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Boston: City of Spiritual Refreshment

I was just in Boston to visit Hannah for three nights. It’s been such a long time since we’ve had a weekend like this—I can’t believe how much I needed it. In 2023, I came for Valentine’s Day weekend, and we went to the Dita von Teese show. In 2024, I was there for another perfect weekend, attending her and Michael’s wedding the day before I left for Ireland. Very happy we planned this for early September, as the air was so perfectly crisp and the collegiate vibes were at their peak. This is what we did:

  • - Arrived at their house at 10 p.m. on Friday and crashed on the sofa almost immediately.
  • - Saturday began with breakfast in downtown Rozzie, cute small town wandering, a visit to Joanne’s perfect shop to buy souvenirs, though no Joanne this time. Stopped at the farmers market - Michael bought provisions for a future dinner and I bought the most incredibly fragrant (greenhouse-grown) guavas.
  • - Hannah and I set off for the Harvard Art Museums, where we communed with John Singer Sargeant’s Study for Seated Figures for “El Jaleo,” Edo-period The Four Accomplishments, David Smith’s Medals for Dishonor, and Henri Toulouse-Lautrec’s The Black Countess.
  • - Afterward, we prolonged our art high with a visit to the incredible secondhand shop Retrospective and the restaurant Pammy’s next door, which provided a feast for the senses. I sipped on a mocktail called the Bitter Ex, and to eat, I had the grilled oysters with eggplant, and a spring onion purĂ©e, spaghetti with sungold tomatoes and smoked trout roe, and the black bass with strawberries (!), confit fennel, and curry leaf. During the meal, the sky opened up and it began downpouring, complete with thunder and lightning. We enjoyed watching the action through the window.
  • - We planned to see a midnight movie, even though none of us are late-night people, so we cajoled ourselves to stay awake by watching True Blood and Downton Abbey. We also watched the Wuthering Heights trailer at least four times. We ate the guavas and, sadly, none of us liked them.
  • - Somehow, we managed to stay awake and drive to The Coolidge, a stunning 92-year-old cinema, to see Hundreds of Beavers at 11:59 p.m. Exceptional film. I can’t remember the last time I laughed that hard.
  • - The next morning, we got a delicious Greek brunch, and then Hannah and I strolled around, looking at the shops. It was raining but lovely to be out. We went to a record shop and I “shazamed” like four new favorite songs that were playing. Feels good to refresh the playlists—I’ve been listening to a lot of the same stuff.
  • - We then attended at breathwork session at a studio that’s a favorite of Hannah’s. I have been thinking a lot about breath and achieving different states of consciousness using breath control, so I was looking forward to this. Well, I breathed so deeply and forcefully during the session that I began to experience tetany (“lobster-claw hands”). The feeling in my brain was definitely euphoric and subspace-y, but I was quite nervous about what the fuck was going on with my hands (“It’s your heart meridian opening,” the breathwork facilitator said. Well, actually, it’s your blood alkalizing!). I would like to keep practicing breathwork, as I think carving out time to breathe consciously does provide a powerfully calming effect, but I’m unsure if inducing hyperventilation is the right way.
  • - Michael cooked us dinner when we got home. Farmers market chicken with potatoes - super delicious.
  • - We then set off for the Rilo Kiley show, which was the “anchor activity” for our visit. This show blew me away. It was fabulous to see Jenny Lewis on stage again, singing these songs from what now feels like a bygone era. I had somehow never heard “Does He Love You?” before, and it made me cry.
  • - Monday morning I finally slept in after many nights of patchy sleep. Then it was time to hug everyone goodbye.
le-corbustier