Reading Week Roadtrip: NYC, Boston and Vermont

By Katie Dolan, McGill University, Canada.

Eight days, three states, and a ton of photos later, it’s safe to say that I’ll be thinking about this trip for a long time.

New York

With around 10 days off in October, some friends and myself decided to go on a trip to New York, Boston, and Vermont. We got a night bus from Montreal to New York which got us in at around 8am in the morning. You can imagine how much a NYC bagel and coffee hit the spot after the 8-hour bus ride. But in fairness, the bus wasn’t actually too bad at all and I would be lying if I said waking up to the sunrise behind the Manhattan skyline wasn’t pretty incredible.

We were staying in a hotel in New Jersey about 20 minutes outside of Manhattan, so we left our bags off there and refreshed a little before heading out for our first day in New York. Our first stop was Blank Street Coffee of course. Their carrot cake matcha became quite the staple that week. We then made use of the citi bikes and cycled around Central Park which ended up being one of my favourite memories from the trip. I got my first magnet of the trip from outside Central Park and then we walked around the Upper East Side and saw some really cool houses decorated for Halloween. I think my personal favourite has to be the New York Knicks Skeletons.

New York Knicks Skeletons  

Cycling in Central Park

After that our next stop was Chipotle. Now, I’m going to be honest here, I think Chipotle is overrated. Don’t get me wrong it wasn’t bad but definitely no Shake Shack that’s for sure. We then made a quick stop outside the The Met to take a photo on the steps (if you’re a gossip girl fan you’ll understand why this was mandatory), and then we headed to Greenwich Village for the evening.

Next on our food tour of the US, we had to try Crumbl Cookie. These were so tasty (peanut butter was definitely better than churro fyi) but insomnia cookies still has my vote. We then saw some of the NYU buildings and watched the sunset in Washington Square Park. While we were in Greenwich of course we had to walk Cornelia Street (if you know, you know) and visit Monica’s apartment from ‘Friends’. To wrap up the evening we had a Joe’s Pizza, explored Chelsea Market, and saw the night skyline from Pier 57.

The next morning, I got up a little earlier and went for a run to Hamilton Park. I watched the sunrise over Manhattan before and then headed back to the hotel where we had our first experience with the questionable breakfast items. The breakfast was actually quite tasty but I am also still not fully convinced that the ‘eggs’ were in fact eggs. Anyway, I’m here to tell the tale so I can’t complain too much.

View from Hamilton Park

That morning we went to the 9/11 memorial, and then headed out to Brooklyn for the day. Fun fact, I was actually born in Brooklyn so this was a pretty memorable day for me. The torrential rain was proving to be a little bit of challenge, but nothing some ponchos couldn’t solve! We then explored Dumbo (a neighbourhood between the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges) and went to the Brooklyn Flea Market. For lunch, we got Shake Shack and if it’s not obvious already by me mentioning this twice now, it was a pretty life-changing experience. After that we went a little deeper into Brooklyn but didn’t make it much further past ‘Mia’s Brooklyn Bakery’ where I fully lived out a Matilda chocolate cake scenario (I told you this was a US food tour).

Ponchos!

Brookyln Blackout Cake

Under the Brooklyn Bridge

We then made our way back to Manhattan by walking over the Brooklyn Bridge and I found my second magnet of the trip! The views and the atmosphere walking over the bridge at night were incredible, without a doubt one of my top 3 moments of the trip. We explored Chinatown and Times Square that evening before heading back to the hotel.

Walking over the Brooklyn Bridge

The next day was our 3^rd and final day in New York. We started off the day strong with buffet ‘eggs’ and then headed out to see Rockefeller Centre and try and bump into Jimmy Fallon outside his studio (as you can guess we didn’t meet him). Then we spent the day out in Soho which was a really cool neighbourhood and we explored some of the ever so slightly out of budget thrift shops. To wrap up the New York part of our trip we met some other exchange friends that evening who are from McGill and were also in New York and we decided to get the ferry to Staten Island with them which was a great way to end the first part of our trip!

                   The girls in Times Square

Boston

The next stop on trip was Boston! Day 4 was pretty chilled. We got into Boston around 1pm and our check in was at 4pm so we had some lunch and then headed to our Air B&B. The accommodation was super cute and homely – a very American suburban vibe which was perfect for the rainy weather. We explored Harvard University’s campus a little in the evening where we started chatting to some Harvard students who actually brought us into the dining hall for a look around which was pretty cool. There was a Thanksgiving dinner happening that evening for Canadian Thanksgiving but we got some burgers nearby for dinner instead (not by choice). We ended the day by watching a movie with some Reese’s Pieces and popcorn, and then had an early night.

The next day was pretty rainy but we made the most of it! We started the day right with some cinnamon toast crunch cereal and then headed into the city to explore Boston Public Library and Boston Public Garden. We saw the world’s largest squirrels which were genuinely astonishing and honestly a little bit concerning I can’t lie.

Boston Squirrel

After that we walked around Beacon Hill and Acorn Street which was straight out of a movie, before going to Quincy Market which had every item of food that you could possibly think of. And if that wasn’t enough to overstimulate you, they had ‘Boston’ printed on every souvenir possible (the American’s don’t play about when it comes to consumerism). And it worked of course. I bought my 3^rd magnet of the trip and the girls and I got matching ‘Boston’ t-shirts. Before heading home we stopped in ‘Pepper Palace’ to try a dot of the world’s hottest hot sauce (as you do), which only took my mouth around an hour to recover from! But by that evening thankfully it was all okay again and I could enjoy the belated Thanksgiving dinner that we made (and I say made very lightly, ‘Star Market’ pulled through with their pre-cooked roast chicken and pumpkin pie). We finished off the night with a movie and ice cream.

Friendsgiving (ft. Boston T-Shirts)

The next morning I went for a run to Harvard to see it in the daylight which was a nice way to finish off my time in Boston. We then packed up and headed to the bus station for the last part of our trip, but not before I could get a Boston Crème Latte. Yes, it was as insane as it sounds (I think it genuinely contained my lifetime allowance of sugar).

Harvard University

Vermont

Then we were off! The 5 hour drive from Boston to Vermont honestly flew by and the vibrant red trees everywhere were so beautiful. We got into Burlington at around 6pm and then headed to our accommodation. The jam-lid for a bathroom door handle, beds on the floor, bright yellow paint, and lack of door to the main room was charismatic to say the least. We then headed out to have dinner and of course stumbled upon an Irish bar and, as an Irish person, we had to go in.

The next day we woke up early and headed straight to Burlington Bagel Bakery which was top on our list of things to do. Having seen it on a reputable source (Tik Tok) as a must-do when in Burlington, we were not disappointed. As anyone who knows me would tell you, I’m quite the bagel connoisseur and I have to say these bagels were a solid 8.5/10, I’d almost even give them a 9/10. So of course, we went back the next day also. After finding out that the Ben and Jerry’s factory was sold out (as you would think this was devastating), we had to rearrange our plans. We explored Chapel Hill Street, went to Burlington Flea Market, and walked along Lake Champlain which was so beautiful in the sun. Then of course, we couldn’t do a USA road trip without going to a diner. We stopped at Henry’s Diner for lunch which consisted of blueberry pancakes, maple syrup, and a milkshake that would send you into a sugar coma if you had a second. That evening we met up with a friend of mine from home who is on exchange at the University of Vermont and we got to experience real American college life – dorm rooms, a college bar, the whole shebang!

Burlington Bagels + Maple Lattes

Lake Champlain

The next morning, we got ourselves packed up as it was our last day of the trip. After 8 days of travelling, shopping and trying to fit everything into suitcases that were already full to begin with, not mention staying out a little bit too late the night before, you can imagine how dishevelled we looked. To paint a picture we had around 9 bags between 4 people, with a few broken suitcase wheels, which we stored for the day behind the counter of a tiny UPS centre for $5. We had a pretty chilled last day that consisted of a walk by Lake Champlain, some shopping (where I got my final magnet), and of course more bagels, before heading back to Montreal in the evening.

Lake Champlain

What a week! As incredible as all of the places we visited were, I have to say it really is about who you share the experience with.

Anyway, it’s safe to say my magnet collection is now well and truly taking over my uni fridge, and I cannot wait to see where the next magnet will come from! Talk soon!