catch up

god. feel like we've been to the other side of the moon as it's not been easy and/or cheap to get tinternet access since toronto. and that seems like such a long time ago. but now we've finally bit the bullet and paid through the nose for access i am quite amused by the surreal nature that people's comments have taken. it has made me laugh most heartily and also feel a bit smug as normal people are at work and that. well, apart from my dad who seems to be spending most of his time at work googling places i'm going to. ha! still, it's good to know that everything is normal at home.

so where have we been since toronto? niagara falls was the first stop. you're right, father, it does have an american and a canadian side. we knew this, having got the lonely planet guide for this place, but we didn't think to make a note of which side our accommodation was on when we booked it. this blunder only became apparent when on the greyhound and they started announcing all the stops, in the military fashion they have. we decided to get off at the canadian side and hope for the best. how rubbish are we at travelling?! however, it all had a happy ending when a taxi driver from oldham (?!) picked us up from the bus station and said he knew where we were staying and he would take us post haste. hurray. and it turned out we were staying in a proper american motel and everything which we enjoyed very much. we all imagined all the seedy shinanigans that would probably go on as they do in motels and laughed merrily. the place also had a swimming pool (albeit in some kind of car park area) so we had a lovely morning sunbathing, pretending we were on our hols.

but, most importantly, niagara falls! it was fab. you could hear the falls and almost smell them before you saw them. they weren't as tall as i'd imagined but they were still very impressive. such a massive amount of water and the speed! it was great walking down the hill and seeing bits of the falls through the trees before you saw the full thing. we had a canada dry ginger ale by the water (well when in rome...) and just watched it. there was a massive cloud of spray and multiple complete rainbows within the gorge. absolutely stunning. i felt so lucky to be there. we went on the 'maid of the mist' boat ride the next day which takes you right up to the spray and it's even more impressive from that viewpoint as the water is all above you. they give you a big blue plastic mac thing and then just steam into the spray. you can't even see straight ahead but you can make out the water falling on the sides of the horseshoe. it's like it is falling on top of you. i felt like a midget in a massive bath with water pouring over the sides, which probably isn't the most poetic thing i'll ever write but that's what it felt like. it proper made you feel alive!

and then the rest of niagara is like blackpool which is a bit mental. they have all the rides and flashing lights and madame taussaud's type places. it kind of pops the majesty-of-nature bubble you get from the falls. but it's not that bad. i had my first ever proper hotdog and an icecream. must start eating properly at some point...

and then we had the first of the traumatic greyhound journies, niagara to chicago. we'd researched on the internet and got up at the crack of dawn to get the 7.30am bus. however, some dickhead (sorry, mum, but there's no other word for him..) at the information desk told us that it was actually an 8.30am bus so we sat and read the paper etc. except that there was no bus at 8.30 and it turned out that this guy didn't have a clue what he was on about and we should have got the earlier bus. i can tell you that many choice names and methods of death were thought up for this guy. we were panicking because we had had to book the holiday inn in chicago cos there were no cheap options because the 'gay games' were going on and we didn't want to lose a shitload of dollars worth of accommodation by not getting there in time. however, again, it all ended okay as there was a later bus that strangely got us there at the time the earlier bus would have done, give or take the odd mad dash at various connection points. (and dad they don't announce that the time changes like they do on planes - i think they just presume that you're american and you already know that chicago is an hour behind. v strange).

the holiday inn was fab! luxury at last! an iron! a hairdryer! cleanliness! comfy beds and two pillows! plus it was right in the centre aswell. we loved chicago. went to a fab bar that al capone used to frequent and it was all smoky and dimly lit with a woman with a husky voice singing 'tea for two' and 'secret love' and other classics. it was really atmospheric. i felt like a 1920s film star. and then the next night we went to a piano bar that was just like the 'cheers' bar and even had a sam malone type barman aswell. everybody loved us cos we were english (they class you as 'english' out here and not 'british') and some guy even offered to buy us a drink from across the bar. it was marvellous.

i think chicago has everything. free concerts in the park, beaches (which were a great massage and exfoliator for the feet after a month of lugging heavy backpacks around), beautiful buildings (unlike much of new york) and excellent nightlife. we also had a go on the ferris wheel and went up the john hancocks tower. coolio.

we had a bizarre stopover in cleveland the other day. we decided that we couldn't do chicago-washington all in one go so picked cleveland, ohio, as somewhere in the middle. people on the bus thought we were a bit strange as apparently you only visit cleveland if you have business or relatives there. however, we were pleasantly surprised. it seemed very leeds-sized which was good for clearing the head and we had a great day buying cheap clothes and drinking beer. rach met some bloke in the hotel lift (we had to book a hotel again - argh! poverty!) who said he was in a band and that he was playing at a club just around the corner so we decided to go there and they turned out to be well funky. liquid soul, they were called and they were great.

and so now we're in washington d.c., arriving yesterday. it's very different to other american cities we've been to. no skyscrapers at all and instead very stately, elegant buildings. almost european. wide boulevard roads and a large expansive park. the white house is smaller than you think but capitol hill is impressive. the washington monument and the reflective pool that forrest gump jumped in shouting 'jenny' are brilliant places to sit and people watch. we've had a really good day today.

we couldn't get to philadelphia cos we couldn't find suitable accommodation. i'm thinking of doing a kamikaze 6 hour round coach trip in a day from washington to go have a look while we're here. we'll see what happens. i don't feel like i can leave america without running up those steps like rocky did.

we're also amending our other travel plans. rach and the dev decided on the way to washington that they really really really hate the greyhound so we're thinking of spending less time on the bus and more time in fewer places. i think it's cool that we can alter our plans like this. so we may now be heading for memphis next, just cos rach's dad loves elvis and we can send him psychic elvis vibes from graceland. what fun. god knows where we're going after that...

(mum- sorry i haven't emailed. the yahoo site seems to be down at the minute. i've bought a phonecard, however, so i'll try to give you a ring very soon).

rain in toronto

can you tell the hostel has free internet? i'm able to blog to my heart's content. hurrah.

so today it has mostly rained in toronto. not just shitty peter kay rain but full on out-of-a-bucket rain. it really does rain like it does in the films here. so anyway we abandoned the trip up the cn tower. it's okay cos we'll go up the sears one in chicago and we'll probably see toronto from there. instead, we did what any self-respecting north american would do and went to the mall. we got piss wet through walking there. i have possibly never been so drenched and it was only a few blocks. we wandered about drying off and rach and dever were very taken with old navy's selection of tshirts for dogs (?!).

we went to see the new superman film in imax this afternoon. it was dead exciting cos we got the 3D glasses and everything. it was all rather cheesy but the 3D bits were spectacular - and only for an extra quid. bargainous. we did manage to pick the row from hell, however, with a family of two children that both seemed to have tena lady problems. and at one point the mother seemed to be trying to set the cinema alight with a lighter. quite quite bizarre. but, all in all, a very pleasant isn't-it-great-not-being-at-work kind of afternoon.

thoughts on toronto

we have debated this question over beers this afternoon and it is unanimously agreed that half of the population of toronto are well-fit hotties and the other half are mentally unstable. it's that kind of place. there seems to be a lot of people talking to themselves in the streets near where we're staying. however, there was well-fit marco and dodgy dave this morning who sold us our touristy open-top bus tickets (we decided we couldn't be bothered finding out about toronto from leaflets and instead let it come to us). we haggled with them and got 15 dollars knocked off the price. we're being such students. we're even eating last night's takeaway from the fridge.

so we took the tour on the bus and they also threw in a free boat ride round the harbour aswell which was a most surreal experience. they insisted on blaring out music from a stereo so there we were sailing past a calm and tranquil bird sanctuary listening to 'hands up' and 'wouldn't it be nice'. i kid you not. but there was a nice view of the toronto skyline so that was alright then.

so we're thinking of heading up the cn tower tomorrow. apparently it's the tallest freestanding structure in the world, though i think they may be possibly lying. but it has a glass floor part which you can stand on and look down 1500 odd feet below you. not sure i'll be able to do that, given that i don't even walk on the subway grates on the pavement. i'm always afraid of falling through and landing on the tracks.

i googled it and the capital of canada is ottawa. this is what we thought but we had to change bus on the way from montreal to toronto in ottawa and there didn't seem to be anything there. how bizarre. though possibly they stick the bus station on the dodgy outskirts and are hiding all the national treasures from prying touristy eyes.

we're now assessing our options beyond niagara falls this weekend. we quite fancy chicago but are weighing up the possibility of a 17.5 hour bus journey. lordy lordy. we could always split it and stay in detroit but there's bugger all there and it may be best just to get on with it. we'll see.

clueless in toronto

okay, so we're now in toronto. however, it's all getting slightly tricky remembering not only what day it is (we don't have eastenders here - the universal indicator for which day of the week it is) but also where we are and where we're heading. we got up early(ish) for the bus today and rach was thoroughly stumped when boarding the bus and the bus driver asked us where we were getting off.

toronto appears to be very different to montreal. i had a wander to old montreal yesterday and it was absolutely beautiful. it was like being in some old french or italian town with narrow streets and an open square and lots of market stalls. we watched some of the world cup final in a bar. everyone was supporting france, what with it being french quebec, but then when italy won a load of italian supporters came out of the woodwork and it was great watching them all driving round town, hanging out of the windows with their flags and beeping their horns. a very different horn-blowing to new york. montreal is a very nice town. it's not at all polished in a touristy way. there are some grotty buildings and everything. but there's also some really beautiful bits and it just seems like a really cool, chilled out place. definitely one to visit, kids.

and so to toronto, which is much more of a metropolis than montreal. we've arrived but, given that none of us have bought the canada lonely planet, we don't really know what we're doing. zoe, what did ant do here? we've noticed a great big tower thus far but that's about it. i have set to work gathering leaflets about the place, in a dad-like fashion. in fact, i've found myself turning into my dad during this trip, what with map reading and researching places and trying to cater for everyone. is this what happens when left to ones own devices? do we all just morph into our parents eventually?

another question: what is the capital of canada? embarrassingly, we've all realised we don't actually know. we were debating it in an annoying fashion on the bus. we must have looked like right divs. not doing much for the reputation of brits abroad. oops. it was quite surreal when arriving into toronto, though. we went through whitby, scarborough, todmorden. it was just like being in britain anyway.

so we're going to have an early night tonight. we have the luxury of a tv in our room. i don't quite know how we've skanked that so we're going to make the most of it and just veg out. i think we shall just then have a wander about toronto tomorrow. we're here until thursday and then we move on to niagara falls until saturday. we've been dead organised and already booked it. apparently the place where we're staying is almost next to the falls so we shall have to be careful if we've had a drink. or else hope superman is about...

we've got another stamp in our passports

first of all, happy birthday sis.

today is saturday so we must be in montreal. had a slightly traumatic journey yesterday as the hostel guy was only going to be there for us to check in until 11pm but the US coach service proved itself as reliable as the British lot by having lots of delays and we didn't arrive in montreal until 11.20pm. we were having visions of having to pay for a night in a top hotel instead (and half wishing that we had to) but, as it turned out, pierre was still there and waiting for us, bless his soul.

we have found that things usually work our way. the other night we went for a proper meal in everett near boston where we were staying. it was a fab night. there area is heavily brazilian and so we went to one of the local restaurants and listened to nando and san tiago playing their chunes. they looked and sounded a bit like a brazilian version of savage garden but, as we were on our 'olidays, we didn't mind. they even did a request for us. but the hilarity turned to concern as we got back to the hostel and found that our key didn't work to let us back in. stressed we were, especially cos i needed a wee. we sent the dever up the fire escape to see if she could knock someone up but that didn't work. panic was about to set in but then, like an angel sent from god above, a man in his pyjamas appeared on the stair case and we knocked at him and he came to let us in. he was in a bit of a daze and, when we asked, he couldn't remember why he'd decided to come downstairs. i am certain we have a little guardian angel watching over us, sending men in pyjamas.

the stay in boston was rounded off by a delicious seafood meal. you all HAVE to go to the union oyster house. it's well touristy (it's on the freedom trail round boston) but with good reason cos it's so fantastic. i don't normally get excited about food but we all voted to have had the best meal we've ever had. (this, however, could also be due to the fact that we had already had 2 pints before the meal and hadn't eaten properly in what felt like weeks).

so we got the bus to canada yesterday. although 8 hours long, the journey went through beautiful countryside which made it a joy. the landscape in new hampshire and vermont reminded me of bolton abbey in the dales, though on a much larger scale. then there were blue mountains in the distance and occasionally it broke out into rivers with reeds in, just like in gentle ben. how fab.

we're loving the montreal aswell. we're staying in some boho area called mont-royal and it's chockablock with independent boutiques and bars. we're having to restrain ourselves a great deal but i've bought a lovely summery beach dress - a bargain at 15 quid. the place reminds us of a kind of larger version of headingley in leeds. we've just been sitting in the park and eating lots of fruit. shall be hitting the bars tonight, no doubt.

canada is currently winning in our which-country-out-of-america-and-canada-do-we-like-the-best stakes.

it's up to you...

new york. hmm. we weren't convinced.

it might be because we're not proper travellers (we had to empty our bags of at least three pairs of heels and three hundred other items of clothing whilst staying in london before getting on the plane cos we couldn't carry our backpacks). but, really, we were distressed by new york. i've never been to a city that assaults you as much - with sights, sounds and smells. you kept smelling various foodstuffs in various states of cooking, combined with piss. not nice. and then you ran the risk of death at every block as you crossed the road. and they keep beeping their bloody horns ALL ALL the time). what with all the stress of staying on the 7th floor of a hostel with its broken down lift and missing our mams, we weren't happy bunnies.

however, as we got used to it all and rach had phoned her grandad, we all began to feel better. i got used to navigating the subway map (dad, you would be proud). and we got used to the perpetual aggression in the air. we escaped occasionally to central park where you can get away from the traffic, though not the noise. constant constant noise.

we did touristy stuff like go up the empire state building. we went at night, however, which made manhattan actually look pretty. i think it's quite an ugly place. all the buildings are plastic and glass skyscrapers, with only the famous ones having any character. times square is spectacularly rubbish during the day. the best bit was taking the staten island ferry. it's free and it was cool, which made a lovely change. and then (yes Kathy) it started to rain. it was fab, though. whilst still on the ferry we saw the thunderstorm over new jersey, with flashes of lightening around the statue of liberty (which, incidentally, is midget). it was beautiful to watch. however, we did get caught in it when we got off the ferry and, good lord, when it rains it rains here. proper monsoon.

we also went to see the new york yankees play the atlanta braves in the bronx. we now know how to sing 'let's go yankees' and we know all the claps. however, we still have no idea how the game of baseball is played and were slightly surprised when it all ended. i thought it was still a draw but apparently the yankees won 4-3 .

we also got in to the museum of modern art for free. apparently they have free evenings on a friday and that was when we happened to go. it was at that point that i thought things might actually go in our favour sometimes so that cheered me up. we got to see lots of picasso, matisse, monet, lichenstein, etc, all for nowt. marvellous.

so we grew to like new york. i wouldn't like to stay there for long but you grow to appreciate the hustle and bustle and you learn not to spend too much time in midtown. we went to greenwich village to watch england vs portugal. a lovely place - a bit like some places in london. there were a million billion england supporters all crammed into the bar and there were some yanks there too doing their bit. the best bit was the american commentators. instead of motty we had 'david and marcello' commentating on the 'england nothing, portugal nothing' final score. rob from ohio then commiserated with us after the match and offered to take us to connecticut to see the play he was a stage hand on. (don't worry mams, we declined).

we were quite glad to leave new york in the end. we got the peter pan express to boston yesterday and here we are. boston's much much nicer. more laid back. people speak to you nicely and hold doors open for you. we've only heard one beep of the horn in the 24 hours we've been here. it's bliss. we've been paddling in the frog pond in the park, which is really for kids i suppose but what the hell. we've also been on a swan boat, which again i think is for kids but what the hell. we're also members of the boston public library now (and for the next 27 years) so we can get free internet access. yes, free. you don't get that in new york. we're now thinking of heading to the bar featured in 'cheers' before watching the boston pops rehearsal (for tomorrow's big independence day concert). whathisname from aerosmith is apparently going to be there.

we're staying in a small hotel just outside boston in a place called everett and apparently john lennon and jfk have both stayed there. both also died violent deaths so we're hoping it isn't contagious. but last night was nice sitting out on the porch of the hotel. it seemed much more like proper america in the suburbs. we also have luxury items in our room such as a bin and bath mats so we feel like kings.

we're planning to stay in boston until thursday but we haven't decided yet where to move on to. possibly montreal. will keep you updated as soon as i can.