Around the neighborhood

Throughout the summer, I occasionally take the opportunity to talk about “Our Neighborhood” by describing my own weekend activities.  Not the cutting-the-grass or scrubbing-the-floor type of weekend “fun,” but things I might do that visitors and students could easily do, too.  To that end, I usually focus on easy day trips, especially those that can be accomplished by mass transportation.

This past weekend, which included the U.S. Memorial Day holiday, delivered a little bit of every kind of weather.  It was outrageously hot on Saturday (a May 28 record-setting 92 degrees) but the temperature plummeted through the night and Sunday found us back in our sweaters, closing all the windows that had only just been opened.  Monday was less cool, but started off with a drenching downpour.  A little of everything, as I said.

So our weekend also included a little of everything.  We were hosting family (my mother-in-law) and friends (two college roommates from New York and San Francisco), and on Saturday we jumped on a ferry to George’s Island, one of several islands in the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area.  The ride, which offers great views of the city, takes about 40 minutes and delivers you to a place that seems both far from the city and also, if you gaze over the water, close to it.

George's Island view

Yesterday, yielding to the soggy morning conditions, we zipped off to the Museum of Fine Arts, only to find a zillion of our fellow art lovers waiting in line on a free-admission day.  We’re members, so in we went, and we made a beeline for Megacities Asia, an innovative exhibit that evoked the changing nature of several of Asia’s biggest cities.  Here’s an example, from Seoul:

Megacities
The idea is that not everything that is green is truly “green.”  If you’re from the U.S. or from Korea, you’ll probably seem some products you recognize.

The MFA is consistently named among the best art museums in the U.S.  It’s a gem, with several extraordinary collections and I highly recommend a visit while you’re here.

I’m sure I’ll be back with more of the local activities that my husband, Paul, and I pursue through the summer.  Stay tuned!

Spam prevention powered by Akismet