Québec city was great. The chateau Frontenac is beautiful as is the whole (walled) city with it’s old buildings and lovely restaurants. The weather was great for the time of the year. Before heading off to Boston the engine oil had to be changed, so after having that done we were ready for the USA. We crossed the border in Vermont, one of the most beautiful states in the US.
Vieux Québec
Chocolat Museum in Vieux Québec
Chateau Frontenac
When arriving in Boston we first wanted to visit Harvard University, leave the RV there on a parking lot and then explore the whole city. For our navigation in Canada we trusted on our smart phones with a Canadian 3G account. We couldn’t do that in USA but we figured we would find Harvard easily. That didn’t turn out so easy since apparently there are two different Harvard Streets within 5 miles distance so we got horribly confused and lost. The streets in Boston are, just like in Europe, not straight avenues and streets. So after three hours and a free Starbucks wifi spot we found Harvard. We loved it. They have sort of a small university village there and while we were there there was a game going on against Yale.
We looked for a decent parking spot for the RV but never really found one where we could stay overnight for free. It was causing some stress with all the narrow roads and the lack of direction signals so we decided to leave Boston before getting a nervous breakdown. We definitely have to come back to visit downtown Boston in the future.
We drove on to the Auburn (Massachusetts) Mall to spend a quiet day. At this moment it’s incredibly cheap to buy stuff in the US. The American dollar and Canadian dollar have nearly the same rate at the moment. Normally the Canadian dollar is weaker than the American one so they make the prices in Canada higher. So now with the same rates and the lower prices in the US we did some hardcore shopping. Most stuff was 25% cheaper than in Canada.
After spending a day in the mall we drove on to Bennington in Vermont. A friend of ours grew up here and his sister now runs the family motel. It’s a really cosy place called the Knotty Pine Motel. We went to an Italian restaurant called Allegro where we had some great pasta and wine.
Next on our menu is Kingston, the first capital of Canada.
Make sure to visit the Thousand Islands! I’m sure there’s a boat you can hire to take you around for a bit.