Janet and I have been rewatching the Downton Abbey series over the last month. At one point Rosalyn, the sister who lives in London is talking to her niece Edith who has just commented about how exciting it is to live in the city where there are so many museums to visit and theaters to see. Rosalyn acknowledges that this is true, but that she only goes when there’s family or friends in town. Unfortunately, that’s the way it is with most people who live in or near big cities. That’s one of the reasons I started writing this blog and why it’s called, Living Like a Tourist. I don’t want to only visit the attractions when visitors come to town.

My first experience with the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) was back in 2013 shortly after I moved here. It quickly became a favorite destination and I’ve written about it a few times. Because of the pandemic, and other life events, I haven’t been back in quite a few years. Janet wasn’t eager to drive to Boston so I went solo.

With no real purpose, I just began to wander through the museum. Sometimes I felt lost in the myriad of galleries, but that’s so much fun. I tried to see pieces that were new to me, and snapped pictures of things that caught my eye.

One gallery was especially cool because it had a door to close it from the remainder of the museum. Besides the beauty of the stained glass windows and the sculpture, the room had perfect acoustics. I was able to sing a chant song off the voice and marvel at how little effort it takes to produce a beautiful sound in the right venue.

After a couple of hours, one’s senses reach saturation when viewing art. I grabbed my coat and made my way back to the subway and went home, glad that I don’t wait for guests to visit my old favorites.