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!).

Adventures in Beantown

Wow! So much to catch up on! I'd start from the beginning but that would take much to get you up to speed. Instead, I'll start with my Mom's visit to Rhode Island.

Over her spring break, my Mom came to visit me for a long weekend at the beginning of April. I was a little concerned that I wasn't going to be able to pick her up at the airport because of the flooding in Southern Rhode Island, but none of the roads (no pun intended) were blocked. My mom's plane was right time (wasn't expecting that), so we had to stall a little before our reservations. I thought we should eat at an authentic Italian restaurant in Federal Hill, so we had a lovely dinner at Pane e Vino. Besides the fact that we were right next to the waiters' station (Mom has always had some bad restaurant luck), it was a wonderful, relaxing meal.

Since I took my Mom down to Newport when she visited before, we decided to head up to Boston for the day. I had been wanting to visit the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum since a) I read about it in my '1,000 Places to See Before You Die' book and b) my friend Courtney said it was one of the most beautiful places in Boston (she goes to school in the city, so I trust her as an accurate resource). Ms. Gardner was an avid collector of art from around the world. Within several years, both her husband and father died, leaving her with almost $3 million dollars (this is back in the late 1800's- who knows how much money that equals now!). She used her money to build the museum and buy additional pieces to add to her collection. The only stipulation of the museum was that everything had to be left where she put it, even after her death. The second part of the "contract" was that there was to be a celebration on her birthday every year. (This woman was very particular. I don't know about you, but I'm not sure she and I would get along.)

My favorite part of the ISG museum by far is the courtyard. It opens up to all three floors of the museum. It is just as much a piece of art as the rest of the building- fresh flowers, marble statues, and a fountain, to name a few highlights. Above the courtyard is a ceiling made of glass.

The museum doesn't look like much from the outside... you probably wouldn't even notice that it was there if you weren't looking for it.

Here is a picture of the courtyard, although it is not my favorite. They won't let you take pictures inside (it was torture!), so this is the best one I could find online. Wouldn't this be a gorgeous place for a wedding?

There were paintings by many famous artists- this picture was done by Michelangelo.

"El Jaleo" This is a very interesting piece by Stewart. The painting itself takes up an entire wall- a small recess was built just to highlight this painting. It is much more beautiful in person- the fabric looks so fluid, and full that it almost reminds me of a wedding dress.

After several hours at the museum, we had a quick lunch after checking into the Park Plaza Hotel. When I was talking to my Mom before her trip, she realized two things 1) I had not spent the night in Boston and 2) I had never experienced room service in a hotel! If you haven't ever had a chance to use it before, I highly recommend using Priceline.com to find a last-minute deal on a hotel or flight. We were able to book a room for less than half of what we would normally pay if we booked through the hotel's website. Priceline allows you to select where you'd like to be (it even goes down to the neighborhood level in bigger cities like Boston, New York, etc), the number of stars of the accommodations, and the price you'd like to pay. If you have gone too low, it will come back and tell you to change some of your options. Otherwise, if all parameters can be met, the hotel is booked right away and it tells you where you will be staying. You have to be a little bit flexible, but it's definitely worth a try.

The Park Plaza Hotel- it was a perfect location... close to a T stop, Boston Common, and Paper Source (I swear I did not even know that it was less than two blocks away!)

Isn't it nice to know that there will always be someone to open the door for you?

On Saturday night, we stayed in to watch the final game of the NCAA tournament. I asked my Mom if she wanted to go to a sports bar or restaurant to watch the game, but she preferred to stay in and relax (fine by me!). When she was growing up, one of her favorite memories was ordering room service with her Mom. My Grandpa did quite a bit of traveling, and my Grandma would go with him from time to time. She was able to sleep in, read all day, take a nap, and, her favorite, order room service. :) It felt special to share something with my Mom that she shared with my Grandma.

On Sunday morning, we went to Easter service at the Park Street Church on the other side of Boston Common. I had done some research ahead of time (imagine that!), and it looked like a place that we would enjoy. It was a fairly traditional service, but it had one of my favorite ceremonies in the church- baptisms. There was a girl from China who was baptized- her story was very beautiful.

The church is actually a part of the Freedom Trail- it was founded in 1809!

After church was over, we took the T to get breakfast in Cambridge. I know, not exactly the closest place to eat, but there was a place that I didn't want to miss after I did my research (ha!) on the best places to catch brunch in Boston. There were a lot of fancy (and therefore, $$$$) places that were on the list, but another one caught my eye when I read that it was voted both "Best New Restaurant" and "Best Brunch" by several Boston area magazines. The Friendly Toast is not a chain (there are only two of them total- the other is in New Hampshire) and is kind of in a weird location (not easy to find by any means). Thank goodness they had an extra sign to guide you to the back of the building, or we never may have found it.

The Friendly Toast has a relaxed atmosphere, filled with 50's and 60's memorabilia. My chair had a green, metallic plastic covering the seat, and there was a small ceramic cow holding our salt, sugar, and pepper on the table. I had butterscotch hot chocolate with marshmallows (to die for!) and "Hansel and Gretel waffles"-- gingerbread waffles with pomegranate molasses and whipped cream! Mom had the "Drunkard's French Toast"-- French toast topped with a Grand Marnier and raspberry sauce. Click here to see more of the menu.

A picture of the inside of The Friendly Toast- it would have been a blast hunting for the decorations!

It doesn't look like it in this picture, but it was packed! Thank goodness we got there before 10:00 AM.

A picture of a magnolia tree in bloom in Cambridge

We drove back to RI on Sunday afternoon and took a long nap- all that running around made us exhausted. I had to work on Monday, but we did get to make dinner together on both Sunday and Monday nights. On Sunday, we had homemade pepperoni and banana pepper pizza, and dinner on Monday night was tacos with fresh salsa and guacamole and margaritas.

We got to the airport on Tuesday when I realized that we hadn't taken a picture of the two of us on my camera the whole weekend! (We had one taken of us in front of Park St. Church, but it is on Mom's camera.) To make up for it, we took the picture below while waiting for our flights.

Thanks for a great weekend, Mom!

Identity Crisis

With less than 15 weekends left (18 weeks left of work - 2-3 weekends in Indy - 1 weekend in Washington D.C. for work - the weekend I move home), I decided that I have got to step up my exploration efforts. There are still a number of things I want to see and/or do in the area before I leave, and I'm running out of time. On top of that, some of the places are best appreciated during warmer weather- Cape Cod and Block Island. (I was updating my travel binder the other day, and Block Island was on Real Simple's list of the 10 Best Hidden Gems in the U.S.)

Today I tackled the Boston Museum of Science (BMOS). I became a member of the North Smithfield Public Library about a month ago (I know, it took me a good 6 months to get a membership- their hours aren't the greatest, and I used to sleep in most Saturdays past noon), and they have passes to several local museums and attractions that let you get in for free or at a very reduced price. I woke up around 10:00 AM and decided that if they had any passes left for today, I was going. Instead of paying $20 for adult admission, I got into the regular exhibit halls for $5! I did have to pay extra to see an IMAX movie, but the total was still less than I would have paid for my total admission.

Like most museums, the BMOS has both regular and special exhibits (with the special exhibits being extra, of course). They were featuring a Harry Potter exhibit that was filled with costumes and props from the Harry Potter movies. Since I have not read any of the books or seen any of the movies, I did not have any interest in this matter. However, thousands of other people did (it felt like that many!) and were rushing to see the exhibit before it closes tomorrow. The BMOS is very kid-friendly, so I had to remember not to be such an uptight adult. (Ill-behaved children drive me up the wall.)

I started with the exhibit "Identity," which discusses the environmental, genetic, and social factors that make us individuals. I examined my fingerprint patterns, found people across the globe with the same skin tone as me, and tried to match pictures of children with their parents (much harder than you think!). Part of the exhibit looked at the range of five basic traits that some psychologists use to categorize individuals- organized vs. impulsive, wired vs. relaxed, traditional vs. something, . You could then find out what type of music and smell fit your personality based on where you selected your trait to be in a continuum. My music was a mix of classical and a bright beat. (I decided not to do the smell portion- people were saying that they couldn't get the smells off of their hands.) Another part of the Identity exhibit explained the differences between male and female brains, which apparently are different even in the womb. (Even though I did not know the difference started so early, I am not surprised.)

Two of my favorite parts of the exhibit were even more interactive. The first exercise allowed you to change your face into a different gender, race, or both. You first took a picture of your face lined up with marks on the screen. Then, you moved shapes to fit your mouth, eyes, nose, eyebrows, etc. Thirty seconds later- voila! A new you.

Here is my face before the transformation...

This is me as a black male. (I think the hair just throws everything off.)

The second exercise used similar technology to the previous tool I described, but this would show the effects of healthy aging or poor choices- smoking, not using sunscreen, or unhealthy eating. Even though I regularly wear sunscreen on my face, I thought a refresher of what *could* happen would make me even more faithful to sunscreen. The results speak for themselves.

My face after healthy aging... (Someone please tell me that this is not in the near future.)

Wow- so thankful that science has showed us how UV rays can be dangerous. This is awful!

While at the museum I also learned about wind and solar power, saw a woman give birth underwater (don't get excited, it was just a video), witnessed a chick hatch, and attempted to solve visual puzzles. I really enjoyed the visual puzzles. Most of you may have seen the black and white picture that shows both an old woman and a beautiful young girl- one of the two jumps out at you depending on your personality.

A view of the Charles River from the museum

Nothing like being in two places at once!

I had really wanted to see the planetarium, but it is closed for renovation until 2011. Instead, I decided to learn about "The Greatest Places." The Greatest Places is an IMAX film that featured six of the most amazing landscapes on Earth- Madagascar, Tibet, the Amazon River, Iguazu Falls, Greenland, the Namib desert, and the Okavango River Basin in Botswana. I love learning about the landscape of the other parts of the world and have always wanted to do lots of traveling (I have two life to-do lists, one of which features places I want to see before I die), and this movie definitely spurred the little travel bug I've been experiencing lately. I can't go anywhere abroad until this fall/winter, so for now I will set my sights on exploring New England.

In an effort to save money (and avoid a multi-car crash), I decided to take the commuter rail into Boston. There's a line that takes you straight into the city, and it's only $7.75 each way. I parked my car at the Providence Place Mall parking garage, which ended up costing me $20 (I just missed the 10 hour mark- I think it would have been $8-10 instead.) However, parking alone for 8 hours in Boston would have *easily* cost me over $35 (If I had to bet, I would say it would have been even more than $40). Plus, the gas alone would have cost $11. (Triple A has a calculator that takes the make, model, and year of your car into account.) It was nice not to have to worry about driving in the city, especially on my way home- I was exhausted!

After I finished at the museum, I went to Copley Plaza and did a little shopping. Lord and Taylor was having an *amazing* sale on winter coats, but I was strong and was able to convince myself that I could wait until next year. I did, however, find something I couldn't pass up- Footzy Rolls. Footzy Rolls are rollable shoes designed to be small enough to fit inside your purse. This allows you to wear the slippers/shoes while you are on your way to go out and have to walk, change into your heels when you arrive at your destination, and change back into your slippers for the walk home. I am going to Washington D.C. in a couple of weeks, and these will be perfect!

The how-to's of wearing the Footzy-Rolls...

The newest edition to my footwear wardrobe

Who knows where I will go next! Hope everyone is having a great weekend!