I woke up rather groggily on a futon this morning, stumbled over to the window, and saw people sculling on the Charles River and gorgeous Autumn foliage. Last night I caught the Chinatown bus and 4 hours and 15 minutes later I was in Boston for the first time.

Of course some walking around, some brunch, maybe some clam chowder are on the agenda (although not chowder at brunch), but does anybody have any special recommendations? I was thinking the Gardner Museum would be good, and my host said the Museum of Fine Arts and the ICA were also excellent.

I’m excited to start exploring. Even late last night, Boston seemed so genteel compared to New York, with it’s clean streets and T stations. But everyone else in the house is still sleeping! Not only does this mean I can’t explore, it means no breakfast. The only comestibles in sight are a half-eaten dark chocolate and coconut bonbon and a bottle of Bushmills. So I suppose there’s plenty of time if you want to mention any favorite brunch spots too.