Yes… This is it. My final post from the US of A. Quite an emotial moment! Just like the last update, this one is also written on the bus between Boston and NYC (too bad, I have this snoring Asian chick who gets way too close as a neighbor – helloooo: personal space!).
Okay, so last Thursday I arrived in New York and I booked a room at the Gershwin Hotel, which is a very good deal. It has this cool artsy vibe and it’s location is great – on the corner of 5th Ave & 27th St. The next morning I got up early to have a nice stroll and a Starbucks breakfast, before I got on the subway to JFK Airport to pick up my dad and bro. Let’s just say that my coffee hadn’t really kicked in yet because I got on the slow train instead of the express train to the airport. And also in the wrong slow train… Good job Lara. So it was a wise decision to go there way too early. When I finally arrived at terminal 3, it turned out I was at the wrong terminal… Grrrr. Okay, in the end I still was on time to welcome my dad and bro to the US of A!
When we got back to Manhattan and walked into the Carter Hotel it was immediately clear why this was such a bargain – worst hotel ever. Ever. Don’t go there! The rooms are super disgusting and smell yuckie, the elevators feel like they can fall down any minute now, and the service is so bad. If I must name an upside it is that for some people it can be appealing that it’s located 1 block behind Times Sq. But seriouly people, stay away. Okay so we spent as much time outside as possible. Since we’d visited NYC 6 years ago we sort of knew our way around. We did almost everything on foot which was is the best way to explore Manhattan. And we visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art which was very impressive because it is huge and the collection is super extensive. And yes of course we wanted a picture of us sitting on the Met steps. You know you love me, xoxo Gossip Girl. In the evening it was time for jazzhands and showtunes. Mary Poppins on Broadway, which was pretty fun to be honest and we had the original Mary (no, not the one from the movie), who also played the part on West End in London. At the end of the show Mary takes her little umbrella and flies off – directly in front of our seats, woohoo!
NYC family fun
On Sunday we took the bus to Boston, a route that has become pretty familiar to me. The next day we just strolled around in Boston and my bro got his iPads at the Apple Store. In the afternoon I took them to Cambridge to show them around Harvard Campus. The funny thing was that it seriously felt like coming home when I got off the T at Harvard Square – lame right? It was pretty weird to be on campus without my Harvard mates… Of course we had lunch at the best Burger joint in the entire United States, Mr Bartley’s – still run by Mr Bartley and his wife – which is a must if you visit Cambridge. Or Boston. Or even Massachusetts. They’re that good. Afterwards we walked down to Winthrop House and the Charles river. When it was time to say my goodbyes to Harvard I was able to keep a dry eye (I know, surprisingly so for an emotional gal like me) but it was a pretty sad moment. I’ve had such an awesome summer here!
Quincy Market
Yay Harvard!
The next day we visited the New England Aquarium, which was one of the things I’d been meaning to do since day one because Boston is filled with posters with all these cute penguins! Must. Go. There. They have over 80 penguins and for a hardcore penguin lover like me, it’s sort of penguin heaven. I’m serious people. We ended the day with some strolling and shopping on Newbury Street and a wonderful meal at the top off the Prudential Tower. I had dinner here a few weeks earlier with my man and the views over Boston by night are amazing, and the food is great. I thought this was a proper way to say goodbye to Boston…
Yay penguins!
On Wednesday we picked up our big fat Chrysler (my dad refused to take the Mitsubishi they offered us – he wanted an American car), and drove North. Our first stop was Portsmouth, New Hampshire. If you’re in for a good laugh ask my dad to pronounce that name… Porsmus (it’s the Yew York generation). Anyway, it’s a very cute coastal town that’s worth visiting.
We headed back on the road to our destination Freeport, Maine, where we’d booked a very nice B&B. On our way there we drove a beautiful coastal route so my dad had plenty of time to practice with his new camera. We decided that we’d done enough shopping since our suitcases couldn’t handle any more and well, enough is enough. Wrong! We approach Freeport and the first sign we see says, Welcome to Freeport – Outlet City. I kid you not! Outlets and sale everywhere! Okay, if you know us three Bruschinski’s, you know that we are top notch when it comes to great bargains and value-for-money deals, so it was pretty hard for us to hold back. But, I have to say, we did very well in keeping our wallets tucked away! The B&B we stayed in was amazing, the Kendall Tavern Inn. It’s a lovely yellow wooden New England style house from the 1800s, with a beautiful front porch where you can enjoy your coffee. The owners are this cute elderly couple who made the best breakfast, with blueberry pancakes, crisp bacon and fresh fruit. YUM! It has only 7 rooms but since we were the only guests we were invited to pick any room we wanted. So friendly and welcoming!
In the evening we went out for a lobster meal in downtown Freeport. My bro seriously loves his lobster and you cannot miss out on New England lobster. And eating lobster here is not the same as the ready-to-eat prepped ones we’re used to in Europe, no no no. You get your lovely little lobster bib and some tools and then you’re on your own, mate. It was super delicious! What wasn’t delicious is root beer… Ask my dad. If you think 600ml of cough syrup sounds disgusting, don’t order this drink. Yuck. Okay, after this wonderful lobster feast we went to bed at our cute inn.
Yay lobster!
The next morning we got back in the Chrysler to continue our roadtrip. Next stop was the White Mountains, and the drive up there was very pretty. We stopped at a little mountain creek to cool off a bit and explored the area. We passed Bretton Woods (check) and watched the old steam train go up the hills. At the end of the day we headed back to Boston where the grand packing challenge began. I’m very anxious to find out how much my trunk weighs…
In less than 1,5 hrs we’ll arrive in NYC, and then we have to take the train to JFK, and that means it’s over… I’m going home… To be honest I am kind of ready to go back to my life, even though these past two months have been – without a doubt – the best months of my life. I feel so blessed that I got to experience all of this – I know that sounds cheesy. I just have to thank a few people for making this the best summer ever: my parents who supported me to come here, and my three amazing new Dutch buddies – you know who you are. I hope you guys at home had fun following my once-in-a-lifetime-Harvard-experience! As of tomorrow I will be available for game dates, wine dates, dance dates, lunch dates, chill dates, and yes of course, I’m happy to cox again!
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