http://www.mybostonyear4.blogspot.com/
Well, this second snow storm was supposed to pass right by Boston, and hang out a bit more north - so the meteorologists said yesterday - and when I woke up this morning my first thought was “ Hmmh, I wonder if and when it was going to snow today.” A second later, I heard the sound of a shovel on asphalt, and I carefully peeled back the blinds to take a peek. “Holy Sh…..” was the next thing I not only thought but also loudly proclaimed into the cold morning air. This is the second snow storm in three days, just right after Thursday when Mother Nature provided an impressive display of speed-snowing. I was having a business lunch with some visiting scientists from Denmark at the Longwood Grille in Boston, and when we went in to start out lunch, things looked a little gloomy outside but no snow flake was in sight. 45 minutes later as we emerged from the lunch place, and I am not kidding you, it looked as if the mighty God of Snow had emptied a giant bucket of White over the poor city of Boston. The snow fell so hard and so quickly, that commuters did not have enough time to get out of town, and as a result the streets were chockfull of cars, the snow plows could not get anywhere, intersections were completely jammed, and horror stories of 8-hour commutes were heard the next day at water coolers all over town. Now mind you, it did not snow that much, and for cryin’ out loud, this is New England, we should be used to this kind of weather, but somehow the whole system collapsed and there were quite a few unhappy people out there, stranded, cold and grumpy.
Today’s weather calls for some more indoor time, finishing up some home-made Christmas presents, watching another video or two, right after we do some shoveling outside. Thursday night’s shoveling extravaganza took about three hours – mostly because I helped out my 84-year old neighbor Irene and her grandson, who have the driveway adjacent to my house. Irene is unbelievable and is out there armed with a shovel and tons of determination every time the snow hits.
Needless to say the snow had thwarted some of the social plans this week, and a proposed dinner this Thursday evening with Darrell and Susan at the Beacon Hill Bistro had to be moved to Monday. Good thing the Bistro is not going anywhere. This past weekend, sans snow, had afforded a bit more flexibility, and Saturday I headed off to my ushering gig at the Lyric Stage Company, where Mr One Man Show, Nick Casey, performed “This Wonderful Life”, a superb take on the Jimmy Stewart holiday classic “It’s a Wonderful Life”. This was absolutely swell – Casey plays pretty much all characters in the story and at the same time narrates it. For my non-US friends who may not know this popular Christmas flick – directed by the famed Frank Capra, it depicts the story of George Bailey, a small town banker who gets himself a bit into a pickle. Things are not going so well, and George contemplates suicide, wishing he was never born. Clarence, a down-on-his-luck bumbling angel-in-training is assigned the project of saving George Bailey showing him what life would be like in Bedford Falls if he would have never existed. If Clarence succeeds, he will get his wings, and since this is Hollywood, you bet he does. The movie is a pretty solid tearjerker, and the King of Sappy, Mr James Stewart elevates this to formerly unknown heights, but I have always liked the message displayed here – we create our own communities and we all touch the lives of others in so many positive ways, and just like George Bailey, we do make a difference. If you are in Boston, take the time and visit the Lyric Stage Company (http://lyricstage.com/) and see the show – 70 minutes of great and heartwarming fun. If you own snow shoes you could even go today.
Sunday was spent lazily and only interrupted for a brief get-together with Ellen and Pauline for the most gigantic cup of hot cocoa I have ever had. Pandera Bread at the Arsenal Mall in Watertown does quite a number on the hot cocoa, and supplemented by their pastries that I am increasingly fond of, this was a worthwhile excursion.
Monday night I became one of Santa’s aides, as my running group, Community Running (www.communityrunning.org ), sponsored 20 gifts for Christmas in the City (www.christmasinthecity.com) , an organization that provides homeless children and families with a memorable holiday experience, gifts and all. Many of my club members pitched in and here I was with a car full of fabulous gifts for all the kids on our wish list.
Tuesday night I met up with my second dinner group which consists of my former landlady Marsha and her newest tenant and fellow German Dagmar, and for the first time in my almost four years in Boston, I went to Legal Seafoods (I know I can’t believe it myself that it took me that long). Highly recommended, Boston’s premier seafood place did not disappoint a bit, and my herb-encrusted tuna on a bed of mushroom ravioli and bacon-infused collard greens was just absolutely fabulous (http://www.legalseafoods.com/) and is to be praised.
Last night dinner group( #1) met for our Christmas get-together at the Litman’s house in Malden for a fabulous evening, which included absolutely wonderful food, ornament-guessing contests (I won, I won, I won, I won a candle, I won, I won, I won….), an impressive reenactment of Michael Jackson’s video “Thriller” by the very foxy Waleed, spirited discussions (during which at least one of the husbands was socked in the stomach for a comment regarding a wife’s subservient behavior), a Secret Santa exchange with some very lovely gifts (mine included hot chocolate and marshmallows, which happen to be two of my four food groups during winter season) and of course, quality time with The Peanut, Amy and Dana’s charming Chihuahua, who has us all wrapped around his paws.
Alrighty, time to go snow shoveling for a bit, and then retreat to the couch for some R&R, maybe accompanied by the above mentioned hot cocoa.
Talk to you next week - right before I am about to embark on a two-week trip to Germany to spend time with the family and put my feet up big time.
Stay warm!
PetJ
A couple of things for you to look at:
Yesterday, as every year was the time for the annual Santa Speedo Run (http://www.santaspeedorun.com/ ), a Boston tradition, where men and women clad only in speedos and bathing suits, run through downtown Boston in icy freezing weather. I am not kidding you, and just to put it in perspective – it was 12 degrees out there (minus 10 Celsius) - http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/specials/holidays/gallery/santa_speedo_run_2007/ . Only in Boston!
Picture on the Boston.com website from Thursday’s storm - http://www.boston.com/news/weather/gallery/131207snowgallery/ - I’ll send some from today’s storm separately later!
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Saturday, December 8, 2007
#27 Boston - I Smell Goulash - November 8 2007
I Smell Goulash
Yes, I did smell Goulash and wouldn’t you believe it, it was at the Ritz Carlton in Boston. The Ritz is now called the Taj, but it will always stay the Ritz for us; and here we were - Hannah, Holly and I, hanging out at The Bar or the Café or whatever the place was called, and I swear to you I kept smelling goulash, beef stew or something like it. Granted we came from a wine tasting and had moved on to cocktails and bubbley, but it was all within limits and my sense of smell should have not been affected in any way; bottom line – I have no idea what’s going on in that place and why they are cooking Hungarian dishes at 11 PM at night.
The evening started out innocently enough with a Holiday Wine Affair at the College Club of Boston, a snazzy little place on Commonwealth Ave that I would just love to call my own (I think several million greenbacks would have to be involved). It is the oldest women’s college club in the US of A, and is housed in a lovely Victorian Brownstone (http://www.thecollegeclubofboston.com/). The wine event was hosted by a group called Boston Uncorked (http://www.bostonuncorked.com/) and this was our little wine group’s first foray into the uncorked zone. Two tables were loaded with wines from Portugal, California, New Zealand, and a third station was featuring ports and tawnies. It was quite the happening crowd, a bit on the yuppie-ish side, but the wine loosened everyone up sufficiently and we did have a good time. The food served was fabulous, the ambience great, and some of the wines decent enough. I am not a big friend of the ports so that effort was pretty much lost on me.
Well, once we were done with the uncorked people, the girls and I, as mentioned, headed to the Taj/Ritz, which means the evening got even better. Partly this was Holly’s fault who regaled us with stories about her recent trip to Arizona, which involved these creatures called javelinas (http://fireflyforest.net/images/firefly/2005/September/javelinas.jpg ), apparently some kind of crazy looking pig located just a step below the boar on the evolutionary ladder. Actually, I was just reading up on them and they are not really pigs, some kind of collared peccary (you following?), and they have razor-sharp tusks. Apparently they smell quite strongly (musky if you must know), breed all year like bunnies, and are quite unpredictable. You are not supposed to feed them or they will return as a posse and as one website stated “they will get into your garbage cans, dig holes in your yard, knock over your potted plants eating the entire plant AND eat your vegetable, flower and cactus gardens.” Hannah, having several moments of clarity that night, was mesmerized by this topic – “What do you mean? You can’t be trapped in your house by pigs!” “You mean, people just chill in their living room until the pigs go away?” The discussion then moved on to the topic of health spas in Arizona (makes sense), and we were particularly enticed by Holly’s story about being wrapped in wax paper during one of the beauty sessions. Hannah, to use one of her own expressions, is too freakin hahaha , one of the funniest people I have ever met. She just makes me smile – it may not always be politically correct, but hey, if it’s funny, it’s funny (“Wine in Ethiopia? They don’t even have food there….”). Hats off to you, my most spirited and exquisitely funny friend!!
It is now the pre-Christmas social crunch time, and there is pretty much an event every night. Monday night I had dinner with my friend Linda at a Greek restaurant in my neighborhood (http://www.desfina.com/), and despite the fact that it came highly recommended it was not a culinary experience I would like to repeat. Wednesday was the uncorked thingy, and Thursday I joined the Community Running gang for our first social dinner outing. Close to 20 of us squeezed into the Delux Café, right on the edge of Boston’s South End – it had a bit of the feel of a student pub to it, but it was quite cozy, filled to the brim with people and the food was pretty decent (except for the homemade cheesecake – not like any other cheesecake I have ever tasted, and I don’t mean that in a nice way). Last night, accompanied by my lab colleague and friend Susan and her sister Anne, I did engage in some retail therapy around Faneuil Hall, trying not to take any spills on the quite icy slippery streets of Boston.
This past week has been cold, chilly; we had snow, ice, sleet, you name it. This would usually not be something I would gripe about (oh, well, maybe I would), but after a visit to the sports medicine clinic to see what can be done about my continued issue with the plantar fasciitis on my right heel, I left sporting a surgical boot on my right foot (http://www.buyaircast.com/sp-walker.htm ). This, my friends, is the Hummer of boots; I think it would be possible to navigate up sand dunes with that baby. I did reasonably well limping through the icy and cobble-stoned neighborhoods here in the hub and will have to continue to do so for about the next month or so. At night I am wearing a night splint also, which seems to help quite a bit, and hopefully with some more effort there we will be able to get Petra back into fighting shape (at least walking shape is all I am asking now).
It is 1 PM now and I am sitting here in my PJs, but I am due to usher at the Lyric Stage Company this afternoon for a rendition of “This Wonderful Life” – a one-man show based on the classic holiday tear jerker “It’s a Wonderful Life”, so I think taking a shower and getting dressed would be in order. Off I go!
Pet:)
Yes, I did smell Goulash and wouldn’t you believe it, it was at the Ritz Carlton in Boston. The Ritz is now called the Taj, but it will always stay the Ritz for us; and here we were - Hannah, Holly and I, hanging out at The Bar or the Café or whatever the place was called, and I swear to you I kept smelling goulash, beef stew or something like it. Granted we came from a wine tasting and had moved on to cocktails and bubbley, but it was all within limits and my sense of smell should have not been affected in any way; bottom line – I have no idea what’s going on in that place and why they are cooking Hungarian dishes at 11 PM at night.
The evening started out innocently enough with a Holiday Wine Affair at the College Club of Boston, a snazzy little place on Commonwealth Ave that I would just love to call my own (I think several million greenbacks would have to be involved). It is the oldest women’s college club in the US of A, and is housed in a lovely Victorian Brownstone (http://www.thecollegeclubofboston.com/). The wine event was hosted by a group called Boston Uncorked (http://www.bostonuncorked.com/) and this was our little wine group’s first foray into the uncorked zone. Two tables were loaded with wines from Portugal, California, New Zealand, and a third station was featuring ports and tawnies. It was quite the happening crowd, a bit on the yuppie-ish side, but the wine loosened everyone up sufficiently and we did have a good time. The food served was fabulous, the ambience great, and some of the wines decent enough. I am not a big friend of the ports so that effort was pretty much lost on me.
Well, once we were done with the uncorked people, the girls and I, as mentioned, headed to the Taj/Ritz, which means the evening got even better. Partly this was Holly’s fault who regaled us with stories about her recent trip to Arizona, which involved these creatures called javelinas (http://fireflyforest.net/images/firefly/2005/September/javelinas.jpg ), apparently some kind of crazy looking pig located just a step below the boar on the evolutionary ladder. Actually, I was just reading up on them and they are not really pigs, some kind of collared peccary (you following?), and they have razor-sharp tusks. Apparently they smell quite strongly (musky if you must know), breed all year like bunnies, and are quite unpredictable. You are not supposed to feed them or they will return as a posse and as one website stated “they will get into your garbage cans, dig holes in your yard, knock over your potted plants eating the entire plant AND eat your vegetable, flower and cactus gardens.” Hannah, having several moments of clarity that night, was mesmerized by this topic – “What do you mean? You can’t be trapped in your house by pigs!” “You mean, people just chill in their living room until the pigs go away?” The discussion then moved on to the topic of health spas in Arizona (makes sense), and we were particularly enticed by Holly’s story about being wrapped in wax paper during one of the beauty sessions. Hannah, to use one of her own expressions, is too freakin hahaha , one of the funniest people I have ever met. She just makes me smile – it may not always be politically correct, but hey, if it’s funny, it’s funny (“Wine in Ethiopia? They don’t even have food there….”). Hats off to you, my most spirited and exquisitely funny friend!!
It is now the pre-Christmas social crunch time, and there is pretty much an event every night. Monday night I had dinner with my friend Linda at a Greek restaurant in my neighborhood (http://www.desfina.com/), and despite the fact that it came highly recommended it was not a culinary experience I would like to repeat. Wednesday was the uncorked thingy, and Thursday I joined the Community Running gang for our first social dinner outing. Close to 20 of us squeezed into the Delux Café, right on the edge of Boston’s South End – it had a bit of the feel of a student pub to it, but it was quite cozy, filled to the brim with people and the food was pretty decent (except for the homemade cheesecake – not like any other cheesecake I have ever tasted, and I don’t mean that in a nice way). Last night, accompanied by my lab colleague and friend Susan and her sister Anne, I did engage in some retail therapy around Faneuil Hall, trying not to take any spills on the quite icy slippery streets of Boston.
This past week has been cold, chilly; we had snow, ice, sleet, you name it. This would usually not be something I would gripe about (oh, well, maybe I would), but after a visit to the sports medicine clinic to see what can be done about my continued issue with the plantar fasciitis on my right heel, I left sporting a surgical boot on my right foot (http://www.buyaircast.com/sp-walker.htm ). This, my friends, is the Hummer of boots; I think it would be possible to navigate up sand dunes with that baby. I did reasonably well limping through the icy and cobble-stoned neighborhoods here in the hub and will have to continue to do so for about the next month or so. At night I am wearing a night splint also, which seems to help quite a bit, and hopefully with some more effort there we will be able to get Petra back into fighting shape (at least walking shape is all I am asking now).
It is 1 PM now and I am sitting here in my PJs, but I am due to usher at the Lyric Stage Company this afternoon for a rendition of “This Wonderful Life” – a one-man show based on the classic holiday tear jerker “It’s a Wonderful Life”, so I think taking a shower and getting dressed would be in order. Off I go!
Pet:)
Saturday, December 1, 2007
#26 Boston - Third Encounter of the Close Kind - Dec 1 2007
Third Encounter of the Close Kind
Ever had one of those? I thought I did, until Stephanie again alerted me to the fact that I stepped full-force into a Petraism. You see, what I was trying to describe at this particular moment was the scene last Sunday night in Foxboro, Massachusetts when my friend Chris and I attended the game between the New England Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles. Smoke, loud music, fire pits and eerie flood lights gave the appearance of either Armageddon or the recent landing of an alien spacecraft. And this being Massachusetts, I know either scenario seemed quite possible. The football game was a first class nail-biter, and thanks to a couple of heaven-sent interceptions, the Pats prevailed and remained undefeated, and the Eagles were sent packing. Chris and I sat up in the nosebleed section wrapped in a blanket – it was about 30 degrees Fahrenheit (around 0 Celsius) and up where we sat it was a bit windy. Just to illustrate the kind of fashion effort that is required to attend a professional sports event that is played outdoors in winter, here is what I wore: long underpants, winter running pants topped by my fleece-lined ski pants, long tech fabric shirt, topped by fleece, topped by sheepskin-lined vest, topped by down jacket. Head band, wool hat, two pairs of gloves, handwarmers, toewarmers, and blanket. I bore a striking resemblance to the Michelin Man ready to go an expedition to Antarctica.
Only thing we did not enjoy during the game, and there is an entire section on the upper deck who will back me up on this, were the Philadelphia Eagles fans, who (as I subsequently learned) are not even nice to their own team. Not far from us sat a whole gaggle of them who were so unbelievably rude, insulting and obnoxious, it was a miracle that they got out of the stadium alive. Hats off to the Pats fans who kept their tempers in check and proofed that they were clearly above such unmannerly behavior. If a fan of the opposing team would exhibit such behavior in my old hometown of Oakland, I don’t think the Raider Fans would show the same kind of courtesy (not really something they are known for).
Well, what I can say. They lost, we won, they gloated about the fact that they messed up the point spread, and we are going to the Superbowl.
The Ice Zone
That would be that little Commonwealth of ours, who has started winter pretty early this year. Temperatures have been quite nippy around here, with the occasional decently temperatured day thrown in for good measure, but today with 10 degrees Fahrenheit (= Minus 11 Celsius) and 35 mph gusts of wind, it was a bit on the chilly side. I was on my way back home on my bike early this afternoon, and was a wee bit worried that my nose might not survive the trip home (fall off or retreat back somewhere) and sans face mask I was not a particularly happy camper. I know I know I could have taken the caaah…. so just shut up….
It is supposed to stay cold; snow and wintry mix is expected late tomorrow or Monday – I guess it is December alright.
Veggie Heaven
A drastic change has occurred this week in Casa Petra. I am now a happy and content member of Boston Organics (www.bostonorganics.com) and every Wednesday, or miracle of miracles, a nice box with fresh organic fruits and veggies appears at my doorstep. Similar in concept to CSAs (community-supported agriculture), where one subscribes to a farm, Boston Organics provides all organic fare, and that all year round. Most CSAs in New England do not deliver during the cold seasons, which can come as no surprise to anyone (remember the Ice Zone? Nothing grows here – the produce sections in the store look as if they have been robbed). When my first box arrived this week, I attacked the fresh Arugula as if I had never seen anything green in my life before and then continued to eat three apples, an orange and a tangelo, just because I was on a roll. My body must have been in complete shock.
Bring me the Damn Quail
Here I was on Thursday night with a group of new friends at Restaurant EVOO (stands for Extra Virgin Olive Oil – woohooo) in Somerville
(http://www.evoorestaurant.com/) , where eclectic American cuisine is served, or so they promise. Actually the food was pretty eclectic, come to think of it, I had a soup made from sunchokes (Jerusalem Artichokes - a tuberous gnarly ginger-ish looking root), a main dish that involved a quail, and a superb Apple Butter Crème Brulee. The wine was decent and priced accordingly, the company mostly entertaining, except for one guy at the table who without missing a beat or even introducing himself to the rest of the gang dove head-first into a story about how his lovely and high-quality wool overcoat was almost stolen in the airplane. This seemed to be quite an important story in his life, as it came up again later as we were about to leave the restaurant, and said coat emerged from the closet. Now the wait staff in this place was somethin’ else – apparently emphasis is placed on eating slowly and savoring the experience, so things moved a little sluggish at EVOO. If you are hungry, this is not the place for you. It took the waitress several attempts just to get the drink orders, and she kept coming back telling us yet again how special and unique the chef was and that everything at EVOO is created “in the moment”. She failed to convince us to order the “in the moment” chef’s special, a kind of mystery meal I guess, and after eating three hand fulls of breadsticks and half a baguette, I was so hungry, I was just waiting for her to come back and say one more time that the chef is spending his time “in the moment”. I felt like yelling across the restaurant “just bring me the damn quail” I was so hungry. She also did not quite get all the orders right, and I had to ask for the crème brulee twice – she may have been “in the moment” and forgot.
“I have no Friends”
Community Running, that wonderful running club of mine (that I have not been running with for 4 months on account of my ongoing plantar fasciitis which shows really no signs of improving at all), hosted one of our monthly trivia runs, and I had kindly volunteered to be one of the quizmasters. 20 Runners braved the chilly weather and ran from quiz station to quiz station in either Cambridge or Boston, and answered questions in a quite interesting variety of categories such as Middle Name of Presidents, Seinfeld, The Simpsons, Endangered Species of Massachusetts, Phish, the 1980s, the Wives of Henry VIII and so on. One has to collect as many “smiley face” points, which are then heaped upon your fellow contestants during several penalty point rounds. Whoever ends up with the least amount of penalty points wins. Let me tell you, not everyone plays nice, or as Robin said quite frankly during a particularly rowdy bit - “I have no Friends” (not surprisingly enough she was one of the two winners).
Petra’s Precious Pug Palace
Just a thought, but I would really like to get a pug and name him Walter. Stephanie has agreed to get a pug girl named Penny. We’ll have them breed like crazy, and will all move to the country and open a pug farm. As I said, just a thought.
Aspiring 30-Year Old Artist
To boast a little and toot my own horn, another six of my photographs have been accepted for the next Illuminations exhibit at the MGH Cancer Center. Come February you can see more of my work exhibited there. I will keep the Boston contingent posted as to when the reception is (free wine). In the meantime, I will spend my inheritance at the art store.
I am heading off with Hannah shortly to help someone I don’t know decorate their Christmas tree; we’ll see how that goes.
Stay warm, stay dry.
Happy pre-Holiday season.
Pet
Friday, November 23, 2007
#25 Boston - Bob Hope's Long-lost Brother - November 23 2007
Bob Hope's long lost brother - that would be Ed Hope, right? Come on people, you do not know Ed Hope? What's the matter with you? Neither did we. Granted it was a little late yesterday and we had all eaten substantial piles of food as is customary on Thanksgiving Day, AND the Trivial Pursuit Genus Edition dated back to Cold War times, but as much as Hannah was trying to pull the wool over our eyes, we did not buy it!! We were not quite in that comatose of a state that we would allow nonsense like that to slip through.
It was a feast to behold,Thanksgiving at Casa Petra - international in attendance (Germans, German-borns, Americans, Greeks, Filipinos - you name it) and stellar in its offerings of the traditional TGD dishes, well - almost all of them. Christos delighted us with an authentic Greek salad, which I have to say, complemented our meal quite nicely. Here is what we ate (at least partially) - turkey with lump-less gravy, sweet potatoes with a pecan crumble on top, sour cream-infused mashed potatoes, string beans with roasted almonds, brussel sprouts with chestnuts and glazed shallots, cranberries, the aforementioned Greek Salad and a selection of exquisite cheeses. Deserts included Hannah's phenomenal apple tarte galette, and two very handsome pies - one pecan, one pumpkin! As to the beverages du jour, I have to commend Hannah for introducing me to the best ever gin I have ever tasted (and I don't even like gin) - courtesy of the Nashoba Winery based not far from Boston, right here in that little commonwealth of ours (http://www.nashobawinery.com/). Apparently the folks there do absolute magic with the spirits, and if the gin is any indication, I must go and visit. We had some lovely wines, including a delectable desert wine, again from the Nashoba Winery - everyone was quite content at the end of the feast. Thank you Hannah, Christos, Dagmar, Teresa (who taught me the meaning of "not for nothing!!" and who has to be the best Marge Simpson impersonator around), and Ian for stopping by and making this such a wonderful day for Oscar and me. Thanks also to Pauline and Ulandt for including us on their Thanksgiving Tour 2007 and for being such nice company.
The week has zipped by in anticipation of America's most favorite holiday - as you may recall I had a social event-free weekend last Saturday and Sunday, and ended it nicely with some lovely Thai food (courtesy of Island Hopper on Mass Ave) and a long-overdue introduction to my new favorite scotch -Talisker. It is produced on the Island of Skye, a large island that is the centerpiece of the Inner Hebrides Islands in Scotland. This my friends is unbelievably good stuff - smoky, peaty, salty - so much flavor - even when the glass is empty you can still smell the aroma wafting through your living room. What a treat!!
Monday and Tuesday were busy - I had to attend a presentation, a reception and dinner with an External Advisory Board that reviews our cancer center - which means even during the nicest dinner conversation one has to be alert (best not to drink at these events) and watch out for what you say. Immediately on the heels of the EAB meeting was a pipeline presentation I hosted, and come Tuesday night, I was beat. Of course that is when the cleaning action started in my house, and I am always amazed how quickly the dirt piles up, even though I am not at home most of the time. I bet its Oscar, the little rascal - when I am out he is probably on the go in the apartment, kicking up dust bunnies and who knows what else. For a while there Tuesday night, I seemed to be on a roll with the cleaning, but once I got totally high cleaning the silver with liberal amounts of "Mr Metal", it was time to stop and sleep off the monstrous headache that had announced itself quite vividly.
Wednesday evening was spent with food preparation, and so was most of Thursday, a most beautiful day, where Mother Nature gave us a bit of a break from the cold weather we have been experiencing. Temperatures have been in the 30s and 40s, and on occasion a bit lower than that; Tuesday actually we had our first snow flurries for the season (which delighted our California visitors to no end).
Before I go though, a couple more tidbits under the category "Petra's six seconds of fame" - this past Friday during a lunch with my financial advisor, John Henry William II, owner of the Boston Red Sox (not the other John Henry - now that would have been a big surprise), sat at the table across from us, and upon heading out of the restaurant, he held the door open for me. I gracefully said Thank You, and that was it (there were so many other things that could have come to mind to say......). Claim to fame Number 2 is that I will be in the Improper Bostonian's December 5th issue - possibly even with a picture, so stay tuned!!
Now - time to upload some photos and then off to the gym!!!
Have a nice weekend everyone.
Petra
It was a feast to behold,Thanksgiving at Casa Petra - international in attendance (Germans, German-borns, Americans, Greeks, Filipinos - you name it) and stellar in its offerings of the traditional TGD dishes, well - almost all of them. Christos delighted us with an authentic Greek salad, which I have to say, complemented our meal quite nicely. Here is what we ate (at least partially) - turkey with lump-less gravy, sweet potatoes with a pecan crumble on top, sour cream-infused mashed potatoes, string beans with roasted almonds, brussel sprouts with chestnuts and glazed shallots, cranberries, the aforementioned Greek Salad and a selection of exquisite cheeses. Deserts included Hannah's phenomenal apple tarte galette, and two very handsome pies - one pecan, one pumpkin! As to the beverages du jour, I have to commend Hannah for introducing me to the best ever gin I have ever tasted (and I don't even like gin) - courtesy of the Nashoba Winery based not far from Boston, right here in that little commonwealth of ours (http://www.nashobawinery.com/). Apparently the folks there do absolute magic with the spirits, and if the gin is any indication, I must go and visit. We had some lovely wines, including a delectable desert wine, again from the Nashoba Winery - everyone was quite content at the end of the feast. Thank you Hannah, Christos, Dagmar, Teresa (who taught me the meaning of "not for nothing!!" and who has to be the best Marge Simpson impersonator around), and Ian for stopping by and making this such a wonderful day for Oscar and me. Thanks also to Pauline and Ulandt for including us on their Thanksgiving Tour 2007 and for being such nice company.
The week has zipped by in anticipation of America's most favorite holiday - as you may recall I had a social event-free weekend last Saturday and Sunday, and ended it nicely with some lovely Thai food (courtesy of Island Hopper on Mass Ave) and a long-overdue introduction to my new favorite scotch -Talisker. It is produced on the Island of Skye, a large island that is the centerpiece of the Inner Hebrides Islands in Scotland. This my friends is unbelievably good stuff - smoky, peaty, salty - so much flavor - even when the glass is empty you can still smell the aroma wafting through your living room. What a treat!!
Monday and Tuesday were busy - I had to attend a presentation, a reception and dinner with an External Advisory Board that reviews our cancer center - which means even during the nicest dinner conversation one has to be alert (best not to drink at these events) and watch out for what you say. Immediately on the heels of the EAB meeting was a pipeline presentation I hosted, and come Tuesday night, I was beat. Of course that is when the cleaning action started in my house, and I am always amazed how quickly the dirt piles up, even though I am not at home most of the time. I bet its Oscar, the little rascal - when I am out he is probably on the go in the apartment, kicking up dust bunnies and who knows what else. For a while there Tuesday night, I seemed to be on a roll with the cleaning, but once I got totally high cleaning the silver with liberal amounts of "Mr Metal", it was time to stop and sleep off the monstrous headache that had announced itself quite vividly.
Wednesday evening was spent with food preparation, and so was most of Thursday, a most beautiful day, where Mother Nature gave us a bit of a break from the cold weather we have been experiencing. Temperatures have been in the 30s and 40s, and on occasion a bit lower than that; Tuesday actually we had our first snow flurries for the season (which delighted our California visitors to no end).
Before I go though, a couple more tidbits under the category "Petra's six seconds of fame" - this past Friday during a lunch with my financial advisor, John Henry William II, owner of the Boston Red Sox (not the other John Henry - now that would have been a big surprise), sat at the table across from us, and upon heading out of the restaurant, he held the door open for me. I gracefully said Thank You, and that was it (there were so many other things that could have come to mind to say......). Claim to fame Number 2 is that I will be in the Improper Bostonian's December 5th issue - possibly even with a picture, so stay tuned!!
Now - time to upload some photos and then off to the gym!!!
Have a nice weekend everyone.
Petra
#24 Boston - And Now the Monkeys are out in the Streets - November 18, 2007
And not just in Boston!!! According to our friend Dana Litman, who was definitely on a roll last night at Ellen's birthday party and regaled us with stories from distant countries, one has to be prepared for this when embarking on a journey to India. Seems that clear-cutting and other such wonderful practices have eliminated the canopies of the forests where the little monkeys hang out , and as a result they are now frequenting the streets and apparently also the apartments of the cities nearby - even breaking into refrigerators, stealing sodas (or whatever one would find in a fridge in India - Mango lassis? I would steal that in a second). At this point, I was almost ready to take the wine glass away from Dana who was sitting next to me - but you know what, the stories just got better as the evening got along. Dana, bless him, also has the capacity to participate in two conversations at once, seamlessly and effortlessly - while he was in the midst of discussing the best worst SciFi movie ever made with Waleed, he quickly jumped into the highly intellectual conversation at my end of the table which focused on who the hottest female movie star is these days, and when I mentioned Reese Witherspoon, he spun around, said "Love her", and quickly resumed his discussion with Waleed.
It was a hysterically funny evening, our dinner group had congregated and surprised Ellen with a birthday shindig; Paula and Waleed had graciously hosted this event in their mod house out in Lexington. The air was full of spices and we happily anticipated the exquisite Middle Eastern food, for which the partially Egyptian Meleis household is known for. By the time I got home it was inching in on mid-night, and I think my stomach is still digesting yesterday evening's food - it was that good and I ate that much, yesssir.
Would you believe it, aside from the dinner last night, I had made NO social plans all weekend? I have been pretty much holed up in my office yesterday and today, loading up pictures from my brother's visit (almost done, expect them tonight or tomorrow - all 340 of them) and filling out my US citizenship application. After I am done, I will go shopping for Thanksgiving, and that is it! I have been trying to keep the weekends a bit more open, as the weekdays seem to be nuts, one crazier than the other, in particular when it comes to work-related responsibilities. Preparations for advisory board meetings and a two-day visit by a Pharma company pretty much floored me this week, and Wednesday night following a business dinner, I went home at 8:30 PM and headed straight into the dark bedroom, did not even turn the light on, straight to sleep. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz....
The week started off with a great event, the "Flavors of the Fall" at the Regatta Bar (http://www.regattabarjazz.com/) in the Charles Hotel in Cambridge (http://www.charleshotel.com/). Both of these places are superbly stylish, and the Regatta Bar is one the prime jazz venues in Boston, bar none (no pun intended). For the "Flavors of the fall" hoopla, the best chefs Cambridge has to offer congregated in the bar, and served up mouth-watering autumnal cuisine - lemme tell you, it was AWESOME!!!
Here is the line-up: Chez Henri (http://chezhenri.com/), Upstairs on the Square (http://www.upstairsonthesquare.com/), Rialto (http://www.rialto-restaurant.com/home/), Sandrine's Bistro (http://www.sandrines.com/), The Blue Room (http://theblueroom.net/main.html), Harvest (http://www.harvestcambridge.com/), Gargoyle's (http://gargoylesonthesquare.com/), Dante (http://restaurantdante.com/), Henrietta's Table (http://www.henriettastable.com/), Noir (http://www.noir-bar.com/), and Casablanca (http://www.casablanca-restaurant.com/). Who knew there were so many hoity- toity restaurants in the People's Republic of Cambridge, eh? Were I the judge, Dante would have to be the winner for the night, and Noir for their blueberry champagne cocktail, and some other concoction that had brandy and apple cider in it; Sandrine's Bistro had a killer creme brulee that needs to be mentioned, but at the end of the night, everyone seemed to congregate around the JP Lick's (http://www.jplicks.com) table with their free coffee and eight different kinds of ice cream (I can highly recommend the cranberry cheesecake flavor). Holly, Christos and I then zipped down to Noir and ended the evening on a cocktail that was either named LA Confidential or the Usual Suspects (for some reason I can only remember it was a Kevin Spacey movie...).
Flavors of the Fall an annual charity event, and this year's beneficiary was a Cambridge-based non-profit called CycleKids (http://www.cyclekids.org/), which teaches youngsters about the joys of riding bikes, as well as safety and bike maintenance.
Tuesday night, my friend Andrew and I met up at the 1369 Coffee House (http://www.1369coffeehouse.com/) on Mass Ave for our monthly philosophizing, which was much needed. Wednesday evening was the business dinner, emphasis on business, at the Pierrot Bistro on Cambridge Street (http://www.pierrotbistrot.com) , and Thursday was the first official "Petra Time" evening for the week.
For Friday I had signed up for ushering, this time at my favorite meeting hall in Boston, Faneuil Hall, and as usual for the Boston Classical Orchestra (http://www.bostonclassicalorchestra.org/) . I try to usher for them once or twice per season, and mostly just sign on for a particular date, not even knowing what is on tap for the night. This orchestra is just so cool and so talented, you must go and see them some time. The program this time was under the motto "Stolzman and the British are Coming" and maybe it should have been more adequately named "The Not-So-British" are coming, as the four composers featured all were born in Britain, but only one of them was actually a bona fide Brit. Edward Elgar, who I for certain had never heard of, was an English romantic composer, who lived around the turn of the century (20th that is) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Elgar). I loved, just loved his Serenade in e Minor. The rest of the gang of composers included Gustav Holst (who you may know for his composition "The Planets"), a very prolific and fun artist, also born in the UK, but of Swedish-Russian-Latvian decent - his real name was Gustavus von Holst, and last but not least, Gerald Finzi, an Italian Jewish composer (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerald_Finzi. Finzi's Clarinet Concerto was performed by Richard Stolzman, a world-famous clarinetist, who is known for both classical and jazz adaptations. The audience was so taken by his performance, that at times you could have heard a pin drop and at the end he brought the crowd to its feet for a standing ovation (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Stoltzman).
My friends, time to go shopping for TGD - I am hosting a turkey dinner at my place this Thursday, Hannah, Christos, Teresa, Peter, Dagmar and I will celebrate the holiday in traditional fashion, with lots of food, loose fitting pants and a nap.
Gobble, gobble!
Petra
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
#23 Boston - Suck it, Suck it, Suck it! - November 9 2007
Well, it's not what you think and if that is what you think, shame on you!!! I was a little discombobulated at the time (and I will explain why in a minute), I must admit. I had just opened a bottle of beer, and was not ready to consume it yet (you know it needs to breathe a little), when Denise yelled across the table, "suck it, suck it, suck it". I stared at her and really did not know what the heck she was talking about, and only grasped what she wanted me to do when both she and Rick started pointing violently toward my beer bottle which was in the process of exploding a little. A flash of genius later, I was sitting there with foam up my nose and fortunately out of reach of a camera.
I was out of sorts, which can be mostly attributed to the most horrific driving experience I have ever had. Why, in the friggin' world did I plan to drive down to the Cape in the midst of a raging hurricane?? Leaving Boston, it rained quite hard, but once I got on Route 3 toward the Cape, things seem to have calmed down a bit, almost too much, since all of a sudden near Rockland the traffic came to an absolute standstill for no good and apparent reason. 20 minutes, nothing. And even when traffic started moving, oh miracle of miracles, even then, there was no explanation for the delay whatsoever, no flood, no tree branches moved to the side, no construction equipment, no accident flares, nothing. Continuing on, the weather situation gradually worsened to the point of my gripping the steering wheel so tight, it had impressions on it. Wilted leaves swirled wildly in tornado fashion in front of my poor little car. We got bounced around and drove through puddles the size of Lake Erie, and while I was driving a careful 45 mph, the other idiots on the street did not seem to be perturbed by the weather at all. The scariest moment of all happened right at my exit in Harwich when I was in the midst of one of the pond-size basins, my poor Ella was trying to decide if she should hydroplane or not and some dimwit decided to drive through the lake next to me at 65 miles an hour. At this point, we were completely surrounded by water - it was like driving through a swimming pool. By the time I ended up at the Simmons Compound in Harwich, my legs were shaking and I was ready for a Valium or two.
Once I calmed down a bit, and had some dinner in that anxious tummy of mine, Denise, Rick and I embarked on the fun part of the evening, also known as "games by candle light". The power had gone out right after dinner, so we retreated in front of the fire place and set up every candle we could find. Pretty soon we were all cozy, wrapped in blankets and did our best with a refreshing round of "Tabu", which happens to be my favorite game. Wouldn't you think that it was accurate on my part to describe "clapping" as "you bang the front of your upper extremities together"? I thought so. But, no response there, and when I tried the "you do it when you really like something", all I got was "you give it a hug". Oh well....
Sunday, in a complete turnaround, the weather was absolutely fabulous, as if the day before had never happened. We were still out of power and wanted a warm breakfast, so hopped in the car, and drove to Provincetown, a quite unusual community all the way at the tip of the Cape (my first visit there). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Provincetown_Spit_Cape_Cod.jpg Also known as P-Town, it is known to attract artists, hordes of tourists, but it is foremost known as a gay resort. Off season (which is right now), it is absolutely charming, with not many outsiders, and one can simply join the local crowds going about their Sunday business. One could visit the Pilgrim Monument, which was designed by William Sears after the famous Torre del Mangio Tower in Sienna, Italy. It was meant to honor the first landfall of the pilgrims in the year 1620. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:PilgrimMonumentbasrelief.jpg ). Rick, Denise and I walked along the Herring Cove Beach, engaged in some very relaxing and on occasion interesting window shopping and retail therapy, and frequented the local ice cream shops. Now summertime in P-Town cannot be described as relaxing at all - quite the opposite - the place turns into an crazy zoo to say the least, in particular around the 4th of July and "Circuit Week". If you are not prepared to mingle with 60,000 tourists or actively participate in the Mate's Leather Weekend or other such glam events, this may just not be your crowd and you are better off visiting in the fall or winter.
Meanwhile back in Boston, t'was yet another busy week, but believe it or not, I actually managed to get to bed early the last couple of nights (early meaning 10 PM), and I do feel a bit more rested.
Recap in one paragraph:
Monday night, planning meeting for next year's 10th Anniversary Party of Community Running with running mates Hillary and Laura. Tuesday night, ushering - this time at the Wimberley Theater in the South End (http://www.huntingtontheatre.org/season/production.aspx?id=4009&src=t) for the play "Brandon" - a superbly written piece by Ronan Noone, witty and genuine, it depicts the story of a young man from Ireland who immigrates to Boston. Ronan Noone happened to be one of the Huntington Theatre Company's Playwriting Fellows, and his recent play "The Atheist" which featured veteran actor Campbell Scott caused quite a stir. Wednesday night, as many of you know, was the opening for Illuminations, an art exhibit at the MGH Cancer Center and yours truly was among the featured artists. The reception was overwhelming but fun, and I kept running up and down to the floors with the art work, and then back down to pick up the next contingent of friends that arrived. Yesterday, I met up with my former landlady Marsha Orent and her newest tenant and our new German friend Dagmar at the cutest restaurant ever - the Black Sheep in Kendall Square. Nestled in the historic Kendall Hotel, a Victorian firehouse formerly known as Engine 7, it is small and comfy, has fantastic food (all of it locally grown and organic) and is definitely a place to revisit on a regular basis (http://www.kendallhotel.com/dining.html).
Not bad for one week, eh? Tomorrow morning I will fearlessly lead a group of volunteers from Community Running in a cleanup effort on behalf of the Charles River Conservancy and in the afternoon my friend Caroline will arrive from the UK and will be my guest for one night.
Before I go, I have to write about the Red Sox - I actually cannot believe that I forgot to write about this one last week!!! We won, we won, we won, we won!!!!! Unbelievable!! This is the most unbelievably crazy sports town, just the way I like it!!! The second World Series Title in 4 years!!! Tuesday following the glorious event, the city of Boston had a monster parade, and while I could not attend, the Sox did me a huge favor and dashed right by our building. Granted, the duck boats zipped by at 60 miles an hour, but I swear to you, Mike Lowell waved at me!! That pretty much made my day. Of course you have to know about the amazing connection between the Sox and my birthday - in 2004 they won the World Series 13 minutes prior to the start of my birthday. This year, they won it on my birthday. Coincidence? I think not!!!
Gotta go and get some zzzzs now my friends.
Be well.....
pet:)
I was out of sorts, which can be mostly attributed to the most horrific driving experience I have ever had. Why, in the friggin' world did I plan to drive down to the Cape in the midst of a raging hurricane?? Leaving Boston, it rained quite hard, but once I got on Route 3 toward the Cape, things seem to have calmed down a bit, almost too much, since all of a sudden near Rockland the traffic came to an absolute standstill for no good and apparent reason. 20 minutes, nothing. And even when traffic started moving, oh miracle of miracles, even then, there was no explanation for the delay whatsoever, no flood, no tree branches moved to the side, no construction equipment, no accident flares, nothing. Continuing on, the weather situation gradually worsened to the point of my gripping the steering wheel so tight, it had impressions on it. Wilted leaves swirled wildly in tornado fashion in front of my poor little car. We got bounced around and drove through puddles the size of Lake Erie, and while I was driving a careful 45 mph, the other idiots on the street did not seem to be perturbed by the weather at all. The scariest moment of all happened right at my exit in Harwich when I was in the midst of one of the pond-size basins, my poor Ella was trying to decide if she should hydroplane or not and some dimwit decided to drive through the lake next to me at 65 miles an hour. At this point, we were completely surrounded by water - it was like driving through a swimming pool. By the time I ended up at the Simmons Compound in Harwich, my legs were shaking and I was ready for a Valium or two.
Once I calmed down a bit, and had some dinner in that anxious tummy of mine, Denise, Rick and I embarked on the fun part of the evening, also known as "games by candle light". The power had gone out right after dinner, so we retreated in front of the fire place and set up every candle we could find. Pretty soon we were all cozy, wrapped in blankets and did our best with a refreshing round of "Tabu", which happens to be my favorite game. Wouldn't you think that it was accurate on my part to describe "clapping" as "you bang the front of your upper extremities together"? I thought so. But, no response there, and when I tried the "you do it when you really like something", all I got was "you give it a hug". Oh well....
Sunday, in a complete turnaround, the weather was absolutely fabulous, as if the day before had never happened. We were still out of power and wanted a warm breakfast, so hopped in the car, and drove to Provincetown, a quite unusual community all the way at the tip of the Cape (my first visit there). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Provincetown_Spit_Cape_Cod.jpg Also known as P-Town, it is known to attract artists, hordes of tourists, but it is foremost known as a gay resort. Off season (which is right now), it is absolutely charming, with not many outsiders, and one can simply join the local crowds going about their Sunday business. One could visit the Pilgrim Monument, which was designed by William Sears after the famous Torre del Mangio Tower in Sienna, Italy. It was meant to honor the first landfall of the pilgrims in the year 1620. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:PilgrimMonumentbasrelief.jpg ). Rick, Denise and I walked along the Herring Cove Beach, engaged in some very relaxing and on occasion interesting window shopping and retail therapy, and frequented the local ice cream shops. Now summertime in P-Town cannot be described as relaxing at all - quite the opposite - the place turns into an crazy zoo to say the least, in particular around the 4th of July and "Circuit Week". If you are not prepared to mingle with 60,000 tourists or actively participate in the Mate's Leather Weekend or other such glam events, this may just not be your crowd and you are better off visiting in the fall or winter.
Meanwhile back in Boston, t'was yet another busy week, but believe it or not, I actually managed to get to bed early the last couple of nights (early meaning 10 PM), and I do feel a bit more rested.
Recap in one paragraph:
Monday night, planning meeting for next year's 10th Anniversary Party of Community Running with running mates Hillary and Laura. Tuesday night, ushering - this time at the Wimberley Theater in the South End (http://www.huntingtontheatre.org/season/production.aspx?id=4009&src=t) for the play "Brandon" - a superbly written piece by Ronan Noone, witty and genuine, it depicts the story of a young man from Ireland who immigrates to Boston. Ronan Noone happened to be one of the Huntington Theatre Company's Playwriting Fellows, and his recent play "The Atheist" which featured veteran actor Campbell Scott caused quite a stir. Wednesday night, as many of you know, was the opening for Illuminations, an art exhibit at the MGH Cancer Center and yours truly was among the featured artists. The reception was overwhelming but fun, and I kept running up and down to the floors with the art work, and then back down to pick up the next contingent of friends that arrived. Yesterday, I met up with my former landlady Marsha Orent and her newest tenant and our new German friend Dagmar at the cutest restaurant ever - the Black Sheep in Kendall Square. Nestled in the historic Kendall Hotel, a Victorian firehouse formerly known as Engine 7, it is small and comfy, has fantastic food (all of it locally grown and organic) and is definitely a place to revisit on a regular basis (http://www.kendallhotel.com/dining.html).
Not bad for one week, eh? Tomorrow morning I will fearlessly lead a group of volunteers from Community Running in a cleanup effort on behalf of the Charles River Conservancy and in the afternoon my friend Caroline will arrive from the UK and will be my guest for one night.
Before I go, I have to write about the Red Sox - I actually cannot believe that I forgot to write about this one last week!!! We won, we won, we won, we won!!!!! Unbelievable!! This is the most unbelievably crazy sports town, just the way I like it!!! The second World Series Title in 4 years!!! Tuesday following the glorious event, the city of Boston had a monster parade, and while I could not attend, the Sox did me a huge favor and dashed right by our building. Granted, the duck boats zipped by at 60 miles an hour, but I swear to you, Mike Lowell waved at me!! That pretty much made my day. Of course you have to know about the amazing connection between the Sox and my birthday - in 2004 they won the World Series 13 minutes prior to the start of my birthday. This year, they won it on my birthday. Coincidence? I think not!!!
Gotta go and get some zzzzs now my friends.
Be well.....
pet:)
Friday, November 9, 2007
#22 Boston - Rain, rain and rain - November 3 07
Last Saturday it rained, rained and rained. This Saturday it rains, rains, and rains. And you know what - I am actually not too disappointed about it. First of all because I had to work this morning, and secondly, because last weekend, I was so exhausted after four weeks of California-Family-Visit-California that I was happy to not be able to go anywhere, do anything, other than picking up a couple of staples at the grocery store and then drift off into a well deserved slumber on my couch.
I am still exhausted I must say and there is literally no end in sight. Some of it is my fault, as I overbooked my social schedule just a weeeee bit, but work has also been incredibly busy and it does not help if someone who is not even your boss, and whose business it certainly not is to do so, tells you that you are not doing your job.
So, here is the narrative - long and short - of what went down this week:
Sunday: My actual birthday (contrary to the belief of many of my friends who have spread this date all over the month of October, and enabled me to milk the blessed event as much as possible - I think I may just declare my birthday to be anywhere between October 18th and Christmas - just send the gifts!! As to my age, I am 30, always have been. No further comment). Spending lots of time on the phone with friends and my shrewd family who passed their vacation time here hiding gifts for me in the basement. Afternoon hike in the Blue Hills on a stunningly beautiful sunny fall day. Superb, just superb dinner at The Blue Room in Cambridge (http://theblueroom.net/main.html) - Appetizers were ricotta gnocchi with Tuscan kale, bacon, oyster mushrooms and truffle oil, and Arugula Salad with endive, roasted pear, Stilton cheese and toasted hazelnuts. The fish- oooh the fish - was so so good - wood-grilled whole branzino with green olives, grapefruit, parsley and watercress salad and pomegranate syrup. But nothing, nothing, topped the desert - a pumpkin creme brulee that was to die for. This was supplemented by a nice, slightly unpredictable Malbec, and you know all was well with the world that night.
Monday uneventful, but worked late.
Tuesday - continuation of the birthday hoopla, Stephanie and I headed to Davis Square in Somerville to dine (no wine involved this time) at a wonderful Indian restaurant called Namaskar on Elm Street (http://www.namaskar-cuisine.com/) - a Mango Lassi and Chicken Saag later I was ready to burst!!! Off we went to attend the annual Halloween Performance of the Post Meridian Radio Player's "Tomes of Terror II), a staged radio production of creepy and scary stories (our talented friend Renee is part of the troupe). The three tomes featured included an episode of the 1949 comedy series "Our Miss Brooks", the shuddersome vampire tale "Carmilla" - which was adapted by Renee base don the 1981 "Nightfall" episode, and "The Stone Ship", a disquieting tale of the sea by William Hope Hodgson.
Wednesday - time to end the love fest with Marge, the cockatiel, who had been visiting with Oscar and myself, and return her/him to her/his rightful owners, the most charming Ellen and her hubby, pizza chef extraordinaire, Patrick . In order to adequately help the Esslinger-Cooley gang hand out candy to trick-or-treaters, I had dressed up in my Lexington High School cheerleader uniform, which I did not recall as being that short when I wore it two years ago, and also not as that tight-fitting. I brought the pompons and made a half-baked attempt at jumping up and down but soon settled comfortably in one of the couch chairs in Ellen and Patrick's living room and did not budge for a while. It is Halloween tradition at the Cooleys to watch a bad SciFi or scary movie, and "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" was chosen for this night's event. I did not stay for the conclusion of this stellar cinematic event from the 70s, and was honestly glad to get out of that cheerleader uniform once I got home.
Thursday got a little complicated as in addition to work and play, I had agreed to be the interpreter for a cancer patient from Germany who is at Mass General for treatment, and this has thrown my schedule off quite a bit. Food was grabbed just whenever possible, and I literally ran all day and then ran out of the hospital for my ushering assignment that night at the Lyric Stage Company. Written by Christopher Shinn (whose screenplay is rumored to be up for a Pulitzer Prize) and directed by Daniel Gidron, it was a thought-provoking piece. A young widow, whose husband died in Iraq is visited unexpectedly by her dead husband's twin brother, and both of them are forced to explore what the loss of the husband/brother meant to each one of them. (https://lyricstage.com/).
Friday - still complicated, more translation work and powering through the rest of the tasks to be done. Run, run, run...... and again, run out of the office to meet my friend Hannah, and new friends Andrea, Tara and Jennifer for a lovely meal at Brasserie Jo (http://www.brasseriejo.com/). Their web site claims that if you cannot make it to Paris, this is the next best thing, and I think they may be right. The food was frighteningly authentic, my swordfish au poivre magnificent, and we had the most charming waiter in the world. The dinner was leading up to the whole gaggle of us heading for Boston Symphony Hall (http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=boston+symphony+hall&gbv=2) to attend a reading of famous American humorist, writer and screenplay David Sedaris. It had been a dream of mine to hear him read/talk and this was a most phenomenal experience. Hannah and I both laughed so hard our jaws locked up - all of Sedaris' stories are autobiographical and the man sure knows how to make fun of himself. He does not shy away from anything, and no one involved in his life, landlady, his family, his partner Hugh are safe. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Sedaris). His humor spans from crude to highly intellectual, and that is exactly what I like about it. I am enclosing a few Sedaris quotes I found on the internet for your amusement at the end of this e-mail, which will come to an end now. I am planning to head down to Cape Cod this afternoon to spend some time with my friends Rick and Denise. It is Rick's birthday (everyone say Happy Birthday Rick!) and we got a bike ride planned for tomorrow, as soon as the hurricane is gone. [BTW -it is also my friend Pauline's birthday today, so everyone say Happy Birthday Pauline!!]
pet:)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
David Sedaris Quotes:
*After a few months in my parents' basement, I took an apartment near the state university, where I discovered both crystal methamphetamine and conceptual art. Either one of these things are dangerous, but in combination they have the potential to destroy entire civilizations.
*I haven't got the slightest idea how to change people, but still I keep a long list of prospective candidates just in case I should ever figure it out.
*I love things made out of animals. It's just so funny to think of someone saying, 'I need a letter opener. I guess I'll have to kill a deer.
*Maybe I'll learn a trade. I've considered taxidermy. I always thought it was a shame you couldn't do that on people.
*Seven beers followed by two Scotches and a thimble of marijuana and it's funny how sleep comes all on it's own.
*They were nothing like the French people I had imagined. If anything, they were too kind, too generous and too knowledgeable in the fields of plumbing and electricity.
* I recall thinking that the computer would never advance much further than this. Call me naïve, but I seemed to have underestimated the universal desire to sit in a hard plastic chair and stare at a screen until your eyes cross.
*At first, writing for The New Yorker was very scary to me. I couldn't imagine anything that I would write in that typeface.
http://www.npr.org/programs/specials/lists/sedaris/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBdymtyXt8Y
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JJ-tK7-gIk
I am still exhausted I must say and there is literally no end in sight. Some of it is my fault, as I overbooked my social schedule just a weeeee bit, but work has also been incredibly busy and it does not help if someone who is not even your boss, and whose business it certainly not is to do so, tells you that you are not doing your job.
So, here is the narrative - long and short - of what went down this week:
Sunday: My actual birthday (contrary to the belief of many of my friends who have spread this date all over the month of October, and enabled me to milk the blessed event as much as possible - I think I may just declare my birthday to be anywhere between October 18th and Christmas - just send the gifts!! As to my age, I am 30, always have been. No further comment). Spending lots of time on the phone with friends and my shrewd family who passed their vacation time here hiding gifts for me in the basement. Afternoon hike in the Blue Hills on a stunningly beautiful sunny fall day. Superb, just superb dinner at The Blue Room in Cambridge (http://theblueroom.net/main.html) - Appetizers were ricotta gnocchi with Tuscan kale, bacon, oyster mushrooms and truffle oil, and Arugula Salad with endive, roasted pear, Stilton cheese and toasted hazelnuts. The fish- oooh the fish - was so so good - wood-grilled whole branzino with green olives, grapefruit, parsley and watercress salad and pomegranate syrup. But nothing, nothing, topped the desert - a pumpkin creme brulee that was to die for. This was supplemented by a nice, slightly unpredictable Malbec, and you know all was well with the world that night.
Monday uneventful, but worked late.
Tuesday - continuation of the birthday hoopla, Stephanie and I headed to Davis Square in Somerville to dine (no wine involved this time) at a wonderful Indian restaurant called Namaskar on Elm Street (http://www.namaskar-cuisine.com/) - a Mango Lassi and Chicken Saag later I was ready to burst!!! Off we went to attend the annual Halloween Performance of the Post Meridian Radio Player's "Tomes of Terror II), a staged radio production of creepy and scary stories (our talented friend Renee is part of the troupe). The three tomes featured included an episode of the 1949 comedy series "Our Miss Brooks", the shuddersome vampire tale "Carmilla" - which was adapted by Renee base don the 1981 "Nightfall" episode, and "The Stone Ship", a disquieting tale of the sea by William Hope Hodgson.
Wednesday - time to end the love fest with Marge, the cockatiel, who had been visiting with Oscar and myself, and return her/him to her/his rightful owners, the most charming Ellen and her hubby, pizza chef extraordinaire, Patrick . In order to adequately help the Esslinger-Cooley gang hand out candy to trick-or-treaters, I had dressed up in my Lexington High School cheerleader uniform, which I did not recall as being that short when I wore it two years ago, and also not as that tight-fitting. I brought the pompons and made a half-baked attempt at jumping up and down but soon settled comfortably in one of the couch chairs in Ellen and Patrick's living room and did not budge for a while. It is Halloween tradition at the Cooleys to watch a bad SciFi or scary movie, and "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" was chosen for this night's event. I did not stay for the conclusion of this stellar cinematic event from the 70s, and was honestly glad to get out of that cheerleader uniform once I got home.
Thursday got a little complicated as in addition to work and play, I had agreed to be the interpreter for a cancer patient from Germany who is at Mass General for treatment, and this has thrown my schedule off quite a bit. Food was grabbed just whenever possible, and I literally ran all day and then ran out of the hospital for my ushering assignment that night at the Lyric Stage Company. Written by Christopher Shinn (whose screenplay is rumored to be up for a Pulitzer Prize) and directed by Daniel Gidron, it was a thought-provoking piece. A young widow, whose husband died in Iraq is visited unexpectedly by her dead husband's twin brother, and both of them are forced to explore what the loss of the husband/brother meant to each one of them. (https://lyricstage.com/).
Friday - still complicated, more translation work and powering through the rest of the tasks to be done. Run, run, run...... and again, run out of the office to meet my friend Hannah, and new friends Andrea, Tara and Jennifer for a lovely meal at Brasserie Jo (http://www.brasseriejo.com/). Their web site claims that if you cannot make it to Paris, this is the next best thing, and I think they may be right. The food was frighteningly authentic, my swordfish au poivre magnificent, and we had the most charming waiter in the world. The dinner was leading up to the whole gaggle of us heading for Boston Symphony Hall (http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=boston+symphony+hall&gbv=2) to attend a reading of famous American humorist, writer and screenplay David Sedaris. It had been a dream of mine to hear him read/talk and this was a most phenomenal experience. Hannah and I both laughed so hard our jaws locked up - all of Sedaris' stories are autobiographical and the man sure knows how to make fun of himself. He does not shy away from anything, and no one involved in his life, landlady, his family, his partner Hugh are safe. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Sedaris). His humor spans from crude to highly intellectual, and that is exactly what I like about it. I am enclosing a few Sedaris quotes I found on the internet for your amusement at the end of this e-mail, which will come to an end now. I am planning to head down to Cape Cod this afternoon to spend some time with my friends Rick and Denise. It is Rick's birthday (everyone say Happy Birthday Rick!) and we got a bike ride planned for tomorrow, as soon as the hurricane is gone. [BTW -it is also my friend Pauline's birthday today, so everyone say Happy Birthday Pauline!!]
pet:)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
David Sedaris Quotes:
*After a few months in my parents' basement, I took an apartment near the state university, where I discovered both crystal methamphetamine and conceptual art. Either one of these things are dangerous, but in combination they have the potential to destroy entire civilizations.
*I haven't got the slightest idea how to change people, but still I keep a long list of prospective candidates just in case I should ever figure it out.
*I love things made out of animals. It's just so funny to think of someone saying, 'I need a letter opener. I guess I'll have to kill a deer.
*Maybe I'll learn a trade. I've considered taxidermy. I always thought it was a shame you couldn't do that on people.
*Seven beers followed by two Scotches and a thimble of marijuana and it's funny how sleep comes all on it's own.
*They were nothing like the French people I had imagined. If anything, they were too kind, too generous and too knowledgeable in the fields of plumbing and electricity.
* I recall thinking that the computer would never advance much further than this. Call me naïve, but I seemed to have underestimated the universal desire to sit in a hard plastic chair and stare at a screen until your eyes cross.
*At first, writing for The New Yorker was very scary to me. I couldn't imagine anything that I would write in that typeface.
http://www.npr.org/programs/specials/lists/sedaris/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBdymtyXt8Y
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JJ-tK7-gIk
#21 Boston - My Friends - October 27 2007
My friends, and that would be all of you, are the most wonderful bunch of misfits I have ever met and would miss horrendously if I hadn’t. You got me good this time – while I was slaving away in California this week there was some major scheming going on, started by the amazingly cunning Renee Johnson, who invited my friends to a surprise birthday dinner. The Setup: Renee and I would be joined by Hannah for a dinner and then, as a birthday gift, I was treated to a performance by the Boston Ballet. When I arrived at the Tantric Bar and Grill (http://www.tantricgrill.com/home.html) in Boston’s theater district, Renee was waiting outside the door. She suggested waiting for Hannah until we go in, despite the fact that I was cold. Then followed a series of distraction techniques that were pretty ingenious, and included a visit to the ATM (with a cockamamie story about two checking accounts), and a quick stop at the Ballet to pick up the tickets at will-call. To show you how naive I was about the whole thing – when Hannah arrived and we were led to our table in the back room, I saw Hillary and Diane from the running group, and thought “What a funny coincidence, that they are in the same restaurant!” I thought something was fishy when I looked across and saw Holly sitting at the same table. I looked back and forth between them, thinking “How do they know each other?” when the rest of the group slowly came into focus, and it dawned on me that this may be a surprise dinner!! Duh!! I was so blown away – this was my first birthday surprise party ever!! Thank you, thank you, thank you Renee for orchestrating this, thank you to all of those who send lovely emails with birthday wishes!!! And thank you Hannah, Hillary, Diane, Ram, Holly, Sriram and Maureen for being there last night!
The dinner was scrumptious and so were the stories told at the table, little did I know about the outrageous nature of the posse in attendance – I was not too surprised about Hannah’s admission to being a pretty vicious bar dancer, or Holly flying by her parents house in a hot air balloon and them thinking nothing of it, as if she just casually strolled by. Even Renee being an absinthe connoisseur I thought made a lot of sense. Now Hillary hitting a German bicyclist in his sleep with pillows in the youth hostel and Diane during her metal head and hair days smoking six cigarettes at once definitely impressed the crowd. Sriram’s admission to have eaten six dozen oysters like Daniel Webster at Ye Olde Union Oyster House deserved a few nods, and so did Ram’s story of disappointing the entire Indian community by dating a German woman (in India!!). Sriram (who hails from Madras) and Ram (originally from Bangalore) both made a half-baked attempt at convincing the group they were born in Stockholm, in light of their blue-eyed, blond-haired looks, but even I did not have enough wine for that.
The evening was topped off with a stellar performance by the Boston Ballet (http://www.bostonballet.com/ ) – La Sylphide, a mystery set in the Scottish Highlands. The BB seems to have a fondness for ballet performances that involve someone meeting an unfortunate fate in the woods, and this one was no exception. A young Scotsman, James, about to be married to a very nice lass, gets enchanted by a sylph and loses his head. He runs off into the forest and abandons Effie, the bride. A witch, who was previously kicked out of the Scotsman’s house after reading Effie her fortune, and telling her that James loves someone more than her, gives James a poisoned diaphanous scarf that she promises will bind the elusive sylph to him forever. We all now what happens now, right? The sylph’s wings fall off, she becomes blind and then dies. James loses on both ends, as Effie meanwhile has married his best friend. You snooze (or run off with sylphs) you lose!!
The festivities for my birthday have been going on all week – thanks to my friends Claire Weber for a lovely Thai dinner at Pearl of Siam in Oakland; to the lovely Suzanne Sun for a delish meal at Canton Seafood and Dim Sum in San Francisco (http://www.cantonsf.com/); and not to forget the most wonderful Pat Martinez, her lively sister Anna (hey Miss Lucci!) and Miss Gorgeous, Tammy Lazere, who made me eat so much food at Kincaid’s (http://www.kincaids.com/ ) in Oakland’s Jack London Square that I was moaning all night! The evenings were a much needed break from the hectic pace and very early morning meetings during the cancer therapeutics conference I attended at the Moscone Center in SF. I did not get too much sleep, which led to one of my not-so-fine moments, where distracted by an argument on a street corner, I decided to give Harold Lloyd a run for his money, fell off the curb and dinged myself up nicely. Still sore from that.
I had left for San Francisco on late Monday after spending a final nice weekend with my family, which included a lovely visit to my new favorite destination, Plum Island (http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=Plum+Island&gbv=2) on Saturday. We hiked the Hellcat Interpretive Tail through marshlands and dunes, and then spend a substantial portion of the afternoon at the beach. It was a most magnificent day, the sun was out, and we walked for miles along the beach, collecting shells and letting the sun shine in our pale faces. Sunday was spent leisurely, but did include a visit to the Head of the Charles Regatta (http://images.google.com/images?gbv=2&svnum=10&hl=en&q=Head+of+the+Charles). We met up with my friend Ken, had some Mexican food and had a magnificent time. According to Wikipedia, the Head of the Charles, “… is the largest 2-day regatta in the world with more than 8000 athletes rowing in around 1750 boats in 56 events.” In the three-and-a-half years I have lived here, the weather had always been crappy, so it was quite a delight to have a spectacularly warm and sunny day and watch the row boats go by.
Today I am enjoying a most leisurely day, relaxing at home with Oscar and Marge (Wild Kingdom at 10 6th Street in Cambridge!!!) and tomorrow, on my actual birthday, I will be off on a short hike in the Blue Hills (the weather promises to be lovely) followed by a birthday dinner.
Talk to you soon. In the meantime, Go Sox!!!
Pet:)
#20 Boston - Gabelpoek - October 20 07
If you do not know what a Gabelpoek is, then you may not be eligible to play German Scrabble, and let me tell you apparently I am not that qualified either. I know it is my native language, and I am still pretty good at it, but sitting there with three umlauts (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umlaut_%28diacritic%29) and several consonants that are popular in the Polish language, I felt dumbfounded, and Poek (the oe is a replacement for the o umlaut, the o with the two dots on it) was the only thing I could think off to add to the word Gabel (which means fork). Poek has no meaning as far as we could tell, and was simply a half-baked attempt on my part to siphon off some points of my fellow player’s superbly put down words that actually DID mean something. I got my butt kicked pretty nicely in this endeavor, and this is even more shameful considering that Andrea, who was visiting the United States for the first time, played American Scrabble up in New Hampshire last weekend, and performed admirably. I am going to stand in a corner now, bow my head and live with the embarrassment.
New Hampshire – last weekend – a car piled with Germans and one token American (hi Renee) headed up to the autumn-colored Granite State just to the North of us. The plan for Friday was to visit the Castle in the Clouds on the way up to Waterville Valley (http://www.castleintheclouds.org/ ) and visit we did despite the fact that it was pouring rain - loads and loads of it. Good thing the “castle”, the mountainous estate of Tom and Olive Plant, has plenty of diversions on the inside. It was built around 1913 and provides, on a normal day (which this wasn’t) spectacular views of both Lake Winnipesaukee and Squam Lake. The décor shows great taste – the Plants did have money (at the time - he later went bankrupt due to some horrendously unfortunate investments and the stock market crash); the house features a myriad of rooms, cute little corners, and many marvels of early 20th century lifestyle – my particular favorite being the showers, which was a new convenience at the time and definitely had the look of a medieval torture instrument. Death by water comes to mind.
It was time then to head up to Waterville Valley for a weekend of fun and foliage – we had expected this weekend to be the peak of fall colors, and we were not disappointed. Saturday provided the most magnificent day I had spent in New Hampshire in a long while, just perfect. The mountains were dipped in colors as if painted by an impressionist artist. Still a little groggy from a reasonably late night at the Legends of Somethingrather (can’t remember the exact name) Bar in WV, and armed with one of Boot’s famous pancake breakfasts, the famous five headed up towards Franconia Notch and the Presidentials (http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=Franconia+Notch&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi ). Our first stop was the Visitors Center at the Notch and a lovely hike to the Flume Gorge - http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&um=1&hl=en&q=Flume+Gorge . Located at the base of Mt Liberty it is about 800 feet deep. The very well laid out hike leads past two covered bridges, many glacial boulders and stunning waterfalls, Avalanche Falls being my personal favorite. (http://www.visitnh.gov/flume/index.html)
Plans to head up Cannon Mountain were discarded as the mountain was in the clouds and there was snow on top of it. (Yes snow!!) We quickly drove by the Franconia House to say hi, and then decided to go to the Mount Washington Hotel for a little pick-me-up (I believe hot cocoa with peppermint schnapps was mentioned). Alas, there is construction going on at the resort (http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&um=1&hl=en&q=Mount+Washington+Hotel) and the only way for us to go there would have been to fork over 8$ a person and hop on the shuttle. Well, we did not need hot cocoa that much (or peppermint schnapps). Instead we opted for some spectacularly bad coffee at the Willey House at Crawford Notch. (http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&um=1&hl=en&q=Crawford+Notch) The Willey House, you may remember, is the site of the unfortunate demise of the Willey family, who hid in their avalanche shelter from a rock slide, but got flattened in there while their family house survived. That was one bad decision, I must say, and this may have well been Mr Willey’s last thought.
Next was a stop and hike up to Ripley Falls, one of New Hampshire’s highest waterfalls; a short slightly steep hike but with a most rewarding destination - http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&um=1&hl=en&q=Ripley+Falls. On the way up there we yelled some insults at the slackers taking the Conway Scenic Railroad, proving once again that hiking is so much fun and that hurling insults at folks is so much easier when they can’t hear you. The road home led via Bear Mountain Road toward one of America’s most scenic byways, the Kancamagus (pronounced “kangamangus” or short “The Kanc”) - http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&um=1&hl=en&q=Kancamagus .
The evening in Waterville was spent with singing, playing Scrabble and heading over the Legends Bar for another installment of the Red Sox playoff saga – this one not being a good chapter in the story.
Sunday the weather was a bit more of a mixed bag, but pleasant enough, the grey frequently interrupted with bouts of blue sky. After a quick jaunt on the Mad River Ski trail, we headed toward home with a nice detour to the Lakes Region and a nice hike up Rattlesnake Mountain – scrumptious views of Squam Lake were the reward for our efforts (http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&um=1&hl=en&q=West+Rattlesnake+Mountain+Squam&btnG=Search+Images) and in return we rewarded ourselves with some goodies from our friends at Dunkin D’s.
Monday, our paths led us to Newport, Rhode Island for a stroll along the famous Cliff Walk alongside the houses of the formerly (or still) rich and famous (http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&um=1&hl=en&q=Cliff+Walk+Rhode+Island) – it was a fabulous day with the Atlantic Ocean in full splendor. A visit to the biggest “summer house” of them all - “The Breakers” – owned by the Vanderbilt family – eluded to the splendor of days gone by. We had to switch tour groups though – our first guide could not be understood even by native speakers, he literally sounded as if he had a baked potato in his mouth and combined with his Texan accent and an intonation that kept brining Cary Grant to mind, I could not understand a word the man was saying. We silently snuck away and sought refuge with the next tour guide, a lovely woman with a clear voice and friendly demeanor.
For Tuesday of this week, the 4S Wine Club had thought of a special surprise. Armed with faux Bavarian hats we picked up the German guests in a limo at Beacon and Charles and started on a pub crawl. Our first stop was The Green Dragon Tavern (http://www.celticweb.com/greendragon/) – Paul Revere’s watering hole of choice. The limo then took us to one of my favorites, Boston Beer Works (http://www.beerworks.net/) – their motto is “Upscale Meals. Everyman Prices. Lumberjack Portions,” and that is exactly what we consumed. Last stop was the Bukowski’s Tavern at Inman Square, and let me tell you, that was fine with me. I am a lightweight when it comes to drinking these days, and after a hard cider and two pints of beer, I was sufficiently soused. Just ask my family – apparently I was sitting on the kitchen floor inflating the air bed and laughing hysterically. Note to friends: I must be stopped at two beers, no matter what. Unless you really like to deal with the consequences.
Wednesday found us in Watertown for a pizza-infused evening hosted by Patrick, Ellen, Amy and Dana, and the resident critters Marge, Highway and The Peanut (thanks all!). Thursday we took it easy, spent some time at my favorite neighborhood joint, the East Side Bar and Grille on Cambridge Street. The Red Sox played with their backs against the wall, but all ended well that night.
So, Friday we did some retail therapy and then, due to the crappy weather decided to visit the Kennedy Library and Museum in South Boston (http://www.jfklibrary.org/), which to date is one of my favorite places to visit. If you ever come to Boston this should be near the top of your list.
We are about to decide where to head today, Plymouth Rock and Plimouth Plantation or Salem/ Newburyport/Plum Island have emerged as the two favorites. Stay tuned. I will be in California next week for a conference and return on Friday to embark on birthday weekend activities (a lot of naps may be included).
Toodles.
Pet:)
New Hampshire – last weekend – a car piled with Germans and one token American (hi Renee) headed up to the autumn-colored Granite State just to the North of us. The plan for Friday was to visit the Castle in the Clouds on the way up to Waterville Valley (http://www.castleintheclouds.org/ ) and visit we did despite the fact that it was pouring rain - loads and loads of it. Good thing the “castle”, the mountainous estate of Tom and Olive Plant, has plenty of diversions on the inside. It was built around 1913 and provides, on a normal day (which this wasn’t) spectacular views of both Lake Winnipesaukee and Squam Lake. The décor shows great taste – the Plants did have money (at the time - he later went bankrupt due to some horrendously unfortunate investments and the stock market crash); the house features a myriad of rooms, cute little corners, and many marvels of early 20th century lifestyle – my particular favorite being the showers, which was a new convenience at the time and definitely had the look of a medieval torture instrument. Death by water comes to mind.
It was time then to head up to Waterville Valley for a weekend of fun and foliage – we had expected this weekend to be the peak of fall colors, and we were not disappointed. Saturday provided the most magnificent day I had spent in New Hampshire in a long while, just perfect. The mountains were dipped in colors as if painted by an impressionist artist. Still a little groggy from a reasonably late night at the Legends of Somethingrather (can’t remember the exact name) Bar in WV, and armed with one of Boot’s famous pancake breakfasts, the famous five headed up towards Franconia Notch and the Presidentials (http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=Franconia+Notch&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi ). Our first stop was the Visitors Center at the Notch and a lovely hike to the Flume Gorge - http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&um=1&hl=en&q=Flume+Gorge . Located at the base of Mt Liberty it is about 800 feet deep. The very well laid out hike leads past two covered bridges, many glacial boulders and stunning waterfalls, Avalanche Falls being my personal favorite. (http://www.visitnh.gov/flume/index.html)
Plans to head up Cannon Mountain were discarded as the mountain was in the clouds and there was snow on top of it. (Yes snow!!) We quickly drove by the Franconia House to say hi, and then decided to go to the Mount Washington Hotel for a little pick-me-up (I believe hot cocoa with peppermint schnapps was mentioned). Alas, there is construction going on at the resort (http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&um=1&hl=en&q=Mount+Washington+Hotel) and the only way for us to go there would have been to fork over 8$ a person and hop on the shuttle. Well, we did not need hot cocoa that much (or peppermint schnapps). Instead we opted for some spectacularly bad coffee at the Willey House at Crawford Notch. (http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&um=1&hl=en&q=Crawford+Notch) The Willey House, you may remember, is the site of the unfortunate demise of the Willey family, who hid in their avalanche shelter from a rock slide, but got flattened in there while their family house survived. That was one bad decision, I must say, and this may have well been Mr Willey’s last thought.
Next was a stop and hike up to Ripley Falls, one of New Hampshire’s highest waterfalls; a short slightly steep hike but with a most rewarding destination - http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&um=1&hl=en&q=Ripley+Falls. On the way up there we yelled some insults at the slackers taking the Conway Scenic Railroad, proving once again that hiking is so much fun and that hurling insults at folks is so much easier when they can’t hear you. The road home led via Bear Mountain Road toward one of America’s most scenic byways, the Kancamagus (pronounced “kangamangus” or short “The Kanc”) - http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&um=1&hl=en&q=Kancamagus .
The evening in Waterville was spent with singing, playing Scrabble and heading over the Legends Bar for another installment of the Red Sox playoff saga – this one not being a good chapter in the story.
Sunday the weather was a bit more of a mixed bag, but pleasant enough, the grey frequently interrupted with bouts of blue sky. After a quick jaunt on the Mad River Ski trail, we headed toward home with a nice detour to the Lakes Region and a nice hike up Rattlesnake Mountain – scrumptious views of Squam Lake were the reward for our efforts (http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&um=1&hl=en&q=West+Rattlesnake+Mountain+Squam&btnG=Search+Images) and in return we rewarded ourselves with some goodies from our friends at Dunkin D’s.
Monday, our paths led us to Newport, Rhode Island for a stroll along the famous Cliff Walk alongside the houses of the formerly (or still) rich and famous (http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&um=1&hl=en&q=Cliff+Walk+Rhode+Island) – it was a fabulous day with the Atlantic Ocean in full splendor. A visit to the biggest “summer house” of them all - “The Breakers” – owned by the Vanderbilt family – eluded to the splendor of days gone by. We had to switch tour groups though – our first guide could not be understood even by native speakers, he literally sounded as if he had a baked potato in his mouth and combined with his Texan accent and an intonation that kept brining Cary Grant to mind, I could not understand a word the man was saying. We silently snuck away and sought refuge with the next tour guide, a lovely woman with a clear voice and friendly demeanor.
For Tuesday of this week, the 4S Wine Club had thought of a special surprise. Armed with faux Bavarian hats we picked up the German guests in a limo at Beacon and Charles and started on a pub crawl. Our first stop was The Green Dragon Tavern (http://www.celticweb.com/greendragon/) – Paul Revere’s watering hole of choice. The limo then took us to one of my favorites, Boston Beer Works (http://www.beerworks.net/) – their motto is “Upscale Meals. Everyman Prices. Lumberjack Portions,” and that is exactly what we consumed. Last stop was the Bukowski’s Tavern at Inman Square, and let me tell you, that was fine with me. I am a lightweight when it comes to drinking these days, and after a hard cider and two pints of beer, I was sufficiently soused. Just ask my family – apparently I was sitting on the kitchen floor inflating the air bed and laughing hysterically. Note to friends: I must be stopped at two beers, no matter what. Unless you really like to deal with the consequences.
Wednesday found us in Watertown for a pizza-infused evening hosted by Patrick, Ellen, Amy and Dana, and the resident critters Marge, Highway and The Peanut (thanks all!). Thursday we took it easy, spent some time at my favorite neighborhood joint, the East Side Bar and Grille on Cambridge Street. The Red Sox played with their backs against the wall, but all ended well that night.
So, Friday we did some retail therapy and then, due to the crappy weather decided to visit the Kennedy Library and Museum in South Boston (http://www.jfklibrary.org/), which to date is one of my favorite places to visit. If you ever come to Boston this should be near the top of your list.
We are about to decide where to head today, Plymouth Rock and Plimouth Plantation or Salem/ Newburyport/Plum Island have emerged as the two favorites. Stay tuned. I will be in California next week for a conference and return on Friday to embark on birthday weekend activities (a lot of naps may be included).
Toodles.
Pet:)
#19 Boston - And this is how the story ends - October 12 2007
Here we were at beautiful Lake Sonoma in Northern California, with the early evening sun setting, and all of us were witnessing two unions - my friend Chris and Brad held their commitment ceremony and Brad's sister Cindy married her longtime sweetheart Mike. The ceremony was coming to a close, I of course had tears in my eyes, and everyone around me was quiet and appeared touched by the vows spoken and the promises made, when a little boy voice piped up right next to me and proclaimed loudly "And this is how the story ends!". Both couples actually hope that this is not the case, and that this was merely the beginning of a beautiful partnership, as they say....
I had flown to Californ-i-a Friday night via the most circuitous route ever - leave MGH via cab to South Station - then board the Bonanza Bus (no kidding, that was its name) to Providence, Rhode Island's Green Airport, catch a flight to Washington Dulles, where I transferred to a flight headed for San Francisco. I arrived at SFO after midnight where Chris, groom extraordinaire, picked me up at this ungodly hour. After a well-deserved night of solid sleep on their very comfortable couch, I bode the two groups farewell in the morning when they left, kids in tow, to get dolled up for the grand ceremony and enjoyed a nice little morning by myself in their home. Chris, Brad and their children Marvon and Tanaya live near the Diamond Heights neighborhood, on the outskirts of the Mission District. In the morning I walked around the hood a bit, smelled the good old California air and then headed straight for the Mexican beauty parlor to get gussied up myself. Lilya's Beauty Shop was quite the place, and despite some language difficulties (there was only one English-speaking employee, so the girls who did my make-over kept running back and forth to her to try to understand what in the world I was talking about), I had a grand old time.
I was picked up in the early afternoon by Maryland friends-of-the-grooms Dawn and Elder, who had decided to give me a ride, and off to Sonoma we went! The ceremony as mentioned earlier took place at Lake Sonoma, located in Northern California, just west of Healdsburg. It has 50 miles of shoreline, more than 2700 acres in surface area (http://www.onfocus.com/cam/2000/skaggs_road/lake_sonoma.JPG) and was the perfect location for the ceremony. The reception took place at the Dutcher Crossing Winery (http://www.dutchercrossingwinery.com/dutcher/index.jsp ) located in the terraced foothills immediately adjacent to the lake. Chris and Brad are founding members of this outfit and introduced us to their wonderful wines. They really make a mean Sauvignon Blanc if I may say so. Having the reception here was a fabulous choice - such a beautiful setting - we sat outside in the garden and watched this special day come to a close; we ate great food and engaged in some pretty vicious dancing as the evening went on. Tanaya proved that she was the meanest break-dancer around and Marvon high-fived everyone!!
Sunday, despite the fact that life seemed to go on a bit slow in my head, turned out to be a busy day. I met up with my beloved friend Pat and we joined our friends Norman and Harvey in Alameda for some scrumptious breakfast at La Pinata - http://www.lapinata.com/ . This was followed by a coffee and cake affair for which my wonderful friend Felicia kindly hosted a gaggle of my friends. The weather was perfect, we all sat in the garden, and at some point a most competitive soccer game ensued, during which Patrick and Ximena emerged as superior talents when it came to handling a soccer ball and scoring goals for the team.
Heading back to the airport Sunday night seemed more complicated than ever expected, and with the help of a very lovely Chinese couple I made it there in somewhat respectable time. Once I ended at the airport BART station however, some meathead who I had asked for help, send me in the wrong direction on the terminal shuttle, so I ended up visiting the rental car building before finally getting to my terminal.
Monday morning 7 AM arrival in Boston was followed by a quick stop at Whole Foods in order to buy fresh rolls for a breakfast with my family who had arrived at my place the day before. My brother Martin, his girlfriend Marion and her sister Andrea are in town for a two-week visit, and as you may imagine, there is a serious program to follow through with.
Here we go: Monday champagne breakfast, followed by visit to Petra's office and the MGH Etherdome (http://www.etherdome.org/ ). Then stroll around Beacon Hill (http://www.beaconhillonline.com/about/) - visit Charles Street, Beacon Hill Chocolates (http://beaconhillchocolates.com/ ), John Kerry's House (http://www.kellersclass.com/images/DSCN1060.jpg) , Acorn Street (http://www.ronsaari.com/stockImages/boston/beaconHillAcornStreet.jpg) . Attend start of the Tufts 10 K for Women (http://www.tuftshealthplan.com/tufts10k/ ) . Walk over to the Cheers Bar (http://www.roamingtimes.com/travel/images/boston-cheers3.jpg) for obligatory photo, walk around the Public Garden (http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&um=1&hl=en&q=Boston+Public+Garden) , then head back to finish line for tufts to see Olympic Gold medalist Deana Kastor smoke the competition with her 32-minute race time. Head over to Parish Café (http://www.parishcafe.com/ ) for delicious sandwiches and iced tea. Walk down Newbury Street (starting at the expensive end....), shop at Newbury Comics (http://www.newburycomics.com/) and stop for a nice cup of coffee at the Trident Café and Bookstore (http://www.tridentbookscafe.com/ ).
Head back to MGH via the Commonwealth Avenue Mall (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonwealth_Avenue,_Boston).
Dinner at the Midwest Grill - Brazilian BBQ near Inman Square. Waiters bring meat on spears. Eat wayyyyyy too much meat. Vow to never eat meat again.
Tuesday - Petra at work, Family walks the Freedom Trail (http://www.thefreedomtrail.org/ ). Evening - dinner with Ken at the Trattoria Toscana in the Fenway area - lovely find (http://thephoenix.com/article_ektid4729.aspx). Great Tuscan cuisine, charming ambience, and decent prices. And down the street from Fenway Park (http://www.ballparks.com/baseball/american/fenway.htm). My brother is a big baseball fan and is transfixed by the sight of Fenway Park. Ken explains the significance of the CITGO sign to the German visitors (http://www.redsoxconnection.com/citgo.html ). Brief visit to the Panopticon Gallery (http://www.panopt.com/home.php ) in the Hotel Commonwealth to look at world-class photographs (http://www.hotelcommonwealth.com/).
Wednesday - The German contingent gets lost for five hours in the Cambridge Side Galleria (http://www.cambridgesidegalleria.com/ ), shop until you drop, whereas I get lost in tons of work. My afternoon in the lab is cut short by a trip to the urgent care physician - I had experienced serious pain in my left calf since getting off the plane on Monday, doctor demands test and an ultrasound rules out that I do not have a blood clot. I get Tylenol with Codeine for the pain and am sent on my merry way. Dinner at home.
Thursday - today - again, I get buried at work. Biotech company visits and everyone and their brother stops by or resuscitates an ancient project and wants my input. The group of three goes to the Museum of Science to see the CSI Exhibit (http://www.mos.org/), visits Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market (http://www.faneuilhallmarketplace.com/), discovers the City Sports outlet on Bromfield Street. Group of four (includes me) has scrumptious Mexican dinner at Fajitas and Ritas (http://www.fajitasandritas.com/), followed by a visit to the Charles Street Theater to experience the Blue Man Group spectacle (http://www.blueman.com/).
Tired from just reading? I hear you.
Tomorrow we are off to New Hampshire. My friend Rick has organized a weekend up in Waterville Valley - time to do some hiking, see some foliage, maybe some mountain biking or just plain old being lazy. Monday we may head for Newport, Rhode Island. Stay tuned!!
Pet:) (Ready to get some zzzs now....)
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