~ Our Fairy tale weekend....part II

Harvard University Campus, Harvard, MA

Saturday morning started out a little overcast but before long, the sun was shining. After a lovely light breakfast of fresh fruit, scones, quiche and coffee in our room we were off on day two of our adventure. We walked a block or so from the Inn to the T station and hopped the subway to Harvard. I have never been to Harvard University. What a magnificent campus. The architecture, character and longevity of these buildings is amazing. We walked around campus about 45 minutes, enjoying the bare ground (no snow), small leaves opening on the trees and fresh shoots of green grass. The forsythia is in bloom and everything just smells like spring.

I was amazed to read that this building is a theater. I automatically thought it was a Chapel or Church of some kind. The closer we got, I could see the beautiful stained glass windows.

Our destination was the Harvard Museum of Natural History. Here we visited a Glass Flowers Exhibition. All the flowers in the exhibit and all parts exhibited are made of glass and wire by a German Artist and his son. You just wouldn't believe it - they looked so real...below are some of my favorite photos:

They also had a Mayan exhibit, a very large World Animal Exhibit, a Mineral Exhibit and a Global Warming Exhibit. We spent about 3 hours enjoying all the displays. I cannot begin to give this Museum justice in describing these fantastic exhibits. The entrance fee was only $9.00. It was money well spent :)

We are off again, back to the subway - destination: Quincy Market - Boston, MA

By 1:00 pm on Saturday, Quincy Market was full of people, enjoying all the sights, sounds and smells. Entertainers were juggling, several small bands were performing in different locations, drum performers, etc. It was nice to see people relaxing and enjoying themselves. We "window shopped" for a while and then decided to have lunch at Durgin Park - a well known Pub/restaurant. Always Delicious and more than you can possibly eat. DH then told me that we had "somewhere to be" at 7:00 p.m. I was uncomfortably full and my feet were sore - I needed a nap or I was never going to make it to 7 p.m. :)

I felt refreshed after my nap and very curious :) I just couldn't imagine what else he could have planned. The entire weekend has been wonderful. How could it get any better? The fog was rolling in from the ocean and we headed east toward the Boston Common. Our destination was within walking distance and even though the air was damp, it wasn't cold. Boston is busy on a Saturday night! We walked about 5 blocks and I started to see lots of people, cars, taxi cabs and limousines. My stomach started to roll with excitement!! We moved with the crowd and as we turned the corner, there we were - in front of the Boston Opera House......I just stood there with my mouth open in amazement - not in a million years did I dream I would ever be here. This building is something out of a book - honestly, the architecture is simply amazing. The interior walls as you walk in are black and white marble, from floor to elaborately decorated ceiling - the tile work on the floors made you think you were in Italy. The plaster molded ceilings, Persian carpets and drapes, etc. Absolutely stunning.......DH goes to the ticket counter to retrieve tickets he had purchased through the help of our friends at home and I was so dumb founded I never stopped to think what we were here for!

The Broadway musical performance of Dirty Dancing!!!! Oh My Gosh, can you believe it? It was fabulous - there is no other way to describe it. It was better than the movie. I couldn't quite substitute this leading man for Patrick Swayze but it was darn close! The acting, the singing, the orchestra, all of of it, simply fantastic. It lasted three hours with one intermission. As the crowd moved away from the stage as the show ended, we walked down to the stage and looked up to view the orchestra seating - I swear the ceiling looked like something from the Sistine chapel......beautiful scroll work, trim and detail work painted in gold and silver and paintings that told an entire story - I stood there and cried.....just so overwhelmed by all of it. My emotions were just bubbling over - I literally felt drained. The walk back to the Inn was peaceful and relaxed. We looked in shop windows along the way, thinking we would like to come back here and do this again

Sunday was a rainy day - which seemed rather fitting. I couldn't believe this magical weekend was coming to an end so soon......what a whirlwind, fabulous time we have had. We really didn't want it to end quite yet but we were glad to be going home - we missed our boys and I left pregnant goats at home :) We enjoyed our last quiet breakfast together in our room and left the Inn about 10:30 for North Station. The ride home on the train was quiet and we had an unexpected delay that didn't bother us at all. It was a good time to reflect and plan for next time. This was definitely an Anniversary that we will never forget!

Tomorrow's post - we have a new addition :)