In Which I Go to Boston

Waayyy back in June, I went to Boston to visit one of my oldest friends, Jessica. Old picture here. Jess and I have been lucky enough to be able to get together every couple of years.

I began my visit with one of my must-sees - The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Isabella Stewart Gardner (1840-1924) was a art collector who filled her Venetian-style house with art from all eras. She stipulated that her house be turned into a museum and that everything should remain exactly as she left it. This makes for a very interesting museum experience. Photography is not permitted in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum which very nearly breaks your heart. Especially since the courtyard looks like this:

via

Being in Boston kind of feels like being in John Singer Sargent Land. (Jess and I actually talked about this, and, as she loves John Singer Sargent, she is thrilled to live in John Singer Sargent Land.)

Isabella Stewart Gardner and John Singer Sargent (in addition to each having three names) were contemporaries and friends. Here's his painting of her that hangs in her museum:

Portrait of Isabella Stewart Gardner, 1888

She also has this lovely and famous and huge Sargent:

El Jaleo, 1882

After my visit to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum I went next door to the Boston Museum of Fine Art to visit another Sargent:

The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit, 1882

I also was rather fond of this guy: 

After wandering solo for a while it was time to meet Jess for dinner. We then went back to the museum to see the rest.

The next day we head to my other must-see. (Post coming shortly. No really, I promise.) And then we drove to Plymouth where we saw fake Mayflowers, rocks, and tombstones.

Below is a reconstruction of the Mayflower. Exactly the boat I'd want to be on if I were crossing the Atlantic.

Here is Plymouth Rock. Maybe. Although tradition says that the pilgrims stepped off the boat and onto Plymouth Rock, neither William Bradford nor Edward Winslow mention a rock in their first-person accounts. The rock wasn't identified as the pilgrims landing place until 1741 when it was threatened by a proposed wharf. So the top half of the rock was removed and enshrined at Town Square. Then in 1867, the bottom of the rock was given a Gothic-style canopy and in 1880 the top half and bottom half were reunited once again. Now the rock rests under a portico designed by the firm of McKim, Mead, and White for the 300th anniversary of the pilgrim's landing.

Jess and I also visited the meeting house of the first parish in Plymouth. It's gone through many rebuilds over the years and today is an impressive Romanesque Revival church.

I can't resist a Puritan cemetery. I just love those grim reapers and winged-skulls.

The next day, after a leisurely morning of brunch and pedicures, we picked up Jess's kids and headed to the aquarium.

We got on the ferry and motored out to the USS Constitution.

Named after the Constitution of the United States of America, this boat is the oldest commissioned navel vessel afloat today. It's most famous for its role in the War of 1812 when it earned the nickname Old Ironsides.

I had a great time in Boston. It's such a fun city, and I enjoyed my time with Jessica. I hope we can continue to get together very few years.

P.S. Another trip to Boston.