What to do & see: my vacation plans

It’s time! My vacation has finally started which means that I will embark on my long awaited trip to 3 Canadian and US towns: Toronto, Boston and New York. I will be visiting each city for 5 days and both Toronto and Boston I have never been to. I wrote about my general plans in April but by now I have a much better idea of what to do and see when I’m there since I did some research. How much of it I will actually get to do remains to be seen. I also don’t have a fixed plan of which day I plan to do what. My experience is that that usually turns out being quite a farce and I want to keep an opening lest I come across something cool while I’m there. Hence, this is just a list of things to do and see. Keep checking back on this spot, because once I’m there I will of course post regularly about my activities.

Source: weheartit.com

Since this isn’t my first time flying across the pond I sorta know what to expect. First of all, the weather is 200000x better than in the Netherlands. All three places have around 30 degrees C expectations for the next couple of weeks. That means I’m packing my summer gear and a pair of walking boots because I will surely be out and about walking around and exploring the city as much as I can.

My first stop will be Toronto and apart from Niagara Falls I definitely want to check out the ravines in the city. Apparently Toronto has a network of ravines running through the city and you can hike through them while exploring the city. There is also a massive shopping mall called Eaton Centre so me being the shopaholic that I am I am sure going to check that out. I have also read that Toronto is a very multicultural city so I will also try to get a whiff of that and go to Chinatown and Kensington Market. There is also a Jazz festival going on while I’m there, so I might as well indulge myself in some music and check that out.

Other spots I (may) want to check out while in Toronto:

CN Tower, Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), Toronto Islands: Centre Island, The Distillery District, Yorkville, St. Lawrence Market, Harbourfront, Casa Loma, city beaches

Next up will be Boston. I already know that I will want to walk the Freedom Trail. This trail is 2.5 miles long and takes you across town while passing 16 landmarks that guide you through American history at the same time. I also want to take out some time to visit Harvard & MIT. Apart from pretty university buildings they also have plenty of art & bookstores around that area plus street musicians and student cafés. Another plan is to take a day trip to Cape Cod and if still possible go on a whale watching tour. I haven’t booked one yet, but I will ask around while there because the offers online were quite daunting because there are so many.

Other things to do while in Boston:

Beacon Hill (neighbourhood), Louisburg Square, Massachusetts State House, North end, Boston Public Library, Copley Square, The Custom House, Boston Harbor Waterfront, Quincy Market, Haymarket, Boston Harbor Walk, Gateway Center shopping Mall

Last but not least is New York. This will be my 6th time visiting this city so I’m no stranger. I have a hotel near The Village/ Soho, so I will mostly be in that part of town I guess. I plan on walking the High Line, visit South Street Seaport (somehow I never managed to go there), Chelsea Market, Greenwich Village and The Whitney Museum. I also bought a ticket to see the Yankees play the Red Socks at Yankee Stadium, am most likely meeting up with a friend whom I haven’t seen in 4 years and if time permits I would like to try take a dance class at Broadway Dance Center.

So these are my plans for my vacation. There will be some regular blog posts coming up the first couple of days, but once I have something to write about my vacation this blog will be solely devoted to those posts. I hope to be able to write a post every day, but I’m not sure yet. That is why I wrote some posts in advance to ensure this space is filled. So if you don’t see me reply etc. then you know why. I will be climbing a ravine, trying to sneak up on whales or cheering on a baseball team. Enjoy your summer!