Reflection. Sometimes a bit of time, distance, or space is what we need to truly reflect on experiences and appreciate their meaning. Or, sometimes, we just don’t get round to writing a blog for a solid five months after the trip. Anyway, late last year my brother, mother and I set off on our annual trip. This time, we’d decided to go look at the New England “fall spectacle”. The north-east of the United States is famed for its landscape in the autumn, as the leaves turn every shade of red, orange, and yellow imaginable. We set out to see this for ourselves and headed towards Boston.
Thanks to the strikes by British Airways, I had to move my flights up a few days, so I arrived in Boston before my family and had the time to explore the city on my own. Most importantly, it’s forward-thinking and open-minded. I checked in at HI Boston and started wandering, and really, I didn’t stop for the next three days. Aimless walks around the city showed me some of its most amazing highlights. From sitting by the river at Charles River Esplanade, to breakfast in Tatte, to the Rose Kennedy Greenway, a green vein that runs through the city, connecting major areas with a pedestrian-friendly green area filled with food vans, exercise areas, and art. I had lunch at Cafe Paradiso, a tiny Italian place with the best cannoli I’ve ever eaten, on Hanover Street, and explored the up-and-coming South End. The evening took me to the phenomenal Institute of Contemporary Art (free entry on Thursday evenings!) where I went with some newly-made friends from the hostel, and we ended up in a tiny Irish bar close to the hostel.
The followings days I explored more on my own and with new friends, until I was joined by my family. We stayed in Boston and explored the Boston Freedom Trail and Black Heritage Trail, ventured out to Harvard, and took ferries around the harbour. We went to the Back Bay Fens, an enormous public garden where I saw endless birds I’d never seen before, and we went to see the Red Sox play. Turns out I really like baseball! The atmosphere in Fenway Park was brilliant, and it really felt like a quintessentially American experience. All in all, Boston is truly lively and vibrant, rich in art and history, and has stunning green spaces. Over the years I have claimed that Barcelona is my favourite city, but Boston is a real new contender.
Faye Vogely 
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