Busy in Boston

Wednesday 6/6/11

After breakfast, Jeff did some of his convention contact stuff while I slept late. Then we walked up St. James St. to Trinity Church. We love to visit cathedrals and churches in various cities and this one was built in the 19th century and has Romanesque architecture and beautiful stained glass. 

Then we went to the Boston Public Library which was stately and beautiful with all of its tiled ceilings, marble staircases and murals. The reading room looked like something from the past with all the green table lamps and book-lined walls.

All that gawking made us hungry, so we found a cute restaurant with outdoor seating at Joe's American Bar and Grill on Newbury Street in the Back Bay. Although it got pretty hot in the afternoon, it was perfect at lunchtime to be sitting along the sidewalk doing two things we enjoy...eating and people-watching. It was funny how many times today people asked where we were from. Don't know why they didn't think we were locals. Certainly couldn't have been that we both wore backpacks, that I had a camera around my neck and that Jeff had a city map in one hand and our trusty Top 10 Boston book in the other hand.

After lunch we spent a long time wandering down Newbury St. looking at all the interesting shops and walking up and down other streets in the Back Bay admiring all the beautiful brownstones and the lush landscaping. This area is two to three months behind Texas in what's blooming and due to the lack of hot weather (until today!) there are amazing displays of hydrangeas, roses, azaleas, iris, dogwoods, larkspur and peonies. There was a gorgeous park running several blocks along Commonwealth Ave. where people  walked dogs and babies, old men sat on benches, people walked hand in hand down the path. And on either side of this elongated park were more beautiful brownstones surrounded with iron fences and lush flowers. It looked like a painting.

Someone got tired and went back to the hotel for a nap, so I tromped around Newbury St. some more on my own. Then late in the afternoon, we went back to Trinity Church for Evensong which we had seen a sign for earlier. Oh.my.goodness, this was a special treat. The service was led by 18 kids who appeared to be about the ages of the kids Jeff directed in choir at SMBC (8-12 years old). They were in two rows that faced each other and they sounded like the children who sang in the Royal Wedding or the children who sing in Christmas Eve services at the Vatican. Their little voices just rang in that big church and when they broke into three and four part harmony, I thought Jeff was going to pop up out of his seat and run up to help direct. It was a very special hour and we were so glad we made the effort to attend.

Then here came the "magic hour" and with the weather at perfection (clear skies, 75 degrees) the Public Garden was where we headed next. This park is adjacent to the Boston Common and is really the prettier of the two parks, in my opinion, with more gardens and ponds. And the famous swan boats. I don't know what the tall purple flowers are, but there were a lot of them at various stages of blooming. And as the sun began to set, the Public Garden became the prettiest shades of green.

We took a cab back to the North End and went to The Daily Catch for dinner which we had heard was really good. Now we've about decided that you could go to any number of the dozens, and I mean dozens, of Italian restaurants in this area and not be disappointed. But we had read about this place and judging by the number of people who were in line for it last night and tonight, we decided it must be good. The whole restaurant only seats 20 people and the kitchen is right there in the same room with the customers. Jeff had pan seared swordfish and pasta and I had scallops and shrimp in linguini which was served right in the skillet. If you like quaint atmosphere, this place is for you! We decided to try the other well-known Italian pastry shop, so we went to Mike's Pastry. So did a lot of other people. My word, this place was a zoo. We got the recommended ricotta cannoli (boxed to go) and it was entirely too decadent after such a rich meal, but a tourist does what a tourist has to do. We got a latte to go along with our dessert, then hopped on a pedi-cab and nibbled on a cannoli and sipped on a latte while we got a little open-air tour of the Waterfront district and Chinatown on the way back to our hotel. Just for the record, Modern Pastry is heads above Mike's Pastry.

In the end, were pretty pooped...it takes a lot of energy to enjoy a day such as this:)