20 July 2009

Trot, trot, to Boston...Home, home again

We had a whirlwind trip to Boston - entertaining to a fare-thee-well.

  • On the way there, we stopped to wander around "my" college campus, grabbed a cheap lunch in the student center, and scampered through the art museum - where Mir announced that she wanted to marry a sculpture, a non-figurative sculpture that took up a whole gallery.
  • After checking into the hotel, we looked at the swan boats in the Boston Public Garden, before embarking on the corny touristy but lots of fun Duck Tour.
  • At a steak house near the hotel, I had a sublime goat cheese croquette with tomato and chorizo - and the girl had plain pasta. Yes, I know it was a steak house.
  • We splurged on room service for breakfast on Saturday before heading out to the aquarium to see sharks and seals and starfish.
  • On the recommendation of the hotel concierge, we had lunch at a fish place in the North End, where we perpetrated a most extreme fraud on the child: we ordered her a plate of fried clams, and told her they were chicken nuggets. And she ate them, and loved them, and they were really good, as was absolutely everything there.
  • We hiked a teensy bit of the Freedom Trail, including the Paul Revere House, The Old North Church, and the Copp's Hill Burying Ground. We ended up at the USS Constitution - which we skipped because the line was way too long.
  • After being out all day, we relaxed in the hotel pool - and W. and I took turns in the saunas and steam rooms, while the girl bobbed in and out of the water.
  • Because we were beat and lazy, we had dinner at the hotel restaurant on Saturday night, where we had a charming and chatty waiter who reminded me that you can buy wine at Trader Joe's on Sundays in Massachusetts!
  • Sunday morning, we checked out and drove to Cambridge, where we had crepes with a blogger (and her little fat baby).
  • The glass flowers at the Harvard Museum of Natural History were next - and the girl got to hold a chunk of coprolite, "ew, dinosaur poop!"
  • The girl got soaked running through a fountain, so we changed her clothes on the sidewalk, and she rode all the way home without underpants.
The end.

Oh, the moral of the story? When the kid announces that she has to pee, shamelessness helps. We availed ourselves of the kindness of a real estate agent and a church gardener.

The end, really.

Oh, and I did buy two cases of wine at Trader Joe's. Best souvenir ever.

Now, the end.

Although I forgot the part where we went to Providence on the way home, because we had to give equal opportunity visitation to Daddy's alma mater.

The end?

20 comments:

Jennifer (ponderosa) said...

My sister's alma mater is in Providence, too. I have never been there. (What a terrible sister I am.)

Coprolites! My daughter would squeal with glee.

It sounds like a lovely trip!

Caro said...

Oooooh. I want to see those glass flowers almost as much as I want to spend a week at Tyler Place.

Glad you had a fun trip.

FreshHell said...

SOunds like a great trip. I am shocked that you tricked your child at mealtime! (Not really). I did laugh that you followed up a trip to the aquarium with a meal at a seafood restaurant.

heidi said...

Wasn't Paul Revere's grave too modest?

Magpie said...

Oh, and she fondled a live Jonah crab at the aquarium,  and ate the claw of one at lunch.  

painted maypole said...

sharks!!!!!

the rest sounds great, too. ;)

Mental P Mama said...

I love Boston! And that fried clam-chicken nugget technique is genius. Sheer genius.

Mom101 said...

You just totally brought me back to my Boston college days. Except for the whole wine on Sunday thing. When did THAT happen, Boston?

kathy a. said...

oh, my my. i've only been to boston really once, and not long enough to see much of anything. someday...

my husband always wanders through aquariums talking about how delicious the exhibits look. it's kind of embarassing.

Janet said...

I can't believe you were up in my neck of the woods and I missed you! :-(

glad you had fun, tho :-)

Life in Eden said...

We could never fool The Snake like that! He would sniff those clams out in a heartbeat.

Sounds like a lovely weekend. I miss the east (only a few weeks to go, squee!).

Florinda said...

I LOVE the New England Aquarium. I haven't been back to Boston for a long time. I need to get this California family I've acquired out there.
Sounds like you had a very enjoyable weekend!

Angeline said...

Wow! How eventful!
My eyes are set on The Aquarium and those glass flowers man!

mayberry said...

All that in 2.5 days? Impressive!

Anonymous said...

It's true - you could probably get into the bathroom at the Oval Office when you're holding the hand of a child with that look on his face. Doesn't work as well for me, though I have to go just as frequently.

So the key to traveling with children is to be so exhausted there's no question about being able to sleep in a strange bed?

Sounds like a LOT of fun, and so yummy.

Anonymous said...

Oh, I haven't been back to Boston in so long. This post puts it back on my to-do list for this year.

Where did you go to school? "My" college campus is in Boston, too.

Furrow said...

Sounds delightful. I must get to Boston.

Kyla said...

Sounds like a good trip to me!

Kirsetin Morello said...

Now THAT is a seriously efficient trip. How on earth did you manage to fit everything it? It sounds lovely. Chicken nuggets! Brilliant. Deep fried anything can't be bad, right?

meno said...

You ever going to TELL her she ate clams? And liked them?

I've used that rude too. Works like a charm.