Arts, Culture, and Exploration

I've been a very busy bee lately... I'm trying to fit in as many sites/attractions before my time in Rhode Island is up. We have had gorgeous weather the past two weekends, so I was able to do some exploring. I'll start with telling you about my Saturday in Providence and Boston (two weekends ago).

After a breakfast of fresh orange juice and Mini Spooners (the generic version of Frosted Mini Wheats... I actually think they are better than the brand... the cereal is much crunchier and has more frosting), I headed down to Providence to do some exploring. Both Brown University and the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) are in downtown Providence in the College Hill district. Thanks to Rhode Island Monthly's weekly communication about upcoming events in the area, I learned that RISD was having several free activities on Saturday to compliment a new exhibit in the RISD Museum.

The Carrie Tower on Brown's campus reminds me of the clock tower at Purdue (When I was an RA on the eighth floor at Shreve, I had an amazing view of the tower... so many great memories from Purdue!). On the bottom of the tower is an inscription that reads, "Love is strong as death." (Kind of creepy if you ask me!)

The Van Winkle gates mark the entrance to Brown University. According to Mitchell in the Brown Encyclopedia, "They are opened inward to admit students at the beginning of the college year and at the beginning of the second semester and on Commencement Day are opened outward to allow the procession to pass through, at which time the graduates traditionally doff their caps."

The students frequently have art fairs to showcase and/or sell their work... I bought a pair of dangly, gold earrings that are made from aluminum cans.

This is a picture of the featured exhibit at the museum. Maybe it's just me, but I don't get it. I drew things like this in kindergarten, and no one called it art, framed it, or paid money for it. (If you can't tell, the drawing is made up of cross-hatches and scribbles. There was another piece of "art" where the artist had drawn a square and filled it repeatedly with the alphabet. (It's a good thing I waited until the museum was free to attend; otherwise I think I might have felt ripped off.)

How about this for an admissions building?

I climbed the fire escape (don't worry... it had stairs and was somewhat sturdy) and took this picture of the city skyline. (Okay, so the trees are blocking most of the buildings, but I thought it was an interesting point of view.)

A church sits at the bottom of College Hill- doesn't this look like it belongs on a postcard?

I thought this was a charming old building... I love the name--"What Cheer Garage"

After RISD experience, I headed into Boston for another cultural experience. A couple of weeks ago I finally broke down and purchased a GPS (tax return + amazing deal at Target = can't miss opportunity), which made it MUCH easier to a) navigate through the city and b) find parking. I can't believe I didn't own one of these earlier this year, but there are two sides to every story. I did get lost quite a bit, but without a GPS, you really get to know your way around an area. After a quick dinner (and changing in Uno's bathroom), I went to the Boston Symphony Orchestra. About a month ago I received a notice (I am on so many list serves- you wouldn't believe it) that they were having a sale on tickets this spring. If you were under 40 years old, you could buy 2 tickets for $20 each (that tells you what the crowd is like), as long as you could show identification when you picked up the tickets. I didn't find out my seat location until I picked them up (they don't tell you), but I was in the fifth row!!! I loved being at the symphony... the music was beautiful and the backdrop was breathtaking (plus, who doesn't love to get dressed up?). The original featured violinist was unable to make the performance (he was stuck in Europe because of the ash cloud), but I was delighted to learn that there was a French horn soloist instead. For those of you who don't know, I played the French horn for 5 years (middle and high school). Learning to play a musical instrument is something I believe every child should have the opportunity to try- it teaches discipline, hard work, responsibility, teamwork, and an appreciation of the arts.

Here is a picture of the inside of the symphony hall... I wasn't allowed to take pictures, but I'm not sure my camera would even have the capacity or I would have had the angle for you to appreciate it. (Photo from the BSO website)

I did manage to sneak a picture of the light fixtures on the ceiling....

...And another one of my view of the stage (no zoom involved!)

I'm going to do my best to make a Boston Pops concert before I move back home, too--I'm just going to miss their July 4 show (I leave the day before), but I'm sure they are just as good any other weekend (and probably less expensive!).