From Business Suits to Backpacks: Our Week In The USA!

The plan was to spend the whole time in Canada. But then we were offered a lift back to Boston, Massachusetts by my friend, John, who had met up with us in Montreal. Quebec would be waiting for us when we got back to Canada, so we packed our increasingly heavy bags and headed south of the Canadian / US border to see some Americans in their natural habitat.

The Grave of Samuel Adams

We were in Boston for only a few days, but it gave us enough time to wander around the city and see a number of the historical monuments and points of interest, which included a bunch of cemeteries where significant people from American history were buried (apparently including Mother Goose in one of them).

The whole town had a very old English feel to the architecture, which makes sense given that it was settled and mostly built by the English, but it is great to see that it has lasted until today. I got the impression that most locals living in and around Boston were quite patriotic and well aware of the history of their country, considering not only how many war memorials there were, but also how neatly those memorials were kept. A few of the locals we spoke to in town were all clued into the rich history of the buildings and sites around them, and pointed us in the direction of more things to see. I lived and worked in Sydney for ages, and I couldn't tell you much about the history of the place without doing a sneaky google first, let alone where any historically important sites are other than my all time favourite noodle house. Looks like Bostonians paid a bit more attention than I did in history class.

But I'm not surprised how well educated most people appeared to be; Boston is also home to a tonne of universities, including Harvard and M.I.T., which Kate and I explored at length.

But the coolest thing we did in Boston was definitely going to a baseball game (Locally referred to as a 'ball game', as though it were the only sport to include a ball). The fun started before we even got inside the stadium, as we were swept along the streets by a crush of fans, all clutching tickets, beer, hotdogs and children (by order of importance). One bucket-list-ticking moment for me was seeing a few guys standing on soap boxes selling programs for the game in that classic accent, 'Pro-grehms! Getcha Pro-grehms!'. All I needed at that point was a kid in overalls selling newspapers, calling out 'Extree! Extree!' and my life would have been complete. Maybe another time though.

Once we found our seats and the game started, what was happening on the field made up only half of the action worth watching around the stadium. The crowd were quite invested in the game, and every time the Boston Red Sox hit a home run or pretty much did anything correctly, everyone went crazy. Mexican waves kept people amused when the play slowed down, and the hundreds of brightly dressed staff were fun to watch as they wandered through the stands selling everything from inedible hotdogs to overpriced pretzels and home made lemonade.

We figured that since we were already in Boston, we might as well visit New York City, which was only four hours away by bus. So we booked a cheap room in the Chelsea district of the city, and went further south to take bite out of The Big Apple.

The Chrysler Building, with the Brooklyn Bridge in the distant background

And I thought there was a lot to see in Boston. Walking in any direction from our place took us past places like the Empire State building, Broadway, the Chrysler Building, Grand Central Station, Madison Square Garden, Ground Zero (the former location of the World Trade Center buildings) and all sorts of other interesting spots.

We visited all the places listed above and if it weren't for all the rain we would have taken more photos. Luckily the weather cleared up on the day we decided to take a sightseeing ferry around the whole island, which gave us some great shots of the Statue of Liberty, a distant view of Yankee Stadium, and a much better feel for how vast the city really is.

In between the tens of kilometers of walking each day we managed to sample a few slices of the classic New York pizza, an edible icon. One pizza consisting of 8 slices was easily the diameter of a coffee table, but much tastier. And at 99c for a slice of the basic cheese pizza, let's just say I think I need to go on a diet really, really soon.

Nothing quite like a 'New York Slice'

We also visited slightly more rugged parts of the city, like Chinatown, which felt almost third world in terms of the hygiene level and general aroma on the street. We also walked through Little Italy, which was, in my opinion, a 100% tourist trap sham. Touts outside every restaurant shoving menus in your face as you walk by, all dressed up like they just arrived from some kind 1930's Italian countryside. We were out of there before you could say Mama Mia.

You know it isn't really Asia because everything is still really expensive.

I know a bunch of people from in and around Philadelphia, which is only a couple of hours from New York, so one night I went down for a little nerd-party while Kate stayed well away at a Broadway show back in Manhattan. From what she tells me it was great entertainment for anyone who enjoys live music and dancing. I think we both felt like we dodged a bullet that night.

Back for one last night in New York, and it was finally time for us to take in the view from the observation deck of the Empire State Building. The plan was to be there for sunset, but thanks to hours of queues and endless security checks, we were almost in time for the sunrise.
Luckily the view was worth it. We could see just about every part of New York from up there. We could even make out the Statue of Liberty from where we were.

She wears the same outfit every night.

On that 'high' note, we left New York very early the next morning, boarding a plane to Halifax, back in Canada. More on that soon!

Till next time!
//Brendan