I was walking around Boston yesterday and I thought it was all Dan’s “fault”. He awakened the frog-traveler in me. And now I periodically need to go somewhere. My mother used to say, ” the Domovoy (literally “Household Lord”) doesn’t like you.”
I love Boston. I go there most often spontaneously and therefore alone. It’s great when there is no specific reason, when you just get on the bus, arrive somewhere, walk in a crowd of people and pretend to be a tourist, and then return home.
This time it was difficult to pretend to be a tourist because of the cool weather. It was 32° F outside, not too cold but definitely not warm. Knowledgeable people say that if it’s hot outside, it’s hotter in Boston, and if it’s cold, it’s colder. I am a Siberian, so I know how to dress warmly. (The Siberian is not the one who does not freeze, but the one who dresses warmly). A hat, scarf, long johns, boots, and gloves were mandatory on this trip. The problem was that you couldn’t take photos with gloves on, and it’s cold without them. Therefore, there were just a few photos, but despite this, the trip was fun, as usual.
In Boston, I often go to the Russian store. There I buy smoked sausage, salted or smoked lard, salted herring or smoked mackerel, red caviar, halva, sweets for Daniel and colleagues. You know how dangerous it is to have all these products in the refrigerator, especially if you are on a diet. So today I decided to skip visiting the store until the next time.
From the South Station I went to Downtown. At Downtown Crossing area, I did some shopping and bought a couple of summer things.
Common Park in downtown Boston somehow reminds me of Central Park in New York, where Kevin met the Pigeon Lady in “Home Alone-2”.
From the Common Park I went towards the Waterfront, but I made a mistake with the direction and got lost. After for a while walking through unfamiliar streets, I decided to ask a passer-by girl for the way. We chatted a bit, I turned on the map on the phone, and then my husband sent a text: “How is your day going?” It was so funny. I replied: “It’s going and I’m going too. I got lost but I’m fine”.
The most interesting thing was that I didn’t feel hungry. I had Breakfast after fitness at about 7 am, the time was about noon, and I didn’t want to eat.
When I eventually got to the South Station, I bought a hot tea without sugar and had a Quiche I brought with me from New Bedford. I love goat cheese quiche, it can be eaten both cold and hot and at any time of the day. And most importantly-nothing to do with vatrushka (Russian bun made of yeast dough with cottage cheese), which I can not stand.
I was waiting for a bus on a bench in the sun near the South station. How nice it was just to sit, take your time, look at people, squint in the sunlight, listen to messages on Viber, miss my husband and want to go home.
I arrived in New Bedford tired and satisfied. At home, the fire was burning, the dog yawned sleepily, and there was soup with meatballs in the refrigerator.
The frog- traveler in me will sleep for a while. Most importantly, I know what to do when she wakes up again. It is not necessary to take long trips to Vietnam or Cyprus. You just need to devote one day to yourself, not think about what to cook for lunch, put sunglasses and a camera in a backpack, get on the bus and pretend to be a tourist.
*A frog-traveler is the main character of a children’s story by Vsevolod Garshin. I had to tell this story to Daniel that he would understand why I call myself the frog- traveler.
