The Big Apple!!

We arrived in New York about 8pm and headed straight for the hostel. A bit of a dive but it was clean and had a bed and more importantly...air con! We woke the next day and went down to Ground Zero to have a look at the progression of the construction of the Freedom Tower. The spire was added in May and externally looks pretty complete. Interestingly, it reaches a symbolic height of 1,776 feet, the year of their independence.

We got passes for the 9/11 memorial which are free and you get let in at certain times to avoid too much queuing. The memorial itself are two "Memorial Pools" which were built in the footprints of both towers. Inscribed along the outside are the names of all those that died in the tragedy. It looks beautiful and will be a lovely space once it is all completed, a must visit. 

 Next we had a few recommendations to walk the "High Line" in the Meat Packing District. It is the old train track that ran above the city and has now been turned into a walk way and garden. It runs from Gansevoort St (14th St) up to 30th Street in Chelsea. So nice to see New York from a different perspective, really chilled and we are so glad we did it!

Looking down onto the roads in the Meat Packing District below

Gardens on the High Line 

Street artwork...incredible version of the famous "Kissing the War goodbye" photograph.

That evening we decided to go to Time's Square for a cocktail and dinner. We went to the View bar, a revolving bar and restaurant about 50 stories up at the Marriott hotel in Time's Square. Incredible views and a cocktail...what's not to like?

View from "The View"

The following day we went to the "Top of the Rock" at the Rockafella Centre. Both me and Lisa have done the Empire State before so figured we do something different. Such a great experience, cool as there are 3 levels to it. Shame it was a little cloudy, but still great views.

Top of the Rock looking out to Central Park

After the Top of the Rock, we got the subway to Greenwich Village to have lunch and a mooch about. Such an awesome vibe in the West Village, a bit more chilled out and more boho. Booked on a Sex on the City tour of the city for the afternoon. Was great fun, the tour guide pointed out loads of places that featured in the series and films. Stopped at a couple of places, including a sex shop, designer shops and a bar!

Buddakan which featured in the first movie..this bar is where the "last single girl kiss" was filmed.

Finished the day off with a walk along the Hudson river and a meal at the Boat Basin. A bar/restaurant just next to the river with great views. Perfect end to a great two days in this amazing city. Off to the Rockies next and looking forward to the quiet and chilling out...cities are tiring...but fun!

Until next time...

Welcome to Boston!!

Took an early flight out of Toronto so landed in Boston at about 11am. Dropped our stuff at the hostel and headed straight into the city. We did the harbour walk, was such a beautiful, but boiling day!

Decided we were going to get a hop-on, hop-off bus tour for the next day so we went to check in at the hostel and get changed for dinner.









The following day, we got on our bus and did the 2.5 hour tour around the city to see where we wanted to go and what we wanted to do. We went to Quincy Market for lunch where I had a very unhealthy binge on mac n' cheese, not a good idea!

Included in our tour was the harbour Duck Splash that takes you round the Mystic River and gives you a really nice view of the Boston skyline.

We then took a stroll through the Boston Public Gardens which are beautiful and a great place to just chill out. As Boston was in the Stanley Cup Final (hockey) when we were there (they lost to Chicago Winterhawks), everything in the city was decked out in all things Bruins, including some famous monuments...

One of the little ducklings in the Boston Public Gardens

Statue of George Washington,again in the gardens

Later on that day we wanted to go and see the Boston memorial for the bomb that exploded earlier in the year. It went off on Boylston Street, just at the finishing line of the marathon. Quite an emotional experience.

Part of the memorial with the Fairmont Hotel in the background

The memorial is situated in Copley Place, beautiful square with the public library on one side and Trinity Church on the other. Just behind the church is the John Hancock tower which is the tallest building in Boston.






That evening, we went to watch the hockey at a cool restaurant and bar called Rock Bottom. It had a really cool atmosphere and it was a good game, despite Boston losing. We weren't too tired and were both in a giddy mood so we decided to go and see the Hangover Part 3...great laugh!

Another thing that was included in our tour was a river boat cruise along the Charles River. The river runs between Boston and Cambridge (where Harvard and MIT are situated).











We also did a tour of Cambridge and stopped off to have a look at Harvard. Lovely university and quite a nice atmosphere with people just reading and chilling in the garden.






That afternoon, we walked the Freedom Trail. A 3 mile trail where you follow at red line along the streets of Boston and you pass all the most historical places in the city. Boston was significant in America gaining their independence from us. The American Revolution started in Boston so it is filled with history and was really interesting.

Monument along the Freedom Trail that pays tribute to the first unit of the military that allowed African Americans to join. 

The State house

The donkey is the mascot of the Democratic party in the USA and the elephant is the mascot for the Republicans...see you learn something knew everyday.

The Holocaust memorial

The oldest pub in the USA

After the Freedom trail we went back to Little Italy and had a lovely meal for our last night in Boston. Our bus for New York the next day was at 3pm so we didn't have long. It was so hot the next day, almost 33 degrees! So we did as any Brit would do in that heat, sat in a pub! Wimbledon was on so we watched Nadal get beat while I was sipping on my $1.50 beer! A lovely way to end our trip to Boston.

Next...the Big Apple!! 

Toronto

Wednesday we finally got out to see the city! We went on a open top bus tour of the city in order to get our bearings, was so strange to be in a city and not actually see it as we'd be busy the two previous days. The tour was really interesting and a great way to get started. After the tour we went for an awesome lunch in Chinatown..excellent recommendation from the tour guide, at least he earned his tip! 

Dundas Square (Toronto's version of Time's Square)

We later just wandered round the town, taking in the sights and trying to get to know this city. The most notable thing was the amount of construction that was going on. Toronto is growing at an enormous rate with people from all over the world emigrating here. It is the most multicultural city in the world with 51% of it's population born overseas.

Parliament building (I think!)

The Royal Ontario Museum and the most controversial building in the city. It's a bit like Marmite, but I loved it.

 

Saw this guy as we were walking down the street. He really cracked us up, so we decided to go back and give him some money and get a photo with him. Honesty clearly is the best policy. He was telling us how so many people have their picture taken with him or people give him weed, crazy! Was really funny!

That evening we quickly ate then headed out to watch the Toronto Blue Jays (Baseball) at the Rogers Centre, next to the CN Tower. Over the course of the game we started to work out the rules and figured it was pretty much just like rounders! Picked up our tickets for only $11...bargain! Although the beer was the same price as the ticket, so it works out for them. 

Was a really cool atmosphere, although it is quite a long game, so we left just before it ended, Blue Jays had it in the bag anyway! Really embraced the tradition by getting a veggie dog outside! Hotdog carts are everywhere!

We got up early on our last day in Toronto and walked down to the water front where they were preparing for a Waterfront Festival celebrating the 200 year peace between Canada and the USA.

Tall ship in ready for the festival

Amazing blue skies over Lake Ontario

An example of all the construction work taking place...plus what a great sign!

I then (finally) met up with Carley (another friend I met in Bordeaux) for lunch, Lisa decided to stay back at the hostel to sort stuff out. Was so nice to see her and have a catch up. Trying to catch up on 3 years of living in an hour is not easy, but at least we managed to see each other!

Me and Carley

After lunch, Lisa and I went to have a look round some of the neighbourhoods that tourists don't tend to go and visit. Love getting more of a 'real' experience in a city and seeing other places rather than just the tourist spots. We walked through India town, Cabbagetown and ended in Little Greece! We seemed to be walking forever! 

Little Greece

For our last night in Toronto, we went up the CN Tower...the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere. Was even a little scary going up the the lift as it is glass looking out. We went at sunset so we could see both day and night..beautiful scenery.

Glass floor looking onto the aquarium, no there are no sharks waiting for us! Haha!

Gorgeous sunset

Enjoying a glass of cava in the rather expensive bar at the top of the CN Tower.

All in all, Toronto was lovely, disappointed I didn't manage to see Kiefer Sutherland even though he was in the city at the same time. Mind you asking to meet two celebs in one trip is a bit greedy, I guess Paul Walker will have to do! I would have preferred to have a little bit more time to see more of the city. For me it was quite busy and too much construction going on. 

Next up...an American adventure...Boston and New York! 

  

Wonderland, Niagara Falls and Niagara-on-the-Lake

Hi all,

Sunday 16th June we took a bus from Montreal down to Toronto, took almost 6 hours as Toronto traffic is awful! Anyway, found our hostel, went to the shop, ate and headed to bed. It was supposed to rain the next day so we decided to go to Wonderland - the Canadian version of Disneyworld. It turned out to be a lovely, hot day and was great as it was so quiet, the longest we queued was 10 minutes!

 It is a beautiful park with some really cool rides. Don't think many tourists are aware of Wonderland as it seemed to just be Canadians there.

Behemoth with a 230ft drop...not as big as Leviathian which was over a 300ft drop and the world's 5th biggest roller coaster.

Was a really cool day, and was nice to do something a bit different. We then met up with Sheila, a friend from back home. Went for dinner to the Salad King, an amazing (and cheap) Thai restaurant just off Dundas Square.

The following day, we went on a guided tour to Niagara Falls. Got picked up pretty early and got to Niagara mid morning. Started at the actual falls, then headed to Clifton Hill where you get a good view of the Falls and it is where the Maid of the Mist is situated.

Looking sexy heading on to the Maid of the Mist

Horseshoe Falls (Canadian side) with the Maid of Mist

After the Falls we went on to a gorgeous little town called Niagara-on-the-Lake, right in the heart of wine country! Such a cute little place, tour buses aren't allowed to drive through in order to keep it more peaceful.

Wine tasting at a vineyard outside of the town

A lovely end to a lovely day: cocktails with Lisa and Sheila sat outside overlooking Dundas Square.