Ever since my last trip to the USA, I was imagining how my next trip to the USA would be like, so the fact that this came up unexpectedly wasn’t too bad because I did have a rough itinerary in my head! My dream or ideal plan didn’t eventuate, but I suppose it was good enough given the circumstances.
New York City Part 1: Dec 23rd -Dec 26th
So on December 22nd 2007 I boarded a United Airlines flight (if anyone doesn't know this, United Airlines have a very old fleet) to New York City via San Francisco. If I had more time on my trip, I would have dearly loved to have spent time on the west coast too, but all I managed was a 6 hour stopover! It was supposed to be a 2-3 hour stopover, but due to bad, very bad weather typical of the American Christmas season, my flight to NYC got delayed by several hours.
I finally arrived at New York JFK airport around 1am December 24th I think (all those time zones!) And being the adventurous me, I (perhaps stupidly) decided that catching the subway from the airport to Manhattan would be the best way! In all honesty, I was too cheap to pay for a $50 cab ride! So remarkably, I DID catch the subway at like 1 or 2 am in the morning and found myself at the right hotel! I must mention that without the help of a very kind person, I probably would have been lost!! You do meet nice people overseas! And it turns out I paid nothing for the subway ride as it was sooo late/early that no one was checking for tickets :P
Hotel QT (125 45th West Street) was our home for 4 nights. Hotel QT is a boutique hotel located in Midtown Manhattan for a very reasonable Midtown price. The highlight of the place was probably the free breakfast of fresh croissants, bagels and orange juice! The rooms are a decent size for Manhattan (i.e. very small) and there's even an indoor pool for those that need to exercise. The convenience store like reception is something different, but it works! (I feel like I am writing a hotel review here!) All in all, we had a comfortable stay, and I would stay there again if I could get those special Christmas prices again! Although given the accommodation choices in Manhattan, I wouldn't mind trying something different!
OK, now to the point (I do love to ramble) - what did I get up to the 3 days here?
Day 1 Dec 24th
Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) - Visited this great museum the year before, so I went back again with my brother. Due to "Christmas in New York" phenomenon the museum was packed!! So perhaps not as enjoyable as my first visit. They do change the exhibitions and works on display, so it was good for me, not getting a repeat but still able to see some of the great permanent works again too!
Hung around Midtown - since our hotel was just located around Midtown, from memory all we did was, hang around Midtown. We walked around the colourful Times Square, Rockefeller Centre and saw the giant Christmas Tree and the Ice Skating ring that is customary New York and took plenty of photos of the place! We walked around Madison & Fifth Avenue, basically just enjoying the festive season for once in a cold country around this time of year! I didn't need to be "doing" anything, just "being" in New York City was a luxury for me!
Dinner: Japanese Noodles @
Menchanko-Tei http://www.menchankotei.com/index_E.asp You know a place is authentic when the only other customers are Japanese! It was a very fulfilling dinner on a cold winters day! I miss the udon!
Day 2 Dec 25th
Apple Store New York 767 Fifth Ave - Paid a visit to the iconic store on Christmas day. There was even a slight queue to get inside! Well, my brother got his Christmas wish, a new Apple Ipod. I, however, was still recovering from the over-spending in Asia to bring myself to buy anything Apple. I did like playing with the Apple Touch though.
Met up with my mate Peggy Tee!! We met outside the Apple Store! It was so awesome meeting her in New York as she is now based in London! Also met her friends Pei-Ching whom I met in Sydney the year before when she was visiting & Jersen (another friends ex-colleague). We walked around the Upper East Side looking for food, it was only slightly impossible because it was Christmas Day! We tried the famous Serendipity but of course it wasn't open! We eventually settled at a café and had pizza. It was actually quite good!
Christmas stroll along Central Park - I didn't get to check out the park properly last year, so I'm SO GLAD I did so this time on a gorgeous sunny winters day! We took some good photos, except mine are all lost L (I need to steal them from Peggy) We spent a good 2-3 hours there, just taking in the scenery and the fresh air you get in the park!
Christmas Dinner @
Chinatown: Penang - 41 Elizabeth Street
http://www.penangcuisine.com/
Where does one go when every other place shuts down for Christmas? You can always rely on Chinatown as long as it is not during Chinese New Year! I managed to meet up with Peggy again and her friends for a festive and scrumptious feed of Malaysian food! We seriously ate A LOT, but as are all Malaysian-Chinese, we managed to eat everything. (Except I think we overdid it with the Fish Curry)
Day 3 Dec 26th
Boxing Day Sales - NYC Style!
Ok, you have not been to a real sale until you’ve shopped in New York City. Personally, I don't really like to shop during sales time due to the crowds, and in this case, winter season, therefore trying on clothes is a nightmare. But, I still enjoyed it. My brother did need to drag me around the place because I was over it after the first stop at Macy's! Remarkably, I didn't actually buy that much because well, I spent most of my money in the last holiday only 1 month ago, and could not bring myself to buy more stuff, but seeing heavy discounting on usually unattainable designer brands was an eye opener! All of a sudden Jimmy Choos and Marc Jacobs were affordable! I have to say, I did manage one pair of Marc by Marc Jacobs shoes, but the best find was my brothers Marc by Marc Jacobs jacket at a 70% discount!! We made stops at Macys, Bloomingdales, Saks and Barneys all on the one day!! And the chain stores - H&M, Zara, BCBG amongst others on the way up from Macy’s to the more upmarket department stores. Oh yes, the department stores Christmas displays are far beyond what we get at DJs here! They are all beautifully crafted works of art!
Food wise - since we were so busy covering Manhattan department stores, we sorta forgot to eat, if so we snacked on very little food! So for dinner, we ate Japanese again, this time @
Katsu-Hama (11 East 47th Street) for some yummy Katsu! Oh it was fried perfectly!
http://www.katsuhama.com/index_E.asp
Washington DC: Dec 27th -Dec 29th
Day 4 Dec 27th
I can’t say we had the ideal start to the day, as due to some very inconsiderate and pushy passengers and I don’t want to say dodgy, but I suppose they were, bus company, we missed the coach which we had pre-bought tickets to Washington DC. I was super annoyed! I was annoyed with the bus company that allowed us to buy tickets online even though the bus was CLEARLY full when it arrived at our stop at Times Square; and I was annoyed with the pushy people that pushed in front of us to get on the bus. (There is such a thing as a queue!!) I was NOT impressed at all. So I think that was the first and last time I am buying a Chinatown bus company ticket online!!!!!
Anyway, luckily I was travelling with my brother who had enough sense to say that we should go to the Port Authority Bus Terminal to get a Greyhound ticket instead. That still didn’t calm me down though because I was caught up with being annoyed!! In the end we did board a Greyhound bus and thank goodness for Greyhound, when the buses are full, they schedule another bus 5 mins later!! I was pleased, even though we wasted about $80 on tickets. (In fact, we didn’t even take the return ticket back into NYC! I did not want to risk losing ‘time’ again).
The bus ride was pleasant enough, no exciting scenery since we were on the highway, but 4 hours later we were at Washington DC. We treated ourselves to the Grand Hyatt @ Washington DC (not my choice, my spoilt brother’s choice! But we did get a very good rate!), where unlike NYC we got a very spacious room with 2 queen size beds, and the deal came with free buffet breakfasts! Even though I was a bit annoyed that we got into DC a bit later than anticipated due to the unforseen drama at the start of the day, we still managed to get our hands on a map from the hotel concierge and took a stroll around the famous sights around the hotel such as:
In order to make full use of our limited time there, we also went on the
Washington DC Night Ride tour after dinner. If anyone is going there in the future, I highly recommend the night tour. Seeing the famous monuments at night is spectacular! It definitely doesn’t look the same during the day, so you have to check it out from a night perspective! We had a friendly tour-guide/coach driver giving us a rundown on all the sights and her knowledge of Washington’s history was superb! The tour also stops at a couple of places, so you do have some time to explore the place. My favourites would have to be our stop by the
Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson Memorial and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. The buildings beaming with a white alabaster glow was such a marvellous sight. Once you visit these sights, you begin to appreciate why and how Americans are so passionate about their history and democracy. I found myself looking in amazement and awe particularly at the words inscribed inside the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials. Another highlight was seeing the
Washington Monument by Night. The simplicity yet elegance of that monument certainly add to Washington DC’s appeal.
Another special part of the tour was seeing the ‘Capitol Christmas Tree’ lighted up at night! I guess that was the advantage of seeing Washington DC around Christmas. There is one big national Christmas tree that apparently comes from Maine (and possibly other places in other years) and each state also has representative Christmas trees too. I may not have seen the magic of snow during Christmas, but I certainly saw many Christmas trees!
So officially, this is what we saw on the Night Tour:
Step off the coach and visit: The Jefferson, Lincoln, Vietnam, Korean and FDR Memorials. View from the coach: The US Capitol, Library of Congress, Supreme Court, House and Senate Office Buildings, Federal Triangle, Pennsylvania Avenue, The White House, Capitol Reflecting Pool, Washington Monument, Arlington Cemetery and Marine Corps Memorial (Iwo Jima).
Photos taken from the Washington Night Tour:
Jefferson Memorial
Words inscribed in the Jefferson Memorial
Lincoln Memorial
Washington Monument by Night'
Day 5 Dec 28th
Somehow we managed to wake up early enough to have our free buffet American breakfast! Only problem being we got to the hotel restaurant at the same time as everyone else! i.e. 9am!! So after queuing for what felt like eternity, we got our feed (definitely worth it for my brother) just in time to hop on the
Washington DC Hop On/Hop Off tour!
Again, given limited time, we figured this was the easiest and best way to see Washington DC during the day. We didn’t need to work out the metro system (or so we thought) and we could just hop off at the museums I wanted to visit, and hop back on again!
Highlights of the Hop On/Off Bus Ride:
I cannot fail to mention the feeling of being blown off the bus! Be prepared to freeze on those open double-decker buses in the middle of winter. Even though the Washington winter was far warmer than New York’s, it was still freakin COLD!! So cold that I had to go downstairs and enjoy the view from the windows. Even my brother whom normally does not freeze was feeling the cold!!
Georgetown/DuPont Circle – I actually enjoyed the little loop we made around this area. It’s a charming little place in the heart of Georgetown University. I actually love the fact that little communities are built around American Universities, as they are all distinct and unique communities, I don’t think 2 are ever the same.
Georgetown
Washington National Cathedral – The bus drove around the Cathedral quite slowly so we could get a good view of this great building. Since I hardly researched Washington, I found it fascinating that such a lovely Cathedral existed! Surprising to me, given capital cities usually conjures up images of grand Government buildings. Some facts: The cathedral was designed by George Frederick Bodley, a British Gothic Revival architect of the late-19th & early 20th centuries. The Cathedrals design thus displays influences from various Gothic styles of the Middle Ages as identified by its pointed arches, flying buttresses, stained-glass windows, a variety of ceiling vaulting and carved decorations in stone.
Picutre of Cathedral...from the hop-on/hop-off bus
Lincoln Memorial/Washington Monument/The Mall/Vietnam & Korean War Memorial – Since I was so captivated by the buildings the night before, I had to go see it again during the day. Definitely not as spectacular (may have something to do with the gloomy weather), but this time I got to check out the Vietnam & Korean War Memorials. I was particularly intrigued with the design of the Vietnam War Memorial, having seen a documentary before during my gen ed class at uni about the Yale student Maya Lin (Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision) whom won the design competition. The simplicity of the design - a V-shaped granite wall with the names of the Veterans engraved on it, and how revolutionary it was for its time is amazing. It was also highly controversial when her design was selected as the winner. Usually when memorials get built, we get caught up with the intricate design of it all, when in fact it’s a place to reflect and remember those that fought for their country. The fact that the memorial was so controversial at the time meant that a ‘compromise’ bronze figurative sculpture in the heroic fashion was also commissioned to complement the wall. If I had not seen the documentary, I don’t think I would have appreciated the design that much, or taken notice of how controversial it may have been. Knowledge is indeed power! (For the amateur traveller anyway!)
Lincoln Memorial by day
Statues from the Korean War Memorial
Vietnam War Memorial
Smithsonian Institution - A friend of mine once raved on about the Smithsonian Institution and the museums, so it was a must-see stop for me. It is indeed a GREAT place to just explore anything and everything. Whatever you fancy, whatever you are interested in, you can see it all here! In fact, that is probably why DC regularly rates as a top tourist attraction for not only foreign travellers but local Americans too. Given limited time, we only explored these places:
- The Castle - The Smithsonian's First Building, appropriately named ‘The Castle’ since it looks like one! It serves as an Information Centre, and is definitely stop-worthy. “This building served as a home for the first Secretary of the Smithsonian Joseph Henry and his family and for many years housed all aspects of Smithsonian operations, including an exhibit hall from 1858 until the 1960s.”
The 'Castle'
- National Air & Space Museum – It had been a while (a decade or more!) since I last visited a science related museum, but I must say I did enjoy this one! Everything from the beginning of the aeroplanes (The Original Wright Brothers 1903 Flyer), to spaceships, to military fighter jets! It was fun to feel like you are a kid again exploring a new world. (Even though the museum is totally adult-worthy! Some of the information they provide feels like you need a science degree to understand all of it!)
How cool is it to see planes like this??
- National Gallery of Art – This place houses an amazing collection! For the art enthusiast (me!), I found myself at ‘home’ once more. We didn’t cover everything, but I certainly enjoyed what I did manage to see. Perhaps more remarkably I fell in love with the National Gallery building (yes I love grand structures!) The gallery consists of an East and West wing of contrasting architectural styles. The west wing is of the neoclassical style with a massive dome reminiscent of the Pantheon. The east wing is of the modern school by world renowned I.M Pei – geometric, unconventional, definitely contemporary. In alignment with the building styles, the west wing houses some of the finest European masterpieces such as those by Monet, Van Gough, Leonardo da Vinci, whilst the east wing consists of modern and contemporary works by Picasso, Matisse and Warhol to name a few. Whilst we were there, there was a special ‘J.M.W Turner’ exhibition held (from the Tate Gallery in London), and lucky for me, I had just learnt about Turner in my Art History course I was doing just a few months before my US trip! An except from the Exhibition info on the NGA website: “Known for his technical brilliance and startling use of light and colour, he incorporated learned references to literature, mythology, and historical events in his pictures. His commitment to the idea that watercolour equalled oil painting in complexity and expressive power raised the standard for others working in the medium. And his exquisitely rendered works, heralded for their virtuosity, inspired generations of artists… More than 145 paintings and watercolours reveal the astonishing talent and imagination of this artist" whom Alfred, Lord Tennyson called "The Shakespeare of landscape."
Me outside the older more classical wing of the National Gallery
The IM Pei designed wing
- And the best thing about visiting museums in DC - they are FREE!!
So those visits pretty much concluded the DC experience. All we did after our whole day of exploration was bum in the hotel room watching College Football games on ESPN, which is surprisingly addictive! (Go BC!) And I managed to watch both "High School Musical 1 &2" on cable TV!! Another surprise, it's so bad that it's good! How American can one get? We even ate in the hotel cuz we were too lazy to go out and explore other places. But hey, it was a holiday. (And for Mr PC, a holiday requires you to relax - totally different philosophy to his big sis, but she gave in).
New York City Part 2: Dec 29th – Dec 31st
Day 6 Dec 29th
After our last free buffet breakfast deal, we were off onto our next greyhound bus ride, back into NYC. Unlike the first bus ride, this trip took much longer as we had to loop around New Jersey for a bit before getting into Manhattan. The traffic into Manhattan was quite horrendous. It was only the last leg of the trip that we experienced traffic, but I must have found a dodgy seat cuz it was a bumpy ride all the way back into NYC for me!
So we found ourselves at Port Authority again, and for reasons I can’t recall, my brother and I decided that walking from Port Authority to The W Hotel on Lexington Ave would be the best way there, instead of catching a cab there. I really do not know WHY we did that as we walked for like 30 mins with our heavy heavy suitcases! (Probably because we wanted to save money) And I also forgot to write down the actual address of The W Hotel, since there’s like 4 or 5 of them in Manhattan, 2 of which are on Lexington Avenue. To demonstrate how far we walked, here is a map:
And, we experienced more drama once we got to The W Hotel
- The lady at the front desk said we required the manager’s approval to stay there since we were using my dad’s points to redeem the hotel room. She sent us off to the payphones to make a phone call to get our dad to approve our stay by calling the manager. The payphone didn’t dial international. My mobile phone ceased to work (Vodafone’s fault). My brother ran out of credit on his pre-pay US mobile
- Decided after 15-20 mins that I had to speak to the front desk girl again to sort it out. So I queued – there was a long one, and another lady served us. I explained the situation again, this time the girl just said its fine, let me get a room for you! Such a sweet girl, if we had queued up and got her in the first place, I wouldn’t have been so stressed!
- The nice lady got us a room, but it was a Queen size bedroom. No way did my brother or I wanted to share it, especially since our booking was for 2 single beds!!
- So I went downstairs again to complain, the sweet front desk girl apologised and said we’d have to wait a while for a room to be ready. She gave us drink vouchers to use at the hotel bar. So off I went to get my Gin & Tonic!!! Never did I need a Gin & Tonic so badly!!
Eventually it was all settled, and the Manhattan fun continued…except I can’t remember the other things we did besides eating fantastic Vietnamese food around Greenwich for dinner. My original intention was to eat Thai food, except I couldn’t find the restaurant I visited last year…perhaps it closed or rebranded itself, or quite simply, my memory failed me. Anyway, after walking around Greenwich both cranky & hungry, we saw this okay looking Vietnamese restaurant so we took a chance and went inside. (plus I was freezing cold…so we had to find a warm place). The minute we walked in, there was a queue…so about a 30 minute wait later we were finally seated at a table!! It was a very trendy looking place I must say, and huge! It didn’t look that big from outside. It was reasonably priced and we ordered way too much food for 2 people, but the food was good! We were very satisfied, and I was especially satisfied with the iced tea!! Just like the way they are made in South East Asia! Food is very important whilst travelling! It really does affect your mood!
Day 7 Dec 30th
It suddenly hit me that my time in NYC was limited, and there was a must-do thing for me before heading home to Sydney! Broadway!!
The year before I saw Phantom of the Opera, and I was mesmerised by the production – the music, the amazing costumes, the set! This time, I just HAD to catch a show, any show!! So like everyone else, I attempted to line up outside the TKTS booths at Times Square. I was so there before the booths opened, but no way was I going to bother with that queue! The line looped around several blocks. Hardly worth my limited time! So it took me about 10 mins to walk to Times Square from The W, and I turned around again, hopped into GAP to get some stuff, walked around Rockefeller area again, and dropped by my favourite TV show café – Dean & Deluca (Felicity…anyone?) to grab my breakfast. Latte + Cupcake. Delicious!!
It was back to the Hotel for another move…to another Midtown Hotel – Sheraton for 2 nights! When we finally checked in, we were rewarded with an upgrade to the Suite!! There were 2 queen size beds and an entire lounge room for just the 2 of us! And none of the dramas from the day before! A hotel suite in Manhattan just before the NYE celebrations!! If only I actually had friends to invite over for a party.
That day we headed to the famous SoHo for some shopping (again!). I didn’t get to explore Soho the year before, but this time, I was so walking the streets of Mercer, Houston and Canal Street. Walking the cobblestone streets and admiring the cast-iron architecture. I guess the number and variety of boutiques reminds me of Oxford Street Sydney, except of course, it is so much better in SoHo! Unfortunately, that day the entire Soho neighbourhood was packed with shoppers checking out the post-xmas sales. I was again tempted to buy, shoes in particular, mainly because it doesn’t require queuing for a change room. I finally found myself a pair of knee-high flat boots I was so desperately looking for in HK the previous month, but could not find. I purchased them for around US$110, and they are the most comfortable boots ever! I also bought a few items from Uniqlo – the famous Japanese chain store and one of the largest Uniqlo stores in the world. Plus many more window shopping visits to other boutiques. If only I had unlimited amounts of $$$!!!
OK, I actually did manage to get tickets to a Broadway show…Chicago! How? By simply using the services of the Hotel Concierge! I paid quite a premium for it, but it just had to be done! It kinda hurt my wallet a bit since I was paying for 2, but oh well…I went for it! So off Pat & I went again to the Theatre District to watch this famous musical. And I loved it!! The set wasn’t quite as elaborate as Phantom (very bare compared to Phantom) but seeing a stage show is just one of the pleasures in life! And a stage show with an entire Jazz band…what more could you want in life?
After the theatre, we were again hunting for food around the Theatre District and finally settled at this Thai restaurant, instead of something more American, like ribs & steaks. The restaurant was more of a miss than a hit, it wasn’t that bad, it just wasn’t as good as the other places we tried. After being so used to eating good quality food, I guess you can’t always be that lucky!
Day 8 Dec 31st
That time of the year again...NYE! A time to reflect upon the year gone by, review what exactly happened and set new goals for the upcoming year. Well, given I was in NYC for NYE...stuff that!! I was still on a mission to accomplish all the things on my long list that I needed to finish!
By this day PC and I were well and truly sick of each others company, so we decided it was best to split up and do our own thing, at least for a few hours.
I decided to head Downtown for the day - take a stroll along the Brooklyn Bridge with my camera. Yes I finally DID walk along the world famous Brooklyn Bridge on a beautiful and sunny day! I also explored the Financial District, walked by the sight of the former World Trade Centre, found Wall Street...and even made a stop by discount department store Century 21 to pick up bargains amongst the multitude of people.
Brooklyn Bridge
A picture perfect day!
Church downtown
The twin towers would have occupied the space here
Once my
me-time was over, I caught the subway to Soho to visit Peggy for a catchup, and by that hour I was starving! Once again, I walked the streets of Soho and imagined a life in NYC for myself. Gosh I love that City! Somehow it provokes images of possibilities and dreams for me. No other city can excite me in that way. Only New York.
Well Pegs and I manage to grab a bite at a sweet little cafe in Soho. I don't remember the name now, but I had amazing pancakes with banana as well as coffee! It was great!
Great banana pancakes
Once our quick catch up was over, it was back to Times Square for me. My plan for NYE? Stand around Times Square and catch the famous ball dropping at midnight! By the time I got to Times Square, PC was waaay ahead in front with his mates. So it was me, alone with thousands of people on NYE. Really not a bad way to spend it...it had to be done one of these days!
1. To be alone on NYE away from all my friends and family
2. To be in NYC on NYE.
Perhaps next time don't try it together! It wasn't all bad though, there were moments where we were allowed to walk further up to the front (in total I probably moved about 3 streets at most!) Every few hours there was confetti thrown to excite the crowd...but mostly just a bunch of tourists like myself wondering why people gathered at Broadway to watch this crystal ball drop?! I spent 6 hours standing there!!! In the cold!! Oh well, I heard some interesting conversations in the 6 hours, in several languages too!
But my claim to fame? I was standing outside the now bankcrupt Lehman Bros building at Midnight!! Not many people can say that now hey??
This is where I stood for several hours!!
At midnight I actually ran to the opposite direction to catch a glimpse of the fireworks blazing from Central Park! At least something to remind me of home! i.e. the amazing fireworks we Sydneysiders take for granted year after year!! The fireworks were hardly as spectacular as the Sydney ones, but at least it was a familiar sound!!
Times Square Fireworks @ Midnight
Fireworks from Central Park...not as spectacular as Sydney at all!
So there ended our NYC expedition! Who knows when I will next visit this amazing city.
Boston: Jan 1st-Jan 4th
Day 9 Jan 1st
New Year, new destination! This time to PC's 'hometown' - Boston! I can still remember the time he told me about his first choice for his exchange program, and how elated I was with his decision! (And so glad it wasn't going to be North Carolina!) He was living MY dream of studying in Boston. For some strange reason, I've always had this idea that I wanted to study in the US at a college in Boston. I guess Boston conjures up the image of prestigious Harvard University, therefore automatically earning the title of being the town for 'higher learning'!! (If only I was intelligent enough to go to Boston myself for further study!)
Anyways, we went back to the now very familiar Port Authority to catch yet another Greyhound bus to Boston. The one way ticket was only $15!! Amazing bargain for a 5-6 hour bus ride.
This time the bus ride was super comfortable and they played the video 'Bridge to Terabithia' on the ride. Remember that novel from your childhood?? It was refreshing to watch a famous American children's novel on film. Just to get away from all the usual hollywood drama! To travel back in time and be transfixed by the vivid imaginations of children. I was just enjoying the movie when I slowly remembered it had a sad ending. I was dearly hoping they changed it to a hollywood style happy ending. No, they kept to the book and it ended in a sad way. I can't believe I read such a sad story at 11 years of age!!
It was nice to be 'on the road' so to speak. To be going places. Even though it was on the very common New York-Boson route. I was thinking about all the different people that frequent this route, or people like myself, who may only go on this route just once. I was soaking in the experience, taking note that the bus passes through New York State, parts of New Jersey, parts of Conneticutt and eventually into the state of Massaschusetts. (How did they come up with such long weird names?) Watching the scenery around me progressing into more snow and less visibility! By the time we landed in Boston, yep it was definitely much COLDER than New York and it felt less hectic. Even more homely!
When we finally arrived at the place my brother had called home for the last 4 months, a simple, modest wooden house in the Boston suburbia (Chester Hill), I felt at home. Its funny to be feeling at home in a foreign city, a foreign place. But even though the weather was cold, it just felt cosy to be standing outside his house in the snow. As we walked up the narrow staircase into his room, I sorta felt bad for PC! Whilst jealous as I had been all this time with his exchange opportunity, I saw his living quarters and realised it was nothing like home! His room was huge, but extremely bare. He only had the essential things in his room. And it was at that moment that I understood WHY he wanted me to treat ourselves to a nice hotel in New York & Washington. It looked like he had been backpacking the last 4/5 months away and needed some luxury whilst he could find some!
It was getting dark very quickly, so we didn't settle at the house very long and headed out to Harvard Square for a walk around and dinner. Yay at long last I was making my journey to Harvard!! My brother warned me not to get my hopes up because the campus is small, but I didn't care. First time I was going to step into an Ivy League University hehe!
The campus is indeed 'small' comparatively to other American Universities. Perhaps not as big as one would envisage it to be. And the style of the architecture, very 'puritan'! It's just so simple! There is a nice vibe surrounding the university with the boutique retailers and bookshops to keep one entertained. (We spent quite some time just browsing the bookshops, I forgot the feeling of wondering around bookshops. I hardly get to do it back in Sydney)
I took some snaps of the college and surrounds, before we found ourselves starving for food! (Why is it I'm always starving on holidays? lol!) This time we ate at a relatively cheap Vietnamese food near Harvard. The food was very good and the serving size looked much bigger than what we get in Sydney! We were desperate for rice again so I just had a simple pork chop rice. Yummy! The place appeared to be popular as it was packed, yet cosy, and not overflowing with people. It looked like a popular place for Grad students (as the crowd did look older than undergrads).
Since Boston is such a COLD place, we decided to end the night with a warm dessert! Luckily in Boston, my brother knows where to go, and he took me to a very nice, very 'new england' type dessert place (http://www.finaledesserts.com/) . I ate the creme brulee which was just divine!! And he had the chocolate pudding...equally delicious! And of course, hot chocolate!! And absolutely no reason to feel guilty about eating all this due to the cold weather! That was probably the best part. So Day 9 came to an end...and also signalled the end of a pair of shoes (will not waste time with that story here!)
Our desserts from Finale - Creme Brulee & Chcolate Suffle
Day 10 Jan 2nd
I'd like to call it Boston Exploration Day! It's for those with limited time in this fantastic city. I was hoping my brother would just take me around without me thinking about anything. Nope, he is my brother. Therefore he feels it is his destiny to make life ever so difficult for me. So we quarreled about where and what to see. I wanted to walk the 'Freedom Trail' (who doesn't want to follow a red line?), he opposed strongly against it due to the cold weather. Anyways, I gave in, so this is what we managed to cover on what was a cold but pleasant day in Boston City: (at least I didn't need to figure out the Train/Bus system...the benefits of a 'local' taking you around by foot!)
- Faneuil Hall Marketplace / Quincy Markets - American Revolutionary history has significant roots here. It's basically where the 'town meetings' used to be held! Where important decisions regarding American history were made. Although it seems very 'touristy', I suppose I appreciated what it stood for. At least it was 'quaint', a nice place to browse around and be soaked in history, yet modern! We also ate our lunch here...I had the famous 'Clam Chowder'...New England speciality. It was tasty and warm for a cold day alright!
As the picture says - Quincy Market
Samual Adams standing tall
- Boston Harbour - didn't do much around here but take photos of it! I think its not quite comparable to Sydney Harbour...
- Boston Common & Public Gardens - Apparently this place is beautiful during Fall! It is still charming for winter too! Frozen lakes and snow covering the trees. It's magical in a different way! I took pics with the Duckling Statuettes as well! So adorable!
Frozen lake!
With the ducklings at Boston Common!
- Beacon Hill walkabout - This place had a very 'English' feel to it, most likely because its the 'old money' area of Boston. Again, a charming pocket of Boston, this is where you can find 200 year old houses in neat rows, I think we walked passed many 'famous' residences...except I don't know any of them! (Not being an American and all...) We probably walked past homes such as 'George Middleton House', 'Parkman House' etc...(I am reading my travel guidebook in hindsight!)
Walking around Beacon Hill...
Outside a famous house...perhaps?
A classic looking 7-Eleven Shop at Beacon Hill
- Newbury Street - I REALLY liked this area. It was just so chic! It had a good mix of shops and it was just a nice pleasant stroll. I also managed to pick up some Marc by Marc Jacobs goodies on a discount too! We probably spent a good hour window shopping around Newbury Street. I noticed the marked difference to the hectic pace of NYC, Boston is almost comparable to home.
Newbury Street
Cute Hey?
Another interesting shop!
Some historic buildings that we also visited along the way.
Massachusetts State House
Old State House
Old South Meeting House
For some reason, we went back to Harvard again after our Newbury visit. Not sure why, but my brother only seems to know where to eat around Cambridge! But hey, I loved going to Harvard so why not?! I got to walk around the campus a bit more, take a few more pictures, and we spent more time again at the bookshops, this time we actually bought some books.
Look at all the books!
Standing outside the 'fake' Harvard statue
I presume this is a church on the campus
We eventually settled for some Mexican food around the Campus. I can't say I'm a big fan of Mexican food, but at least I had something different!
Brother & Sister about to eat Mexican food. Gotta love the large coke I get served everywhere! Look at all the fries PC got!
Day 11 Jan 3rd
This was definitely College Day!
I don't remember eating much of any breakfast this whole trip, but I do remember going to Dunkin Donuts for breakfast that day. It was the coldest day of my entire USA trip...so a warm donut and coffee was certainly required!! (The high that day was about -8 degrees...woohoo!)
First stop was Boston College!! Beautiful Campus...I am so jealous that PC managed to live MY dream. We walked around almost every corner of this huge campus. It's a gorgeous campus, and seeing the grounds semi-covered in snow just made it that much more magical. Apparently the campus is even more beautiful during the fall. I really must plan to visit this North East corner some day in the future during the fall foliage time!
Church @ Boston College
St. Ignatius
Something we don't see at Australian schools or Universities, the whole concept of having a school 'mascot'. You know you see them in the hollywood movies and TV shows, but these US colleges, they're really obsessed with them. They are everywhere!! BC has a pretty cool mascot though, they're the Boston Eagles. So guess what, you can see the Eagle everywhere!
BC Eagle
When I said beautiful campus, the photos will speak for themselves. I adored the libraries there. The UNSW one is so pathetic compared to the BC library I visited (and there are several libraries). I was admiring the stained glass windows, the old chairs and tables, the books...so many items to just marvel! I'm sure I would have enjoyed studying there! My brother made me pick up a business school brochure just in case I may want to do an MBA later in my life. If studying an MBA means I get to practically live in a campus like this one, why not?? (except of course, they're rather expensive!!) No wonder though, the facilities you get are amazing.
Outside a nice sandstone building...I think it's part of the business school
The buildings are gorgeous inside and out!
A more classical looking interior
It's a Catholic College...in case people were wondering
This is a library!
High ceilings, stained glass windows, old furniture...nice!
Snow on the campus!
Next stop: Harvard University by Day. I know, this was like our 3rd visit here, but, this time it was during the day. PC really wanted me to see HBS as well. So after a 30 minute bus ride from BC, we arrived at Harvard...this time to the world famous Business School just to check it out. And yes, it is a very well funded school. They definitely do have a rich alumni is all I can say. When what looks like 19th Century doors just open automatically, you know it's a rich school! A very old-school looking student lounge room too. I kinda think why would you want to enter the real world when the world inside is already so comfy??
Outside a Bloomberg Harvard building
Me & a Harvard Bell (must have been donated by a rich alumni...)
A very nice & posh student lounge
I think we must have started the day rather late this time, like during midday? I say this because I don't have a recollection of eating a lunch, besides the donuts, and having our regular Starbucks stops (I finally understood on this trip why there's a Starbucks on every corner in the US. When you are cold, you MUST get coffee to warm up!) Oh yes, I do remember snacking on danish pastry and more hot chocolate (you can only have so much coffee in a day) just around Harvard Square in the late afternoon. We also caught sunset along the picturesque Charles River.
Sunset Colours
View of Harvard from across the Charles River bridge
I now remember why we didn't achieve a lot...it was just too cold to go many places. Ideally, if we had stuck to MY plan, I would have dearly loved to have visited The Boston Museum of Fine Arts, but alas, I did not...nor any museum in Boston for that matter even though they have quite a few galleries and museums worth visiting. But instead we spent most of that cold winters day outside...and walking a bit in and out of buildings. Since it was so cold, I decided I deserved to eat a decent piece of steak (finally!). We just randomly walked into "Uno Chicago Grill" (http://www.unos.com/index.html); and randomly walked into an Obama function for his supporters. Mind you, this was before the democratic primaries! We didn't stay for long to notice what it was really all about, but it just appeared to be a social event so people could learn more about Obama and his policies. I am totally making it up, I have no idea. Obama wasn't there, but all his supporters were wearing Obama badges and handing out pamphlets! I feel like I can say I walked into history in the making :P
Deep pizza dish for Pat
Steak & fries for me
Day 12 Jan 4th - Providence Day Trip
This was to be my final sight-seeing day before going back to Sydney, and the reality of work and normal life...(boo!)
We decided to get out of Boston, after all, it wasn't just my holiday, it was Pat's winter break too. So after going through a few options, we randomly chose to go to Providence, Rhode Island for a day trip. No particular reason, we just felt like it! Although its quite possibly due to the fact that we've both seen enough The OC & Gossip Girl to get this little state drummed into our (or my head...shouldn't drag PC down with me)...Brown University! Oh yes, I also remember Providence as a short lived TV show from the 90s. In hindsight, we really should have gone to Newport, Rhode Island or something...that's actually a tourist town! Big mansions where the rich and famous go to play.
Providence City
A few facts about
Providence, in case my fellow readers are wondering...what again?
- Providence is the capital city of Rhode Island - and Rhode Island happens to be the smallest state in the US by land area.
- It is the 3rd largest city of the New England region - population 173,000 people (massive hey?)
- The largest employer in Providence is Rhode Island Hospital, followed by Brown University...and that is quite possibly all the interesting info I could find.
We actually took the train to Providence, about 1.5-2 hrs away from Boston. It was great sleeping on the train. And thank goodness for us, the weather was much warmer! Maybe about 5 degrees! Which was double the day before! Awesome!
Ok, so what exactly did we get up to?
- Visited the Rhode Island State House - It was pretty close to the station, so we thought we'd go take some photos of the grand marble building. We also went inside to have a look, security checks and all. It's actually a lovely building. Now here's an interesting fact - The dome of the state house is the 4th largest self-supporting dome in the world!! (The top 3 are St. Peter's Basilica, Minnesota State Capital & The Taj Mahal...not bad for little Providence!)
Rhode Island State House
The beautiful dome inside the RISH
Me inside the RISH
- Walked around Providence City - we took pictures of interesting buildings and sights...no idea about the significance or importance of them...as long as they caught our attention.
Drawings by Children in a walkway
Old Stone Bank
- Visited Brown University - yes I know, another Ivy League College, I do have a thing for them. Another beautiful campus!! Remember the mascots? Well, Brown have their bear! Not a cute cuddling one either!I bought a Brown Bear keyring for myself, it's very cute!
Pretty Hey?
Me at the Campus
My overexposed photo...oh well
Big 'Brown' Bear
Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) - Affiliated with Brown...
I think this was the Admin building or something like that.
- We ate a late lunch at a burger cafe around Brown (Thayer Street) - a very 1950s American style cafe. When in the US, I just never tire eating burgers, fries and a large coke!
- Browsed the shops of Thayer Street - if we were here during the semester time, I can imagine it being a vibrant and lively place. Lots of vintage shops, mixed in with unique restaurants and eateries. Would have bought some funky shoes if I had more money!
Random picture taken by PC...we didn't eat there though
- Watched Sunset from this hill somewhere...we got a bit lost trying to go back downtown, but ended up in the residential area and caught a glimpse of sunset over Providence City. Very pretty.
We left Providence once it was dark. It was an enjoyable trip, and as my brother continously reminded me, it was meant to be 'relaxing', which I have to say it was. We weren't rushing around anywhere to check out the 'must see' sights. We just walked around and looked at whatever took our fancy. Walked until it was dark...we weren't so conscious of time, something different for me, as I love to cover everything I possibly can whilst I am traveling (it makes sense...no?)
Some night photos:
This is apparently the 1st Baptist Church in America.
Once we got back to Boston, it was time for dinner, so we settled on some Chinese food at Chinatown. We ordered WAY too much food, but PC ate it all anyway! I wanted it to be a more special dinner since PCs birthday was coming up...and we'd all be missing out. (i.e he would have to be alone) But he insisted on being regular and low key about it. So regular Chinese food is what we ate!
Boston Chinatown
Day 13 Jan 5th
I took my last train trip in the US - to Logan International Airport to catch my United Airlines flight to San Francisco around midday. PC took me to the airport, and unlike last time, I moved fast enough not to experience waterworks again. I'm glad I took this trip to travel with my brother. Not sure when if ever, we'd have the opportunity to travel together again.
Bye Bye Boston - Pat's Street
Now this is the weird thing about flying - so I traveled backwards in time, as I was going to San Fran, only to travel forwards in time to get to Sydney...I lost almost 2 days due to the flying and time differences! The trip really ended when I arrived in Sydney Jan 7th (Monday) and went straight to work! I really did, and surprisingly, NO jetlag experienced!! Despite the length of that flight and the time differences. It really helps to NOT fall asleep once arriving...I definitely believe that now!
Well my whirlwind and rather expensive visit finally came to an end. I would love to visit this country again! NYC will always grab my attention, I can keep going back year after year and still find something attractive about it. There are so many regions that I am yet to discover in that country. The West, the South, North - Chicago, LA, Texas, Philly, Vermont, Georgia...so much more. At least I experienced some 'small town' charm, OK, Boston is not quite that small, but Providence was charming. Maybe Grad school 20xx here I come hey?
This is us with Maiko instead...Still she looks sweet and we're all colour co-ordinated in this pic!
This was the view from the ropeway...sometimes worse! 
Outside Matsumoto Castle
View from bus on the way to Takayama
One huge ancient door at Todaiji Temple
