New England: An Itinerary Through the Places of Murder, She Wrote, Among Lighthouses, Covered Bridges and Harleys

BOSTON

We take our car to Parkingo Malpensa and leave on time for London with a British Airways flight. In London, however, there are delays and we leave for Boston 2 hours late. Too bad: we had chosen British Airways precisely because last time in the USA we were very satisfied. This time, on the other hand, not at all: besides the 2-hour delay, much of it spent on board the plane with the air conditioning off, the whole flight was excessively hot. Before departure, it was so hot that my seatmate, a distinguished American gentleman, asked the hostess for a glass of water and then spilled it on his head (splashing me a bit). I assure you it's true! Moreover, they didn't assign us the seats we had indicated but rather the worst seats on the plane: the 2 central seats, of the central row of 4 seats (ignoring our request for aisle seats).

Furthermore, British planes have seats that are definitely too narrow. Once in Boston we quickly get through the disembarkation procedures. We do, however, have some trouble with the car rental. First of all, at Boston's Logan airport we can't find the car rental desks because they aren't inside the airport. We then discover that we have to go outside and wait for our car rental's shuttle. Shuttles from every possible rental company pass by, while ours, Alamo, keeps us waiting. Finally it arrives and when, after a few km, we reach our rental company's offices, we find ourselves arguing with a real thief. First of all he tells us that, if we hadn't paid a $ 150.00 surcharge, he would have foisted a miserable Fiat 500 on us (even though we had booked a higher-category car). Considering Max's height, it really wasn't possible to travel with a 500.

However, we stand our ground and insist on paying the price as resulting from our booking. So the thief tries to foist some other extras on us: first he tries with supposed supplementary insurances, then he moves on to the toll pass (absolutely useless because the highways are almost all free). Finally, given all our refusals, he settles for selling us a full tank of gas (so we return the car empty) and about 30 dollars of supposed taxes. But the surprise comes when we go out to the parking lot: there is no 500! It was absolutely a bluff to squeeze more money out of us. In fact.... they invite us to freely choose a car from all those available. We choose the nicest and biggest one: a Nissan Altima. Advice for everyone: don't let yourselves get ripped off by car rentals. Pay only and exclusively the amount resulting from the booking.

Refuse every accessory because they're just tricks to squeeze more money out of you (they probably work on commission).

And to think we chose Alamo because last time we had problems with Dollar. Next time who will we choose? I think Hertz, with which we've always had good experiences. After wasting a lot of time here, thanks to our GPS navigator (rented for a fortune) we quickly reach our hotel in downtown Boston: Hotel John Jeffries House.

We discover that the affiliated parking is right next to the hotel. The price is a bit high but it's convenient. Our hotel is very nice. It's not a typical hotel but a large house: a kind of big Bed & Breakfast, tastefully furnished. Impeccable service. The bed, however, is a bit small: it's a French-style bed, barely more than a queen size. We're tired and go straight to sleep

Boston

Given the time difference we wake up very early. And so it will be for the whole vacation. Fortunately, everywhere they serve breakfast very early so we can immediately start visiting the city. The breakfast is pleasant: in a nice little living room, in front of a (unlit) fireplace with many kinds of muffins, coffee, tea, milk, etc. Today it's sunny and in Boston it's very hot right from the early hours of the morning. Our hotel is in the characteristic neighborhood of Beacon Hill. We first visit the Public Garden with its nice little lake, little bridge and characteristic swan boats. We then move on to visit The Esplanade, that is, the park along the Charles River. We then head to the lively neighborhood of Back Bay with lots of spots and then move on to the more modern Boylston street.

Here we have to run an errand and go to the nice Prudential shopping center and buy at the Barnes & Nobles bookstore, at the request of a friend, the Nook, an e-reader not yet marketed in Italy. We buy it without problems and continue our itinerary. We head toward Trinity Church and then visit the Gibson House, an old house with typical Victorian furnishings. We have lunch at Starbucks. In the afternoon I, Daniela, exhausted from the excessive heat, go back to the hotel, while Max visits the surroundings.

For dinner we decide to go back to the Prudential Centre where there are many options for dinner, central little tables in the shopping center and above all air conditioning. After dinner we continue to visit the shopping center's stores and do our first shopping. We decide to go back by subway. On this subject I want to discourage everyone from the Boston subway: in the stations there's unbreathable air, excessively hot. Moreover, the trains are infrequent and excessively crowded. It's not essential to use it in Boston. We will make 4 rides in all, over 3 days. Boston isn't very big. By carefully thinking through the itinerary, you can visit all the areas of interest on foot.

BOSTON

This morning it's raining and it will continue to rain steadily all day. After breakfast we go out on foot, with the umbrella, and pass through the Boston Common park. Unfortunately, given the weather conditions, we can't fully appreciate the original pool/lake in the center of the park, where people can soak to cool off. In fact that day there's no one there, but the day before it was full of people swimming.

At the exit of Boston Common, the "Freedom Trail" begins: a path in red bricks that winds through the streets of Boston retracing the historic sites of Boston's first colonists. We therefore pass in front of the State House, the government building with a golden dome; and the Old State House, an old government building with a particular central hall. We also visit the Old South Meeting House, a beautiful meeting hall used by the Puritans. We then head toward the wharves, pausing in the lively area of Quincy Market: a popular center with shops, restaurants, a covered market with seating to have lunch by buying the many delicacies offered by the numerous market stalls. Here we spend a lot of time: a famous Frappuccino at Starbucks; first purchases in the Harley Davidson store, little gifts for friends at the beautiful Boston Christmas (a large Christmas store, open all year).

I decide to buy some typical American little donuts (Donuts) to hang on the Christmas board to give as souvenirs.

Lunch at Mac Donald, because the covered market at lunchtime is packed with people and there are no more free tables (also because it's raining outside). After lunch, a stop at the Hard Rock Cafè, where I buy a t-shirt for my daughter and then we stroll along the wharves: Long Wharf and Central Wharf. We get as far as Rowes Wharf which, however, turns out to be not interesting at all. Given the bad weather we can't even take the amphibious tourist vehicle (which goes both on land and in water) as we had planned. Oh well. We settle for photographing one. We then return by the very hot subway to the hotel and decide not to use it anymore, even though the stop is right in front of our nice hotel. So for dinner we decide to stay in the surroundings of the same, on Charles street, an elegant street in Beacon Hill. We choose an English-style pub and eat something.

PROVINCETOWN

Off we go. We leave Boston to head toward the Cape Cod peninsula. First stop: Plymouth. Here the fog greets us. The Mayflower, anchored here, the sailing ship that landed here with the Pilgrim Fathers in 1620, is shrouded in mist so much that it looks like a ghost ship. We nevertheless appreciate the beautiful little colored wooden houses and, following the guidebook's directions, we look for Jenney Grist Mill and the oldest house in the town, the Richard Sparrow House. We like the mill very much. Then heading for Cape Cod, in search of lighthouses. The white and red lighthouse of Nauset, on the Lower Cape and then the Cape Cod lighthouse. We arrive, encountering a bit of traffic, at Provincetown, the most picturesque little town in the area. It's very lively and colorful but it's packed with tourists. In short: too touristy.

It's famous for being a favorite spot of Gays and indeed we meet several of them strolling hand in hand.

An obligatory stop at the Harley store in Hyannis and then toward our hotel in West Dennis:

Travelodge Cape Cod Area. It's an average motel, located in a panoramic position facing a lake and near a scenic bridge that separates it from the town of Yarmouth. For dinner, we cross the bridge and head to Yarmouth, to the Lobster house. Here we taste for the first time the Lobster roll (a sandwich with lobster meat) and some excellent fried calamari.

MYSTIC

the Dunkin Donuts chain. It's a historic chain that offers little donuts and other sweet and savory things. We'll go there very often: for breakfast, sometimes for lunch, sometimes for dinner or after dinner and sometimes simply because we need to go to the bathroom and there are always facilities available there. There's a Dunkin Donuts in every suburban area, often near shopping centers or gas stations. It's an excellent and economical solution. We recommend trying the Boston Cream: a kind of filled donut, brimming with cream and covered in chocolate. Early in the day, as every morning, we continue our itinerary. Today we leave Massachusetts to enter Rhode Island. We visit Newport, full of beautiful stately homes. We decide to visit the biggest and the most beautiful: The Breakers. This huge villa was the summer residence of a railroad magnate, richly furnished with period furniture.

The park is also very beautiful, with direct access to the sea and to the Cliff Walk (a 5 km path along the cliffs). We have lunch with a sandwich at a self-service place in Newport and then visit the small village of Wickford, famous for having a significant number of buildings constructed before 1804. The peculiarity is that on the facade of every house, all with patriotic flags, the year the house was built is written.

After Wickford a stop at the Harley Davidson dealership in Exeter. Here we have some trouble with a credit card because the shopkeeper is required to call Visa to verify the identity of the user. It already happened to us last time in the United States. They say it's a measure for our security but for us it turns out to be only a huge nuisance. After about 30 minutes of phone calls between the shopkeeper and the Bank, the matter is resolved and the card is unblocked. What a pain!!!! Remember to always carry with you your credit card's customer service number, to resolve any hassles like this one! We then head toward our hotel in Mystic, in Connecticut: Days Inn Mystic. Unfortunately, in the late afternoon it starts raining hard and so we can't use the pool. Around 6 pm we go out to visit the town of Mystic. Unfortunately we discover that here, everything closes early.

The Seaport (tourist harbor) is already closed, so all we can do is visit the large store full of nautical-style items. We then head toward the town center with the famous drawbridge. We're lucky enough to see it as it opens and closes.

For dinner there's no doubt: Mystic Pizza, where the movie Mystic Pizza was filmed with a very young Julia Roberts. Obviously the whole place talks about the movie itself; in fact... a TV continuously plays the movie and the photos taken from the movie are hung on the walls. The pizza is good, since I really like rather thick pizza. The waitress goes overboard in asking us for the tip (Tip) which, in this area of the United States, is a never-ending refrain. Everyone asks for tips. Some even add it automatically to the bill. In short... the waitress at Mystic Pizza would even want a good $ 15.00 tip on a bill of not even $ 40.00. We negotiate and come down to $ 10.00, but for us Italians it's still too much and hard to swallow.

For us Italians, this year in the United States we're in luck: the dollar is very low against the euro and everything seems cheap to us; but the tip really NO, we just don't understand it.

WILLIAMSTOWN

The morning starts with some complications because the phone in our room doesn't work. We, as every morning, absolutely need a hotel's landline phone to be able to call Italy with our New Columbus prepaid card from Tim. With this card, calls to Italy are absolutely convenient (less than a euro per call) but it's essential to use it from a landline phone (with a cell phone it's absolutely not worth it because the operator adds costs). So we ask permission to be able to make calls from an empty room and we get it. This Days Inn Motel thus loses points. A shame though because the breakfast is really good. There's even a waffle machine to make yourself waffles with the batter; fun: our waffle is perfect! On this subject I want to say that, among all the motel chains visited in the United States, on this and on the previous trip, the Days Inn chain is definitely the best.

It's also the one that always offers the best breakfasts. It always has a pool, often a hot tub and always large rooms and beds. Try it to believe it. First stop of the day is Essex: a tiny little spot on the Connecticut river with a pretty little harbor.

We then decide to go to Hartford to visit Mark Twain's house. We have to beg the guide to fit us into the first tour group. We manage to convince her and the visit turns out to be very interesting even though the guide rambles on too long. Mark Twain's house is a pleasant wooden construction with 19 rooms all furnished. Here Mark Twain wrote 6 of his most famous novels. We then make a brief stop in Lenox, where we visit the beautiful Library in a historic mansion. I'm struck by its homey feel, with fireplace, little sitting rooms, armchairs and a pleasant mezzanine.

We then go to Williamstown where we'll stay overnight. Williamstown is a nice college town, very orderly. These American colleges are a true enchantment. However, apart from this and apart from the beautiful houses set in greenery, there's nothing to visit. We therefore go to our Williamstown Motel, a characteristic motel run by Indians. The decor is particular. It's not like the classic motel. However we immediately notice that the main light doesn't work and so we immediately have to request maintenance which, fortunately, is rather prompt. For dinner, we eat at a '50s-style Diner near the Motel. The Diners represent the ideal solution for our meals in the United States. First of all they represent a slice of America, a real piece of history. Moreover they have very varied menus, full of good things at medium-low prices.

MIDDLEBURY

We don't even try to go have breakfast at the Indian motel and head straight to the Diner from the previous evening. I get apple pancakes while Max gets a savory breakfast with eggs, bacon, etc. As soon as we leave Williamstown we enter Vermont. Vermont is beautiful: mountains (even if not very high) and woods and green as far as the eye can see. You can imagine what autumn must be like here, with the whole landscape painted yellow/orange and red for the foliage. We, however, in this season, see so many shades of green. Vermont is also the land of the fabulous covered bridges. Do you remember the film/book "The Bridges of Madison County"? Well, in this area of New England there are tons of bridges. You just have to find them. And that's exactly our undertaking for today.

We discover that when we look for them, we don't find them and then they happen to appear before our eyes by chance (the bridges aren't marked with road signs). In Bennington there are as many as 3 covered bridges. We find 2 but in exchange we find a big parking lot of typical yellow school buses, very picturesque. The covered bridges were built here in the 1800s to protect against the harsh Vermont winters and were also called "kissing bridges" (you can imagine why). Anyway, by the end of the day, we manage to find as many as 7 covered bridges.

Throughout the entire territory of Vermont and neighboring areas my cell phone has no signal: maybe because it's old (even though it's tri-band) or maybe the SIM is old. Anyway, only and exclusively in Vermont, it gets absolutely no signal. It will reactivate as soon as we leave the state borders. We continue along a long road through the mountains of Vermont. After miles of deserted places we arrive in the tiny center of Grafton. There's almost nothing here: just a single shop that sells everything that resembles the Oleson's mercantile (Little House on the Prairie). Here I buy the white Marshmallows to roast on the fire (for my daughter) and the non-stick spray so the crepes don't stick to the pan (for my mother). We then make a stop in Woodstock (which has nothing to do with the city of the famous music event), a small town of Georgian houses in brick and wood.

Here we also find a Blues orchestra playing in the park that creates atmosphere. We have lunch in a lovely Diner and for dessert we get Apple pie à la mode (apple pie with vanilla ice cream and whipped cream). It's phenomenal. We then head toward Middlebury where we'll stay overnight. Middlebury is a truly lovely little town. It even has waterfalls in the center and little bridges. There are also several shops, especially for buying the famous Vermont maple syrup (Maple) which reigns supreme here. I'll buy some mini bottles of maple syrup to bring to my friends in Italy.

And then our Hotel, The Middlebury Inn, is beautiful. The most beautiful of our trip. It's also flagged by our guidebook as a place to visit while we, on the other hand, will even stay overnight there. It's a classic hotel in Georgian style in red brick, dating back to the 1800s, with period furnishings. We have a simple dinner with a big Subway sandwich and then we enjoy our hotel sipping an American coffee in a lovely little sitting room.

MEREDITH

We have breakfast in the beautiful hall of the hotel, carefully choosing the table in the best position. Then we head toward the beautiful lake region of New Hampshire. First of all we stumble upon the Harley dealership in Laconia, the best among all those visited. Here Max discovers that it's possible to rent a Harley even for just one day for a little more than 100 dollars. Of course, visiting these fantastic places by motorcycle would be magnificent. Kicking himself, he says that next time he won't let such an opportunity slip away and he's already planning a second trip to New England to rent the motorcycle.

Then we reach the nearby Meredith, an elegant and lively little town with a lake of an intense blue color. We stop for lunch in the colorful Wolfeboro, one of the oldest seaside resorts in the country, overlooking, like Meredith, Lake Winnipesaukee. We have lunch, as usual, in a lovely Diner on the main street. Afterwards we move a few miles and head toward Squam Lake; a slightly smaller lake famous because the film "On Golden Pond" was shot here. We visit the village of Holderness, overlooking the lake itself but here too there isn't much: we only visit the library (elected library of the year for the region) and the only general store.

We then head toward our Motel, Days Inn Campton, managed this time by Tibetans (in the United States all motels are managed exclusively by various ethnic groups). Right in front of the motel there's a very long covered bridge and obviously there's no shortage of photos.

The motel, even though it's rather old as a structure, has an indoor pool and hot tub. We go for a swim before dinner and then have dinner at a McDonald's in the nearby town.

BRUNSWICK

Breakfast at the Days Inn motel in Compton isn't bad. Then, we set off right away heading for Portland. It's Saturday morning and we notice a strange all-American phenomenon. We start noticing, outside numerous private homes, the setup of actual little markets, accompanied by the sign Yard Sale. We then understand that, on Saturdays, many Americans put all their junk up for sale and, the incredible thing is that there are also numerous buyers. We're so curious that we park and visit one of these Yard sales: well... there really is everything and the prices are rock bottom. So we can understand that many junk dealers in the area go to do business at these yard sales, also considering the high number of antique shops we see around. We arrive in Portland but we stay very briefly because we don't like it. It's a rather large port city and it seems a bit sad to us.

We go to see the Portland lighthouse (which, if you want, like all lighthouses can be visited inside) and then we move away quickly to go to Boothbay Harbor.

Here the tune changes; here we like it; this is the Maine we wanted to see and, in our opinion, Maine is absolutely the most beautiful state in New England. Boothbay Harbor is teeming with tourists and we can understand the reason considering how lovely it is. We have lunch here with yet another Lobster roll and with a fantastic carrot cake (Carrot cake) of gigantic dimensions. The slice, which we split in 2, will be at least 12/15 cm tall. After lunch we make a quick stop in nearby Wiscasset with a scenic bridge with kiosks selling the famous Lobster roll and people eating at outdoor tables on the pier. Beautiful. 2 photos, a bathroom stop in a bar and then off to the Knights Inn Brunswick motel.

The motel has a nice look, all white and light blue with a small pool (which we use in peace by ourselves). However the room smells of I don't know what. Maybe the smell comes from the horrible carpet. Who knows... the fact is it smells and we open all the windows. We also point it out by writing it on the empty envelope, which we find in the room, in which we're asked for the tip. We write: "The room has a bad smell" and obviously no tip. Brunswick isn't interesting at all but it doesn't matter. We only need it for the overnight stay. We already notice a lovely red Diner for dinner that claims to make the best Lobster Rolls in Maine. And obviously we go there. After dinner a stop at the Dunkin Donuts across the street.

HAMPTON

We have breakfast at the motel in Brunswick and then set off for Kennebunk Port, a quiet little harbor where we witness the phenomenon of the tides that gradually enters an inlet of the village.

Then we move to Kennebunk, decidedly less interesting than the previous one. Here, the only 2 interesting things are: the Georgian-style library and the Wedding Cake. Let me spend a few words to explain what the Wedding Cake is, because it deserves it. It's a house shaped like a wedding cake built by a shipowner for his wife to compensate her for the missed wedding celebrations. On the same street as the Wedding Cake, there are anyway many other interesting houses that deserve attention. We then go to Ogunquit, a name that means "beautiful place by the sea" in the Indian language. However the most beautiful part isn't Ogunquit center, too crowded and trafficked (also because it's Sunday) but rather Perkins Cove. It's a beautiful, lively, colorful little harbor with the peculiarity of having the only pedestrian drawbridge in the United States.

We're even lucky enough to find ourselves in the center of the bridge, right as it was about to open to let a boat pass (warning given by a simple woman shouting). At that point we didn't know whether to run to the right or the left of the bridge but we take advantage anyway to photograph the opening. In Perkins Cove, besides quite a few small shops, seafood restaurants and lovely colorful houses, there's also a very small lighthouse reachable with a nice scenic walk on the cliff. In short, here there's really nothing missing. We also go to Ogunquit Beach, where there are lots of people on the beach (even though the weather is cloudy). We don't stay long, just the time to take advantage of the public restrooms. Our guidebook points out a beautiful lighthouse at York Beach. And it really is a beautiful lighthouse; perhaps the most beautiful among all those visited.

The day's program is almost finished and we head toward Hampton, where we'll stay overnight. We reach Hampton with great difficulty due to the heavy Sunday traffic on this horrible road full of Outlets (we hate Outlets!!!). It seems that even Americans have gone crazy for these horrible structures. Yuck. Before arriving at the hotel, however, a stop at the last Harley dealership on the program, right in Hampton. It's the largest dealership among all those visited. We don't have much left to buy since we've already made purchases at all the other Harley sales points. Anyway Max manages to buy one last t-shirt, I buy a pair of sunglasses and some stickers for my daughter's scooter.

We arrive at our last hotel. I say it correctly, not motel but a real hotel. And it's really lovely. It's a historic hotel, with all the charm of buildings from some time ago: Lamies Inn and The Old Salt Res. The hotel repays us for the ugliness of the city of Hampton. Obviously we selected it as a stop only for its position, because here there's absolutely nothing interesting. It's a seaside resort for families and young people (a succession of arcades and crummy places along the seafront). We just take a drive along the seafront to see it with our own eyes and then we look for a nice diner for the evening, in another quieter area. We have no trouble finding it right on the same street as our hotel. Obviously we eat well as in all the Diners we've visited. After dinner we stop at the characteristic restaurant of our hotel for a coffee and one last slice of Apple Pie à la mode.

Last because tomorrow we head back to Italy. We go to sleep where a nice King Size bed (a 3-person bed) awaits us.

SALEM AND BACK

Last day: we have a nice breakfast at the buffet of our hotel. Today it's raining hard. We hadn't seen rain since the beginning of our trip. We absolutely have to revise the day's program. No picturesque seaside places as planned. We have to find indoor solutions. The idea comes to us from a brochure taken at the hotel in Boston. We go to Salem, the city of witches, to visit the House of the Seven Gables. The House of the Seven Gables, House of Seven Gables, isn't a witch house even though it may resemble one. It's the house where the writer N. Hawthorne (just to be clear, the author of "The Scarlet Letter"), so fascinated by this strange house, decided to set his novel "The House of the Seven Gables" (which I'll soon read). The house is truly unique, with truly 7 gables and, to pass from one gable to another you climb very narrow spiral staircases.

The house is all furnished in 19th-century style with even mannequins to make the setting more realistic. I absolutely want to buy a model of the house for my collection of little houses from around the world, but unfortunately the one on display is the only one left. I go to the person in charge and beg him to sell me the only specimen displayed in the window and I succeed!

On the way out we walk along a few streets of Salem but we don't like it much. It's a city that bets everything on witches (witch museum, witch monument and shops selling objects of dubious taste related to the world of witches). We really don't like it. We only like the House of the Seven Gables. On top of that it's pouring rain. So we decide to go to the airport even though we're a bit early. But it doesn't matter: there we'll be dry, we can eat, go to the bathroom and visit the shops. So we do. First, however, we have to find the place where you return rental cars. We find it without difficulty thanks to the GPS and the documentation in our possession. We try to bring the car back as empty as possible, considering that we had to pay for the first full tank, and then we say goodbye to our white Nissan Altima that behaved excellently (unlike that bas... of Alamo rental).

At the airport we do all the operations without problems and leave right on time. We also get aisle seats, as we would have wanted on the way out. So we travel decidedly more comfortably. We arrive in London on time, even though we have to run because the layover has very short times and the lines for the checks in London are always long. In fact, we arrive at the boarding point for Malpensa with the gate already open. We board and leave right away. We arrive in Malpensa even early. Incredible! Hey... if you want to know, our next trip to the United States will be to Florida. We'll get to work right away to organize everything well, like this time. DANI and MAX