Boston Unvarnished

Just got back from my trip to Boston Sunday night.  Could I have picked a weirder week to be in Boston?  No I could not.

I was actually staying in Waltham and attending a violin varnishing workshop in Concord.  There is a lot to say about everything I learned, but there is also a lot to say about having been in Boston at this time.  So I think I need two separate posts.  The next one will be about the varnish workshop.  This one will be a hodgepodge of everything else.

Where to even begin?  I thought things were off to an inauspicious start when I arrived at the Boston airport and was unable to rent a car.  I figured how hard could that be?  Fly into a major American city and just, you know, get a rental car?  However, I was informed again and again that I was out of luck because of Marathon Monday and Patriot Day.  I had been unaware of the impending marathon, and I'd never heard of Patriot Day.  There turned out to be a car rental place next door to where I was staying and I was able to pick one up later, but the only thing they had was a Prius which took some getting used to.  (I never got comfortable with the idea that you didn't need a key to start the car and was constantly in a panic about remembering to lock the doors which is something I don't normally do.)

A friend from my college days was kind enough to let me sleep in her artist studio on Moody St in Waltham.  It was nice to spend some time with her, and I liked that I didn't feel as if I were imposing on her in her actual home which is in Watertown.  There wound up being other reasons it was good not to be staying in Watertown.