Yay! Greetings from London! I am back from an amazing trip around New England, USA. As mentioned in my first blog entry on this trip, the day before I left, I planned during this journey to publish the blog entries of my travels when I got back home. On longer trips I normally publish as I travel - this trip was fairly long, but still a shorter trip, in which Id be aiming to spend most of my time packing lots of travelling into each day. I thus didnt think I would have time to write and publish as I go, and this certainly turned out to be true. Id say I was out each day for around 10 to 12 hours, so would indeed have had little time to write in the evenings when I got back to my Having said that, I did write notes on my adventures each day, and I will be using these to write up my blog entries now.
It was an absolutely incredible trip, one in which I simply loved each day, and felt that each day was just as good as the other. I cant really say
I had a best day, although I do think Cape Cod was my favourite place, simply as I felt I missed it when I left - that doesnt happen to me much, as Im usually just excited to see the next place. But the calm life down there, the peaceful landscapes, and being surrounded by coast and sea, all felt really special to me.
So, this is my first proper entry on this amazing trip, and I plan to publish six blog entries in total over weeks. This first one will recount my time in my first on the journey, the fantastic and attractive city of Boston. My flight out left Heathrow around 11am, and given that it takes me about 2 hours to get to Heathrow, and that it would be good in these times to check in early, I thought Id save the stress of the morning by booking a taxi to take me there, rather than use public transport. This was a good call. Although for the last two miles the M4 was reduced to a mere single lane, with very slow traffic, I still arrived three hours ahead of my flight.
I was glad I did. It took me around an hour to queue, as I needed to check in and drop my bag off. I couldnt check in online, and I also had to show extra documents at the desk, including my proof of vaccination, negative test and a US Travel Attestation form. This latter document I had printed and signed, and I had a at the desk when they told me I had to do it online. Fortunately I could do it there and then, and it only took about five minutes to do this. An hour to check in is quite a wait these days Id say, and I overheard another passenger on my plane saying it took her 2.5 hours to check in, and she nearly missed the flight. I think this is the current situation because many people are having to check in in person at the moment, and with all the extra document checks it takes longer.
After this, the flight was fine. There were a few spare seats, so I moved from my aisle seat with three people in it, to a seat right at the back with a spare
seat next to me - perfect! I watched Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters Afterlife during the 6.5 hour flight, and they were both just great for getting me into the American mood! Immigration went smoothly, and the immigration officer confirmed that with my US tourist visa Id be able to visit the USA as many times as Id like for the next eight years - great to hear, and thats what I certainly intend to do! My Boston metro route to my hotel involved taking the Silver Line which in fact turned out to be a bendy bus which goes underground rather than a metro train, and then the Red Line, a proper tube train, to my destination, Harvard Square. This was certainly a swanky part of town to be staying in, and I was fortuitous to be there. I had originally booked a of for a good price in a cheaper area not too far away, but they subsequently cancelled on me, and Booking.
Travelmates near
