Goodbye New York, Hello Boston!

Leaving New York behind was in a sense leaving behind the last piece of familiarity. Now it was all uncharted territory for me. The adventure was about to get going for real.

My nervousness about missing my transport had kicked in as usual this morning and arriving at Penn Station I had over an hour to spare. This had been the moment I had dreamt of since departing New York back in 2003. I lost count of the number of times I would sit and think about just getting to the train station and going on somewhere else, anywhere else, just going, moving from place to place at my own free will. This was that moment. It felt as good as I'd always hoped it would be!

Maybe I was daydreaming about being here or maybe I just missed the announcement but in the end I made my train with just 4 minutes spare. Settled into a window seat, music plugged into my ears I was ready for the 4 or so hour trip to Beantown. The magic of New York just slaps you round the face as you leave, the skyline in all its glittering beauty! Its a sight that just reminds you what an incredible City New York is.


When I first came to New York I remember vividly the scene of seeing the City, seeing Manhattan for the first time as we were in the taxi from JFK to our hotel. I recall that moment in all its glory as I looked down upon a dazzling display of high rises, an immense City. The Big Apple.

Now here I was looking again, from a different angle, at the majesty of Manhattan. The sheer scale of it is something to behold. Once you're in it that feeling goes away. You're immersed within and cant gain the same perspective on it. I knew of course that New York is a one of a kind, that other places in the US are going to be different. Heck, it would be kind of dull if they were all the same, but still, it was a sad goodbye.

The journey upto Boston took us through Connecticut and Rhode Island before arriving in Massachusetts. The scenery along the way reminded me of Dawsons Creek. Little harbours, quaint towns set on the waterside. I wished I could have got out to see some of these places. I decided I'd love to drive up here and onto Maine one day but that would be a trip in itself!

Arriving in Boston I set about the arduous task of figuring out the Subway system. Should be easy you would think. I mean I lived in London for 6 years, I used the tube every day, how hard can it be? Lets just say that before you even Begin you have to figure out if you need a token or a paper ticket or both. They couldn't make it all the same could they!

Whilst I was busy at the machine trying to work it all out I bumped into non other than the Famous Scots. They, it seemed, had planned to go to Washington but couldn't find accommodation so instead were now in Boston. Where were they planning to stay? Oh yeah, the Prescott International Hostel, that'll be the same one as me then.

Only upon finding our way there did we realise just how far the place was away from town. I had originally planned on staying in the HI but they were fully booked so with a choice of just 2 other hostels left in Boston, that's why I was here. The place is a couple of subway lines and a bus journey away, only by chance did we actually get the right stop on the bus as well! That could have been a LOT worse as I would later find out!