symbiosis

Back Bay, Boston’s most expensive and prestigious neighborhood, was built on landfill. Its highlights are the Esplanade, a beautiful bike and walking pathway along the Charles River. The Charles River itself has terrific sailing and boating as well. The area is marked by its charming tree-lined streets with rows and rows of late 19th century brownstones. Newbury Street is Back Bay’s premier shopping district and goes hand in hand with the Copley (pronounced Cop-Lee) Mall, an indoor behemoth of a place that seems to take up about as much retail space as the rest of Back Bay’s residential areas. The Public Gardens are a terrific and romantic place to spend an afternoon and if you’re already there, you should cross over to Beacon Hill and have a walk down Charles Street, another charming commercial strip with a flavor all it’s own.

Boston’s a great city. Come in the summer – there’s lots of scarcely dressed college students, attractive young professionals and … scarcely dressed tourists from around the world running around buying Gucci shoelaces at $500 a pop. Come at winter time at your own peril, those lumps at the bottom of the picture are vehicles parked on Marlborough Street.

It’s one of the smallest big cities there are – at first it seems large, but as you get to know the neighborhoods it becomes more manageable. Look them up – Back Bay, South End, (Sowa, Soha), Bay Village, West End, North End, Beacon Hill, Downtown Crossing, Ladder District, Leather District, Chinatown, Fenway, Kenmore, East Boston, South Boston. There are other areas but these constitute the core of culture for the region.

Got a hat for the Rock N Roll Hall of fame here. I could never find the damn thing!

My friend and I were driving up to Montreal and decided to stop at THE CAPITAL OF VERMONT….Montpelier, VT…well, compared to Boston and New York this isn’t much of a capital – in fact, it’s about the size of your average town in Massachusetts. Regardless, it’s cute and quaint and at least there’s a bathroom and a gas station. I have to say the countryside and mountains are beautiful but this city isn’t exactly a destination.

Surf, beaches, best weather in the world, semi-tropical climate with old colonial-style homes. This place is just beautiful! I attached a few pics of the town. Shout out to my bros Dave & Chris Spilfogel if you’re out there!

Interesting place – think Alaska in New England without many Native Americans and less snow in the Summer. Maine’s good for quiet living, cheap real-estate and the great outdoors. The State Motto is that it’s “The Vacation State” If you like relaxing in the woods and cozying up next to a loved one on a chilly beach, Maine is the place for you! Winters here can be treaturous so make sure to watch the weather forcast before you set out in your Beamer to Portland. Speaking of Portland, very cool colonial town with lots of charm. There’s good whale watching and great seafood. People here are friendly but terrible with directions. As they said on SNL – “Bangor ah? No. Ya can’t get theyah from heayah”

Ahh the Great State of Cow Hampshire! LIVE FREE OR DIE – reads the New Hampshire license plate. I’m not sure if they’re republicans or democracts with that slogan, but they have a heck of a way to show their patriotism – MOTORCYCLES and lots of them. Come for Bike week, it’s a blast – you’ll see more innocent mean-looking people than anywhere else in the world. Only here can you see a drove of 30 bikers going down the Kangamangus Highway Riding for some benevolent cause like the cure for cancer.

There’s also great camping, hiking and trekking. Bring lots of water and a tent because the White Mountains are beautiful late Spring through Fall. There’s also lots of skiing, though I find the slopes here rather icey compared to other places.

Been here lots of times – this is a throughway from Boston to New York (and back). Connecticut could be great if their speed limit was 200 mpg. I have to say, I’ve never met a Connecticutian that I didn’t like (except all the Cops that gave me tickets) most OTHER people that I’ve met from Connecticut are great. Regardless, I think you can skip Connecticut if you’re planning a road trip across the country…unless you’re going from Boston to New York or vice-versa.

Went through here on a trip to the Holy Land – my country had a general strike and the airport was closed, so we were given food and hotel vouchers for a day in Rome – I went to the beach with a few girls that were stuck in the same situation but we kept getting kicked off because the beaches were private – we tried to pay them but it was to no avail. Afterwards we tried to get some food but everything was closed until it got dark. All in all, the place was very interesting and a few nice folks spoke a reasonable amount of English, but I really have to go back and get a real taste of Italy.

I haven’t found much to do in the Garden State except drive around, get lost and visit family. Other than that it pales in comparison to New York. That’s probably why it’s free to get to NJ from the city and $6 bucks to go back. All in all, I guess people need a place to live outside the amazingly expensive Big Apple. It’s probably a safer bet for raising a family as well.