Boston Trip Oct. 25-27

Since Saturday afternoon I've been here in Boston with Michael.  Everything has been great.  I'm still not a "big city" girl, but each trip I'm figuring out how it can work for me.  First tip: avoid Newbury Street!  The sidewalks are very narrow and there are way, way too many people crowded on them.  Boylston is a good alternative.  I've also learned to avoid the CVS on Boylston.  There's a woman slumped in a wheel chair, unable to help herself, with a sign encouraging people to help the Multiple Sclerosis Society.  Yesterday when Michael and I passed, I completely broke down into tears.  It's just too much.  Thankfully he was there, had his arm wrapped around me, protecting and comforting me as always.

We had dinner Saturday night at Bangkok City.  Cheezy name, but pretty good food.  The most memorable part of the meal was a round table of three old gay men ordering.  One wanted "Wet Pad Thai" and the other wanted his "dry pad thai."  You had to be there to hear it!  Michael and I were totally cracking up.  I told Michael in a soft low voice that I like it extra wet!  We would have been rolling around laughing if we had been home!

Went to the Boston Symphony concert that evening and it was a very French modernism program that was very interesting.  The Messiaen and the Boulez were more enjoyable than the Berlioz, though the principle violist totally rocked it out.

Yesterday morning we had brunch at Toro on Washington, just east of Massachusetts Ave.  The food was so flipping amazing!  I had brioche topped with acacia honey, apricots, and goat cheese alongside a lovey salad of arugula with pine nuts, and shaved mild cheese.  I asked for a Bloody Mary and the waiter told me they don't serve alcohol before noon.  Wow, did I ever feel like a lush.  He ended up confessing that he'd made a mistake and served me one for free.  Whew!

We walked around a ton, looking for a new winter coat for me.  I bought a new down coat last year for nothing at Marshall's and the darn zipper broke and I gave the coat away.  So now I need a new one that's better quality, etc.  The only one that I found that I liked was a $900 Burberry coat at Saks.  If I had $900 to spend, it'd be a great investment.  The month I worked there I learned how amazing the quality is of their outerwear and I know the coat would last me many, many years.  However, I ended up finding a coat at Macy's that I'll pick up in Kansas City when I'm home.

We had an okay meal at Dish, then went to the Bee Hive for some cocktails and live jazz.  We weren't sure if we should stay, but when then combo started playing, "All the Things You Are" (my favorite standard thanks to Bill Marvin), I knew we'd have to stay.

This morning we got up very early to drive to Cape Cod.  The best Volvo 1800 specialist in the country lives there and Michael decided to have a new dashboard installed.  The drive was so beautiful.  All the trees are changing colors and it was perfectly clear and sunny.  After we dropped off the car, we stopped at a local farm, bought some bread, then made another stop for some tea, (though what I really wanted was warm cider and an apple doughnut).  We came back to the city and no traffic either way!  YES!  Michael took me back stage at Symphony Hall and it was neat to see.  He's coaching a quintet at NEC now and then he's going to show me Brookline; a nice suburb that's less than three miles from the City of Boston.

My flight's out this evening at 6.  Thankfully, Michael's finally coming to Kansas City the day after Election Day and will be staying for almost six full days! YES!  Hopefully I'll stay very busy between now and then because I'm starting my new position tomorrow!!