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Oz Reunion USA TripOz Reunion USA Trip
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A 11-day adventure by Little Edge Read more
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  • TravelerOz Reunion USA Trip
    Day 1

    Not long to go...

    August 17, 2017 in England ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    Wow, so it has been nearly 12 months since I set off to Australia on a trip of a lifetime! To think that nearly a year later I would be getting ready to head off to the USA to meet up with the friends that I made on that trip... where life can take you! I've decided to do this blog after the one I did for Oz, now I can't promise it'll be interesting or that it'll work as I'm using a new app but all I can promise is that I'll give it a go!
    Let's see how it goes...
    Love & hugs x    Read more

  • TravelerOz Reunion USA Trip
    Day 3

    Manchester airport

    August 19, 2017 in England ⋅ 🌧 14 °C

    Hello,

    So yesterday I checked in online for my flight ready for today, to my horror I got given a window seat. For anyone who travels on their own and especially for a long haul flight will understand my concern. When I got to the airport this morning I smiled nicely and managed to get my seat swapped to a an aisle seat 😀 Happy girl. As I'm travelling with Thomas Cook this time they'll be no wi-if in fact there is no seat back entertainment, just old school. I was spoilt with Emirates to Oz. In fairness I normally fall asleep or just listen to my music anyway.

    Just at Manchester Airport have eaten my 2nd breakfast of the day, fresh fruit and orange juice... no toast! While trying to juggle everything I accidentally spilt the juice on the bottom of my t-shirt and jeans!? Luckily neither are white though I didn't move for a bit in case it looked like I'd wet myself...

    Don't worry team I've got my travel bra on 😉

    Just waiting for my gate, Boston here I come! Update on the other side...

    Love & big hugs,
    x    Read more

  • TravelerOz Reunion USA Trip
    Day 3

    I'm in USA

    August 19, 2017 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 21 °C

    Hi,

    So I'm in the USA!!!

    After all the issues with my seat I get on the plane to realise it was a 2-4-2 (A330 Dad & Paula!) so it really wouldn't of mattered. Haha! 😂 Our flight got slightly delayed as x2 people were no shows. I was sat next to a girl from Virginia though who was really nice and quite well travelled we had a good chat comparing USA and U.K. The flight was ok, was surprised to get a free bottle of water when we got on the plane. Landed in to Boston only 5 minutes later than planned.

    I finally got through immigration and got my case, to x2 lovely smiley familiar faces greeting me 💕 We got a taxi to the hotel which is stunning, like a boutique hotel I guess. Although my room really is tiny!! We had a quick freshen up then headed to the Italian area of Boston for food. Before our meal we went for a walk around the area and stumbled across a street market, it was fun, lots of fish and naughty treats but resisted. The meal was nice but it was hard to eat as due to the time difference it felt like I was trying to eat it gone midnight!! On the way back to the hotel I bought some English Tea teabags as I forgot to pack some and coffee or Green Tea just isn't going to work for my morning kickstart 😀

    The walls are that thin in this hotel that I could hear the Spanish guy next door on his phone... and the guy he was talking to!!! I thought they were in the corridor talking...

    Right off to sleep as my eyes are closing as I write, made it to 10pm though which was my goal, been a long day.

    Love & hugs
    x    Read more

  • TravelerOz Reunion USA Trip
    Day 4

    1st full day in Boston

    August 20, 2017 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 20 °C

    Today didn't start great, so just to prove how thin the walls are in this hotel I got woken up at 5am by the Spanish couple next door having very noisy sex, this was even though I had ear plugs in!?! I wasn't impressed, with the fact it woke me up and that it went on for 40 minutes!!! Really didn't help the jet lag. After a lovely warm shower, which by the way was in a bath with a shower curtain, not seen one of those in a long time! The shower curtain felt like the curtain around a hospital bed. I was drying my hair and realised that in my rush I had packed my UK hair straighteners and not my US hair straighteners... surprise surprise they wouldn't work 😔 I apologise for the photos in advance, humidity plus my hair!?! Not good.

    Today was a really busy sightseeing, cultural and US history day. We left our hotel & headed to the public gardens, saw some lovely bits, the Make Way for the Ducklings sculpture, then meandered through the Boston Common, saw the Frog Pond, then we followed the Freedom Trail, saw the tombstones of Ben Franklin and John Hancock, the Boston Globe office building, had a pip stop at Beantown Pub which was a coffee bar/bar. We then followed the Freedom Trail to Quincy market, Faneuil Hall Market including the Great Hall, the Old State House where the Boston Massacre happened, before ending up at the beautiful harbour front. It was so nice just watching the world go by, seeing all the expensive boats and enjoying the sun.

    After a break we then went on the subway, (yes we used the Boston subway!) it was really busy as the Red Sox were playing the Yankees at home, I checked after and they won. At one point on the subway it was like the Valley of the arm pit, I'm really not at a good height level!?! We did x2 connections on the subway before we ended up at the Museum Of Fine Art. Now I'm not going to pretend to be an expert on art but there were some amazing pieces, the place is HUGE! My personal favourite is Monet. We didn't even manage to see it all, there were 3 floors including a real good mix.

    After the subway and all the walking we headed to the hotel via taxi, went back to our respective rooms to chill before meeting in the hotel lobby for cocktails in the 'library', followed by dinner in the hotel restaurant/bar. When I got back to my room after the day they hadn't replaced my used coffee cups or creamer/stirer kit, this hotel really doesn't like me! 😜

    The day ended on a high, I got coffee cups, loads of packets of creamer/stirrers and a pair of pink mini travel US straightening irons, I'm easily pleased. 😀

    Another action packed day tomorrow, Cheers Bar, Salem and the eclipse!

    Love & hugs
    x    Read more

  • TravelerOz Reunion USA Trip
    Day 5

    Downtown Boston

    August 21, 2017 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 23 °C

    Hi,

    So my Spanish neighbours appeared to of checked out, got a good night sleep. 😀

    Today was a day of 2 halves, Downtown Boston and Salem. The weather today was hot and sunny about 87' and high humidity. We started off the day by going passed the 'Cheers' bar which was cool, before following the Freedom trail looking for somewhere to eat breakfast (favourite meal of the day!) In the end we asked a bus tour guide for a recommendation, she suggested a place called Anthony's, she said 'its hot pink you won't miss', it's where all the locals go! She was right, it was great, good food , small but really reasonable, everyone was saying 'Hi Tony' felt like I was in Cheers!!!

    We spent an hour or so walking down by the harbour before getting the ferry to Salem...

    This is part 1 as I can only upload x6 photos per entry using this new app so this is going to be a 2 parter 😂

    Love & hugs
    x    Read more

  • TravelerOz Reunion USA Trip
    Day 5

    Salem

    August 21, 2017 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 22 °C

    The ferry over to Salem from Boston takes about an hour and it was a good crossing, leaving Boston Harbour gave us some beautiful views of the Boston skyline. The crossing wasn't too choppy but had taken travel sickness just incase.... once the speed kicked up it did get cold though, wind swept hair etc.

    Once we got to Salem we jumped on the Hop On, Hop Off trolley that takes you around the village, we had an hilarious driver and guide, they had some really good banter. The first place we got off was the House of The 7 Gables to do the guided tour. Now I've never read the book so didn't know a lot about it but it was very interesting. We had a tour of the house and Captain Hawthorne's house too.

    Now there has been a lot mentioned since I got here about an Eclipse happening today which just so happened to include Boston, a once a hundred years opportunity. Anyone who knows me well my will know I love anything to do with space etc. As a surprise my friend had previously provided us with the Eclipse glasses so we stood outside after the tour in the gardens by the waters edge and watched. Now because of where we were it wasn't a full eclipse and didn't go dark etc but it was still pretty cool.

    We got back on the Salem trolley tour and stayed on and did the full loop while they pointed out interesting things ,we didn't have the same driver/guide combo so not quite as good but informative, included the guy who invented Monopoly lived on Salem and Alexander Graham Bell made the first phone call from there to The Boston Globe newspaper! We got off and had food at a seafood restaurant overlooking the water, food was really good and all the staff had quirky t-shirts on, 'want to see my mussels?' We walked back to the ferry port via the ice cream shop, obviously it would of been rude not to, I had M&M and chocolate flavour, yum.

    While waiting for the ferry, the last one of the day at 7pm, we chatted to 2 Irish girls who were also visiting Boston from Dublin but had done a lot of travelling to. The ferry back we sat inside due to the cold winds but the doors were open, the sun was setting and I managed to get some gorgeous photos again of the Boston skyline as we came back into port.

    We walked back through the shopping/market area, it was quite busy with people eating and drinking, a good atmosphere, before we got a taxi back to the hotel. We had a sit in the drinks area, look around the gift shop before heading up to our rooms. Ironically I managed to catch an episode of Mom that I'd missed at home from the most recent series, it's a US comedy show, which was great. The ITV Hub at home really is rubbish!

    Anyway it's been a long day but lots seen, let's see what tomorrow brings...

    Love & hugs
    x    Read more

  • TravelerOz Reunion USA Trip
    Day 6

    Boston Harvard University

    August 22, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    Hi All,

    So today was a very hot day! Expecting 90' heat so I dressed appropriately, t-shirt and denim hot pants but taking a hoodie for the air conditioning parts. While getting ready I had the TV on in the background with the news, weather etc when an advert came on for... We Buy Ugly Houses. com!! 😂 If I had to sell my house through that I wouldn't know whether to be relieved or offended!?! Really tickled me though...

    It was an early start but a leisurely breakfast in the hotel before getting on the Subway to Harvard University, no surprise surprise I'm not going there but it was really interesting to see. Now I had no idea how big Harvard is, it's like a city, it's got its own fire department, police, cathedral, shops, it is HUGE!!! We didn't go on a guided tour instead preferring to wonder round ourselves, however it was an extra unique experience as it was, I'll say Freshers Week as I'm not sure what they call it here. It was like being in a movie! They were all moving into their dorms with their parents and families with them and the tents were all up in the grounds for orientation etc. I loved it!

    After Harvard we jumped back on to the subway to see the Science Museum, I love a good science museum, however we thought it was holidays here but there were children everywhere!!! Now if you know me well or read my travel blog from Oz last year you'll know how I feel about children... in fairness it probably was more tailored for children but there were some really good bits like the Mental Health exhibition, the human body exhibit and current popular technical devises and how they have evolved, in this section there was even one of the original DeLorean cars from the film Back To The Future III!!! So cool, there were only 7 made. Yes Paula Griffiths and fam, I took a photo! There was also other memorabilia like hover boards and Doc Browns controller for the DeLorean.

    After the museum we got back on the subway to the Mary Baker Eddy Library and went to see the Mapparium, its a beautiful glass sphere a globe of the earth inside it which you go into and they give you a talk and presentation on it. We then went next door into the church, we only had a quick look round as we had to get back to the hotel so 1 of our party could get a taxi to the airport to fly home. And then there were 2!

    Part 2 of the day to follow...

    Love & hugs
    x    Read more

  • TravelerOz Reunion USA Trip
    Day 7

    Boston Plaza

    August 23, 2017 in the United States ⋅ 🌧 23 °C

    Hi,

    So after we said bye to Elan and she headed off to the airport from the hotel in her taxi to catch her flight home, we went and had a meal and drink in the hotel in some nice air conditioning after the heat outside, yes you just saw me say I stayed in the air conditioning Team 😉 We were just finishing up when the fire alarm went off, this involved a horn sound, blue lights flashing through the hotel and a mans voice coming over saying 'an emergency has been detected within the hotel, please stay where you are and the fire department are on their way' several times. We were sitting in the lobby and could see members of hotel staff in their high-vis jackets directing people away from the lifts however you could still see people complaining that they couldn't go to their room!?! I was especially disappointed to hear a member of airline cabin crew complaining loudly on how ridiculous she thought it was, surely she would of preferred to be safe!!! A lot of cabin crew appear to stay at this hotel. I could of got up and helped with my fire marshal sash and badge eh Team 😉 Anyway the fire department turned up within minutes, at least x3 fire engines with their red lights going. I was hoping to see some cute fire fighters however I didn't see any in the hotel but I did see one laughing at me from his truck as he caught me taking a photo (of the truck, not specifically him!) 😂 It was all over within maybe 15 minutes and another announcement came over saying 'The fire department have found the cause of the alarm and it is now safe'. Better to be safe.

    We had noticed that there was a new Starbucks open in our hotel but hadn't managed to find it so once it was safe we went and found it, good location to get a window table and watch the world go by. After that we went back to our rooms to relax and chill before we went out again, the heat and humidity really hits you when you step outside.

    So as it was our last night in Boston we decided to head to the restaurant Legal Seafoods, can't go to Boston and not go to a seafood place, which it turned out was very close to our hotel. We ordered cocktails, it had to be done, it tasted like a stronger, slightly more fruity pina colada 👍🏻 My friends food turned up and I have never seen such a huge plate of seafood, they love to give you big food portions here, I guess it is value for money. I was glad it wasn't mine, I'd still of been eating it 😂

    Right time for some zzzz's, along day tomorrow as we will be heading down to New York City on the train and picking up another for the 'Oz Reunion Tour 2017!'

    Love & hugs
    x    Read more

  • TravelerOz Reunion USA Trip
    Day 7

    Boston to New York, train day!

    August 23, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    Hi,

    As it was a travel day today and we left Boston to head to New York I just wanted to mention how laid back and pretty Boston city is, so much history. We were also very close to the airport, some people would especially love it, Mum and Dad 😉

    Had a bit of a lie in today, got up and packed. Met in the hotel lobby and went to Starbucks in the hotel for breakfast, think the guy doing the drinks was so excited that someone had actually ordered an English breakfast tea that in his excitement he lifted the coffee cup up and spilt some of it on my hand, I was absolutely fine but he ran over to check on me, was probably worried I was going to sue him!?!

    I was appropriately dressed today for the train, full length jeans and hoodie, just in case with air conditioning. We spent an hour or so sat on a bench in the Boston public park which is close by the hotel just people watching and soaking up the atmosphere before checking out of the hotel and getting a taxi to the Amtrak train station at Back Bay, although none of the taxi's really wanted to take us as they all wanted the big $50 fares to the airport so we did get told no by 1 guy, rude. Anyway while we were sat waiting for the train we had a slight panic as a guy asked a girl waiting for the train if this track was the 1 where the New York train came in and she said no and gave him different directions, then the train to New York (final destination Washington, Acela Express 2165) turned up and he missed it!?! 😮 She felt awful as she thought only commuter trains went through that side. Luckily we hadn't listened to her. However it was odd, there were no announcements to say which train was coming or anything so it was confusing.

    We were sat in business class, ohh get us!!! The train had wi-fi but I was right, it was cold ❄️ At times the train was also very bumpy and I was particularly concerned when I went to the toilet and thought the door might fling open at any moment as the latch certainly didn't appear secure. I did however see the back of a few Office Depots and Walmarts on the way out of Boston, beautiful views 😜 but as you went further out it was good to see outside of the big cities (although I love them) and see some of the countryside, New England really is beautiful. The houses are so pretty and quaint, all different looks and shapes but very 'white picket fence'. Picturesque lakes and rivers, things we wouldn't of got to see if we hadn't taken the train.

    I was really excited as the train stopped in Rhode Island and Connecticut which although I've done over 40 states of the USA are x2 states I've never been to before! 😀 So I could add them to my list, Rhode Island especially as it's the smallest state in the USA.

    I'll be honest I've never knowingly been on a train with 3 lanes being used before, where there is 1 going the same way as you and is next to you and 1 on other side going the opposite direction to you so when you look out of the windows on both sides you can just see trains 😂 The train wasn't exactly Some Like It Hot and the snack cart wasn't exactly White Christmas but I really enjoyed the experience, although it did briefly break down for maybe 15 minutes, of course it's me, something to do with an overhead cable so they had to check it. However we still pulled into Penn Station, New York City within 4 hours.

    Part 2 to follow...

    Love & big hugs
    x    Read more

  • TravelerOz Reunion USA Trip
    Day 8

    New York City Times Square

    August 24, 2017 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 17 °C

    Hi,

    So we arrived into New York City, the Big Apple! You immediately noticed the change in pace, even in the train station. Even though I've been here x3 times before it still took a bit of adjusting to initially.

    The taxi ride from the train station to the hotel which is just off Times Square was scary, I'd forgotten what it's like, taxi's coming at you from every direction with all the horns beeping and masses of people walking in front of you, how cars don't hit more people I'll never know!?! You could say it was 4.30pm an commuter traffic but that is just New York! 😀

    We checked in to the hotel, quickly dropped off our things and met in the hotel lobby to be greeted by a new familiar friendly face 💕 we are 3 again.

    We headed out into the craziness to get some food, walked passed some well known tourist attractions and ended up in TGI Fridays where we caught up and made some plans for the next few days. On the way back to the hotel we stopped at a pharmacy to pick up supplies of snacks and drinks etc.

    Back at the hotel we got some tickets from the hotel concierge for the Hop On Hop Off bus plus attractions, let the sightseeing properly begin tomorrow... 🗽

    Love and hugs
    x    Read more

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