A sleep in and relatively late start as tourists this morning.  First on the list….the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. She was a woman of vision – art collector, philanthropist, and one of the foremost female patrons of the arts. Had a zest for life, an energetic intellectual curiosity and a love of travel. She was a friend of noted artists and writers of the day, including John Singer Sargent, James McNeill Whistler and Henry James. Gardner created much fodder for the gossip tabloids of the day with her reputation for stylish tastes and unconventional behavior. Her surprising appearance at a 1912 concert (at what was then a very formal Boston Symphony Orchestra) wearing a white headband emblazoned with “Oh, you Red Sox” was reported at the time to have “almost caused a panic”, and remains still in Boston one of the most talked about of her eccentricities. Passionate about Renaissance and Venetian art as well as horticulture, her museum houses her significant collection of European,  Asian and American art from paintings and sculpture to tapestries and decorative arts. In 1990,thirteen of the museum’s works were stolen; the high-profile crime remains unsolved and the artwork’s location is still unknown. The courtyard; Spanish cloister; tapestry, gothic and long rooms were my favourite spaces.

Then, I decided to see city views from the Prudential Tower, aka colloquially, The Pru, a skyscraper 228 m tall, with 52 floors. The Skywalk Observatory on the 50th is currently the highest observation deck in New England open to the public. Gorgeous views of the crowds watching the Red Sox and NY Yankees baseball match at Fenway Park (I could have been there had I been prepared to pay $300 for a seat!!). Also of a yacht race on the Charles River, pink sails! And palatial buildings along Commonwealth, Malborough and Beacon Sts!!

Got a ticket for the 5pm Sunday performance of the Blue Man Group, that combines music, technology and comedy to create a form of entertainment that defies categorisation. They are percussion proficient on drums as well as PVC pipes! And they have have great comedic timing in other sketches. Unpredictable and funny! I was so glad I was able to see a performance after the cancelled Melb concert!