New England New Me

I went to New England at the end of May since I had a ticket I had to use with the miles and had chosen NYC where I have lived many years ago. I decided that in the end I wanted to be more in contact with nature and so I decided to go to Massachussets instead and visit Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard. I definitely made the right choice. When I was younger I didn't particularly appreciate those long beaches on the ocean with the woods in the back. Now I do.A lot.As simple as that. I also wanted to be by myself and get a little introspective, reflect on certain issues, practice my yoga and meditation routines daily and being in contact with this kind of nature. Therefore, I went to Boston, rented a car and drove around that area. I was jetlagged and very tired the first day, plus the weather was horrible so I managed only to get to Falmouth, a very pretty town in Cape Cod. I didn't manage to see the beaches since it was raining so I just took strolls into town and stayed in an old fashioned but very nice motel: Mariner Motel.

The next day I decided to drive to Newport since the weather was really bad. At least I would be into a bigger town and would be able to do something. Well you guys from the States know it already but I have to say it anyway : Newport is beautiful. The harbour, the mansions, the nature: everything is pleasant and nice to look at. The mansions for us Europeans are not that interesting in terms of architecture or furbishing but certainly they have a fascination. Too bad for the weather: it was rainy,(very)cold, and miserable. Nevertheless I had a very good time there and met some interesting people. I stayed at Blues Inn, a very pretty B&B close to all the major amenities. The only one I managed to reach was Benjamin's, which apparently is one of the most popular restaurants and also bars. As a matter of fact I ended up staying there much longer than I expected since after having dinner there I met some very funny guys and spent a few more hours at the bar downstairs.

Then I went to Martha's Vineyard but that deserves a post by itself, and then to pretty pretty Provincetown. Now, I knew that it was famous for being an artist town, but nowhere did I find that it is a Gay-Lesbian favorite venue. I just found out by myself. To be clear there absolutely is no problem for me. It was really funny though to probably be the only straight person around at that time. Provincetown is a lovely place and I found a very nice guesthouse called The Carriage House, where Angus, the owner is fantastic and the breakfast he serves is superb. As far as restaurants go I wasn't very impressed with the one I went and I don't remember its name.

The next day I visited Chatham, another very pretty little town in the middle of Cape Cod and drove all the way down to Salem, the witch town. Mind you, the weather had changed abruptly so from 15 C° it became 30C° with a 80% humidity. Needless to say i was nearly melting and driving around in my car was the only moment when I could have some air conditioning and some time out from the heat. Now, I talked about the fact tha Provincetown is mainly a gay venue, at the same time Salem is a witch town, meaning the town revolves around the witch thing. Everything is witch-related, houses, museums, restaurants and ...the people. I have seen many women around who looked like what we would think a witch looks like and some people I talked to told me that there are in fact still practising witches and you can see them especially at Halloween when apparently you can't even get into town from the traffic of people going there. I liked it but i don't think I would repeat the experience.

The last day I was in Boston, where I had been many years before. I didn't recognize it really. It has changed a lot, however it is still a nice city although not one of my favorites in the States. Also it was so hot that I spent all afternoon in Boston Common a park in the center where I was surrounded by an army of squirrels and ducks which I had to relinquish my nuts and dried fruits to.

Then I managed to go and visit a little bit of the city and made it until North End the Italian neighbourhood going through Quincy market, which is a semi historic building in which you can find all kind of food sellers.Then I basically melted so I had to go back to the hotel and lay in the air conditioning. I would definitely go back to see the Hub again better with another kind of weather,spend some more time there .Love their accent by the way. By the time I went back I realized that this journey has helped me changing my prespective on a lot of things, to be free and in conact with nature, to practice my meditation and yoga, but more importantly nested a new me or somebody who was already there but hadn't come out yet. Here's to New England then!