boston & philadelphia, usa

26 October - 3 November 2014

Hi folks! So our last USA stops on the Damo and Kath tour were Boston and Philly...

We had five fab days in Boston which we jam packed with sightseeing, sports events, universities, history, friendly locals, bike riding (as always!), museums and fooooood. We also had the privilege of staying in two different suburbs in Boston, thanks to our airbnb hosts (in Somerville) illegally renting out their basement to us and having to swiftly kick us out on the third night when their landlord got wind of it! Oops. Thankfully we upgraded to a cute room in Back Bay which was conveniently in the heart of the city. Winning. 

We then had three freaky days in Philly where we enjoyed all the Halloween festivities! Scary stuff. We also lived like proper locals, hanging out in our cosy flat, cooking up roasts, fetching coffee at our local cafe after sweating it out at the local gym (yep, we are getting very good at being "new in town" and trialling every city's gym and yoga facilities!). We also did the touristy stuff. More below.


The highlights
Boston

• The best part about Boston is its friendly inhabitants. People would frequently chat to us on the street, it was rad. We also thoroughly enjoyed spending time with some more familiar locals. We spent a day with Melissa (from my yoga course) who took us around the amazing Science Museum, to an epic IMAX movie, for a wander through MIT, along the Charles River, through town and not to mention for some delicious coffee (turns out Boston has Australian standard coffee!?!). And a night with Robbie (family friend from home who's studying at Boston Uni) who showed us Fenway Park by night and all the local uni haunts for a few more delicious pumpkin beers. Still can't get enough of that stuff.
• Ice hockey! We saw the Boston Bruins get flogged. 
• No Boston visit is complete without a trip to Havard - our first experience of an Ivy League university and we were not disappointed. Everyone's just so wholesome and awesome and the grounds so stunning. Go Harvard!
• We had some pretty profound food firsts in Boston. First mac and cheese (and probably last, given its capability to cause a cardiac arrest). First sweet potato pie (why don't they have this at home?! Vegetable flavoured deserts rock). First cannoli (from the famous Mikes pastry shop). Needless to say we offset all these imperative food firsts with lots of healthy home cooking. We are getting rather good at roast veggies and smoothies (with the blender we've been trucking around in our rucksacks since nyc, true story).
• Bike riding is always a highlight! We rode all over that city. Literally. Damo even navigated us over a twelve lane highway bridge into town. In peak hour. Without helmets. It was terrifying.
• Boston is a pretty pretty city. I liked it. A lot. And very much enjoyed wandering and biking around it. Or going up to high places and looking over it. It's so colourful.
• The Freedom Trail was awesome for getting a grip on the States' history. We were savvy and used an app which took us around and taught us everything we needed to know about the American Revolution. 
• Oh and getting kicked out of our airbnb flat with all of two hours notice is worth a mention. Ha. At least we got to experience both the Cambridge and City sides of town.

Philadelphia

• So the real reason we visited Philly was because Damo has a thing for the show "Always sunny in Philadephia". Yep. Turns out it is NOT always sunny in Philly though. As far as I'm concerned, it appears to have nothing but rain. It was wet and coooold. But it was a groovy little city and we sure made ourselves at home in our little flat and with our local cafe, grocery store and even our gym, which we attended at least once a day for no other reason than to find salvage from the weather!
• We did plenty of sightseeing. Saw the Rocky steps (insert air punching here), Liberty Bell, Independence Hall and the room where the Constitution was signed.
• The best part about our visit to Philly was Halloween! So many pumpkins and trick or treating and kids in cute costumes and adults in creepy costumes, as well as plenty of smashed and mouldy pumpkins the days that followed. Damo also arranged a "cultural" experience for us at the Eastern State Penitentiary. It was a tour. At MIDNIGHT. And it was called Terror Behind the Walls. Let's just say it was not the cultural experience I was expecting. It was hilarious for Damo though. And now in hindsight I can appreciate the brilliance of this Halloween experience. Very groovy to have over 200 actors scare the bejeebers out of you in full costume in a prison. Well played Philly.

The Summary

Weather: This place is getting cold! Boston had good weather. Philly was wet and freezing though. Brrrr.
Activities: Bike riding, sightseeing, gym hopping, yogaing.
Food: So much new and yummy food! And plenty of home cooking.

Beverages: Pumpkin beer all the way to the airport - got to get our fix in! Not to mention, awesome coffee in both Boston and Philly and our usual nutritious smoothies.

People: So many friendly folk around. Loved spending time with Melissa and Robbie.
Accommodation: We have been having such poor luck with airbnb lately! Can't believe we were kicked out of our pad. Ha. Philly flat was super cute though.
Budget: not too bad. We are tracking well to budgies.
Fun fact: which wasn't so fun at all - Boston pubs and bars don't allow foreigners into their establishments without a passport as id?! I'm thirty years old, and I need to show you my passport to have a beer? Crazy talk. Apparently it's a result of the large student population and under aged drinking probs.
Overall: We had a fab week or so in Boston and Philly. We learnt lots about the American revolution, we enjoyed all things Halloween and terror, we survived the cold and rain in Philly and indulged in the beauty and sunshine of Boston.

So that's the States and Canada trip done! We've since spent nearly two wondeful weeks in London and are now in Paris (we may be a little behind on the old blog updates, eek) and are currently enjoying a bottle of champagne on the comfy sofa of our latest airbnb apartment in the heart of the Latin Quarter. Needless to say, we are both feeling pretty relaxed, healthy (aside from the crossaint, snails and bubbles) and very happy. Can't believe there are only 5 weeks left of this incredible trip... exciting times ahead though..! Singapore... Brunei... Japan... and then reacquainting ourselves with stunning Sydney...

Until then, more Parisian bubbles please Damo! Merci mon amour.

Au revoir mon ami,

Kath (and Damo)

Boston

Like i said, Boston is super colourful. Parks and rivers and sunshine.

View from the top of the prudential. Back Bay (our second home), in the bottom left, ladida.

Now that's a coffee with a view!

Cute streets + tasteful Halloween decorations = Boston.

Helllooooo Harvard! Me and Damo joining an eager crowd of Harvard prospects on a campus tour. If only I could afford the $65k annual fee. And pass the entrance exam...

One of Harvard's many compelling features. Markets and food stalls in the Science quadrangle. 

Damo having a stare off with George Washington. 

Being the couple of history buffs that we are, we walked the freedom trail over two days. And thanks to an app on the phone we leart all about the Boston Tea Party and other such revolutionary events.

Prost!

More Halloween get up. Our neighbours place in Somerville. 

Cannoli from Mikes. It's a must.

A usual brekkie on the damo and kath tour: banana, soy milk, chia seeds, pepitas, hemps seeds, sunflower seeds, almonds, goji berries and love. All mixed in our portable blender.

Healthy breakfasts offset the not so healthy dinners, right!? Famous Reginas for pizza.

Meeting friendly locals in the park.

Enjoying coffees in the sun.

Jumping for joy on train tracks.

Watching the Boston Bruins play like gentlemen. A rarity apparently. 

Riding everywhere one is not supposed to. Including along a twelve laned highway as mentioned above. Eek.

Riding up bridges. 

That time we were kicked out of our airbnb apartment cause the hosts were renting it illegally. Yep. Two hours notice to haul ass. Cramming my bag is a challenge at the bestof times..!

It's a sqeeeel! They say here the bushier the tail, the colder the winter. I'd say winter is going to be chilly bostonians.

A night out on the town with young Robbie Spence! Fenway Park, pumpkin beers, tasty burgers, brilliant.

And a day with this awesome tour guide around Bostons sights and lights! Melissa took us to the Science Museum, MIT, along the Charles River and into the pretty parks. Best.

Mac and cheese. Our first ever. Covered in pork. A heart attack on a plate. #yum

Philly

Philly views from a hotel rooftop we snuck in to.

The liberty bell! The symbol of liberation for one and all.

Where the constitution was signed in 1787! 

Damo doing his best impersonation of Rocky, on the Rocky steps, in the rain.

Home cooked dinners in our cute little flat! Roasted pumpkin, sweet potatoes, mushys, beetroot, spinach and pork. Well deserved after a session at "our local gym".

Can't get enough pumpkin beer! Seriously addicted.

The famous love skate park of philly.

We went to the indoor market in philly which is fuuuulll of philly cheese steaks and other fun things. We tried this thing - a whoopie. Pumpkin flavoured, of course. 

More delicious diy brekkie smothies. This one with berries and coconut instead of banana.

After the spooky midnight tour! Inside the penitentiary. Damo looks happy. Interesting fact, at the time (1829), this was the largest and most expensive public structure ever made, and even housed Al Capone! 

Me, not so happy.

Another prime example of us roughing it. In the Virgin Lounge at JFK, before our flight across the pond to London.