuated. The emergency seemed to have subsided and Allie’s building was fine, fortunately. Allie was very worried about Perri but when we got to her she seemed no worse for wear.
We finished the evening by watching the Eurovision Song Contest which happened earlier in the day. I had not seen a full Eurovision since we were in Hong Kong but we’d often made fun of it. Last year’s Will Farrell movie brought it to wider American consciousness and the show was available on Peacock, I think the first time the show has been available more or less live in America.
Eurovision remains a cultural oddity, something to laugh at more than admire the songs or musicianship. Allie and I had a good time watching together; Barb eventually went to bed. We saw all the performances and skipped the hours-long voting process. We were appalled to learn that Italy won and France came in second — their songs were among our least favorites. The ones we did like finished low in the voting. It’s all rigged, as Trump might say. Fortunately, it doesn’t matter a bit.
Sunday, May 23
I met up with Allie around 9am while Barb did some weight exercises in the gym (good for her!). I finished watching Nomadland, which I thought was good, not great — somewhat predictable at this point because I’d heard so much about it. Some have posited the film as a commentary on Trump-era America or maybe post-2008 financial crisis America but I don’t think so. I feel it’s much more about a troubled woman who’s been dealt a rough hand but makes choices that help her find a life and community on the road with other nomads. She has opportunities to settle into a more conventional life with her sister or her boyfriend but deliberately opts out. It’s a legitimate, though difficult, choice also made by a roving community of thousands of others. It’s not really a groundbreaking movie but I think was able to clean up in the Oscars largely because it was a thin field in the 2020 year of Covid. 3 Stars.
Barb showed up and we decided on Windsor Dim Sum Cafe for brunch. We’d gotten takeout from there last year and enjoyed it. This time we got scallion pancakes, Barb’s shrimp rolls, pork and chive dumplings, jade pearl dumplings (nothing special — shrimp dumplings better) and pork buns. All pretty tasty, though we didn’t push any real boundaries of culinary experiments. We enjoyed the remaining three episodes of Ted Lasso after we ate.
Allie and I went out on her pool deck to read for an hour or so. Eventually we came back inside and I polished off some Chinese food leftovers from Thursday night. Afterwards, to avoid my impending food coma, Allie and I took a walk over to the Seaport area, taking in the harbor views and checking on new construction completed over the year. It was a good, healthy walk with a few informative tourist sign boards explaining the changes in Boston’s harbor over the centuries.
We made it back home in time for me to shower and watch a little of the PGA Championship at Kiawah. Congrats to old man Phil Mickelson. The girls watched yet another movie, an animated one about robots. We then got tidied up for our final dinner.
We walked over to Mooo, a steak restaurant we had noticed the year before. Allie was really looking forward to going there. It turned out to be great. We shared a Caesar salad to start, opting to save ourselves from other appetizers. Barb and Allie split a ribeye, while I had a 14 ounce NY strip steak au poivre, all accompanied by a quartet of mashed potatoes, creamed spinach, “exotic” mushrooms, and truffle parmesan fries that Barb really loved. Everyone enjoyed it and Barb vowed that we should return. A winner!
We adjourned to Allie’s for a final hour with Perri. It was a great little trip to see them.
Monday, May 24
We packed up for our drive home. I took the first load to the car and learned that the building’s elevators were being inspected and would be out of service for hours. Fortunately, our apartment was on the same floor as the building’s office and they were able to guide me to some steps just one floor from our car in the garage.
By the time I got back to the room, Barb had finished packing her stuff and we readied to leave. I started heading for the steps but Barb pushed the elevator button as we went by and suddenly it was working. I guess it passed inspection early. We got the car loaded, went back up to wish Allie and Perri a final farewell and were on our way.
The trip again took about 8 hours, with some slow traffic in Connecticut once more. I usually have no trouble driving the whole way but got a little dozy by the time we reached Maryland. I let Barb take the wheel for an hour as she headed like a homing pigeon for her office to grab some papers. We finally made it home around 6pm, got a lot of love from Manny who welcomed us, and started our unpacking rituals.
It was, in all, a fun little break. It was great to see Allie and Perri and spend some low-key post-Covid time together. We ate very well, got in a tiny bit of culture and some good walks. I didn’t gain as much weight as I thought I might. Mostly, it was good to be able to relax with one another, having survived the pandemic and seeing the world start to return to something like normal. What more can you ask?
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