We had the good fortune to house- and cat-sit for two weeks in Boston at the end of February. It was a little cold, and not every attraction in the area was open at that time of year, but we made the most of it.
I was in heaven with not one but two lovely kitties. Puma was a constant (but welcome) shadow who showed us his belly as soon as we walked through the front door. Iroh made us work for his love, but the payoff was worth it!
Super sweet Iroh.
Puma will be your best friend, too!
Things We Saw
The cover photo is Make Way for Ducklings by Nancy Schön. It features the duck family in Robert McCloskey’s children’s classic of the same name (and which I read and loved after visiting a small museum honoring the author). It was installed in the Boston Public Garden in 1987, and a copy installed in Moscow at Novodevichy Park in 1991.
The Memorial to Robert Gould Shaw and the Massachusetts 54th Regiment is an 1897 bronze relief sculpture by Augustus Saint-Gaudens. It stands in Boston Common just opposite the state capitol. The 54th was the first African-American regiment of the United States Colored Troops during the Civil War, and it’s the first monument to pay homage to them. It depicts their farewell march down Beacon Street in 1863.
The Tortoise and the Hare is a 1994 bronze sculpture by Nancy Schön (who also did the Ducklings sculpture in the cover photo). It references the same-named Aesop’s Fable, and is dedicated to Boston Marathon participants. It is located in Boston’s Copley Square.
Poe Returning to Boston is a 2014 statue of author Edgar Allan Poe by Stefanie Rocknak. Poe was born in Boston, was stationed there for a time while serving in the Army, and made visits over the course of his career. The fabulous statue depicts Poe walking, “accompanied by an oversized flying raven; his suitcase lid has fallen open, leaving a ‘paper trail’ of literary works embedded in the sidewalk behind him.”
This giant golden tea kettle was made in 1873 to hang over the entrance to Oriental Tea. It actually blows steam (you can just make it out in the picture), and has a capacity of 227 gallons! The tea shop remained until 1966, when it was evicted as part of a massive urban renewal project. Though the shop did not survive, the tea kettle did! It currently hangs over the entrance to Starbucks.
An equestrian statue of Joseph Hooker located outside the state capitol. The 15-foot-tall statue was designed by Daniel Chester French and Edward Clark Potter in 1903. Hooker was a United States Army officer in the Mexican–American War and a major general in the United States Civil War. Wikipedia says Hooker was “chiefly remembered for his decisive defeat by Confederate General Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Chancellorsville in 1863.” Ouch.
Things We Ate
Fish and chips is definitely on the list of things to eat while in the Boston area, and you don’t need to tell me twice!
Were authentic Portuguese Pastéis de Nata (traditional egg custard tarts) on our list of things to eat in Boston? No. Did we discover this bakery near where we were staying and go a little crazy? Yes. Was it worth it? Totally.
If you’re in New England, a frappe is a milkshake, otherwise it’s a coffee-based drink. Got it? Anyway, it came up on our list of things to eat, and I’m not going to argue with having to drink a milkshape…er, frappe. But the first ones we ordered were so over the top and full of other “stuff” you couldn’t even taste the frappe. I mean, it was delicious, but seemed like maybe it didn’t qualify. So in the interest of journalist integrity, we ordered another “plain” frappe elsewhere. Yum!
Blackbird Doughnuts comes up as some of the best donuts around, and we’re not here to argue.
A slice of Boston Cream Pie. In spite of its name, it is not, in fact, a pie, but a cake with cream filling. It’s believed to have been created sometime between 1834 and 1856 at the Parker House Hotel in Boston. I had high hopes, but found it be rather bland, all things considered.
Things We Watched and Listened To
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Book of Ages: The Life and Opinions of Jane Franklin by Jill Lepore. Jane was the sister of Benjamin, and she spent most of her life in Boston. I thought it got a little off track at times, but Doug enjoyed it more than I did, as per usual.
Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, and Life’s Greatest Lesson by Mitch Albom. This book was a sensation when it came out, but I only just read it in connection with going to Boston. The “old man” in the book is Morrie Schwartz, who lived and worked outside of Boston. I don’t feel this goodreads review is far off: “it was like stapling together eighty greeting cards and reading them straight through.”
Gone, Baby, Gone is crime thriller set in Boston, about searching for a young kidnapped girl. It stars Casey Affleck, who I think is a really great actor. However, the plot was nothing to write home about, in my opinion.
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