boston at night . . .

Well, a lot has happened in my little corner of the world since I last wrote -- LA won the Tour in convincing fashion; I became a real estate lawyer; I realized that big box retailers like Home Depot have their corporate head screwed on backwards and I long for the days I never knew before there was such a thing; I learned there is no such thing as a transparent merger (particularly when it involves entities of the magnitude of BankOne and Chase Manhattan); and I felt my son or daughter kick my wife so hard it almost bruised my hand.

But, I'm not going to write about all of that because it's too tedious now. What I'm going to write about is "the other half". Not "the better half" as in my wife, but "the other half" as in the "they". I am in Boston right now for a seminar that the firm is treating as a crash course in how to buy, sell, lease, and finance real estate; actually, it's turning out quite well, and I feel ready to take on some projects that would have scared the crap out of me a week ago. But I'm also learning a little about how the elite live. I'm staying at the Ritz-Carlton Boston (because that's where the seminar is) in a "club room" (because that's all they had left). I'm going to share a little about this with you. The "club room" gives you access to to Ritz Club which is on the 15th floor (2 down from the roof) overlooking Boston Common and the Public Garden (the one with the giant paddleboat swans); it also has a great view of the downtown skyline. This is a limited access room complete with wireless internet, a 24 hour concierge, a full service complimentary bar where the well vodka is Grey Goose, five complimentary "meals" a day (usually interesting hors' douvres from the dining room chef), complimentary shirt pressing, shoe shines, etc. Anyway, it is really something. Currently, I'm wearing a Brooks Brothers dress shirt, Banana Republic khakis, and Bass dress shoes, and in here, I feel like the homeless guy on the T must feel. This is so swanky, it's beyond my ability to even pretend to fit in. My room itself is something to write home (or to the blog) about, but this room -- the one I'm in right now (the club room) -- is amazing. I find it difficult to believe that some people actually regularly live like this (not just as a treat). This is the lifestyle some people live. There's an entire class of people in this country for whom this is nothing to write home about. I am serious when I tell you that I'm right now looking at one of the best views in Boston, sitting alone with my computer, drinking a '00 Mondavi Reserve Cab, and I cannot believe the almost criminal injustice which would allow me to sit here and put the homeless guy at the entrance to the T station -- not 100 yards away -- on his stoop. It's not a caste system -- but it's close.

Anyway, I'm eating well and shopping well too. On the advice of Mike Walton, I visited Filene's Basement (a must stop for any tourist). I picked up a $200 pair of Johnston Murphy shoes for $75 and a $350 pair of italian shoes (the maker escapes me right now, but I'll update when I remember) for $85 -- I needed new dress shoes badly. I have eaten a romanian pastrami on marble rye in a deli with yamakas on the heads of over 1/2 of the male diners, a 3-1/2 lb. lobster at turner fisheries, a proper italian hogie, a lobster roll which was incredible, and a remarkable mozzarella caprese at a cramped 40-seat italian bistro in the north end (which is like a scene out of Godfather). Just like when we were in Toronto and the dim sum place we went to was in an all asian food market, had only chopsticks, and no one (not even the waitstaff) spoke a lick of english, we knew we were in good shape at this trattoria when we got about three blocks away and stopped hearing english spoken on the crowded streets. Not one person ordered brushetta, which was nice, but several ordered the bruschetta. This really is an amazing city. If Steph weren't pregnant and we knew even one person, I'd like to live here. Anyway, I'll update you on my culinary adventures if circumstances warrant. Otherwise, that's it from Boston (unless, of course, I get sox tickets tomorrow night).

P.S. Interesting tid-bit. There's no 13th floor in this hotel. I don't know if that's common because I don't often stay in hotels that go over 13 floors, but I thought that was interesting.

P.P.S. Major public transportation systems are absolutely a lifesaver for visitors. I love underground trains, period.