Stories from the Road
September 9, 2018
Brookline Village, Mass.

Fall has come, perhaps temporarily, to Boston, Mass. A cool breeze followed us as we made our way to the North End. Before we walked to this Italian section we met Cynthia O'Grady, her daughter Melina, and George and Kathy Arguin at the Union Oyster House for lunch. Vicki and I had clam chowder and then split a lobster roll, both of which were excellent.

In the North End, we came upon a religious festival. The police had blocked Hanover Street, and a group of men dressed in white was carrying a religious statue with dollar bills plastered on it. Normally I would be excited about this kind of cultural event, but it seems every time I go to the North End, there is a religious parade in progress. The band following the process honoring a saint was playing, "Arrivederci Roma, not a particularly spiritual piece.

Later we ran into two men smartly dressed all in white. I learned from them that they were going to a dinner in a mystery location with 2000 other people. This pop-up event was an annual affair that has become popular in several cities. Later we saw perhaps 100 people in white assembling at different spots, waiting to learn the location of the party.

Cannollis and espresso at Cafe Paradiso were on our agenda.  The pastry was very fresh and screamed at us to order more. We didn't. We said goodbye to our friends, and Vicki and I walked to the Parker house, where we took an Uber back to Brookline.