ST. LOUIS - MORE THAN A GATEWAY TO THE WEST

NO FADED GLORY: In its current status as a battleground state, Missouri can seem a hard place hard to figure out.  But, its oldest big city is an easy place to visit and explore.  I frequently hate the politics of Missouri, but I love St. Louis without reservation.

St. Louis reminds me of the town I now call home in many ways.  Both St. Louis and Baltimore are historic, independent cities founded in the 18^th century that were located near strategic waterfront locations.  Both had their major growth spurts long ago and each once ranked among America’s largest cities in the first part of the 20^th century.  And, both suffered through long and painful periods of decline and, later, reinvention.  More recently, both have emerged as reinvented 21^st century cities that are dynamic places to live and work and visit.  Like Baltimore and other cities that have struggled over time, St. Louis is not without its problems, but it remains and – in some ways because of those problems – has become a more vibrant, diverse place well worth exploring.

Today, St. Louis is one of the Midwest’s great visitor destinations, with great history, interesting neighborhoods, excellent dining and good shopping, and lots of things for both adults and kids to enjoy.  Earlier this year, my family and I spent a long weekend in the city and we enjoyed all that St. Louis has to offer.  We also made plans to return in order to see more of what we missed.  As it turns out, the Gateway to the West offers much for both the first-time and repeat visitor.

SETTLING IN:  St. Louis City has a population of 318,000, which makes it only the second largest city in Missouri after Kansas City, although metropolitan St. Louis is much larger at nearly 2.9 million.  By comparison, in the 1950s, St. Louis had more than 800,000 residents.   Despite its declining size, or maybe in response to it, St. Louis is a very livable city that welcomes visitors easily.

We arrived in St. Louis for a long weekend visit with my cousin and his children who are close in age to our 11-year-old.  For us, this meant a weekend of kid-friendly activities combined with general sightseeing, getting in a run, and enough shopping, dining and chances for adult beverages to keep everyone happy.  In this regard, St. Louis does not disappoint.

St. Louis has several lodging options: (1) downtown along the Mississippi River with its convention facilities and home of Busch Stadium (the St. Louis Cardinals) and Edward Jones Dome (the St. Louis Rams); (2) the Central West End, which is an upscale, in-town neighborhood that is home to some of the city’s cultural and recreational offerings; and (3) the Delmar Loop, a fun and interesting neighborhood near the beautiful campus of the well-respected Washington University and at the edge of the city limits.  In addition, beyond the city limits are lots of other options in surrounding St. Louis County, including the very upscale county seat of Clayton, home to St Louis' outposts of the Ritz-Carlton and Neiman-Marcus chains.

We chose as our base the very stylish and hip Moonrise Hotel in the Delmar Loop near the border between St. Louis City and University City.  It's a great location and it had the personal benefit of being located a few minutes away from my cousin's home.  Along with stylishly hip accommodations, the Moonrise features a very tasty and reasonably priced restaurant, Eclipse, along with a rooftop bar and is located right on Delmar Boulevard with its many restaurants and shops.  The service at the Moonrise was warm and friendly, and its location near Forest Park and among tree-lined streets of beautiful older homes allowed me to fit in a couple of easy sightseeing runs.   Other choice hotel options in St. Louis include, as noted above, the classically beautiful Ritz-Carlton in Clayton along with the equally stylish Chase Park Plaza in the Central West End and a newer entry to the luxury accommodations roster, the Four Seasons St. Louis downtown.

FUN FOR EVERYONE:  We started our exploration of St. Louis in one of the greatest urban parks anywhere.   Opened in 1876, Forest Park, on the city's western edge, is a fabulous greensward full of attractions for literally everyone.  This nearly 1,400 acre "civic center" hosted the Louisiana Purchase Exposition and the Summer Olympics in 1904, as well as a world's fair.  Today, it simply is a wonderful place to be outside and in.  Contained within its borders are the St. Louis Zoo, the Saint Louis Art Museum, the Missouri History Museum and the St. Louis Science Center.  We spent a sunny Friday afternoon at the zoo with the kids and our animal loving son gave the St. Louis rendition a big thumb's up.

After a casual dinner at home with my cousin and our kids, we all headed out the next morning bright and early for the signature attraction of St. Louis, the Gateway Arch.  Part of the Jefferson Expansion National Historic Park, the 630-foot arch was built as a monument to the westward expansion of the United States following the Louisiana Purchase.  It sits on the banks of the Mississippi River at the location where St. Louis was founded in 1764.  There is an excellent visitor center at the base of the arch and, excitingly for our kids, a tram that delivers you to the top of the arch and its ever-so-slightly claustrophobic observation deck.  On the morning of our visit, fog initially completely obstructed the view but, as it began to clear, we all enjoyed seeing the mighty Mississippi and downtown buildings come into view.

Back down on the ground and a few blocks away is another kid-friendly, yet slightly bizarre attraction, the City Museum.  Housed in the former home of the International Shoe Company in the Washington Avenue Loft District, the City Museum is a hands-on museum comprised mainly of repurposed industrial and architectural salvage.  It bills itself as an eclectic mixture of children's playground, surrealistic pavilion and architectural marvel.  Approaching the museum from the first street, one is not sure what to make of the jumble of towers, turrets, a hulk of an airplane and other odd pieces, all connected by wire mesh tunnels, which are perfect for climbing and exploring, all while suspended several feet in the air.  Inside, there is an aquarium, a gift shop, several dining options and, during warmer weather, a rooftop deck serving food and beverages.

FOR THE ADULTS:  Balancing travel itineraries to keep people of all ages engaged sometimes can be challenging.  In our case, we avoided any potential conflict during the second full day of our weekend visit to St. Louis, thanks to a teenage niece looking to earn some babysitting dollars.   With the kids happily settled at home with frozen pizza, my cousin and my spouse and I met up with a former colleague and her husband, an art dealer.  As you might imagine, an art dealer's home is - well - full of art.  After admiring my friends' museum/home, we headed out together for one of those great neighborhood restaurant meals that, as a visitor, make you feel like you've been let in on the secret handshake.

Trattoria Marcella sits on a corner in a largely residential stretch of southwest St. Louis.  It's just off I-44 and not far from Tower Grove Park, another great St. Louis green space, and the Missouri Botanical Garden.   The Italian menu is simple and straightforward.  The food and service were excellent during our visit and I enjoyed knowing that I'd never have found this place but for my St. Louis friends.

The next day, we ventured to the Central West End neighborhood.  It's full of beautiful homes from another century, as well as great restaurants and stores.  I love it here.  The CWE is home, as well, to one of my favorite places to browse in St. Louis.  Local, independent bookstores are rare these days but St. Louis can proudly claim Left Bank Books, a treasure trove of intelligent, varied and diverse book selections.  Our son found a shortish volume of British history, while I checked out the local St. Louis t-shirts.

Our final evening in St. Louis had us walking from the Moonrise down the - who knew - St. Louis walk of fame on Delmar Boulevard.  Turns out, there's a remarkable number of famous people who either grew up in St. Louis or spent considerable time in the city.  The list includes Josephine Baker, William Tecumseh Sherman, Marlin Perkins, Jackie Joyner Kersee and Miles Davis.  Our destination was another St. Louis landmark, Blueberry Hill.  This restaurant has been around for four decades and serves great comfort food.  We had a great final meal in St. Louis.

I really do love this city.  It straddles the border between east and west and north and south.  Most will find something familiar with which to identify.  In the end, St. Louis is its own interesting, diverse, complex slice of America. 

MY RULES:  St. Louis is easily accessible for everyone, owing to its location in the middle of the country.   That includes direct service from Baltimore. As for my second rule, I don't think anyone is going to label Missouri as a progressive place, but I do think St. Louis is a good town in which gay people can live and prosper without too much harassment.  Time will tell, but I think this is a good town in which families of all types can settle down.

The Reality of Responsibility, Luck and the Nanny

I just finished reading Nicholas Kristoff's column in the New York Times.  I am making that disclosure in case you consider the New York Times a liberal East Coast rag and think of the Times' readers as hopeless liberal fops.  Read on only if you choose.

In his column, Mr. Kristoff writes about his college roommate who is dying of prostate cancer in Seattle.  A couple of Oregon farm boys who arrived together as freshman at Harvard in 1979, Mr. Kristoff and his friend have led very different lives.  Mr. Kristoff is a New York Times columnist, of course, and presumably does not live without health insurance or close to the margin in other essential ways.  By contrast, we learn that his former roommate, obviously a very talented man who earned a degree from Harvard, has made some choices that have come back to haunt him in fundamental ways.  He quit a career several years ago and had been working seasonally without health insurance for some time.  With no health insurance, Mr. Kristoff's friend, like approximately 48 million other Americans, did not go to a doctor regularly or as health problems arose.  Only when he become so ill that a visit to an emergency room was required did his friend get treated and then diagnosed.  At that point, the diagnosis of prostate cancer was more dire than it need have been, and may have come too late to save the life of Mr. Kristoff's friend.  

This story really struck a chord in me as I considered the consequences of the decisions I have made or might make.  It also made me wonder why this outcome is one that nearly half the country seems to think should occur more often, not less.  To be sure, the choices Mr. Kristoff's friend made are not choices I would make.  For starters, I am far too risk averse to actually consider quitting a job with health insurance, even if I hated the job desperately (and I have hated jobs desperately in the past).  By contrast to Mr. Kristoff's friend, I think every day is the day people will realize I am a complete fraud and I will be fired, and this compels me to try even harder to be good at what I do.  And, even if my irrational self-view is not a close approximation of reality, I live with the legacy of my mother, a child of the depression who grew up in a single parent household for a time, and whose anxiety about money and security permeated every aspect of my life growing up.  To this day, I worry about having enough money on which to live, and irrationally fret over spending money when emergencies like home repairs or unplanned trips to funerals arise.  In reality, I have been earning a good living as a lawyer for 20 years, and I am lucky in the moment to be financially far away enough from my own college days when I wondered if I would have $5 to withdraw from the ATM at the University of Florida student union.  

But, still, you never know, do you?  Fortunes do turn.  Debilitating, career-ending illnesses can occur.  This is true even if you are a virtuous, hard-working person who does all the right things and never makes a mistake.  So, why is moving to some level of a basic healthcare safety net such an infuriating proposition.  It's not like we're not already paying terribly for healthcare, whether it's for our own or for some portion of somebody else's.  Surely, some progress is better than none at this point.  Why are opponents of health care reform, including Mitt Romney and his supporters, so furious in their opposition.  What is so wrong with making it more possible and likely that fewer people will die or suffer needlessly because they have no health insurance?  Why is that so anathema to 21st century life and society in the greatest country on earth?  

The typical responses in support of Romney's campaign platform are about personal responsibility and not having a nanny state of government.  While those make for patriotic soundbites during a campaign, both are disingenuous and completely unresponsive to the legitimate and real problems with healthcare access in this country.

Problem one: the cost of health insurance.  Unlike Mr. Kristoff's college friend, I have a job working for the Federal government, which provides me with health insurance coverage.  When I joined my agency in 2008, I selected my health plan from available options and my contribution to paying for that coverage is deducted from my paycheck on a pro rata basis over the course of a year.  In other words, with taxes and other deductions, my health insurance payments are unnoticeable to me.  Note also that I said contribution to, not payment for, coverage.  Like many, I am lucky in that I am not forced to pay the full cost of the coverage.  My employer chips in a significant portion of the payment for my coverage.  As a result of this very important benefit, I see a general practice physician regularly and have access to specialists when the need arises.  I don't wait until I'm on the way to the emergency room before I see a doctor about a health problem.

In contrast to my current situation, if you are self-employed or have a job that does not provide health insurance coverage (or provides very limited coverage), it is prohibitively expensive to buy your own health insurance.  An equal obstacle is the fact that, if you can afford the coverage, the policy exclusions for pre-existing conditions often make the benefit of the insurance rather limited.  I mean, if you have a condition or are sick already, what good is health insurance you can't use anyway.  One of the intended changes of Obamacare is that everyone will be able to afford some health insurance coverage (and yes, it is a mandate) and they won't be locked out of coverage for a pre-existing condition.  

Some scream about the personal policy mandate aspect of Obamacare.  They admonish taking personal responsibility and complain about the overreach of the Federal government, but how detached from reality are those arguments.  We have seat belt laws so you can't stupidly place your infant child in the front seat of your car unbelted and risk him or her flying through the windshield in an accident.  Surely, parents should be responsible enough not to do such a thing.  But, obviously, enough weren't along the way and now we have these laws.  

It's also popular among some to believe that you "make it on your own."  You earn every dollar and support yourself with no assistance from anyone or any government agency or program.   The correlation seems to be that anyone who does advocate for some government assistance or program is lazy, not hard-working and lacking in moral fiber.  In order to take that view, it seems to me that you have to be remarkably free of the ability to engage in self reflection.  It also completely ignores the fact that, for many hard-working people in this country, including members of the armed forces, police and fire professionals and others, government benefits and programs are part of the contract, under which these men and women by their turn make sacrifices and put their lives at risk in order to do their jobs and provide those very important benefits to you and me.

As for your own bootstraps, please.  You've never been able to rely on friends or family to care for a sick child while you went to work, or to feed your pet while you took a trip, or to give you a ride when your car broke down?  Really, you've never gotten a leg up or an introduction from a friend who had connections that helped you get a job?  Honestly, you've never just been lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time?  Or, as in my case, you've never had a spouse or friend or family member talk you out of a really stupid decision with potentially disastrous consequences?  Would you prefer that we not have a federal interstate system of roads and would you rather inspect that bridge you're about to cross with your family?  By that same line of reasoning, would you rather not have Federal food inspectors and take personal responsibility for ensuring that the hamburger you just cooked for your family doesn't have dangerous levels of eColi, which could result in a life-threatening illness?  Sure, bad things still happen, but they happen a lot less with these aspects of a nanny state.  The government can't solve every problem, but that doesn't mean it needs to be active in fomenting new problems or preventing solutions to existing problems.

Problem two: the cost of healthcare.  Even if a person has a health insurance, that doesn't mean that financial ruin through illness is completely off the table.  In today's column, Mr. Kristoff's friend reports that his hospital bill at Swedish Medical Center in Seattle exceeds $500,000 at this point.  Because of his income level, he qualifies for charity and will not be required to pay that bill.  But, the cost of his treatment will be paid by the rest of the insured patients of that facility.  Under the current system, if that cost can't be disbursed among the health insurance-covered patients over time, Swedish Medical Center can't stay in business indefinitely.  But, even if a person has health insurance, it's often not enough.  I used to represent banks, which would be served with court orders to freeze bank accounts in order to pay delinquent medical bills.  My client, the bank, really was between the rock of the court and the hard place of an angry customer.  Those customers often called to yell at - or cry to - me about the lack of access to their money.  There was little I could do to help these customers because the bank was my client, not them.  In talking to them, however, I did learn that many found themselves in that state even though they had health insurance.  But, a catastrophic illness or injury had far exceeded the limits of their coverage.  It's sometimes not possible to avoid financially ruinous health events even if you have a job and manage to have health insurance.

I had a good reminder of this reality earlier this year.  As noted, I have good health insurance, so it didn't end badly for me, but I also was lucky in lots of other ways.  I awoke on New Year's Day with a burning headache.  It was strange in feeling and radiated down my neck.  I am married to a doctor, as it turns out, and when I described what I was feeling to him, my first stroke of luck was that he ordered me into the car and off to the emergency room.  We live in the suburbs of Baltimore and my next piece of luck was having a community hospital nearby that is affiliated with one of the world's greatest medical centers, Johns Hopkins University.  Upon arrival at the emergency room, the attending physician immediately recognized the signs of a brain hemorrhage.  A quick CT scan was performed and I was shipped downtown to the main hospital campus where I spent 11 days in neurological care for a ruptured vein between the tissue of my brain and my skull.  I was lucky again in that the bleed occurred where it did; I did not die or suffer a traumatic injury to the surface of the brain and its functions.  I was lucky once again to be in the care of the some of the world's most talented neurosurgeons.

My final stroke of luck brings me back to my employer-provided health coverage.  As you might imagine, the cost for such world-class healthcare is not cheap.  My 11-day odyssey, including the ambulance ride, totaled just under $80,000.  My out of pocket cost was about $4,000.  Still, even if I had not had my insurance, none of the professionals at Johns Hopkins would have done anything different for me.  I just would have been recovering from this injury facing an $80,000 bill.  In point of fact, the medical campus of Hopkins sits at the northeast edge of downtown Baltimore in a very poor, inner city neighborhood.  Many people have been treated at Johns Hopkins over the years and rung up similarly sized medical bills without my level of insurance.  With a low-paying job, or with no or limited health insurance, their emergency becomes an ultimate event of bankruptcy.

In the end.  I believe in personal responsibility.  I do not blame others for my misfortunes and I do not believe I (or anyone) am entitled to any handout.  I was the child of parents who never made more than $40,000 a year, but I wanted to be a lawyer.  So, I went to law school with loans and borrowed every dollar to earn two law degrees.  That was a bet that mostly has paid off.  Today, I own property and pay taxes and am a member of the bar in my home state.  I am married and we are raising a child with the goal of producing another productive, law-abiding citizen of this country.  But personal responsibility shouldn't morph into class warfare and a derision of everyone who might not be as successful or lucky or fortunate as you.  That speaks more of arrogance and bigotry than of an embodiment of the American spirit.   

In the end, healthcare reform won't fix the problem of the cost of healthcare, but it seems cruel to me to hold fast to the notion that paying for and ensuring an adequate level of healthcare is completely a function of personal responsibility.  I am not nostalgic for a time when a few people had it great and it sucked for the rest of us. 

I'd also like my country to be a place where there are more opportunities but I also want fewer obstacles - for everyone, not just me.  We do have a clear choice in this election.  It's between a version of America that never really existed (except for rich, straight white men) and the continuing movement towards a country that works together so that everyone has a fair shot at living a productive and healthy life.

I feel better anyway.

BOSTON AND PROVIDENCE IN 3 DAYS

A DOUBLE SERVING OF NEW ENGLAND: There are an almost unlimited number of possible travel itineraries for New England: beaches, islands and mountains; cities and towns; food and drink; forests and parks; art, museums and galleries; professional, winter and water sports. It’s all there and more. But, New England also is personal for me. Its two largest cities hold a special place because of family connections and my own experiences and major life events. My late parents were born, grew up and married in Providence. I earned a degree, ran a marathon and got married in Boston. Being Red Sox fans (Bo and Paw) is the tie that binds, of course.

Obviously, Boston and Providence more than warrant a separate visit dedicated to each city. Both are dynamic and fun and interesting and historical and really offer something for everyone. I recently spent a long weekend visiting with family and friends in both places, which allowed me to shuttle back and forth, and so what follows is a taste of these two cities if you had but a weekend to sample both.

It’s less than 50 miles from the gold-domed Massachusetts statehouse atop Beacon Hill in Boston to the all-white marble Rhode Island statehouse, presiding over Providence. Though similar in age and their New England pedigree, they otherwise are very different capital cities in size and character and history.

Boston, of course, almost needs no introduction as one of America’s most iconic cities, known for its politics, sports fans, world-famous cultural institutions and prestigious institutions of higher education. Yet, it simultaneously can be a very down-to-earth, rough around the edges kind of town.

The rabble-rousing founder of the Rhode Island colony established Providence, which just celebrated its 375th birthday. Roger Williams, who also established the very first, First Baptist Church in America, did not get along all that well with the Puritans of the Massachusetts Bay Colony because, in part, he really took religious freedom and an anything-goes mindset to the limits (in the Puritans’ view anyway). Following a long period of prosperity based on shipping and manufacturing, Providence slipped into a period of decline in the first part of the 20^th Century, earning a reputation for corruption, organized crime and a premature declaration of its demise. Providence later emerged victoriously from a much-reported renaissance.

Today, Providence is an exciting, historic and youthful capital and college town. This city of about 200,000 (with about 1.5 million in an MSA that includes a swath of southeastern Massachusetts) has adeptly harnessed its tremendous resources, human and otherwise, to create a very fun and progressive and livable place, focused on the future but with its tremendous history proudly on display.

BOSTON - EXPLORING BEYOND THE HUB: When I first arrived in Boston to attend graduate school at Boston University Law School, I briefly was confused by the reference to the “Hub,” which I noted in the newspaper article headlines. All was revealed when I learned that “Hub” was a reference to the city itself, as in hub of the universe. A touch arrogant? Perhaps. But, in many ways, Boston is its own universe. The heart of the city is so stuffed with history and cultural attractions and colleges and professional sports and monuments and shopping and dining, it’s possible to forget that Boston presides over a dynamic region of more than 4 million, and that much lies beyond the central core comprised of downtown, Beacon Hill, the North End, the waterfront, Back Bay and the South End. At the same time, there are plenty of reasons to stay close in. The city’s many attractions don’t rest on their laurels, changing and expanding over time. Case in point, the famed Museum of Fine Arts, located just to the south of the Back Bay and between the Northeastern University and the Longwood medical campuses. Already a world-class museum, the MFA in 2010 debuted a new wing dedicated to the Art of the Americas. This stunning addition beautifully showcases the MFA’s collection of American and colonial art.

Yet, part of Boston’s appeal does lie beyond its core, in the outlying neighborhoods and nearby towns and cities, each with their own personalities and histories. Beyond the city limits, Cambridge – home of course to Harvard and M.I.T. – is a key visitor destination in its own right. There’s also Newton, Brookline, Lexington, Quincy and, a bit further out, the seaside towns on the North and South shores. But, within the city limits of Boston, there are several great neighborhoods to explore. On my most recent visits, I have been hanging out with good friends who live in West Roxbury, and they have been introducing me to a few of their new haunts in some of the city’s less-visited residential neighborhoods.

On a recent April visit, my friends picked me up at my hotel, the Taj (formerly a Ritz Carlton), which sits across the street from the beautiful Public Garden in the Back Bay and we headed to Dorchester. One of the city’s oldest neighborhoods, Dorchester was an independent city until it was annexed by the City of Boston in the 19^th Century. Throughout its history, Dorchester was known as a neighborhood of Irish immigrants. Today, that strong Irish presence prevails, but it has been augmented by new waives of Caribbean and Southeast Asian immigrants, as well as by the growing presence of some of the city’s GLBT residents. Dorchester also is home to UMASS Boston and the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library at Columbia Point, which offers spectacular views back over Boston Harbor and the city skyline.

A great neighborhood place for dinner and, later in the evening dancing, is D Bar on Dorchester Avenue. The menu is reasonably priced and eclectic, and the friendly service makes this a very enjoyable night out, particularly in warmer weather when the outdoor patio is open.

A little further out are two other neighborhoods showing new signs of retail and gustatory life as the search for affordable, close-in housing brings new residents and demand. Jamaica Plain, or JP as locals call it, was one of Boston’s original streetcar suburbs and today is a diverse residential community with immediate access to the city’s Emerald Necklace, the string of inter-connected parks designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. On a recent Saturday evening, my friends and I had a delicious, locally sourced meal at 10 Tables on Centre Street in JP Centre. As the name suggests, the dining room is small, but the owners recently took over the adjoining space and added a laid-back bar where a meal also can be enjoyed. On our visit, I also benefited from Boston’s quirky local laws. It seems as if 10 Tables did not yet have a full liquor license, but that did not prevent it from distilling its own “cordials.” Result being, the Thai Basil Gin Martini made on premises was as tasty as the food.

Yet another outlying Boston neighborhood with its dining and retail scene seeing new action is Roslindale. In Roslindale Centre, centered on Washington Street, are a number of interesting shops and good places to eat. For an intimate meal with good friends, try the delicious Italian trattoria fare at Sophia’s Grotto on Birch Street, where I can personally vouch for the pumpkin sage ravioli and calamari. Three different neighborhoods, three restaurants and three new items to add to my endless list of reasons why I love Boston so much.

“DIVINE PROVIDENCE:” Roger Williams named the Rhode Island capital to give thanks, as the story goes, for God’s divine providence in delivering the religious colonist and his followers from the less than hospitable Puritan neighbors in neighboring Massachusetts. Nearly 400 years later, I think he’d be impressed with his city. Having survived much, Providence today is a great visitor destination and a perfect base for exploring all of the Ocean State. There is much to see in this the smallest of U.S. states. To learn more about the founder of Rhode Island and his ideals for religious freedom, stop by the Roger Williams National Memorial on North Main Street.

Although you will need a car to explore beyond the city, central Providence is compact and many of the its highlights and attractions are within easy walking distance. There are several lodging choices downtown, including the reopened and once-again grand Providence Biltmore. On my most recent visit, I stayed at two of the city’s newer hotels. The Renaissance Providence is a smart, luxury property housed in the former Masonic Temple and immediately across the street from the Statehouse.  The service is warm and efficient and its Temple Bar is a great place for drinks or a meal. I spent my second night in town at the Hotel Providence, a stylish boutique hotel housed in two historic buildings along Westminster Street, historically one of the city’s main retail avenues.

Although Providence’s department stores of my parents’ generation are long gone, Westminster Street today houses several interesting local stores. Eno is an intelligent liquor store selling a well-chosen selection of wines and spirits, including a tasty cranberry-infused vodka from Martha’s Vineyard. Across the street is the small but well-stocked Symposium Books; a locally run bookstore always speaks well of a city, in my view. Next door is Tazza, a coffee house, bar and restaurant that’s a good place to take a break throughout the day. Today’s retail scene downtown is dominated by the nearby Providence Place, which is anchored by JC Penney, Macy’s and Nordstrom, with several floors of national retailers in between, such as Apple, Banana Republic and Brooks Brothers.

Providence has always been a town that took its food seriously. Layered on top of New England seafood staples were the delicious contributions of the city’s Italian, Portuguese and other immigrants. Moreover, one of Providence’s many assets lies in the fact that the city is home to the main campus of Johnson and Wales University, a leading culinary school. Many of J&W’s students and graduates have stayed on, adding to the dining scene. Today, there are a number of diverse dining options, both downtown and in some of the adjoining neighborhoods. Among the current top dining options in central Providence are Al Forno, Local 121 and Gracies.

Looming immediately to the east of downtown – and a comfortable walk back downhill – is College Hill, home to some of the city’s most historic streets and two of its most famous institutions, Brown University and the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). The Rhode Island Historical Society offers walking tours of this beautiful neighborhood. During my recent visit on a sunny December weekend, I took my own tour, walking from the statehouse through downtown and up the hill to the Providence Athenaeum, an independent membership library that opened its doors in 1838. Next up was the RISD Museum of Art. In addition to its place as one of America’s premier art schools, RISD also is home to one of the most important art museums in New England. Along with its extensive permanent collection and varying temporary exhibitions, you also might see some of RISD’s current students’ creations. There is a well-stocked gift shop for some unique Providence souvenirs.

I then made my way across the beautiful campus of Brown, an original Ivy League member founded in 1764 and the seventh oldest college in the United States. After checking out the Brown University Bookstore and the shops lining Thayer Street, the main retail strip on College Hill, I grabbed lunch at Café Paragon, where the chicken pesto Panini and sweet potato fries hit the spot.

After a really fun, late night catching up with my cousin, I went for a run the next morning. Leaving the Renaissance, I made my way past the statehouse to the path lining the Providence River, where the city’s famous Waterfire is staged in season, and south towards India Point, where the river empties into Narragansett Bay, before circling back to my hotel. After cleaning up, I headed out in the direction of Wayland Square, a great place for local shopping on Providence's east side. I found some cool cufflinks at Milan, a men's clothier, and picked up some Christmas presents for the cook in my life at the Runcible Spoon, a unique kitchen and entertaining store featuring the hand-blown glass of Simon Pearce. As I prepared to leave town, I made a quick detour to Federal Hill, Providence’s Little Italy, to check out the storefronts decorated for the holidays. More good food awaits in this neighborhood immediately to the west of downtown.

For the next trip. There will be more trips – to both cities. They both are in my blood in too many ways.