I arrived in Cambridge around noon today to spend some time with a high school friend I hadn’t seen in years. Paulette and her husband Phil live across the continent in San Diego, but their daughter goes to college in Maryland, so they’ve been bi-coastal for the past few years.

Although it’s only April, it felt like an early summer day, with the day-time high reaching almost 90 degrees.  All the flowering trees had burst into bloom in the past week, and it seemed that every denizen of the city was out and about, enjoying the sunshine and warmth.

The three of us walked to the Western Avenue bridge and watched some of the collegiate crews racing on the Charles, then turned around and meandered along the riverbank, following Memorial Avenue toward its intersection with Mass Ave.

Just before we reached the Harvard Bridge, we turned into the MIT campus and headed toward Building 10, then north again toward Central Square. At the corner of Albany and Mass Ave is the MIT Museum, which we all agreed was worth stopping for. The Cambridge Science Festival, a 9-day event “showcasing Cambridge as an internationally recognized leader in science, technology, engineering, and math,” opened yesterday, so the Museum entrance fee was waived for today. The Museum includes the usual displays of historical artifacts and black-and-white photos of old-time geeks, but I was more interested in the exhibits featuring newer technologies. “Robots and Beyond” was one such; I also enjoyed “Holography: The Light Fantastic.” My favorite, however, was “Gestural Engineering: The Sculpture of Arthur Ganson.”

When we left the Museum, it was mid-afternoon, and I felt both hungry and thirsty, so we continued northward toward Central Square, where we decided to stop at Tavern in the Square, which turned out to be a good choice. Of course I had not set foot in Cambridge for years, and can’t pretend to know a thing about the best places to eat, but I liked this place: the food was tasty, the service courteous and efficient, and the atmosphere casual but not rowdy, even with all the flat-screen TVs tuned to sports channels. I also appreciated the fact that on the menu, vegetarian dishes were all flagged with a “V,” which I think is the restaurant’s public acknowledgment that they understand some of their patrons will choose not to eat meat.

After we had revived ourselves with food and drink, we continued strolling along the River toward Harvard Square, where we ended our walk at the University’s athletic complex.

Paulette and Phil urged me to stay overnight with them in the City, which I did, and I must say, this “Getaway Weekend” is one I’ll remember for a long time.  Below is a photo I took from their room on the top floor of the hotel.

Boston Skyline from Cambridge Courtyard Marriott