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It is time to leave Boston behind after a wonderful couple of days kicking off an epic three-month American Adventure. Onwards to destination two as we travel to New York City!
Two full days in Boston was a hectic start to our journey.
If you get the chance, I recommend planning to have three full days there. That way you can hit all the Must-See Sites and squeeze in some bonus attractions. If you grab the Boston City Pass you could visit a bunch of museums, spend a morning at the aquarium, plus take a harbour cruise!
Our itinerary is set however (I have yet to learn how to wing it, that is happening for the first time in Australia). We are scheduled for a week in New York City, and plan to make the most of every minute!
Travel to New York City
When planning this trip, I decided it made more sense to travel by train between Boston and Washington D.C.
The Northeast Regional Amtrak trains are much more economical than renting a car, and I didn’t fancy driving in the cities.
Booking tickets for Amtrak is straightforward, and I am confident in my planning and preparation as we say goodbye to our Boston Airbnb.
I have our tickets printed ready, so off we march to catch our first American train to travel to New York City.
I’d like to say it’s a seamless journey to the station but being me, it of course was not. This blog is called Stumbling Across the World after all…
Left to my own devices I somehow convince myself that our train was the 12:30 from North Station.
Before leaving the apartment, Hayley looks at the tickets and points out the train leaves at 11:15.
Thankfully this was at 9:00 so we still have plenty of time to vacate the apartment, drop off the keys and walk through the now icy snow to the train station.
We arrive at Boston North station in plenty of time at 10:15 and look up at the departures board. There is no 11:15 train scheduled…
So, I get out the tickets again as we walk over to the information officer. Before we are halfway there however, I spot our (yes, our, I refuse to take full responsibility for this) mistake. We should be at South Station.
Hayley is of course happy she made us leave so early as we still have plenty of time to correct this error.
Off to the subway we go!
Starting Again!
As we buy our T-line tickets one of the guards asks us where we are headed.
Then she informs us if we ride the orange T-line two extra stops we can get off at Back Bay. This is the station our New York train will pass through five minutes after it departs South Station.
She tells us if we take this route we won’t have to walk up 40 steps and cross the street to catch our train.
As if this isn’t helpful enough, she then speaks to us through the subway sound system and guides us to the best place to stand to get on the train. So, we get off the subway right by the escalator at the other end!
She is our person of the day! People like this are honestly the kindest souls on Earth and meeting them is my favourite part of travelling.
It’s things like this that remind me why Stumbling rather than Cruising Smoothly Across the World is worthwhile. Without making mistakes you never experience things like this.
The rest of the train journey is smooth and uneventful. I’m happy we chose to travel to New York City by train despite the mishaps and would do it again. Of course I’ll check my departure point, date, and time much more thoroughly next time!
There is still time for one more misstep today however…
We travel to New York City fine, get on the subway fine, and then my sense of direction epically fails yet again!
Subway Stumbles
Now I have travelled to New York twice before and this is the only stop on our trip I can say that about.
Plus, the layout of New York is quite simply the easiest setup in the world. Which is why I feel such shame at my inability to navigate us smoothly to our next Airbnb.
We get on the red 2 line subway, but it doesn’t stop where I am expecting. Instead it goes straight through to 96th street when I’m aiming for 79th.
Slightly annoyed we hop over the platform to get on the red 1 train and travel back down to 79th street.
We go up to street level and it turns out the apartment is off 94th street…
No idea how I’ve managed to screw that up so royally! But hey, it’s becoming tradition for me to make people walk twenty to thirty blocks with luggage upon arriving in a new city!
Arrival at Last
Thankfully there are no key related issues this time and we access our New York city home for the next week with ease.
It’s a nice little place near lots of amenities.
We go out to Walgreens and get supplies for dinner and breakfast (can’t be eating out every day!), and now just need to source some fruit and veg! Nutrition is becoming an issue already. I need vitamins and minerals urgently!
But who can turn down a classic American breakfast of Bacon Pancakes?
Previously: Exploring Boston
Up Next: Exploring New York City
