tummy trouble

Not sure if it's something I ate or just being on the road too long...200 more miles to go until I sleep...

a very chowdah summer

I've been sampling New England clam chowder all the way from D.C. to Massachusetts.

The Jersey Shore version was a little heavy on the potatoes, but also had big chunks of clams (hey, it's da shore), so got a big thumbs up. Other samplings were less memorable until we reached Salem, which had a distinctly un-thick version - not bad, but not at all like any other N.E.C.C. I had ever had. Another bowl at another restaurant was the typical creamy sort.

At a snazzy Boston hotel I poured the soup, served in a small pitcher, over some buttery croutons in a bowl. Nice presentation, but very potato-y.

Tonight's bowl in Wethersfield, CT may be the best since N.J. Vacation ain't over yet, so the quest continues...

very fine arts

We spent a very museum day in this rainy town of mourning. Ted's funeral procession passed by our hotel on Tremont Street.

We cabbed our way through the wet streets, first to

the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, which was a little like the Frick or the Barnes Foundation—an incredible house, with the proviso that the collection always be displayed exactly as Mrs. Gardner originally laid it out. This made some works difficult to see, and included oddities like the empty frames where canvases that had been stolen were left hanging ion their original spots on the walls.

No photography was allowed unfortunately, so you will just have to take my word for it that the collection included the best Veronese ceiling painting that can be seen outside of Italy. What a treat.

We pushed onward to the Museum of Fine Arts, where we raced through treasures including Italian renaissance, Spanish masters Velasquez and Zurbarán, Impressionist gems by Degas, Monet and Manet, Greek, Roman and Egyptian art—and these are just the highlights. I had as much fun checking out these masterworks as I did playing with my iPhone camera special effects. A damp but good day.

enemy territory?

For a die-hard from birth Yankee fan, taking a trip to Boston is no small thing. I am trying to not let my baseball and Joisey/New Yawk roots color my experience, but...

What the heck is with the driving in this town? The way in to the city made no sense. The roads—to tunnels—to roads was beyond confusing. Stop signs seem to be a rarity, or at least ignored, and traffic lights are non-existent. And this from someone who has mastered and even revels in driving in DC, New York, New Jersey and Brooklyn—not exactly an amateur.

I'm still befuddled by the preponderance of all things Dunkin' Donuts. It's actually hard to spot a Starbucks. And Starbucks and D.D. closed at 7 PM. On a Friday. In a major city.

???

On the up side, the streets, although their layout is a bit challenging, are extremely charming and very reminiscent of a European city. The aquarium was a blast. The Boston Common was also lovely and the Swan Boats were a huge hit for both young and old. My mom had last been on them when she was my daughter's age, so a family fun fact comes full circle.

And this was our first day here.