Day 10 : Hyannis

Today we had a lazy day exploring Hyannis. After a bit of an adventure picking up some supplies from Trader Joes (supermarket) for the next few days in the hostel, we headed to the beach for a read and a swim. The beach is nice but no more so than the Costa Blanca. The whole area feels like a cross between the Norfolk broads, Plymouth and the mid-east coast of Spain!

The hostel is very nice - it is a newly converted seaside house that was donated by a local, so is well kitted out and very clean, although we have to sleep in dorm bunks as that's all they had left. It's also relatively expensive - next weekend we're staying in the Marriott in Boston (albeit with a friends of employee discount) and it's cheaper than this hostel!

Day 9 : Montreal to Hyannis, Cape Cod

A long travelling day today. We caught the 0800 greyhound from Montreal and arrived in Boston at 1830 (2 hours late). We then caught another bus to Hyannis in Cape Cod, which took another 90 minutes. Hyannis is warm and misty. Hostel is nice and managed to book an extra night on Friday, so will probably head to Boston on Saturday before meeting Kieran on Sunday afternoon.

Thomas en Quebec...

Day 8 : Quebec

Denis and Manon kindly took us to Quebec today – 300km each way from Longueuil! Before we got to the city, we visited Montmortency Falls – a spectacular waterfall into the St Lawrence river. It’s a scorching hot day today, so it’s hard to believe that the waterfall freezes in the winter.

We then wandered around the old town of Quebec for a few hours. I have vague memories of this from last time I went to Quebec on a brass band tour when I was about 14. That time, it was February, and so everything was frozen or covered in thick snow, so it was quite different now.

In the evening we saw Louise’s grandparents again as we are leaving tomorrow. After just 3 days here our French has improved a lot (Louise speaking, and my understanding) although Louise’s cousins speak excellent English so can bail us out when we get stuck!

In the morning we have another early start to catch the Greyhound to Boston and then on to Hyannis in Cape Cod.

Day 7 : Eggsquise

After last night’s club, we stayed with Jonathan and Elisabeth at their apartment. There were a few sore heads, so we went out to breakfast at Eggsquise. Breakfast was a mix of pancakes, eggs, bacon and toast, but Louise had to take hers home in a doggy bag due to a poorly stomach.

In the afternoon we booked our accommodation for Tuesday night: we’re going to Cape Cod! Unfortunately, it’s proving challenging to find somewhere to stay on the weekend because the Monday is an American public holiday.

We visited Melissa and André’s new apartment before dinner in the evening at Denis and Manon's house with some of the family. Tomorrow is an early start for a day trip to Quebec.

Day 6 : Family reunion

This morning we visited my grandparents with Denis and Manon (the first time I’ve seen them in 10 years!). We managed to get them set up on Skype so they could see their great-granddaughter, Ella. In the afternoon, we booked our travel back to the US for Tuesday via Greyhound, but haven’t decided what to do when we get there.

In the evening, we went out for dinner at Le St Mark in old Longueuil and we met my other Aunt and Uncle and cousins some of which I had not seen since I was 6 years old. We ate some poutine (chips, gravy and cheese) as I was informed I liked this when I visited last time 22 years ago. We did some swapping of shoes in preparation for going to a club as the neatest shoes I have are my old plastic watermelon flip-flops.

After this we went into Montreal to watch the St Jean Baptiste fireworks with Jonathan and Elizabeth. Our original plan was to go to a club, but we were thwarted by road closures due to the jazz festival, so decided to head there instead. We had some wine and soaked up the atmosphere of the festival (although the free music had finished by this time) and then went on to a different club.

Day 5 : New York to Longueuil, Montreal

We left Amalia’s early to catch the Amtrak train to Montreal. The boarding process seemed a bit haphazard but once on, we were pleasantly surprised by the large seats and footrests – much nicer than you get on UK trains, even in first class.

The train was slow, but the scenery was nice so we didn’t mind. We stopped at the Canadian border for an hour and a half and so arrived in Montreal an hour late, where Denis and Manon (Louise’s uncle and aunt) were waiting for us. It is a national holiday in Montreal today (to celebrate St. Jean-Baptiste) and despite the heavy rain, there are lots of people out in town. It is also the first day of the Jazz festival and hopefully we'll get to see some of it in the next few days…

Day 4 : The Met and Central Park

Following two hectic days of sightseeing and some very tired legs, we resolved to spend a relaxed afternoon at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. You could easily spend several days just browsing at the museum, but we concentrated on the special exhibitions; one showcasing Alexander McQueen and another on Italian-American lutherie (guitar making – it was much more interesting than it sounds!).
After the Met, we walked through central park and enjoyed a (somewhat pricey) beer at the Boathouse before heading back to our nest in Brooklyn. Tomorrow is a travelling day; an 11 hour train journey to Montreal awaits us in the morning…

Day 3 : Views from above

Today we walked the "high line" which is a footpath and gardens built on an old overhead railway; it is inspired. It was drizzling as we walked which was a lovely break from the heat. Times square is really cool and just like in the films. We went up the Rockafeller centre to take in all the views from the 72nd floor.

Every other person in New York seems to have a dog which is cool, I also like the number of free "rest rooms" there are and also the frequency of drinking fountains.

After meeting Vicky for some drinks in union square we went to "The Fat Radish" which is my riding instructor's nephew's restaurant. We had gorgeous food plus some duck terrine and  beers compliments of the chef, before meeting Ben the nephew. Aunty Sally will be pleased!

P.S. I had my first real pretzel it was yum!

Introducing Thomas...

Day 2 : Downtown Manhattan

Our first sightseeing day in New York started bright and early - body clocks are still set to British time! Louise suffering from a cold today, but we still managed to fit in the Brooklyn Bridge, Downtown Manhattan (Ground Zero, Wall Street, Battery Park), Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island and a brief stint in SoHo and Greenwich Village! Weather is a sticky 30 degrees...

Day 1 : Stroud to Brooklyn

After 15 hours of travelling we arrived in a beautiful sunny Brooklyn at 1800 EST. Our host Amalia is very nice and she has a cat called Fuu who rules the roost. The street we are staying on seems cool, not going to do much tonight. I have already sampled the local supermarket which is one of my favourite things to do in a new country! Loulou x