We arrived in Boston as Hurricane Henri arrived in upstate New York, and while we would cross paths a couple of times, we largely escaped the brunt of the bad weather, as Albany got much more rain than Boston ever did for this storm. After all the tumult of the past year and a half, a birthday trip wrecked by a hurricane would just be par for the course, but my spirit would be dampened deeply if it didn’t happen, so we lucked out.
It was on a Sunday when we settled into the condo, and while Andy rested I went out for an early stroll/shopping expedition, on which I picked up some Eataly eats for the days to come, as is the new favorite custom. If we had to be stranded inside for inclement weather, we would not do it hungry. Fortunately that never happened, but as the Boston sky looked dramatic and changeable, I would leave nothing to chance.
It was hot and humid, and the clouds hung lower than the tops of some buildings. The city gave off a dream-like vibe, where haziness and fog made everything feel a little more enchanting, if tinged with the threat of rain. For that first night, we tried out the new Contessa at The Newbury.
Back when it was the Taj Hotel, we’d spent our wedding weekend in one of their suites, and since then we’d returned to the rooftop restaurant for an extravagant birthday brunch a few years ago. Newly renovated and reopened, I was eager to see how it had changed. The Street Bar, where we’d had some delectable sidecars right before our wedding rehearsal dinner was still intact in sumptuous, classic form.
We had a drink there while waiting for our reservation, then took the elevator upstairs for dinner. Contessa is a gorgeous space – give me a fringed lamp and I’m yours. The food was decent enough, though on the salty side. More reason to drink I suppose. The view was spectacular, and the clouds abated so the expanse of downtown Boston spread out before us. It was the ideal entry into our trio of nights in the city.
The next day Andy hung around the condo while I did some birthday cologne reconnaissance. I’d narrowed it down to three possibilities: ‘Musc Ravageur’ by the magnificent Frederic Malle and a pair of Byredo offerings – ‘Oud Immortel’ and ‘Accord Oud’. I tried the ‘Musc’ at Neiman Marcus, but it had an abundance of vanilla, and while I’ve warmed slightly to that fragrance, it was only slightly, and I wasn’t quite ready to embrace this much of it. The ‘Oud Immortel’ was lovely, but veered a little too closely to Creed’s ‘Aventus’ to merit a purchase.
Byredo’s ‘Accord Oud’ on the other hand was like a wondrous hybrid of Tom Ford’s ‘Oud Wood’ and ‘Tuscan Leather’ – a combination I’ve employed before, but here it was in one convenient bottle. Birthday cologne chosen, I could relax and leisurely browse the other stores in Boston before returning home for a mid-day charcuterie plate and a necessary siesta.
By Monday evening the rain had arrived, but it was spotty – pouring for a few minutes at a time then clearing a bit – these roving bands would traverse the sky for the night, scheduled to quit for good by my birthday, so this one night of stormy weather was comforted by an old Boston stand-by – the Atlantic Fish Company – which Mom had recommended after having a lunch there a few week ago. I hadn’t been there in well over a decade, and on a rainy night it provided a much-needed dose of comfort seafood. We returned to the condo in the midst of the rain, hunkering down for the evening with a hint of fall in the air, and that seems a good place to pause…
