Travel
Boston Sep 06
Boston has been on of the places in the US I have been wanting to check out forever!! To eat Boston buns, have a tea party etc .. you understand! So I again took the China Town Bus .. to Boston. This was a great run, only four hours there and Aaron and I were able to get on an earlier bus. Aaron was staying at a hostel and I went out and stayed at a Town House that was over 100 years old. Antique furniture a massive room and bed .. I felt like a Princess. The morning we met .. again in the rain (whats with this theme?!) and did a tour of Fenway Park.. which many of you will know it’s the home of the infamous Red Sox!!!! The tour was filled with interesting knowledge (including the fact the Babe Ruth was sold to the Yankees to fund a Broadway Production in Boston that failed!) and if it wasn’t raining we would have been able to head out onto the field.
After that we headed out to the Sam Adams Beer Factory. If anyone is heading to Boston I would highly highly recommend it!! It is FREE!!! .. although a donation is requested and the tour is so funny and you really do learn a lot about the beer company and respect where it came from and where it is going. At the end they give you a Sam Adams beer glass .. quite large for as far as free beer glasses go and they give you three different beers to try. So at the end we walked out very happy and I was still a little perplexed as to why the tour was free. That was until we headed over to Cheers, the pub that was an inspiration to one of Americas most loved TV shows. They didn’t know my name .. but when I went to order “I’ll have a Sam Adams thanks” .. very clever Sam Adams factory very clever!!! We ate there and then I move to another town house. We met up later and walked through Quincy Market and then headed to an Irish Bar to drink .. you guessed it more Sam Adams beer.
The morning I met up with a lady whom I had been assisting with her passport application. She as lived in Boston for about 40 years and took me to a Jewish Café for brunch. Thanks Adele! I then met up with Aaron again and we took a guided tour of the Freedom Trail. A walk that is marked through the city by one long continuous red line. He showed and explained to us the birth of America, the Tea Party (that wasn’t really a tea party at all), the sites and important markings of Boston. He took us most of the way and then Aaron and I headed off the rest of the trail. At about 5 I headed back for the China Town Bus and read all the way back to New York .. now waiting for my next trip ………. Any ideas or free accommodation guys!?!
Montreal Sep 06
The night after we learnt of Steve Irwin’s death (Crikey, RIP Steve) Aaron and I hopped on the train to Montreal, Canada. I think the train took about 9 hours… and it was a nice ride along the Hudson river watching the abundance of water, trees and little houses. We stayed at a hostel in Downtown Montreal. Montreal is so hard to describe. I felt like I was in America with everyone speaking French or in France with American shops .. and a few Canadian ones thrown in for size.
We explored picturesque old Montreal, happening Downtown Montreal, the massive underground city and quirky Latin quarter. People weren’t overly friendly, aside from the odd person here and there. We met some amazing travellers at the Hostel and went out on a Pub Crawl with them. Montreal has amazing nightlife and really is a large college town. We saw old gravestones (for which you needed a permit to take photos of), the Biosphere (of which there really is no point!), ate Putine (chips heaped with gravy and cheese curds ….yum!) and I actually tried to eat Indian again (it worked only for me to find butter chicken is not made in Indian restaurants in the US!).
The most amazing thing I saw in Montreal was a pair of Bathers. So special were these bikinis that they cost me $80. But they had my name on the butt!!! They were “Skye” Brand. A brand of swimwear in Montreal .. I knew my name would make it somewhere some day!!!
Once back when I was in Primary School my mum wouldn’t let me join in a Lantern Festival they were having at the Chinese New Year Festival .. because she claims it was too late … well I found the next best thing to help a 25 year old get over that pain .. the Chinese Lantern Festival in Montreal. It was in the Botanical gardens .. and the rain couldn’t impede my childlike wonder as I saw birds, dragons, little sailors, apples …. you name it lit up around the Chinese lantern garden. The only thing that would have made it better was to actually buy a lantern .. or maybe steal one! Mum I will still remember you when I look at a lantern but I think my memory is beginning to heal .. maybe a few more lantern festivals or two.
We also climbed up this great big mountain .. I forget the name of it .. but it was steep, pitch black required, some bush bashing (not the president the Aussies will know what I mean hehe) and we arrived at the most amazing site .. the view of the entirety of the city of Montreal lit up at night. It was beautiful. My camera didn’t take very good photos .. but I will try and post some of the ones that came out ok.
We took a day trip to Ottawa and I must say it was a little more impressive to me than Montreal. It is the capital of Canada and the centre of parliament. The people we so friendly and the little of what we saw was beautiful We strolled through parliament house, took in the river views from the top clock tower, walked down to the market and ate beaver tail (a flat doughnut covered in lemon, cinnamon and sugar). We didn’t have a lot of time but we did see the prime ministers house!
The last night I did my regular Ghost Tour and then met up with Dan and Aaron for our last few beers in Montreal. The train ride home was made all the funnier by Trudy .. my newest Scottish friend! I cant wait to come and see you in Scotland and see the real Skye!! A BIG thanks to Aaron, Dan, Johnno, Erica, Dwane and the two Canadians (who still haven’t added me to My Space) for an awesome time in Montreal.
Fire Island Aug 06
The next weekend was cloudy, rainy and overcast so Anne (my amazing roommate) said “Lets go to the beach!” .. might be a strange thing for some to hear that in the middle of a thunderstorm but I said ok! Anne’s work rent a house out there for the summer season and Fire Island is a very popular island for the summer period. See www.fireisland.com. The catch .. that Anne didn’t mention .. was it takes a subway ride, a train, a bus, a ferry and then a walk. We got to the house and relaxed .. until Anne spilt half a glass of red wine on me (the worst thing is she is reading over my should right now and didn’t even remember!) .. hehe .. so we decided to head to the Inn. There are two bars on the end of the island where we were .. the Inn and the Out. There is local ruling that you must under all costs start at the Inn and then the Out. We had a good time at the Inn and the Out and after trying to make ourselves breakfast we took the ferry, bus, train and subway home .. and were soaked by the time we got back to New York. Although I did buy an awesome book at Penn Station called The Other Boyelyn Girl – fantastic read if you are looking for something.
Washington DC Aug 06
Mick, Alex and I decided it was time I took myself down to Washington to meet the passport gang. I had been down to Washington DC back in 2004 but since then many of the passport officers had changed and in particular I had formed great friendships through conversations such as MICK: “Skye this photo is too big” ME: “Please please please accept it .. the client is really mean” MICK: “No we need another” ring ring “Mick from the Embassy needs another photo .. yes I know its unfair its all his fault”, so it was definitely time to meet them face to face!!!
I hopped on the $15 China town bus – and no it didn’t leave from China Town. After enduring the smelly bus (technology that allowed a toilet in the back of a bus certainly was not a good idea! Especially after 6.5 hours) and after my Ipod died an hour and a half later than my scheduled arrival I arrived in Washington DC… hey again the bus was $15 dollars and crossed 4 states why am I complaining?! I didn’t know what Alex or Mick looked like but as soon as I saw the two tall Aussie lads I knew it was them. After slow motion running towards each other, hugs, tears etc (they were very excited to meet me!) we headed to an Irish pub to watch the Rugby – Aus Vs NZ. Mick had a bit of trouble not telling his life story to the waiter, my ID went MIA (everywhere in Washington DC asks for ID) we then sat with beers to watch the game. A few other Aussie friends arrived and we had fun being loud Aussies watching a rugby game .. until we lost and the only two NZlders in the bar gave us smug smiles while we quietly went back to our beers.
That night I tried my first chilly at Bens Chilli Bowl. Yes right now you are immensely confused ‘Skye doesn’t eat chilli’ well ladies and gentlemen now I do!! I tried the chilli hot dog and the chilly cheese fries – well Mick was faster eating them than I was. We then went to catch up with Alex again at a usual bar of theirs.. well he “claims” he was there and we must have walked passed him .. we looked three times … and after being refused entry to a karaoke bar because we didn’t have US government ID or our passports we headed back to Maryland where Mick was house sitting. Pirate the dog became my friend for the night as he tried to hide from Mick who had found his half eaten sock!
We met Alex from brunch at a heavy metal vegan café! Alex was in heaven and was ready to move in – we had his bed spot picked out and everything! It was an awesome place, great rock gothic chic decor and the food was great! We then looked around some CD stores and then headed to the local Embassy drinking bar for a few beers to psych me up for the China Town bus home. Once on the bus .. and after my Ipod mysteriously deleted all its music I fell asleep to the dulcet tones of the Chinese bus driver swearing at the traffic. I woke up back in New York City … Thanks guys I miss you and cant wait for my next trip down – or my couch here is always free.. for the right price!!!
Port Washington – Long Island July 06
I spent another weekend out in Port Washington in July with Melissa and Dylan .. enjoying Lyns margaritas .. watching fireflies while a heard of racoons ran under our chairs … yeap one night we were sitting on the back porch and 5 racoons raced under our feet to get to the otherside!! We swam in the pool (Dylan was finally able to come in after his mediport was under his skin!! His smile was priceless), listened to music, relaxed, did a pub crawl of most of the pubs in Port Washington .. We apologise for the drunken Australian girls who were their that night we are sure you remember us!! We don’t remember you .. no offence caused but we do like your bar tenders!!!!Photos to come of all trips!!
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Charles Adams |
December 27, 2006 at 10:04 am
The mountain in Montreal is Mount Royal or the name of the city you were in.
You and I both spend too much time on the keyboard.
Cheers