Advertisement
Published: March 22nd 2015
Edit Blog Post
It's 23.46 on Saturday 21st March. Today has been a relatively low key day - so there is not all that much to report. We woke latish, around 9.30, at breakfasted in the usual manner. We were all ready pretty swiftly today, so were able to leave the hostel by around 10.45.
From the hostel we headed down past the park to the closest subway stop, and out West of the city to the university district for a little exploration. The area we ended up in, around Boston University, was nice enough a but there wasn't a huge amount going on, so we found a little coffee shop and grabbed some lunch From there, the time being around 2pm, we boarded the tram to take us back into Boston. The tram got about 2 stops before the driver informed us all that we needed to alight and board a bus to take us the remainder of the journey. Unfortunately, the traffic down the long avenue that lead into Boston was nose to tail. The bus, which we could see in the distance, moved 5 metres in as many minutes - so we decided to walk the 2 or 3 miles or
so home.
The walk was actually very pleasant, going through a clearly very affluent area of Boston then out into the parks near the hostel.
Once back we napped, read and chatted or way to 7pm, and decided to head out for dinner. After 2 weeks in 2 of the US's best cities we were feeling a little lighter of pocket, so we decided to head to a Chinese café recommended by the hostel for its value. The food was indeed of decent quality and generous quantity and the prices very affordable, but the service was bizarre. For example, when I asked for tap water (yes it's got that bad) I was told that they didn't have it in - and then was presented with a glass of water with something white and effervescent in it. The plastic crockery was placed in an unceremonious pile on the table, and English was certainly a second language, if one at all. It was one of those restaurants with wonderfully unappetising meal names like 'oily chicken leg' and 'salty 7up'. Then again what do you expect for a $15 2 course meal.
After eating we had a little walk round the park,
then headed up to the room to wind down for the night. I wasn't feeling remotely tired, so decided to take a walk through the city and down to the harbour, which was beautiful by night. Across the bay you could see the lights of Logan airport, and watch the planes take off and land out of the clear night sky. I returned home to write this down in the common area, while the others are upstairs in the room.
Tomorrow is somehow our last day in Boston. Time seemed to have flashed past, and before we know it we'll be once again changing locations. Tomorrow, I'm sure, will be a day of packing and preparation.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.076s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 12; qc: 35; dbt: 0.0299s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Dr John HW
John Hyder-Wilson
Gradual Progress
Fascinating to take a little time to read and digest your progress north and east across the USA from New York to Boston via Hertford, Connecticut. You are deep in Yankee/New England Country which is a world away from the tensions and charm of the Deep South or from the wide open spaces of the Prairie states (which I guess Saskatchewan and other similar Canadian states will resemble). Quebec will be different again with all the French influence. I guess the coast from NYC up to Boston is probably pretty unremarkable and quite built up, although your first bus driver sounded truly ferocious! Boston only has a total population of 645,000 which makes it smaller than Birmingham or Glasgow - more like a Manchester or Leeds. New York is of course 8.5 million (about the same as London) so over 10 times the size of Boston. Your notes on Boston make it sound really interesting - liked your walk around the sites and the trail. You are still in the tail end of the bitter North American winter, although Quebec gradually warms up (if that is the right expression) to about zero degrees this week from a perishing -15 at present! Love the description and pictures of your nocturnal safari around the harbour area watching the boats and the planes - of such moments great memories are made.