Out and About

So I had mentioned before I went away that I was planning to attend an event at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. It was one of their Third Thursday After Hours at the ISGM, and I would like to encourage all of my fellow Bostonians to attend if they have the opportunity and inclination. It was a young crowd and certainly not a meat market. (Though we speculated that there might have been some first dates going on there. Gentlemen, this is a great first date locale!)

The museum looked beautiful; it was like being at a party at a villa in Venice or Spain. The ambiance was very romantic (in a classic sense), and yet, there was still a cool vibe coming from the jazz combo playing in the courtyard. When I first walked in, I commented to Co-Worker Corey that I felt like I was in The Talented Mr. Ripley in the Matt Damon role ("I always thought it would be better, to be a fake somebody... than a real nobody"), but by the night I ended up feeling ended up feeling really special, like I had been let in on a secret.

We ended up being joined by some of my other friends and enjoyed a delicious meal at the cafe, which had plenty of room available, great service, and wonderful fare. I would certainly go there top eat again, and the prices were very reasonable.

I love the museum itself, mostly because it doesn't feel like a museum. It feels like you are in a European villa, and the owner has given you carte blanche to examine their collection. The coolest thing JR and I discovered, quite by chance, was a scrap of a dress owned by Mary, Queen of Scots, that was hidden under velvet in one of the display cases. We only wished that the hallway was a little bit brighter to help us see more clearly.

Something to keep in mind: finding a parking space at 6:00pm was the most difficult part of the evening. My friends who joined us closer to 7:00pm had a far less difficult time. We did end up in a primo spot on Museum Street, but only after circling for 15 minutes.