I agree with travelbug2000 that the Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum is interesting. I would advise against visiting it on an overcast/snowy/rainy day, however. I went there on a rainy day and found the museum to be quite gloomy and somewhat depressing (don't know if the general atmosphere is dark like that every day or not). The art is great, but the effect was mitigated by the lack of light.

Also, just so you are not confused--

The Boston Public Library is at Copley Square, The JFK Library is on Columbia Point in Dorchester.

Cranachin - based on what the docents told me at the Gardner, there are 2 reasons why it's so dark there (yes, it's dark all the time):
1) The low light level is what it was like during Mrs Gardner's time. There was no electric lights, so it was dim back then too; and more importantly,
2) Since no paintings/drawings can ever be moved from the walls, the curators have to keep the light level low in order to preserve the artwork. Unlike other museums where they have the luxury to put paintings in storage (complete darkness), they cannot do so at the Gardner. Therefore, the works are exposed to damaging sunlight every day of the year; hence the need to keep the light at a minimal level.

yk--

Thanks. I had wondered how much more light there might be when the weather is better. I really was surprised by how depressing the Gardner seemed to me due to the low light levels.

how about skating on frog pond in boston common?

any expericenes doing that?

What type of feedback do you want? If you're interested in skating, then, yes, the Frog Pond is a fun place to go.

i have been reading somw bad reviews on the union oyster. is legal seafood alot better?

Did you happen to read my reply on January 21 at 10:45 a.m.? Yes, Union Oyster is not very good, and yes, Legal Seafoods is much better.

Would suggest doing a board search here on Boston's North End restaurants -- am not a fan of just going in cold to any old place here, as quality varies a lot and there are tourist traps.

Would echo the naysayers here on Union Oyster House. Would highly recommend Neptune Oyster, and Legal Seafood is reasonably decent as well.

The Cambridge restaurant suggestions above are fine.

Cheers is a tourist trap -- just pop in to see it and eat somewhere else. You'll be surprised how little it looks like the TV show set, too. Upper Crust does good pizza, but the best such spot is the Pizzeria Regina in the North End on Thacher Street (the food court versions are not so good).

what is a good breakfast place not far from the airport or just a short ride on the T. for saturday morning

It's really no-man's land around the airport. You can email or call your hotel and ask if there's any place nearby for breakfast.

Otherwise, if you're still heading to Fenway first, you can grab breakfast at Eastern Standard Kitchen @ Kenmore Sq. That's the stop you'll get off the T - and about 5 mins walk from Fenway Park. http://www.easternstandardboston.com...Breakfast.html

I really like Eastern Standard. It's a big, high energy restaurant and the food is very good and reasonably priced. We go there often as we always eat there before catching a show at the nearby House of Blues.

On a weather note, it looks like a cold front is moving in for the weekend and there is a small chance of snow on Saturday. I can't stress enough for you to dress in layers and certainly bring hats, gloves and scarves. It was 50 degrees here 2 days ago. This weekend it'll be in the 20's. Thirty degree temperatures swings. That's pretty typical of Boston!

You shouldn't need a breakfast spot if you are staying at Embassy Suites at the airport...your breakfast is included and is not the typical freebie breakfast...it is "sit-down" table service, not do-it-yourself.

ya we are still going to fenway first on sat, so eastern standard i think is where were headed. o and i asked about this cause techinally we cant eat breakfast at the hotel sat. morning because we cant check in till saturday afternoon. we just bought som.e warm water proof jackets and gloves and good shoes so i think we will be good. im gettin really excited and hopefully i will be able to sleep on the redeye...... thanks for all the suggestions everyone and i will defintely be posting a trip report after we get back!

Not that you necessarily want oysters for breakfast but Eastern Standard has great ones. They usually have at least 3-4 different kinds on their oyster bar. They are much, much better than the ones you get at Union Oyster House.

Hi bp24cali, I'm from the la area but have been here for 22 years so welcome, your gonna love Boston! FYI, everyone here has great ideas but sharona has it right that it is supposed to get WICKED cold :) Boston can get a bit windy and that will make it colder,winter coat, gloves and hats are a must. If it is that cold you may want to go on a Trolley tour. There are 2 different tour operators at least in the summer, and you can pick them up around Quincy Market, see who gives you the best deal, ask if they will take off 5$ check to see before you go if there are any coupons you can print out for the ride. Other than Fenway tour and the game you really don't have to plan anything, just get a map and get out, there is plenty to do. North End is great, Harvard Square is great, they all have places you can jump into when you get cold!(Dunkin Donuts everywhere) Don't be afraid to ask anyone for help, the city is filled with college kids and they are from all over the country too. Good Luck

<<<They are much, much better than the ones you get at Union Oyster House.>>>

Why is that? Don't they get them from the same fishermen? (I wondered that when I had a whole steamed lobster at Legal Seafood in Cambridge last spring -- it was okay, not as good as I remembered whole steamed Maine lobster to be, but still good. I was just curious, since it wasn't cooked per any kind of recipe, shouldn't they all taste the same?)

Re: Union Oyster House

I have no personal experience, but based on what I've gathered from the Chowhound Boston board over the last 2 years, UOH tend to PRESHUCK their oysters! So, unless you sit at the bar and watch them shuck the oysters for you, you're at risk of being served preshuck oysters if you sit at a table.

do they still do the duck tours in the winter?

It's not rocket science: https://ord.bostonducktours.com/bdt/entry2.php

bp - no Duck Tours in the winter. Regarding snow showers and delays at Logan - get real. We are Bostonians. It takes at least 4 inches of snow to slow us down. It is supposed to be really, really cold this weekend. Welcome to New England in the winter - but at least we do not have earthquakes, forest fires and mudslides.

Regarding taste difference in lobsters. They are easy to overcook - and unless cooked to order are nasty. Also, even though they may start out as the same lobster in the ocean, storage has a lot to do with it - crammed in tiny tanks at the supermarket for some reason does not taste the same as from a decent seafood provider where there is rapid turnover of inventory. In summer, there is also a difference as lobsters molt their shells - and soft shell lobsters have a different taste than really hard shell ones.

I also might call the hotel directly (not the company-wide number) and let them know you are arriving on redeye flight - ask how early you might be able to check in. Possibility they may, with advance notice, let you check in in the morning because January on a weekend at the airport is not really a hot tourist time or location. Likely room is vacant Friday night anyway. While you can drop your bags regardless, it might be nice to have a place to change out of your t-shirt and flipflops before you venture out into real winter.

Have a great trip. Hope you like the city enough to come back some summer - my south-Floridian brother never really appreciated Boston until he visited in the summer.

thanks gail! do you expect alot of laker fans at the garden and if it snows tonight...is boston common a great sight in the snow. or is there still snow everywhere from previous storms or did that melt away already? (question to anyone the lives near boston)

p.s. its not like i have never seen snow. we just ten feet at some of the local ski resorts.

The snow from the last few weeks had completely melted away earlier this week, when we had temps as high as the 50s. Having said that, you may encounter a small patch of ice every now and then. Just watch your steps as you go.

It snowed today for the last few hours, but even in my colder suburb (9miles W of the city), there is minimal accumulation. Snow seemed to have stopped at this point.

You will see some Laker fans, wouldn't say alot. Don't be obnoxious and you won't get harassed.

AS yk pointed out, not much snow, if any, including today's slush. If there was a lot of snow, the Common would be a great sight.

sf7307 on Jan 27, 10 at 06:21 PM
<<<They are much, much better than the ones you get at Union Oyster House.>>>

<<Why is that? Don't they get them from the same fishermen?>>

Hi sf. There are many varieties of oysters and I can assure you that they taste very different. Examples: Blue Point, Wellfleet, Olympia, Kumamoto. Some are found off of the east coast and some are found in the Pacific and Olympias are only found in Puget Sound. Their habitat also affects taste, i.e., diet, water salinity, etc. You can almost always get Wellfleets around Boston since they are from the Cape but most good oyster bars carry at least a couple of varieties. I have yet to meet an oyster I didn't love but I think Kumamotos might be my favorite.

Sorry to hijack your thread, bp24cali.

My suburb got a little snow today, maybe an inch. But my husband was in Boston and he said it wasn't sticking there so I'm not sure you're going to see a lot of snow while you're here. It's a wet snow so it's really pretty clinging to the tree branches. And yes, the Common can be really pretty in the snow but with the recent warm weather there's not much left. The weather forecasters are still calling for frigid temps this weekend though.

I don't know that there'll be a lot of Laker fans at the Garden but you'll not be alone.

<<<Hi sf. There are many varieties of oysters and I can assure you that they taste very different. Examples: Blue Point, Wellfleet, Olympia, Kumamoto. Some are found off of the east coast and some are found in the Pacific and Olympias are only found in Puget Sound. Their habitat also affects taste, i.e., diet, water salinity, etc. You can almost always get Wellfleets around Boston since they are from the Cape but most good oyster bars carry at least a couple of varieties. I have yet to meet an oyster I didn't love but I think Kumamotos might be my favorite. >>>

Sharon, I know all that :-) My question was why the oysters (or steamed lobster) at Union Oyster House would be better or worse than the oysters (or lobster) at Legal SeaFood or any other local restaurant.

Well, in my 2 recent experiences eating oysters at UOH, I thought they tasted a little off. My guess is they weren't as fresh as they were from other restaurants where I've recently eaten them. I won't be eating oysters from UOH again.

P.S. I'm allergic to lobster so I can't comment on that.

im getting pretty excited for tommorow

It's good that you're excited, because unfortunately, it's going to be <u>bitter cold</u> this weekend. Saturday high is 22F, but with windgusts 20+mph, windchill will be as low as -12F. Wind will die down on Sunday, but still in the 20sF.

The good news is, you can always buy more clothes and winter accessories here; and help out our MA economy at the same time!

Good luck and hope you enjoy your visit!

do you think i will be fine in my normal flip flops and swim trunks?

(that was a joke)

wow... juat finished packing.... hopefully i packed enough warm clothes..kinda nervous about that but i think i did ok. the main thing is that a get some sleep on the plane so i can enjoy fenway!

Good luck to the Celtics and enjoy your trip this weekend

woow thats the coldest air i have ever felt 10 degrees!

With the wind chill, its easily below zero. Its 2 degrees in CT right now before the wind chill

bp24cali, you've been warned! I was in town yesterday, and even with my full winter gear on (double/triple layers; hat, neck gator, ear muffs, glove liners + down gloves etc), I could barely tolerate being outside for more than 10 minutes. This is defintiely the coldest I've felt this winter; not from the cold temp but from the mighty windchill!

[This is coming from someone who goes out for a 90-min walk outdoors 5 days/week; even when it's 15F.]

Stay warm!

thanks. my whole body is warm but my face is frozen

Do you have a neck gator? If no, you can get a fleece one for probably $10. Pull it up so it covers the lower half of your face + your ears.