East Coast Day 2: Boston

On our first day in Boston we planned to hit our highest sightseeing priority, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.

Mrs Gardner was an eccentric heiress who knew what she liked in art.  She amassed a vast collection and built a fabulous Venetian style mansion in which to display it.  The museum is virtually unchanged from how she arranged it, due to a unique stipulation in her will that if any artifacts were moved that the museum was to be closed, the whole collection auctioned and the proceeds to go to Harvard University.  Thusly, it is a museum curated by a singular individual who was highly eccentric and is very dead.  Rooms are crammed with art and often the best pieces are hard to see.  But, it is not a museum to visit to appreciate the most important pieces of art in their best settings.  It a place to just enjoy.  I found that I liked a lot of what she liked – particularly the more contemporary and simple pieces in the Blue room.  I highly recommend it.  We were able to take the stroller into the museum and use the small elevator to visit the galleries.  Simon did quite well to be content and let us visit most of the 2nd and 3rd floors.  After that he wanted to run around, and we found a back hallway where he could run up and down the ramps while one parent at a time visited the last galleries.  Lily was a perfect angel in her pack.

By now it was lunchtime, and with naps needed shortly after we took a cab up to Copley Square and grabbed lunch at a bagel place.  The West coast is sorely lacking in good bagels and we appreciated some good bagel sandwiches.  Steve’s was black bean and avocado – I must try that combo on a sandwich sometime.

Simon wasn’t quite ready for a nap yet so we just let him run around at Copley Square.  We enjoyed the outside of Trinity Church and Simon enjoyed everything.

Several people came up to us and told us it was great to see our kids out enjoying the city.  And also to enjoy every minute as they grow up all too fast.

Steve and Simon took a nap and I took the opportunity to pop over to Newbury street for some shopping.  I had fun just looking in the shops and people watching on the vibrant street.

(it is hard to get any photos to prove  you did take your youngest child on the trip when they are constantly strapped to you)

That evening we had snacks at the hotel lounge and then just called it a night and let Simon play in the hotel room and made a quick run to the grocery store for supplies.

(Simon’s favorite play place in the hotel room. He’d line up the sample size toiletries and play with his trucks and ducks.)