Settling In in Boston

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Hi Folks,

Day 5 of the American Dream and GOD DAMN this country is COLD..

The flights over were long tiring and uneventful. Note for future travelers- Cheap Continental flights via Newark DON’T have cool wee TV’s built into the seats and there is NO complimentary bevvy…

29-11-05 Our first night of our new lives was spent in the opulence of the Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel (presidents gold floor) courtesy of a leaving present from all our friends in Glasgow (thanks folks) . And in true govan hill styleeee when the waiter let himself into the room to deliver the champagne and chocolate covered strawbs, me and shaz though we were getting burgled. (we hadn’t answered the door cos the room was SOOO big we didn’t here his expensively polite knocking)..

30-11-05 till 03-12-05 After the Fairmont we spent three nights in the Oasis B and B in Fenway area of the city. Probably quite a nice place but after the Fairmont it seemed like a sh!thole to us. Spent the end of the week getting our lives organized.. We had to open a bank account and get a social security number as well as go to my work so that I could start to register for security passes and email addresses etc.. Dull but necessary stuff that gave us the first taste of Boston winter weather.. The wind would slice the recently frozen bits off a brass monkey..

03-12-05 On the Saturday we had to move from the Oasis B and B to the Studio Apt we are in for a month in south boston ( walking distance from the south side of town centre and the common, and only a couple of T stops to my (cals) work). Apartment is nice if small. Sharon has nicknamed it the Shoebox. (see photo).
Moving was only slightly hampered by large hangovers caused by our attempt to fit in with the locals.. We went to a bar (The Tap near Haymarket) for a breadbowl of clam chowder and to watch the Boston Celtics play the Chicago Bulls.. Celtics lost by a narrow margin in the last seconds, but the exact score is hazy due to several Molsens and way too many Jack and cokes.. (I did say we were trying to do it like the locals)..

04-12-05 On the Sunday morning the temp dropped from 35ish to 25ish (we don’t know what this means yet..) which was accompanied by 2 inches of snow through the day. All very romantic and Christmassy.. We went up to the roof of the building to take in the views (see photos).. Also did our first ever supermarket shop which took about 2 hours cos we kept stopping to see all weird and wonderful stuff you get in an American supermarket.. It really is all bigger and (sort of) better than home in a large pack size and shiny kind of way..

So far all is good, not too homesick yet but that may well change as I start work tomorrow. This means sharon will be knocking about on her own all day and i will have to well... go to work. A habit i had managed to get rid of recently.

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Photos

Limmo
Cal in the Limmo that took us from Airport to Fairmont hotel

Lobby
Fairmont Hotel Lobby -Gold overload

bed
Fairmont Hotel Bedroom

Lounge
Fairmont Hotel Lounge area with entry way at back

Boston Roof View
Skyline(well part of it) from our roof in South Boston

Callum on roof in snow
Callum on the apartment roof in the snow

Sharon on roof in snow
Sharon on the apartment roof in the snow

The Shoe Box
Our studio Apartment on Columbus Ave South Boston. (yes thats all of it...)

Comments

[calum mcnicol]

merry christmas, youalll
sounds like you are both setteling in to things over there. Any good skiing in the area?

[Lesley and Toru]

Hey our apartment is that small too!
Hi guys, Really nice to hear from you. Love your blogg page, especially photos. That hotel you stayed in looks fab! Boston looks like it is a really nice city. Tokyo is also really cold, but not as cold as Boston I think. The further north of Tokyo you go the colder it gets. many places have had alot of snow over the past week or two. You know that we also have a blogg (journal) don`t you? Mine is http://green.ap.teacup.com/lesley Sorry its only in Japanese, although my writing is in English and you can see some photos as well. Wow, you seem so busy in preparing everything for your new life. I kinda know what its like however I may have had an easier time of it because of Toru`s support in many things. At least you guys don`t have to worry about the language difference?! That`s one good thing I suppose. Okay take care and keep in touch. Lesley xx

[Jonesy]

Hi
Great to c you guys have settled in and have had time to prepare the award winning website. Hope you find your feet soon....but if your struggling, then think of it as a collection of wee adventures! Jealous as. Jonesy

[Paul]

just passing through
Good idea with the journal. With everyone leaving home it may be worthile starting a home travel journal to keep everyone up to date with what is happening here (if that makes sense). Will take a peak every now and again to see what you guys are up to. take care Paul

[Mairi-Anne]

fun
I am extreeemely jelous. all lokks like big exciting holiday. Supermarket would be fun! keep the news comin guys.

[stella]

hi tech stuff!
Hi guys,wow this is what modern technology is all about! this is exciting for me just to see whats going on! i feel like im watching big brother in a weird kind of way!! have printed off some pics to take into the shop! keep them coming!no naked ones though! stella x ps helen and william send their love!!

[Jean]

Transplanted Bostonian now in deep South
I found your web site and actually got homesick looking at the snow. I am in Phoenix and have been here now for approx. 12 years. What a difference. Used to live in Montreal and Toronto for a while also. Things to check out while in Boston (assuming you have a car). Try going to Hammond Castle in Magnolia, just south of Gloucester. Most everyone up in Gloucester could tell you how to get there. It is made of pieces of castles that were shipped from Europe. He has a climatized center hall with a pool, etc. Very interesting. We also have a "stonehenge" (spelling?) in New Hampshire. The Budweiser brewery in NH is also interesting for touring. The Fens does look like a dump, doesn't it. Well, I had spent many nights in one of the buildings (under Citgo sign) in band rehearsals as that is what was housed there. The area is historic. My aunt (now long dead) used to own a brownstone on Hereford St. She used to run a boarding house during the late 30's and 40's. Still had boarders up to the 70's. That was the respectable way a woman was supposed to earn her living when she wasn't married. The Boston Gardens in the Spring (around April/May) was always a routine for riding the "swan boats." The area was originally made sort of famous by the book "Make Way for Ducklings." I'm sorry to hear that the rents are now so outrageous. I am currently considering a move to Dallas/Ft. Worth area where I can pick up a "luxury" home from the low 110's to 150's. Here in Phoenix, everything has exploded over the past three years. Gov. Swartzy has chased a lot of the normal blue/white collar worker out of CA and they came this way and caused a housing boom. My little 70,000 house is now worth 225,000 and you cannot navigate the streets due to the large increase in population (its approx five times more populated). They have damn near destroyed the Sonoran Desert area with the tract home building. This area (and Tucson) used to be so beautiful. That is why Linda McCartney loved it so much. You cannot even go camping any longer which was my great love in this state. You used to be able to throw a camp stove, sleeping and tent in the back of your car with a fishing pole and drive a few miles and be able to camp out. Depending on where you went, it would be either desert or Pine trees. I hope you enjoy your stay in Boston. I still have some friends there. One of my friend's family used to own a motel (very nice) in Rockport, MA. Nice place to visit. If you do not want to drive, we used to be able to take the commuter train up and everything was in walking distance. Bear Skin Neck was just wonderful. You can buy a lobster fresh from the pool (after watching them unload from the boats outside) and they would steam it for you, provide melted butter, etc. and you could walk out onto the neck and eat it. The sea gulls would swoosh down and catch the legs as we would throw them into the air.