Boston Tea Party

Boston is a lovely town. Home to some very famous events in the American revolution, we have had the opportunity of retracing the ride of Paul Revere as he raced ahead of the English Army to warn the patriots. His house remains as a monument to 17th century architecture, and while looking its age is an impressive structure. Travelling through what is now Little Italy is a fantastic adventure with hundreds of caffes and restaurants packed in together, many along cobblestoned streets. The Newbury Street strip shops rival and exceed anything on Chapel St back home. One bedroom studio apartments in the area are going for US$2500 a month. Though we are surrounded by universities (MIT and Harvard are just over the river), it would take serious old money for a student to live in these digs! Maddi decided that she should try hostel living at least once. After standing under a randomly alternating hot and cold shower, with the pressure of a slight trickle from a garden hose, 4 mornings in a row, standing in a queue to wash her breakfast plate and needing earplugs to get a decent sleep, she cracked it. There will be limited hostel stays in Europe we think!

We are in Philadelphia at the moment, and are heading to New York tomorrow to meet up with our friend Kate. Philly has been an unexpected pleasure, with lots of historic streets to wander down. There are restaurants aplenty, but in anticipation of New York have been very good and cooking for ourselves. We haven't even tried a famous Philly Cheesesteak (strips of beef, melted cheese and sauce on a white roll). Today Adam took Maddi on a cultural expedition to the steps made famous in the Rocky movie, but we did not get a photo of him standing at the top with his arms raised, unlike other tourists.