“They thought I was a Surrealist, but I wasn’t. I never painted dreams. I painted my own reality.” Frida Kahlo

Today we went total artsy ~ visiting The Museum of Fine Arts. And what a museum. It’s the fifth-largest in the U.S. and contains more than 450,000 works of art; making it one of the most comprehensive collections in the Americas. Founded in 1870, the museum moved to its current location in 1909 and has expanded since.

The museum’s collections encompass all periods of history. It contains one of the worlds’ greatest collections of Greek and Roman art; over 7,000 ancient coins; many pieces of Impressionist Art: Van Gogh, Gaugin, Renoir, Pissarro, Degas and Monet. From the Renaissance: El Greco, Velazquez and Rubens … American painters were well represented by Mary Cassatt and John Singer Sargent … on and on.

Currently, there’s three special exhibits on display we wanted to see; one with the flavors of home, “Frida Kahlo and Arte Popular.” It’s a collection of Mexican artisanal arts featuring scattered Kahlo artworks and photographs. These included fascinating pictures of some of her personal medical items that were locked in her bathroom for 50 years at husband, Diego Rivera’s, wishes. The exhibit is flanked by two galleries of Modernism and Folk Art in the United States…..a undistinguished barn painting called my attention the artist Georgia O’Keeffe, painted in 1920, prior to her Santa Fe period.

The second exhibit is a very comprehensive display of “Toulouse-Lautrec and the Stars of a Paris.” Almost the entirety of pieces are from MFA and Boston Public Library Archives, and a few loan pieces from friends of the museum. It was a fascinating visual treat with many of his famous posters being shown.

The third exhibit was “Gender Bender Fashion.” It examines the rich history of haute couture, ready-to-wear and street fashion that has challenged the traditional divisions between menswear and womenswear. The clothes were rich in color, texture and structural designs. I like to wear my Japanese cotton Yukata kimono robe around the house; in fact I just picked up another one in NYC. On display was a roomy ‘60s Rudi Gernreich colorful caftan that was richly detailed that I wanted to yank off the mannequin.

We spent close to 5 hours meandering throughout MFA’s endless galleries … yes, I reached overload. We did take a break for a light lunch at the museum’s cafe located in its light filled, five story atrium flanked by a humongous Chihuly blown glass cactus.

A quick Uber ride to Quincy Market/Faneuil Hall ended up in disappointment. Many years ago on my last visit to the market, there was a bustle of unique shops with a few eating establishments. Today it’s one continuous food mall, with typical tour-tourist carts on the outside and surrounded by stores like Sephora, Urban Outfitters, Crocs and other similar stores. There’s a lot of construction going on, too, making the whole experience unappetizing.

Dinner ~ no chowder tonight. Instead, we headed back to the Italian North End to an unassuming street away from touristy Hanover Street. David’s research turned up the best pizza in Boston as being Regina Pizzeria, established in 1925. We made it just in the nick of time before the lines appeared outside. We took two seats at the bar and watched the “show” – privy to the kitchen and pizzas being made & fired up in a brick oven. The petite bartender, as our waitress, too, was a hoot … seemingly running the operation. We ordered a bottle of Italian red, Nero D’Avolo, and a large shrimp scampi and spinach pizza pie. The first bite was symphonic … garlic, olive oil, melted cheese, shrimp, spinach and parsley with a dark, crispy, crunchy crust…….full orchestration!

Satisfied, we walked back across the bridge and to our hotel, but not before stopping for a scoop of artisanal ice cream … well deserved … after all, we walked over 12,000 steps today 👏