USA - New York City & Boston

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Five minutes after the train departed Niagara, we reached the border to the USA and were made to wait 2 hours while they conducted their checks and searches. Then, at 12.30pm on Tuesday 27 November, we set off for the 10 hour trip to New York City. After passing through Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and Albany, the train arrived at New York Penn Station at 10.30pm. I jumped in a taxi and went to Carl (my old flatmate when I lived in New York) and Alyssa’s apartment where they kindly allowed me to sleep on the sofa for the next week. On Wednesday morning, I went to the street where I used to live in East Harlem to see if any old faces were around. I managed to see a few old friends and we hung out on the street chatting for a couple of hours. I jumped on the subway and went to Union Square and walked around for a bit before going to Nevada Smith’s bar to watch Liverpool play Porto. After a couple of pints, I returned to the apartment where we spent the evening chatting and watching TV. On Thursday, I walked around the downtown area of Manhattan, seeing how things have changed (or not) since I was last there in August 2004. In the evening, I met my friend Imani and we went to a couple of bars for a few drinks. Then we went back to the apartment and chatted with Carl for a while. On Friday, I took the subway to Grand Central and walked around Midtown Manhattan before wandering around Central Park. That evening, we went out for dinner and drinks before returning to the apartment to watch TV and chat. On Saturday, I woke up early and went to Penn Station for my 10am train to Boston. Arriving in Boston at 2pm, I walked around the city before finding my hostel for the night. In the evening, I walked around some more before going to the theatre to watch the Blue Man Group. On Sunday morning, I found an Irish bar showing the Liverpool Vs Bolton game. Then I walked across town to watch an NBA game where Boston were playing Cleveland. After the game, it was so cold that I decided to get an earlier train back to New York. So after having lunch at the train station in Boston, I boarded the 4.30pm train and arrived back at Penn Station at 8.30pm. I spent the evening sitting on the couch watching TV while Carl was tucked up in bed not feeling well. On Monday, I spent the day walking around the streets of Manhattan. Once again in the evening, we just stayed in and watched TV. On Tuesday morning, I stayed at the apartment and spent time on the internet and watching TV. In the afternoon, I went to Nevada Smith’s bar to watch Celtic play AC Milan in the Champions League. After a few pints, I headed to South Street Seaport to meet my friend Alex for drinks. We went to a few different bars and I eventually got home at 1am. On Wednesday morning, I said goodbye to Carl and Alyssa as they went off to work and then I went back to sleep on the couch. I spent my last few hours in New York walking around and doing a little shopping. Then I returned to the apartment, packed my stuff and caught a taxi to JFK airport. Due to the snow, the taxi took 2 hours to get to the airport. I boarded my flight at 7.15pm ready for our 7.30pm departure. However, the plane needed to be de-iced and we were in a long line of planes in the same situation. Two hours later, it was our turn to be de-iced and we finally took off at 9.45pm. I landed at Heathrow at 8am on Thursday 6 December 2007, exactly one year from when and where it all began.

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