Late night alarms and Freedom trails

Boston, May 23rd

"I'm only here because I need to use google-maps and your free wi-fi"

So, at 3am there was some kind of fire alarm drill going down. And after that I was wide awake, because according to my internal clock, well it was time to get up. But I turned ariund and get some more shut-eye. Didn't work, though, so at 5 I gave up, gave in, got up, and got out to go for a morning run.

This city is frickin' beautiful. And it has pet-able squirrels. And Canada geese. And a bay and a skyline and one of the greatest running trails ever. I just ran where my feet took me and sure thing, got myself lost somewhere around Beacon Hill. But hey, there's a Starbucks, so after using the complementary wi-fi and getting in some caffeine, I made my way home through roads winding up hills with those emergency stairways on old brownstones you, or rather I, only knew from the motion pictures until now. And oh, Boston is so pretty during dawn. I might just be in love.

 We followed the Red Brick Road like Dorothy her yellow one, when we discovered the 4km Freedom Trail for most of today, and went on a few side quests as well. I might just love this city. It's pretty, the people are relaxed, friendly, and down to earth, and...living in a city without clam chowdah seems like a waste. There's so much history here, interwoven with the modern glass and steel skyscrapers, it's fascinating and exhilarating. We stood in places Ben Franklin and Samuel Adams stood, we rode with Paul Revere from his house to the Old North Church, we watched the USS Constitution, we did all the touristy stuff. Market Halls weren't safe and oh, I actually made a cashier at 7Eleven laugh pretty hard, when I told him, I had to get all the sweets I have ever seen in Hollywood movies - and the Gilmore Girls - and couldn't get in Europe. By the way, Twinkies and Ho-hos...so not worth the acid reflux. :D

Our hotel really is located in a really fancy-pants neighborhood, as we got a Tiffany's in the lobby, Hermés, Dolce, Chanel, Cartier, and Burberry right next to us, across the street are the Boston Public Gardens. And a little down the road there's the Prudential Tower. The only bad news today was the fact that you can't get to Foxboro via public transport, except for game days. And I don't have the time to find a car rental and start bargaining. But, yeah, it's been a great day with a lotta laughs and even more sun burn. The Atlantic smells great and the sun was shining most of the time, what more could you wish for on your first real day of vacation? :)

Ain't no party like a Boston Party

May 22nd: SFX-Gatwick-Boston

"Could you please remove your baseball hat and put it in the tray?" "I'm wearing a baseball hat?!?" I'm a mess :D 

Ugh, connecting flights suck, if no one gives you a heads up that you got a second security check and have to throw the overpriced bottle of water you just bought after the first security check into the bin during the second check. Otherwise, our stop at Gatwick was grand; all the ads for London sights, the Queen murals, Pret-A-Manger, Jack Wills, Boots, and Soap&Glory. Long live the Olde World. Brilliant thing actually, as I have missed London quite a bit these last couple months. Now this has been relieved a little as well. Also: really excited for Boston already.

Norwegian Air is bloody brilliant! The flight crew is extremely nice and went out of their way to accommodate  some of our wishes and there's this one steward who has cheekbones you could cut yourself on. Looking pretty sharp over there, despite the funny socks ;) Also the food...was amazing. Tasted real good and we got Belgian Chocolate Cake as a dessert. Plus, free coffee refills.

Also, we got the seats with the most leg space in da house (well, plane). Even if I'm slouching real bad, I can't reach the wall in front of me.

Okay, I can, with my tippy toes, but it's a stretch. Right now, I'm like an excited labrador retriever with a tennis ball in this plane with the entertainment centre and all. Only drawback: someone in the vicinity has smelly feet. :D 

3:22 hours to Boston. I'm so excited, and I just can't hide it! 

Boston Public Transport is incredibly funny, that is, if you're not tired out and totally fed up with travelling. ;) The carts seem like museum inventory and the stations are a mess compared to Berlin and London underground. On the other hand, it is supposedly the oldest of its kind, so...yeah. Interesting experience. And then we also ended up in a friggin' luxury hotel. I felt so out of place rolling into the lobby in my sweat pants :D

But yeah, we're here, tired, and prolly going to bed anytime soon. It looks pretty American over here. And the guy from room service just told me, I was wearing the wrong hat, it's the Boston RED Sox, the White Sox are from Chicago. Yeah, I know, but my other baseball hats are New York Yankees caps and that would be worse. He agreed :D 

The Luck of the Irish

So, I've been AFK for quite some time, but there's a reason for that: I've been busy with training, work, and travelling. A friend and I travelled to Dublin at the beginning of December, because the two of us had a holiday at the same time for the first time in a while. And we've always wanted to go see Dublin. 

And what can I say, it was all we had hoped for and more. Why? Because of reasons. The Luck of the Irish being just one of them.

1. Irish people are among the friendliest I've ever been in contact with. I know, it sounds cliché, but most people we encountered on our trip were happy-go-lucky people, who didn't take themselves or life too seriously. They helped whenever they could and had the greatest accent ever.

The Liffey at night

2. Our accomodation: we had a great hotel room looking out on the river Liffey, where staff was nice and the room cosy. And cheap. We even had a kettle and several Starbucks and Costa branches within walking distance. Well, to be completely honest, almost everything of interest was within walking distance. Check out the Clifton Court Hotel.

View from our hotel room

3. The Irish luck seems to be contagious; after a few hours, you start to get more relaxed as well, and notice that most things just work out, even if you don't stress them. Or maybe that's just why. You just trust that everything will work out for the best, and if not, then you deal with it when or rather if it doesn't. I was able to take some of that Irish chill back to Berlin and I'm feeling a lot better than before. 

Anyways, it is (almost) impossible to get stressed in Ireland. 

4. Nature. Everything is just incredibly green. Even in December. Trinity College and the park around St. Patrick's Cathedral were great representations of "the Emerald Isle".

St. Patrick's Cathedral

5. Guinness. Do I need to say more? Well, pub culture and Guinness seem to go hand in hand, and it's just an experience in itself to visit a real Irish pub. There's live music, happy people, red cheeks, and laughter all around. We headed to the Temple Bar pub and The Church, an old church that serves as a pub these days.

Temple Bar, probably one of the most photographed spots in the city

6. Nando's. I know, I know, you can find Nando's in London, too, but the staff were grand (and one of the waiters was named Taco), friendly, and it was our first Nando's experience. We love Nando's. And it's just across the street from The Church.

Quinoa salad at Nando's 

7. Boots. The drugstore. To make this one short: my friend and I are into British cosmetics. I for one have had to travel to London or Britain every other year, to get my favourite scrub, Soap & Glory's "The Breakfast Scrub". You get all or at least most British cosmetics in Ireland as well. And you don't have to change money, seeing that the Irish use the Euro. 

8. Sights. We only had two and a half days, so we had to leave out a few of the more time-intensive things in order to get a feel for the city and see the most important things, like the Georgian Doors, Oscar Wilde's birthhouse, Oscar Wilde's lounging memorial, the Ha'Penny Bridge, etc. Next time we vist, we have to see the Guinness Experience, maybe the inside of Trinity College's Old Library with the Book of Kells (which had an unexpected 10e entrance fee, after we read on the net that it is free...), the Writer's museum, etc. There's a bunch of writers hailing from Dublin. And if you've been there, you know why.

Oscar, lounging in style

9. You feel like you walked into a postcard most of the time. Or onto a movie set. It's just surrealistically beautiful.

movie set feeling because of all the details