Part 2: Adventures in the North East

Picking up where we left off, after a night in Brooklyn at Artie's house, we ventured out with his family to celebrate thanksgiving at Aunt Martha's house which is at least an hour away on Long Island.

Thanksgiving was fun, there were plenty of family members (it seems everyone we met was a cousin), plenty to drink and even more to eat.  I was quite dismayed to find that while there was sliced turkey, I didn't see the big bird in it's original cooked form, and there was no pumpkin pie in sight!  Needless to say I questioned Artie about why, when we had thanksgiving for him all those years ago, I was told I simply had to roast a WHOLE STUFFED turkey (turkey breast was not okay), and I had to have a pumpkin pie!  It was a great night, and we were asleep as soon as our head touched the pillow.

The next morning, Artie, Neil and I packed our bags and drove Artie's dad's car the six hours to Canada to visit our friends Jamey and Natasha in Kingston, Ontario.  Kingston had recently had a big dump of snow, so the streets looked beautiful peppered with piles of white snow.  We stayed four nights in Kingston, wandering town, walking trails of nature reserves and even visiting the beach.  Kingston is a quaint and pretty little town, where winters are well into the minus 20's!

After the long drive back, we spent another night at Artie's, before setting off to Manhattan first thing in the morning to catch a four hour BoltBus to Washington D.C.  These short (compared to some) bus rides are well worth the money.  You can find tickets for around $7 - $10 each, which includes luggage and (not so good) WiFi, compared to a train which is about $80 if you don't buy in advance.

We had a fantastic time in D.C, and only wish we had stayed longer!  Our Air BnB for four nights was in Dupont Circle, a very central neighbourhood with great restaurants, close to the subway and walking distance to plenty of museums, markets and of course the White House.  The streets are clean and lined with trees and the houses looked like NY brownstones crossed with San Francisco.

We visited  Smithsonian Museums including the Air and Space and Natural History Museums had a sobering walk through the Holocaust Museum and took an eye-opening tour of the National Gallery of Art.

We didn't get to catch up with Obama, but did see the White House from behind the guards and fence.  We saw groups of people taking tours, so asked the guards how we could arrange this too.  All we had to do was make a reservations through the Australian Embassy months before we arrived!  We also admired the Thomas Jefferson Memorial, Washington Memorial and the beautiful Capitol Hill.   We would love to return to Washington one day, there is so much more to see and do.

We then caught the Bolt Bus back to NYC and spent one night in Manhattan in a private room hostel.  We decided we would rather break up the bus trips than spend eight hours in one go, as the next morning we headed up to Boston, Massachusetts.

We have never been colder than when we were in Boston.  Most days were in the single minus degrees with a wind to chill our bones.  Despite this we walked around various neighborhoods, visited the art museum, took a walking tour of Harvard University, stopped in at coffee shops and book stores and wandered the farmers markets.  I played guide for a day directing us along the well-known Freedom Walking Trail through downtown Boston, Little Italy and the North End.  We bought a $3 map and guide, so I spent the day reading out the highlights to Neil as we approached various sites.

After five days in Boston, we rented a little car to see a bit more of New England.  We had high hopes of possibly skiing in Vermont or heading up to Maine, but instead we opted for the cheaper and more relaxing option.  Taking the advice of Neil's parents who have visited the region, we drove a couple of hours down to the picturesque town of Newport, Rhode Island and stayed in a lovely bed and breakfast near downtown.

Apart from a bit of snowfall on the first night (which had disappeared by morning), the weather was all blue skies.  We walked along the Cliff Walk, admiring the enormous mansions ('summer cottages') once owned by wealthy American families such as the Vanderbilt's and drove the popular Ocean Drive .  The wealth in Newport is certainly very obvious through the beautiful homes lining the streets.  There are plenty of nice places to eat and drink, and downtown is beautifully lit with Christmas lights.  We stumbled upon the outdoor ice-rink which was offering free admission and $5 shoe hire.  Neil had never been ice-skating in his life and apparently was never very good at roller blading so he was a bit nervous, but we both did very well - no falls!

 After two great nights in Newport, we drove another two and a half hours to Barnstable in Cape Cod.  We stayed in a lovely suburban Air BnB for two nights, which was nestled in among the trees, and took a long drive up the Cape Cod peninsula to Provincetown at the tip.  It was a bit of a ghost town as it's winter, although there where cars lining the streets.  We managed to find a great spot for lunch before we began window shopping and walking along the beach.  It was of course cold and windy but beautiful nonetheless - we can see why it's buzzing in summer time.  

We then headed back to Boston early Thursday morning to return the rental car and catch our final bus back to New York.  All this went off without a hitch and the next minute we arrived at our accommodation for the next 18 nights in Brooklyn NY.  We are staying in a wonderful apartment in Bedford Stuyvesant/Clinton Hill area.  Bed Stuy as its called is an 'up and coming' neighbourhood of Brooklyn, one which a few years ago no one would recommend you stay.  We are right on the cusp of Bed Stuy and Clinton Hill (considered a nice area), so are surrounded by a few coffee shops, nice grocery stores and beautiful brownstone houses.  We are fairly close to the subway line, taking only 15 minutes or so to get to Manhattan.

Jamey and Natasha made the big drive from Canada with two of their friends to visit for a couple of nights when we arrived, so we all headed out and about to various bars, restaurants and shops.  We were even lucky enough to receive a dump of snow while they were here!  Neil and I got up early to get out before the cars and footprints turned it into dirty sludge.  It was lovely - although two days later you would never know it had snowed.

I am certainly amazed at how enormous New York City is.  Brooklyn alone is giant and once you reach Manhattan there are people everywhere, sirens call, strange smells are abundant, and looking down the main streets, it looks like they are falling off the edge of the Earth.  It is certainly impressive, but at the same time I find myself longing for the clear night sky, the gigantic mountains of the Rockies, quietly cycling in awe through the Arizona desert, staring up at the cliffs of Yosemite and packing all our panniers into bear boxes before going to sleep.  It is so nice to flick the switch and heat the house, hop into a bed and watch movies with the projector, or watch Robi the robot vacuum do his work, but I do miss our pride and joy - the tent, pumping up our mattresses night after night, sleeping on a little foam pillow and making creative meals with a little gas stove.

It's less than two weeks before we come home, and while we have a long list of things to do in this colossal city, we occassionally find it hard to leave our comfortable and spacious apartment.  Perhaps it's the cold, or maybe the novelty of staying in one place with everything we need.  Whatever it is, we are excited to be going home to see our families and friends.  Will post again before we get back to Brisbane - Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!