First Impressions

I have been Stateside for almost three weeks and boy do I have my blog abandoned!  I haven’t felt much inspiration to be quite honest and I wasn’t sure who really wants to read about my Stateside adventures!  The transition has been quite easy being that my husband, dad and many other people all worked together to have the apartment “ready to live in”.  It is amazing how people reach out in the States.  My mom lent us dinner plates and cleared other things out of her basement such as silverware, bowls, quilts, etc.  A friend of the family gave us her old sofas which if I must say, they are quite ugly and they smell of dog pee but they serve their purpose for the moment.  My dad’s girlfriend who is an avid fan of tag sales found us a day bed that is brand new and is perfect for houseguests.  I think that is one of the things that has impressed me most; all of the people who have crossed my path thus far has been very polite with the exception of a few who have attitude problems that just gives me a bit of a chuckle.  I am so overwhelmed by how excited my family and dear friends have been about my return “home”.

Some of my first impressions; the grocery store is ENORMOUS with so many varieties that I got a bit overwhelmed and actually had to call my mother about a couple of products, there are a lot of obese people here that it is a bit worrisome, vegetables and fruit are more expensive than meats, too many flip-flops, the streets aren’t as well lit up as in Europe, people can be VERY loud in enclosed areas but surely they are educated so it doesn’t count, right? 

By the suggestion of a friend, the first bar I went to in Boston is called Drink, it is downtown.  I went to finally have that Sutton Cellars Dry Vermouth.  The bar is REALLY cool and Joe the bartender can stir up some fancy cocktails with his magic potions!  If you go for a cocktail, make sure you try the "Little Sutton"!!  

The toro and I went to see one of my hometown buddy’s band play.  We met up with a couple of others from my hometown for cocktails at the Cactus Club beforehand and yet again, it was like a day hadn’t past!  The last time I had seen my friend’s band play was in 2004 in Saint Jean Cap Ferrat when he sang a couple of songs at our friend’s wedding.  I had previously seen him play in NYC in 2000!  They are good!!

Jamie McLean Band

I drove for the first time in 10 years!  I should have warned everybody to clear the roads but I didn’t!  My dad bought us a welcome home TV that he had sent down to his house in Connecticut so I had to rent a car and drive there to pick it up.  Renting the car was a piece of cake.  I actually walked into Enterprise rentacar and violà, I had a car rental.  I insisted on a SMALL car which I have learned that the smallest car is a mini but the TV wouldn’t fit in that.  So off I went.  The toro had set up the GPS beforehand and for some reason, it was set to take me on the back roads down to Connecticut.  After about an hour, I was FED UP and thankfully, I had read the directions on my toy, the iPhone 4, so when I saw that I could get on a highway, I was at my dad’s in no time.  I stopped at my hometown best friend’s house on the way.  It was like a day hadn’t past since I had last seen her.  My sister and her kids had just flown in from Denver so I was a pleasant surprise!!

After I dragged the ENORMOUS TV into the house, I had to pick up the toro at work.  Little did I know that I would be driving through the center of Boston at peak hour.  Suddenly, that sangre española (Spanish blood) came out and I found that my road rage comes out by yelling Spanish profanities at other drivers!  Hopefully no one understood me!!  That was scary!  I think that my knuckles were white by the time I got to the toro’s office!!  I let him take the wheel from there!

I managed to get a library card.  I haven’t borrowed books in over a decade!  I love libraries – so many books, so much to learn!  I just read about the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.  She is my new idol and I can’t wait to go visit her Palazzo on Fenway!

My other tasks have included getting cable and Internet installed in the apartment.  As soon as it was installed, I had them put Wimbledon on.  

“Why isn’t the picture very clear?” I asked the Comcast guy.

“You have an HD TV and this is a digital box.” He replied in Greek.  He then explained the digital versus HD TVs and I could speak Greek.

“OH! The person on the phone never asked me what type of TV I had, how do I get the HD box?”

“You have to call and arrange it because unfortunately, I don’t have an extra HD box in the truck.”

I honestly thought this type of stuff only happened in Spain!!  So after yet another phone call, I get the HD box installed today!  Woohoo!  Love watching TV!

We spent last weekend with the entire family at Fisher’s Island.  I bumped in to yet another childhood friend on the ferry ride over!  We had a lovely time with the family on Fisher's.  It was a lot of fun.  The island is very beautiful, full of hydrangeas  and it was great to have the entire family under the same roof after so many years.  We went tubing, my pyromaniac mother and brother set off fireworks, watched a two second July 4^th Parade and toured the small island that is off the coast of Connecticut but is part of New York.

Fisher's Island

“Are there fireworks in Boston?”  I emailed a couple of girl friends on the train ride back to Boston.

“They are a big deal.  At El Esplanade but you will have a great view of them on the Boston U Bridge.”

So after el toro and I had a nice dinner at the restaurant Hillstone, (order the pork chop) off we went to the bridge.  I am not sure what was better, the odd conversation I was listening to or the fireworks.  It was fun!!

So here I am!  Hasta Pronto!! 

Boston Fireworks from the BU Bridge