The Longest Train Journey

Before getting on to the train experience, a shout-out to Lou Mitchell's Diner. Best breakfast in Chicago! And the exact start of route 66. We're gonna try and get to the destination in LA too, hopefully.

To get to our next stop in San Fransisco, we're taking the train all the way from Chicago. This takes fifty-one hours. It's a bloody long way. We just booked seats rather than a sleeper for money reasons, so it hasn't been a luxurious journey, but oh my days, the SCENERY.

Going through the Mid West, we take in the plains of Iowa, farmlands in Nebraska, the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, desert in Utah, more desert in Nevada and the Sierra Nevada and forests in California.

The train has a large windowed viewing car, making for beautiful photos. We saw the sunrise on both days and some stunning sunsets too.

Interesting people aboard this, what eventually becomes, little community on train tracks;

* a massive group of bona fide Amish people. Speaking Pennsylvania Dutch and dressed very Puritanically. So amazing to see in real life! ( they were all wearing Skechers trainers though...?!)

* a real douchebag, wannabe Republican senator. Generally mouthing off offending everyone by his loud phone calls and oily manner, not to mention his despicable views on things socially and politically. I had to angrily move out of the carriage he was in in order to get away

* the awesome snackbar attendant who interrupts tannoy announcements from the driver to constantly tell us when he's going on his breaks

* strange families bringing masses of blankets, cushions and cool bags, and the douchey dad who plays his mandolin, leaving the mum to chase after the kids

* the sassy-to-the-point-of-being-scary carriage lady

* a patronising hipster telling us what espresso bars are like in Italy and how to order a beer in the US and how he wants our trip to be.

* some nice people we chatted to over dinner, middle-aged couples, mostly

* that weird older guy in a hairy jumper telling some kids to call him 'Grandpa'

* the pretty Polish backpacker, meaning we are only the second most exotic foreigners on this train

The Windy City

Chicago is huge and sprawling and awesome.

We flew into Chicago, eventually arriving in Greektown, where we were staying. Greektown is exactly what you imagine, and as far as I am aware, pretty unique. I've never known of a Greektown before (please do let me know) Another tidbit; Chicago has the largest Polish population outside of Warsaw.

So, naturally, we had pizza for dinner that evening.

Famous Giadano's stuffed, deep dish pizza. Kind of a pizza pie. All of those things. And it was AMAZING.

Chicago's centre is really stunning, wide streets and skyscrapers, with the metro train two storeys up on old iron structures, winding through the streets above your head. It's a Metropolis and Gotham City. No wonder so many films are shot here.

We started our morning with an architecture boat tour, which was incredible. A very interesting architectural history has resulted in over 100 years of skyscraper buildings in many styles all lining the waterfront of the river and Lake Michigan. (which is mind-bogglingly HUGE, by the way)

We walked Chicago's magnificent mile, then visited the Hancock Tower. A very tall block with incredible views over the city and lake, and the air and boat show that just happened to be occurring during our visit.

Next, the Chicago Institute of Art, which has an amazing collection, and is somewhere I've always wanted to go.

On the recommendation of a cab driver we tried 'Chicago Mix' popcorn, mixing cheese and caramel popcorns together. It was...interesting. Nice for a handful, but really rich.

As Chicago is the place for blues, we hit up Buddy Guy's, Buddy's own blues bar serving up live music and soul food. The best act by far was Tommy McCracken, a guy that looked like a hobo Elvis, but sounded fantastic. He was in his 70s, and put all his passion and energy into a mreally memorable performance. Astounding!

Next day the fog had rolled into town for day, making the city very eerie, as all the skyscrapers disappeared above the 20th floor. Suddenly it seemed like a ghost town. We thought this would be a good day to go up the Willis Tower (Sears Tower) which was tallest in the USA for 23 years. Up on the 103rd floor, visibility was zero, but still really cool, everything was bright white. Here the have a glass box jutting out, which on a clear day would mean you see the street beneath your feet, through athree sheets of glass, over a hundred storeys below. SCARY STUFF. In the fog, it wasn't much less scary, as you could see the side of the building disappearing below you into cloud, accentuating the feeling of being just too high up.

We spent the rest of the day walking around the pretty parks, and visiting the Field Museum (Natural History and History) and the Shedd Aquarium.

Something to note in the US so far is the quality of the museums. They have consistently had the largest, most varied, quality collections, all curated to a high standard. A lot of money gets poured into these places, resulting in some great experiences. Although it gets confusing to navigate, as instead of areas being labelled logically, they are given names of private donors and companies that have invested their money. An upside of capitalism, I suppose.

We finished of our stay in Greektown with an "oopa!" by having dinner at a Greek place downtown. Really fun and tasty, but avoid Greek wine, friends.

Boston

Oh my days. After the foggy morning in Maine, the weather driving south didn't improve at all.

In fact, it got much, much worse.

After three or so hours driving in scary torrential rain, we stopped off at Maine's biggest mall for a brief respite (nothing to report there)

The weather got much, much worse.

In addition to the rain, which had got heavier, it was now windy and dark. US highways don't have any lights, so it was like pitch, and I couldn't see more than a few feet in front of me on account of the rain and spray. YIKES. In the end I simply followed other cars' tail-lights as I couldn't see any road markings, which was fun on the spaghetti-like roads into. V.    B.     Boston.

Next morning we had glorious weather. Perfect for gadding about a really great city.

We took a trolley tour all over the city, then proceeded to walk around it also. Taking in; Paul Revere's house, the balcony from which they first read the Declaration of Independence, the oldest working pub, North End (Italian Quarter), Newbury street and Boston Common. Among other pretty streets, cemeteries and squares.

Worth a mention was the Boston Tea Party Museum, which is not so much a museum as a re-enactment which gets all the visitors involved. Normally something I would run a mile from. (I add here that I wasn't aware before we went in and then it was too late) However, it was enjoyable and informative. Each person was a historical figure involved and given some info. Ultimately, only a few people had to do anything, mainly involving simply reading a card out loud. But it was interesting to have a look around an actual size replica ship, and throw some fake tea off the side.

The greatest end to a too-short Boston visit was going to the baseball. SO GREAT! We saw the Boston Red Sox vs the Houston Astros at Fenway Park, one of the oldest -and prettiest, IMHO - baseball stadia in America.

Turns out I love baseball!

It was easy to pick up, fun to watch and a really good atmosphere. The Red Sox weren't doing so well at first, but smashed it in the end, so we saw them win at home. They even played the cheesy, Victorian style baseball song!

"Let's all go to the ball game..."

I left my heart in Maine

After Salem we swung by Perkins Cove, in Ogenquit.

This place is small and quaint, and well-known for it's lobster. Obviously, we had to have it!

A whole lobster is plonked in front of you with all the tools. Luckily I had watched a how-to YouTube video, so I attacked it like a pro. Really delicious! If a bit of a faff.

We hit Portland pretty late, around 10pm or so. We still headed to the waterfront to have a look around, as we were leaving first thing next morning. A bigger town for these parts, with a lovely harbour and lots of cafes and restaurants and ice cream places. (Blimey, Mainers LOVE their homemade ice cream)

Next day we headed to Mount Desert Island, home to Acadia National Park. The drive is beautiful, looking a lot like Canada, which makes sense when you think about it. Lots of crystal lakes and pine trees.

We stopped off in Augusta for a leg-stretch, seeing as its the capital of Maine. Not only is it pretty small, but very run-down and near-empty. Most of the shops on Main St were boarded up, with no one about. Pretty desolate and sad. Home to a great club sandwich though, in a small locals' diner where the proprietoress was very chatty, with a strong Mayor Quimby-esque accent.

After a long drive we arrived on the island early evening and headed down to Bar Harbour. (bah habah in localspeak) A really lovely town, very picturesque. At low tide, twice a day, a sand bar emerges, creating a walkway between the town and a small forested island half a mile away. Great for some rockpooling.

The mountain on the island is a big one, and has spectacular views. We also then drove around the whole park, stopping off to see natural beaches, wildlife and so on.

Very early next morning we took a boat waaaay out into the ocean to go whale spotting. It was an incredibly foogy morning, you couldn't see one end of the harbour from the other! After an hour of sailing out in glacial waters it cleared up enough for us to spot thin-back whales and humpback whales. An incredible experience.

When back on land we needed to warm our bones, so clam chowder then on the road back to Massachusetts.

Salem, Massachusetts

Before I foray into Maine, a little post for Salem.

Our journey from Falmouth to Portland, Maine is a fairly long one, so we stopped off in the town of the famous witch trials.

As ever, we lucked out in arriving just as a re-enactment was about to take place. Puritans were wandering all over the place, then suddenly came together to cry the news of a newly found-out witch. We followed them to the court house where the pre-trial took place, seventeenth century style. It was really enjoyable and well-done. Not half as cheesy as I expected. People were encouraged to ask a lot of questions of each of the characters, so I can imagine it's a great school trip for kids.

Anyway, we took in the memorial to those that were killed as witches, went to some of the old houses that are still standing, and to the old harbour.

An interesting old town, in the oldest part of the States.

Naturally full of shops selling spell candles and whatnot. But also nice sweets.

Cape Cod

Something that happens when you're travelling to a billion places in one month, is losing track of what day it is, especially when you simply strategically book hostels through dates.

The reason I mention this now is that our next stop is Cape Cod. An extrememly popular destination, particularly in summer. Particularly in August. Particularly at the weekend. And particularly from New York, where the city is stifling.

Oh.

Trying to escape the mass exodus from the city, we take a very early train to Boston, then hire a car to get to the Cape Cod peninsular. Easy. Except when you hit a ten-mile traffic jam on the only road across the only bridge to where you're going. Dayum.

Still, Falmouth, where we're staying, is very beautiful. Very much like Cornwall round here, with pretty beaches, sleepy streets and quaint little shops selling taffy and seafood.

All the architecture is so very pretty. Wooden shingles and porches in pastel colours. You know, New England.

So, lovely seafood dinner, including oysters and swordfish, and a stroll in the balmy evening air. And of course a dip in the sea.

Next day we made a trip to Wood's Hole, which is very picturesque. Listened to some live jazz, drank some cocktails. Went to the beach for a bit.

In the late afternoon sun we hired bicycles to explore some of the seaside bike paths, stopping off halfway for lobster rolls and Washington wine (who knew, right? Really tasty too)

Finished off our couple of days rest with homemade ice cream from Falmouth's Main St.

Never spent a more idyllic couple of days!

Worth a mention is our motel. A proper throwback to the 50s, with original fixtures and fittings! So great.

Cape Cod is pretty touristy, however. It's very much worth a visit, but does feel a lot like the West of England, albeit with better weather.

NYC Chapter Three

Woke up at stupid o'clock to get to Central Park to queue for tickets for Shakespeare in the Park. Public theater have free tickets, but limited seating. Unfortunately we weren't early enough. The reviews for King Lear with Jonathan Lithgow had been published, so people had arrived BEFORE 7am, or even slept there overnight. We were close-ish, but failed.

So, we saw dinosaurs in the Natural History Museum instead. WOW. Another great museum!

After eating famous cheesecake (yum) we went to see the great deco lobby of the Chrysler building, and Grand Central Station. Both mind-blowingly beautiful.

After these past few days we were so knackered that we opted not to walk the miles long Central Park, but to take a carriage ride around it, which was great, especially since our driver/guide was not only a local New Yorker, but had a great voice and a face like Steve Buscemi.

Satisfying end to the first great city break.