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.