Naturally, after just over a month in California, Texas and Louisiana, the biting cold of Boston did come as a bit of a shock. However despite having to dress up like the Michelin Man, Boston is undoubtedly a place worth visiting.
Prior to my arrival, my preconceived idea of Boston was that of an important component of America's history, and also a place with strong Irish roots and I was pretty much bang on accurate with both assessments.
Pretty much straight away I bumped into a few guys and formed a pretty cool and contrasting group. I struck up a friendship with a like-minded Dane (a lovely guy who likes football) and a chap from Colorado who has proved to be one of the most interesting characters I've ever met. Oh and we also picked up an Irish guy along the way too.
This guy possesses a thick Southern accent, drives a pick-up truck and used to ride a horse from his ranch to school, but rather than being a country bumpkin who never leaves the country, this guy speaks five languages, has traveled a good proportion of the world and knows facts about everything under the sun.
The first day we took the subway into the city of Boston and walked the Freedom Trail. The trail takes in many of Boston's sights and several that played a major part in the American Revolution. Although the walk got a little chilly as the afternoon wore on, we were treated to the beautiful Autumn colours as the leaves fell in the parks.
Boston is a pristine city, with even the high-rise buildings looking good aesthetically and with the parks and harbour all located within walking distance, Boston is a city of contrasts.
The nightlife has the vibe of a young city, perhaps a result of Harvard and other such colleges located within the city, and the bars we experienced downtown on a Friday night were packed solid all night.
The following morning, after downing numerous bottles of water in an attempt to drown out the excesses of the night before, we traveled to the nearby town of Salem.
Salem is a town famous for a series of witch trials and hangings many years ago. After taking in the interactive museum and local brewery, we headed back into Boston for which proved to be a slightly strange night.
After experiencing the nightlife of the inner city the previous night, me and my comrades decided to keep it local and headed to a Brazilian bar down the street. As if being the only English guys in a Brazilian bar wasn't strange enough, we headed to a Colombian nightclub for the remainder of the night.
Walking in, we were greeted by puzzled stares from the locals and as we proceeded downstairs, it was plainly obvious that we were completely out of our comfort zone primarily because we had absolutely no concept of the salsa/tango dance, so we took the safe option and sat back and drank beer while the locals tango'd the night away.
Boston has been great fun but I'm looking to grabbing an early night tonight after another afternoon spent walking, this time around Harvard, which was as expected full of nerds.
Next stop Washington DC.
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