Sunday, October 22nd, 2023
Our trip to New York had been a whistle-stop tour. We have visited the City so many times and only really included it in this trip as it offers the best transatlantic route options. However we scarcely need a reason to visit the Big Apple, so were happy to head in and tear up the City as usual. But the real trip was starting today as we headed away from this City to another one…Boston. From there we will head up to Salem before driving halfway across the country, Upstate New York, Buffalo, Niagara Falls(Canada), Cedar Point, and finally Chicago.
NYC – Boston on the Amtrak Regional line.
We had a lot planned along the way and were really excited to get going. For our first hop, we were using the Amtrak. We really love using the Amrak to get around, especially in and out of New York. The main advantage is it’s so convenient. The line from New York to Boston starts and ends right in the heart of both Cities. There is no schlep over to the airport, no expensive Ubers, No baggage restrictions, and no security. You just nip to the station and hop on. We did the same last year when heading to Washington from New York.
The ticket cost was $32 each all-in and we were on the Regional line which is a bit slower than the Acela train but a third of the cost. The trip takes around 4.5 hours and you get a large comfy seat aboard the train in a 2×2 format. Compared to flying there is so much space, with tons of leg room and the seat was really comfy.
With the Train due at 9 am, we had a bit of an early start. The clear weather that turned up yesterday had continued into today and we felt a little sad leaving the City on such a glorious day. We headed straight to the Moynihan Train Hall at Penn Station which has been recently renovated. The hall is just a little too far to walk with heavy cases, but felt a little too close to Uber, but needs must.
Arriving at the hall we found getting something to eat a little trickey. There were a couple of coffee shops but we wanted something a little more adventurous, but most of the dining options were more lunch and dinner, and most were not even open until then. In the end, we found a Bagel Shop that was extremely expensive, but really good and we got some super stuffed bagels for around $12-13 each.
The newly renovated hall is really impressive but the system is a little chaotic. The trains arrive on an unknown platform which is only announced 5-10 mins before boarding. This leaves people watching the boards like a hawk unsure which platform to queue up at. When the Platform number finally pops up there is a mad dash to the platform for the first come first served seating and luggage space. Just before our number came up, some local passengers seemed to second guess the platform and started queuing up at one particular platform, hoping they knew something no one else did we joined in and right enough the platform was annoyed getting us ahead in the queue.
The guard scanned our tickets and we proceeded down to board the train, easily getting some nice seats with a good window view and a free Luggage rack. After 10 minutes at the platform as others behind us boarded not always with as much luck, we pulled out of the station right in time.
We were a little unsure of the route the train would take and a little unsure which side to go for. We gambled on the right-hand side and in minutes were disappointed as excellent views of the City appeared on the left…However, this was the only disappointment as for the rest of the Journey we had hit the jackpot.
The line runs right up the New England Coastline and offers stunning views out over the Long Island Sound. With the leaves turning a stunning orange and bathed with beautiful Fall sunshine the whole way, it was a seriously pretty train journey. Relaxing in our large comfy seats it really is hard to see why so many people opt for the hassle and stress of air travel for short journeys such as this. We are pretty sure door-to-door the train is faster, and it’s so much more relaxing and the scenery really was stunning. We spent over half the journey just looking out the window before eventually loading up the tablet to watch a few episodes of our favorite current TV Show…and no I am not being coy, I literally forgot what we watched!
There is a dining car on the train which amounts to little more than a snack shop. You can get sandwuched drinks and snacks from here but do not expect them to be cheap. You can get wine and beer though which is nice. We brought along our own snacks and also finished the bagels we brought from the Station.
After a few relaxed hours meandering along the New England Coastline through Connecticut, Rhode Island, and then Massachusetts, we finally arrived in Boston. We departed at the South station which was just a short 10-minute walk to our Hotel.
Harborside Inn
The Inn had been a bit of a bargain, around $170 a night, and really central to everything we wanted to see and do in Boston. We checked in a little early, which was no issue, and headed up to our room. It was quite small but well-appointed. The only issue was the lack of natural light. We were given an interior room and it looked out onto an atrium that was almost perpetually at twilight. This made us think it was light when dark and dark when light, it was a little confusing to a still jet-lagged body clock. However, we did not plan on spending much time in the room.
As such we headed straight out and down to the Harborside.
Boston Harborwalk
At this point, we were still pronouncing harbor as 99% of the English-speaking world does, but soon enough the temptation to rattle off “Haabah”, as any good Bostonite would say, would start to take hold!
The Harborfront has recently been renovated and now has a continuous walkway, over 47 miles long along the entire Harborfront, known as the harborwalk. While we would love to walk this, 48 miles was just a little too much for our first day in Boston, but the beauty of the walk is you can just dip in and out of it and walk the bits you like. So we headed down to the water and just wandered along taking in the sea air.
Two things stuck us immediately, first, how clean the water was. It was a translucent shimmering green and clear of any murk, scum, trash, or anything. Having spent the last few days in New York, it was a striking contrast. I can’t say I have ever considered going for a swim in the Hudson or the East River, the Boston water was clean and inviting. I managed to resist, not sure how warm it would be in Late October, but it was really nice to see such wonderful clean water.
The second thing was the come-down. New York is a huge System Shock. We come from a pretty rural location, and even in our big Cities, it’s not like New York. There are people everywhere and everyone is ANGRY. Walking around New York is a bit like a long continuous fight. It takes a while to get into that mode, and it takes a while to get out of it. As we started exploring Boston it felt a little like New York and the tension and aggression were still in us, ready to barge people out of the way if they slowed down for even a second… but this was really not the way of life in Boston.
Everything was slower, calmer, and friendlier. It was lovely, but it took a while to get that New York out of us and just relax.
After walking a few miles down the Waterfront we realised we had not got very far in terms of distance away from the hotel. Tracing the various wharves as they head out into the harbor means while you walk quite far, you make very little progress as the crow flies. We were only just in Little Italy and decided at this point to head into the Old Quarter of the City in search of Lobster.
I had scouted out Reds Fish Market in the Old Boston Market, so we headed there to see what was on offer. In season they have Live Tanks and will boil the lobster whole for you. But it was pretty quiet and they had no Live Lobsters and were just offering very expensive Lobster Rolls so we decided to skip. We looked around the Market Halls which has a modern upmarket Farmers market vibe, and then headed back towards our hotel via the old narrow streets of the Irish Quarter. These cobbled old streets and historic pubs are better normal for us but it’s rare to see something so old in the States!
Legal Seafoods – Lobster
Back at the hotel after an enjoyable exploratory walk, we headed to a seafood restaurant right down by Long Wharf about 100m from the hotel. That had been a long walk to end u right where we began.
Legal Seafoods is a legend in Boston and has been serving up Lobster, Oysters, and all kinds of seafood for over 70 years. While we visited they had an Oyster festival with half-price local oysters. We love Oysters but to be honest we did not know there was so much to them. Our incredibly eccentric server walked us through the menu and we ordered a half dozen of varying varieties. It really was amazing the huge differences between the different varieties even though they all came from within a few miles of the restaurant.
We then went on to split a bowl of chowder and a conversation about Metric and Imperial measurements the Server was completely blown away by the fact we Brits really just mix and match between the two … Distance in miles. Measurements, Millimeters. Height, Feet, and Inches. Some foods in Grams some in lbs, body weight is in Stones…Bottled Drinks ml, but beer and milk are in Pints…honestly, we just make it up! At least when America REFUSED to go metric, they stuck to the guns, We just half-arsed it.
Anyway, the Chowder was amazing and came in a 10oz bowl (hence the conversation) with some excellent Bread Rolls. This was followed, as per recommendation from our server, the Lobster Mac and Cheese! This was quite unlike any Lobster Mac and Cheese we have had and features a WHOLE lobster, smothered in Creamy Cheesey Pasta goodness!
After the meal, it was back to the Hotel. While we had not really done a lot today, the early start and the long train ride meant we were pretty tired so we just had a relaxed evening back at the hotel getting ready and planning for the next couple of days.
Walking Total – 11,590 Steps – 4.9 Miles
Despite spending all of the morning sitting on a train we still clocked up a good amount of steps, mainly from out hike around the Harborwalk. This was not a big day on our feet but we had already got a few of them in the bag and a lot more coming up.
Day 6 – Boston -Trolley Tour, The Freedom Trail, Harbor Cruise, and the New England Aquarium >>>