On Thursday, June 20th, the girls were supposed to wear their MCO tour shirts. This was fun because everyone else from MCO was wearing their shirts too. And we kept running into people with MCO shirts. It truly made us feel like MCO took over Boston for a couple of days. We started the day heading to Paul Revere's House. The rental we were staying in was so close to the subway line--it really made it easy to get places. John did such a good job planning this trip.
Built around 1680, the Paul Revere House, owned by the legendary patriot from 1770-1800, is the oldest remaining structure in downtown Boston and also the only official Freedom Trail historic site that is a home. Unfortunately, our schedule didn't allow us to visit this site during opening hours, so the outside is as close as we could get. I feel pretty dumb that we didn't take a photo of the right house, but I know that we actually saw the correct house. It is in the North End and is downtown Boston's oldest building.
One thing I noticed while visiting these sites--Paul Revere was popping up everywhere: ringer of bells at Old North church as a teenager, midnight rider, Boston Tea Party Organizer, made the metal for the USS Constitution, fixed and made this and that bell. He's everywhere! Pretty much the only thing he didn't do was sign the Declaration of Independence.
Paul Revere was the son of a French immigrant father and a mother descended from the earliest settlers of New England. Revere apprenticed to his father where he learned the highly skilled trade of gold and silver smithing. When Revere purchased the house on North Square, he was already a war veteran, a master silversmith, a husband, and a father of five children. Revere's wife Sarah managed the household and cared for the children while Paul handled the family business. Revere only had to walk a short distance away to get to his workshop located on the North End waterfront.
Sarah Revere died in 1773 from complications of giving birth to her eighth child. Paul Revere remarried a few months later to a woman named Rachel Walker. Rachel played a critical in continuing to manage a growing household. She and Paul had another eight children together while she continued to raise and nurture her stepchildren. Sadly, because of such high mortality rates in the colonial period, only six of Sarah's children and five of Rachel's children survived into maturity. Of those eleven, only five children survived their father.
After the subway, we walked past this fun park. Loved the green space next to the busy city.
Cute photo of the wrong house!
Actually Paul Revere's house
The back we couldn't see because it was closed.
The building we took a photo of is on the left. The actual house is next to it along the wall. I think we got mixed up because the wall with the gate to the museum matches the wrong house. There really is no excuse though, there is a sign on the correct house. So embarrassing.
Once again, cute photo, just cropped out the correct house. Good heavens.
Revere's stature with Old North Church
Dawes is talked about on this plaque about the midnight ride!
Ben Franklin and Paul Revere were neighbors! They both owned houses only feet apart.
The Clough house owned by Ben Franklin. One of the oldest surviving brick residences in Boston.
Next was the Old North Church, where the signal lanterns were hung "One if by land, two if by sea..."
One funny thing we learned there was that this church was visited by Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip. She attended church there at the bicentennial of the United States. After the church service the Queen and her husband went o the Old State House to address a crowd. While acknowledging that Patriot leaders like Samuel Adams and Paul Revere might have been surprised by the warm welcome she--a British Monarch--had received, she hoped that they would also be pleased that the US and Great Britain had eventually forged a friendship based on mutual respect and values.
Some other interesting tid bits we learned:
A pew would cost about $30,000 in today's money annually. This was a full year's pay for a day laborer.
There is a door behind the organ pipes which is an entrance to an apartment.
The tower has three foot thick brick walls to support the weight of the bells. They were first cast in 1744 and are 700 and 1700 lbs each.
They change the ringing for church. They don't play a melody. It is a method. The bells toll when they are sideways.
Paul Revere worked at Old North as a bell ringer as a teen.
The steeple of the Old North Church fell twice, in 1804 and 1954. The church's steeple was rebuilt after each fall, and the current steeple was reinforced with steel to prevent further damage.
We learned these things and more on the tour of the bell tower. I think one of my biggest takeaways was that you don't simply ring the bell. It is a feat of engineering with many different ropes, and is closely guarded so others don't mess it up. Being a bell ringer is quite an accomplishment.
I guess people could personalize their pews? So this one is all decorated.
This is the Pearsons' Pew
Having a door to shut kids into the pew wouldn't be the worst idea...
Huge thick walls to support the weight of the bells.
Bell tower apartment now turned museum.
View over to Copp's Burial Ground.
Don't touch the ropes. It is super complex, and I think someone would kill you. Like maybe actually there would be legal consequences for doing so.
Paul Revere's signature for the bells.
The steeple damage after Hurricane Carol, 1954.
An image taken while the steeple was falling.
We were up there! And there were lanterns hung up there to warn of the British coming.
On our way to Copps Hill Burying Ground.
Copp’s Hill was Boston’s largest colonial burying ground, dating from 1659. Some notables buried in Copp's Hill are fire-and-brimstone preachers Cotton and Increase Mather, two Puritan ministers closely associated with the Salem witch trials, and Black Freemasonry founder Prince Hall. The burying ground also holds Old North Church sexton Robert Newman, the man who hung the lanterns on the night of Paul Revere’s midnight ride, and Edmund Hartt, builder of the USS Constitution. Countless free African-Americans are buried in a potter's field on the Charter Street side of the site. Because of its height and panoramic vistas, the British used this vantage point to train their cannons on Charlestown during the Battle of Bunker Hill in 1775.
Tomb dedicated to "Seamen of All Nations"
It was fascinating to look at the different designs and try to make out the writing.
One of the people that hung the lanterns at Old North.
This was a pretty old one 1661 - 1678.
It was pretty hot after Copp's Hill. And since we were in the North End anyway, we decided to go try some Italian gelato. This was not a mistake. :) We went to the Table Caffe, which ironically had no tables. Their A/C must have been working overtime to keep their gelato from melting. It was so delicious - creamy, cold, fruity, sweet perfection. It about killed me that Darcy didn't want any and instead wanted some licorice candy from the store. Licorice instead of gelato??! Especially when it is crazy hot??! Hopefully she grows to have better sense. :)
After gelato we went to an inside activity much to everyone's relief. Because of course we were in Boston during a heat wave. I think the highs were 99, 98, 100, etc, but the humidity made it even worse. Needless to say, we were all happy about going to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts where there was plenty of air conditioning to be found. Apparently the MFA Boston was voted as the best museum in Boston, which I am not sure I 100% agree with (there were a lot of really good ones!), but it was really great.
Sleepy girl on the subway. I guess no one got serenaded this time.
I love the architecture of the old building. John Singer Sargent painted these ceiling murals. Apparently he was also invited to paint inside the Gardner Museum, not mural, but use the space to paint portraits.
We started in Art of Asia wing. Considering how old some of these pieces are, it is amazing what good shape they are in.
This is a whale tooth necklace from the 19th - early 20th century in Fiji. It was part of a new fashion for well-to-do men. I didn't even realize whales had teeth that looking like this.
My dragon loving girl with a stunning dragon piece.
Even our little one got in on the fun.
This was such a funny exhibit. Different fancy dresses through the years. I can totally get behind that amazing clothing is a form of art. To no one's surprise, our kids were all about this.
This ensemble was worn by Iris Apfel (1921-2024), who was an American style icon and interior designer. "Most people say take one off; I say put on on." Darcy liked it because it was pink.
These shoes are really something. Can you imagine trying to walk in them?
Some of these dresses are so gorgeous. I love the little model in front too. :)
These shoes are quite the statement. They are made from leather, satin, and chrome.
Weymouth Bay from the downs above Osmington Mills, by John Constable, about 1826.
Woman and Flowers, by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, 1868
Weaver, Vincent Van Gogh, 1884
Mirror of Iago, by Fred Wilson, 2009, represents Shakespeare's Othello.
After some enjoying some of the art, we headed to a courtyard (unfortunately outside) to eat some lunch. Because it was so toasty, we had the place to ourselves!
We took a break from the MFA to go around the corner to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Isabella Stewart Gardner (1840 - 1924) collected and carefully displayed a collection comprised of more than 7500 paintings, sculptures, furniture, textiles, silver, ceramics, 3000 rare books, and 7000 archival objects-from ancient Rome, Medieval Europe, Renaissance Italy, Asia, the Islamic world and 19th-century France and America. She designed and built this massive museum in an area where there weren't many buildings.
One thing that is makes this museum particularly interesting is that it is the victim of the sign largest art heist in the world, and they have never found the stolen art! There is a whole podcast about this that we listened to ahead of time, and it was fascinating. Why were some of the pieces cut from their frames, while some removed nicely? Were the guards in on it and that is why they stepped away from their desk where the panic button was? It is crazy to me that this relatively modern heist has never been solved.
In the early hours of March 18, 1990 a vehicle pulled up near the side entrance of the Museum. Two men in police uniforms pushed the Museum buzzer, stated they were responding to a disturbance, and requested to be let in. The guard on duty broke protocol and allowed them through the employee entrance. At the fake officers’ request he stepped away from the watch desk. He and a second security guard were handcuffed and tied up in the basement of the Museum. The thieves departed with 13 of the Gardner’s works of art 81 minutes later. A normal art heist is an average of 2 - 3 minutes, and these thieves had 81!
The Museum was equipped with motion detectors, so the thieves’ movements were recorded. They didn't have video cameras, but there is a printout of all the motions in the different room, so they can essentially see where the thieves went and when. The best known works of art were taken from the Dutch Room. They cut Rembrandt’s Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee and A Lady and Gentleman in Black from their frames; removed Vermeer’s The Concert and Flinck’s Landscape with an Obelisk from their frames; pulled an ancient Chinese bronze Gu, or beaker, from a table; and took a small self-portrait etching by Rembrandt from the side of a chest. (The Chinese bronze is an outlier of the art taken, and there was speculation that this was a different thief.)
In the Short Gallery, on the same floor as the Dutch Room, five Degas drawings and a bronze eagle finial were stolen. Manet’s Chez Tortoni was taken from the Blue Room. The thieves departed at 2:45 AM, after making two separate trips to their car with the artwork. The guards remained handcuffed until police arrived at 8:15 AM.
The return of the Gardner’s works remains a top priority. The Museum, the FBI, and the US Attorney's office are still seeking viable leads that could result in safe return of the art. The Museum is offering a $10 million dollar reward for information leading directly to the safe return of the stolen works. A separate reward of $100,000 is being offered for the return of the Napoleonic eagle finial.
It is fascinating to me that the two guards on duty that night were not very well qualified. I think one was an addict and one was an aspiring musician, if I am remembering right. Well, this was certainly not the case while we were visiting. I don't think I have ever seen a museum with higher security. There was an officer in every single room. And we got yelled at multiple times for being to close or sitting on a bench you weren't supposed to sit on, etc. These people were not messing around.
All 13 stolen works of art.
My only complaint about the Gardner museum was that there was no signage of any kind. There was a QR code that you could scan as you entered a room and then read about, but it felt clunky compared to the MFA which we had just been visiting. You couldn't just look at a piece and then glance at the plaque, you had to scroll and find where it is in the list of pieces. With kids in tow, this didn't happen all that often so we didn't get as much info about the pieces we were seeing.
Other than that this museum was incredible. Fascinating that it used to be someone's private collection! To be honest, my favorite part was the museum itself. It was built as an inside out Italian villa, and the courtyard and plants were stunning. If you looked close, you could see that all of the plants in the courtyard were potted. The architecture of the whole building was amazing though. Massive rooms, arches, people-sized fireplaces--it really felt like a palace.
I loved these flower behind Ellie.
Holland spent some time on a kids activity they had and sketched an orchid.
Such a cool place! It just needs signage!
Louis Kronberg (Boston, 1872 - 1965, Palm Beach), In the Dressing Room, 1910.
"Chrysanthemums" by Dennis Miller Bunker, 1888.
Madame Auguste Manet, 1866 Édouard Manet, plus the empty frame from the other Manet that was stolen.
We can't get enough of the courtyard.
Sometimes Darcy doesn't want to be in the photos but we sneakily get her in them anyway.
What a cool flower! I think it might be a variety of orchid. There are more kinds of orchids in the world than any other flower except daisy.
The Dutch room where there were so many amazing pieces stolen.
The empty frames are kind of cool, even if stealing is 100% not cool.
Rembrandt's self portrait, 1629
A bread box just like my dad's! Bread Cage, 1750-1800. This extremely ornate walnut box served the humble purpose of keeping bread away from rats and other pests. Typical of the Provençal region in the south of France, the panetière was hung on the wall, where rodents could not reach its contents.
This tapestry room is massive. And dark. All of these room were surprisingly dark.
Saint Michael Archangel, 1470, by Pedro Garcia De Benabarre
Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, 1319-1347, Ambrogio Lorenzetti
Not a small fireplace.
Christ Carrying the Cross, 1505-1510, Giovanni Bellini
Simone Martini, "Virgin and Child with Saints," about 1325
"Isabella Stewart Gardner" John Singer Sargent, 1899
The outside gardens were pretty, with little paths winding through the trees. Darcy liked the animals.
After a couple of hours at the Gardner Museum, we went back around the corner to see more of the MFA. We could have easily spent way more time there. There is so much to see without even trying to read everything. There are more than 500,000 pieces of art in this one museum.
Nativity, Giacomo del Maino, 1490 - 1500
It was so fun to see everyone be so interested in the art and history of these museums. Well, Darcy ended up listening to an audiobook at the end of the day, but she had just turned four less than a week before.
Madonna of the Clouds, Donatello, 1425-1435
King Lear, Benjamin West, 1788
These pieces of the founding fathers seemed appropriate for our trip.
Some of the paintings are so massive.
I believe these are paintings of the USS Constitution.
Paul Revere on the left. John Hancock on the right.
All of the American art seems modern when compared to the Egyptian's art!
I have a soft place for the Egyptian stuff. I have always thought it was cool since about 5th grade.
Literally thousands of years old.
1663-1570 BC
Cartonnage case containing mummy of Nes-Ptah. Egypt (Thebes), Dynasty 22, 946 - 712 BC, Cartonnage and mummy. New-Ptah was a barber in the temple of Amen whose duties included shaving the heads of the priests. The painted scenes on this coffin have been obscured by resins poured as offerings that have turned black over time. X-rays and CT scans reveal that New-Ptah was a small man who died at an advanced age. He had extensive hardening in of the arteries and may have suffered from diabetes. The cartonnage of his wife, Tabes, is also displayed in this gallery.
Large bowl on the right, Iranian, 5250 - 3000 BC
Vessel in the form a hare, Syrian, 6400 - 5000 BC
(Right) Head of Amenhotep III, Egypt, 1390 - 1352 BC, Quartzite (Left) Head of King Tutankhamen, Egypt, 1336 - 1327 BC, Sandstone
King Menkaura and Queen, Egypt, 2490 - 2472 BC
Mixing bowl (who mixes in a bowl like that) with the death of Thersites, Greek, 340, Ceramic
Homer, roman, late 1st Century BC - early 1st century AD, Marble
The old coins were so interesting! More than you'd think!
It really is amazing.
Statue of Athena Parthenos, Roman, 2nd or 3rd century CE, Marble What this statue was likely painted like on the screen behind.
Stunning.
After the museums we headed back to the Italian district for dinner at La Famiglia Giorgio's Restaurant. It was such a cute little restaurant. The server was so helpful and nice. The pizza was fantastic. This was a meal we choose to got big on so we had way too much food. It was so fun to eat together. When we got done eating it was downpouring!! So much water was falling from the sky. We got absolutely drenched on the run back to the subway station. So, so wet. Then we froze on the air conditioned subway ride back to the rental.
Holland's drawing of an orchid from the Gardner museum got just a little wet. She did such a cute job!
The next day we checked out of our cute rental, and headed to see one more museum before heading out of Boston. Instead of using public transportation we drove the rental van to the Museum of Science. This was complicated because there was a big victory parade for the Boston Celtics championship win. This meant that roads were closed. It all worked out though thanks to some good planning. :) It was a little frustrating that the massive museum parking structure was filled with a bunch of people just going to the parade. We were lucky to get a spot.
The Museum of Science was so good. There was so much to see and do. There was no way we could see it all in just one morning. I am pretty sure we only lost kids one time, so that is impressive. The people that put together these exhibits do such a good job. It was all so fun. Highlights include: lightening show, a sloth moving all over, model ships, the living wall, and a real triceratops fossil.
This was an interactive screen that responded to your touch, which doesn't really sound that interesting but it was.
Beautiful view of the Charles River.
I loved the living wall. I want one!
It was probably okay to touch this. :)
We went to an animal presentation while we were at the museum. It is so fun for me to learn facts about the world. We were shown this African bullfrog whose name is "Meatloaf." It eats everything that will fit in its mouth. African bullfrogs take oxygen in from the water with their skin. They don’t create their own body heat, use their environment to warm themselves. Frog vs toad—all are actually frogs. Drier, bumpier, browner, generally called toads. All toads are frogs. They live in African savanna, and live a few feet underground during the dry season. This is called estivation (not hibernation). The dad watches over tad poles and makes a canal to a larger pond when the first one dries up.
Next we saw two leopard geckos: Lux and Nox. They are spotted and are ambush predators, which means they wait until food comes to it. They have huge tails where they store food and water. They can detach their tails if a predator gets it. But of course, the tail can regrow. The cool part is that the predator stops and eats the tail, and the gecko gets away.
After the animal presentation we hustled to the lightning show. This is a unique display to this Museum of Science. It has the world's largest air-insulated Van de Graaff generator that hurls indoor bolts. There are Telsa coils that produce about half a million volts, which were invented Nikola Tesla in 1891 to study high-voltage, high frequency alternating current electricity. Tesla coils have no moving parts. They rely on moving charges and changing magnetic forces. Educators used them to create awesome displays of high voltage.
Those two ball-topped columns in the Theater of Electricity are the world’s largest air-insulated Van de Graaff generator. It routinely generates charges a million volts, which are discharged as bolts of lightning. Originally built in 1932 as an atom smasher by Dr. Robert Van de Graaff, today it puts on a powerful display under the guidance of intrepid educators.
This was so much fun to see. There is a cage around this whole structure to keep the audience safe. The lightening really only struck the different rods clearly intended to be struck, but it was still crazy to see the educators inside the enclosure cage. There was a smaller cage inside of the lightening cage, which they used to show us how it is safe to be in car in a lightening storm. They were in a cage being struck by lightening, and even touched the inside of the cage but weren't electrocuted! The electricity only traveled along the outside of cage.
Wonky mirrors that caused many giggles.
Swirling balls
Space shuttle and my little astronaut.
1,700 lb Meteor!
Hi-Esmaro 1929, Model scale: 1 inch equals 2 ft, 8 inches, Width: 35 feet The Hi-Esmaro was first a private yacht. It was converted into a submarine mother ship for the US Navy during World War II. The Japanese bombed it, but he US Navy sank it to prevent its capture.
Massive slice of petrified wood
Full sized model of T-Rex
Full sized model of a Brachiosaurus humerus(upper arm bone).
Shell crab
The big frill on the back of a triceratops head was to regulate body temperature, defend its head and neck, and attract a mate.
These are the triceratops's actual bones. One of only four full skeletons on display in the world, it was discovered in 2004.
Turtle shell, Oreodont skull, Fossil crab
Of course we loved seeing all the mineral and gems here too.
Petrified sequoia tree--I love the color!
Tube amethyst
Mammoth tusk
This cross-section is form a Giant Sequoia that was cut down in 1950 in Sequoia National Park, CA after being badly damaged. It was 240 feet tall and 2044 years old. The gap on the upper right was caused by a fire hundreds of years ago. Sequoias are well-adapted to withstand fire: they are covered by a thick, fibrous bark that has very little flammable resin. This tree survived and kept on growing as the two sides curved around to protect the exposed wood. It had little lights built in to show what what has happening in the world when it was this size. For instance in 95 BC this tree started to grow a few years after Julius Caesar was born. It showed when in 1000 AD Leif Ericson sailed form Greenland to become the first European to set foot in North America. In 1610 Galileo Galilei carefully observed the motion of four "stars" near Jupiter and determined that they were moons orbiting the planet. It is outrageously cool how old this tree is.
This was a fun computer programming game that we spent way too much time on. :)
Then of course the physics playground. :)
We loved the little greenhouse at the top!
But then there were animals too! I couldn't believe how many interesting things this museum had. I don't even have any photos of the whole section on the human body.
Green iguanas are excellent climbers. They also swim, dropping into the water to escape predators in the wild. Though they can run quickly if needed, they generally conserve their energy, instead relying on camouflage to avoid predators.
We saw the sloth climb around the cage! It crossed the whole cage and drank water upside down, of course. :)
From the signs:
Hi, my name is Sash! I am female, and I was born on March 25th, 2021. I am still young for a sloth, and will reach maturity when I am 4-5 years old. Because I am still a toddler. I sleep for at least 18 hours a day, sometimes 20. I love mango, sweet potato, and tofu, but will eat almost any crunchy vegetable (except for green beans, gross!). I am very good at grooming myself. If you are lucky enough to see my climbing around, it may look like I am "itching." This is actually anormal sloth grooming behavior! I am using my claws like a comb, and am just making sure I don't have bedhead!
Pooping is dangerous when you're a sloth.
Sloths' extreme slowness makes them extremely vulnerable on the ground. There are only two reasons a sloth will leave a tree: to find a mate and to poop.
This last reason highlights what may be one of the strangest things about sloths: sloths defecate and urinate only once every 10 to 21 days!
To defecate, a sloth will climb down to ground level. Holding on to the tree, it digs a hold with its back legs and then does its business.
Sloths have been around for about 50 million years. The fact that they have not adapted in all that time to defecate and urinate form the trees could be one of their greatest mysteries.
After leaving the museum, we headed out of Boston. We drove all through Massachusetts and into New York, all the way over to Rochester. It was about a 7 hour drive. We stopped at a big ol' rest area and had dinner at a Burger King. We decided about 2/3 the way through the drive that we should have been playing the license plate game. I downloaded an app, and throughout the rest of the trip we were able to see 48 of the 51 plates (including DC). We never saw North and South Dakota and Hawaii. It was impressive to see so many other ones though. It also ignited my nerdy side and now I have to announce fun license plates, even in Provo. (Provo isn't a bad place to look for unusual license plates.) We even saw several Canadian Provinces. It was surprisingly fun.
We checked into our Rochester rental, which was bigger but also quirky of course. That's why they are cheaper, and we rent them. :)
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