This weekend, my parents came to town to visit before my dad attends a conference on Monday morning. As I dive into my fifth and possibly final year here at MIT, I'm quickly reaching that point that everyone reaches after spending several years living in a city -- the realization that you haven't actually seen almost any of the major sites in your own town.
Thus, I took the opportunity (as most do) to take my parents to those sites that I've most wanted to see. Yesterday, after eating some uber-fresh oysters at Haymarket, we headed over to the Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum. Though undoubtedly a lovely and impressive collection of art and artifacts assembled neatly into a funky small space, the majority of it was Renaissance art, which I find utterly boring. Bonus points, though, for the beautiful and enormous John Singer Sargent painting of flamenco dancers and musicians in Barcelona, "El Jaleo".
Next, we headed on to the JFK Museum out by UMass-Boston. This is one of my favorite museums I've ever been to. I realized I knew very little about JFK himself, and the massive collection of objects, notes, memorabilia, and particularly audio and video of his famous speeches were arranged impeccably. I am now thoroughly inspired to read his book, "Profiles in Courage".
We then ended the night with dinner at Russell House Tavern followed by dessert at Finale. Yum.
Today, we begain with coffee and pastries at Dwelltime (Yum), before driving out to Salem to spend the day learning about the history of the witch hysteria. The town and historical activities felt a bit touristy -- there are three privately run Salem witch historical museums, not clear which is the "best" one and the National Parks Service folks were forbidden from sharing their opinions -- but overall it was a fun experience, helped out quite a bit by the perfect 72F and sunny weather. At midday, we grabbed lobsters at the Lobster Shanty (yum) before heading over to the gorgeous harbor for an hour or so.
Finally, after returning home to check out the backyard garden, Laura joined us for dinner way out in East Boston at the Belle Isle Seafood shack. And a wonderful shack it was, next to the road on the water, stuck in the middle of some crappy construction. We each ordered a lobster roll, which must have contained around 4 lobsters' worth of meat. Our lobster rolls were supplemented nicely with a shared "lobster pie", which is simply a big pile of baked lobster meat, butter, and bread crumbs. (Yum yum yum yum).
After this feast, I dropped off my parents at their hotel and headed back. Seafood satisfaction.
Thus, I took the opportunity (as most do) to take my parents to those sites that I've most wanted to see. Yesterday, after eating some uber-fresh oysters at Haymarket, we headed over to the Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum. Though undoubtedly a lovely and impressive collection of art and artifacts assembled neatly into a funky small space, the majority of it was Renaissance art, which I find utterly boring. Bonus points, though, for the beautiful and enormous John Singer Sargent painting of flamenco dancers and musicians in Barcelona, "El Jaleo".
Next, we headed on to the JFK Museum out by UMass-Boston. This is one of my favorite museums I've ever been to. I realized I knew very little about JFK himself, and the massive collection of objects, notes, memorabilia, and particularly audio and video of his famous speeches were arranged impeccably. I am now thoroughly inspired to read his book, "Profiles in Courage".
We then ended the night with dinner at Russell House Tavern followed by dessert at Finale. Yum.
Today, we begain with coffee and pastries at Dwelltime (Yum), before driving out to Salem to spend the day learning about the history of the witch hysteria. The town and historical activities felt a bit touristy -- there are three privately run Salem witch historical museums, not clear which is the "best" one and the National Parks Service folks were forbidden from sharing their opinions -- but overall it was a fun experience, helped out quite a bit by the perfect 72F and sunny weather. At midday, we grabbed lobsters at the Lobster Shanty (yum) before heading over to the gorgeous harbor for an hour or so.
Finally, after returning home to check out the backyard garden, Laura joined us for dinner way out in East Boston at the Belle Isle Seafood shack. And a wonderful shack it was, next to the road on the water, stuck in the middle of some crappy construction. We each ordered a lobster roll, which must have contained around 4 lobsters' worth of meat. Our lobster rolls were supplemented nicely with a shared "lobster pie", which is simply a big pile of baked lobster meat, butter, and bread crumbs. (Yum yum yum yum).
After this feast, I dropped off my parents at their hotel and headed back. Seafood satisfaction.
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