Day 59 - Leaving New York

The temperature dropped this morning and there was a little rain. This was the view from deck 7.

Cruise ships are not good at managing the departure of their passengers. Our suitcases had to be packed and left outside our door by 10pm. We had be out of our stateroom by 8am, but then we waited in the crowded atrium for more than an hour.

Our group was called so we left the ship and collected our luggage onshore. We were told to go down to the buses in the single elevator, but there was a lineup so we chose to manage our suitcases on the escalator. Unfortunately the MSC Meraviglia parked next to the Viking Sea disgorged 4,500 passengers on the same day, overwhelming the 950 Viking passengers in the scramble for buses.

New York traffic was back to normal today and it was a long journey to Kennedy Airport. We arrived about midday but the Qantas desk didn't open for check-in until 2pm. There were absolutely no seats anywhere in the departure area and one unattractive café. A helpful information officer told us there was another coffee shop on the arrivals level, but that option was worse. At least there was seating in the arrivals area so we had coffee from Hudsons take away and played cards to pass the time.

Going through security was not too bad apart from people who either don't listen or ignore clear instructions. Fortunately we could spend the rest of the afternoon in the airline lounge. The food was OK and I liked this lighting arrangement.

Now we have to wait for our flight which is due to depart at 6.10pm. It will be about midnight New York time when our plane stops in Los Angeles for 2 hours. We reboard the same Qantas plane and leave about 10.30pm LAX time, arriving knackered about 6am in Brisbane!

Bus Tour of New York

Our included bus tour of New York lasted 4 hours. Fortunately we scored a terrific tour guide named Phil. That's him holding the Viking lollipop. There's no set route for these tours and we were lucky there was hardly any traffic. Phil just kept telling the driver where to turn, after checking on line the traffic situation in the area we were approaching.

Here's a few photos taken through the bus windscreen of some New York buildings.

We stopped at the site of the World Trade Center Memorial. The new building has been completed. It is the tallest in the USA, to the left of the first photo.

When viewed from ground level the building looks like a triangle. This new transport hub has been built near the WTC. It's an amazing building.

Back on board we had dinner and packed our suitcases. We are on a bus to JFK Airport tomorrow morning to catch our flight home.

Day 58 - Arrived New York

We have been so lucky with the weather throughout our trip. Today was no exception. While it was mostly cloudy the temperature was 24°C. Our ship sailed under the Verrazzano Narrows Bridge into the Hudson River, New York

We had wonderful views of the New York skyline and the Statue of Liberty.

Day 57 - Departed Boston

This morning we decided to stay on the ship rather than visit more of Boston. We were here in 2011 so just relaxed on board. Overnight the Queen Mary 2 docked beside the Viking Sea. Next year we will be travelling on that ship from New York to Southampton in England.

The white building to the right of the ships was the longest building in the world when first constructed as a military warehouse. It is now used as an innovation centre.

The fun part of our day was sailing through the Cape Cod Canal. This was built in the early 1900s to shorten the journey from Boston to New York. Ships small enough to pass through the canal don't have to sail around Cape Cod. Before the Viking Sea could attempt the canal the taller masts and aerials had to be lowered. A record was set today as our ship is the largest ship to have ever travelled through the canal.

Day 56 - Panoramic Boston

The Viking Sea berthed in Boston early this morning. It was a lovely sunny day and we were ashore by 8.30am for our included Panoramic Boston tour. Our driver was very competent and personable, and our guide extremely well informed and articulate.

I try to get a front seat in the bus because it is better for my travel sickness. We hopped  on our allocated bus and there was one seat available at the front next to a female passenger. When I asked if I could sit in the empty seat by the window, she said she would prefer it if I didn't. She was clearly not going to be much fun to sit next to for a couple of hours touring around Boston, so we got off and were the first to board the next bus. We sat in the front seat and had the best driver and tour guide so the weird woman did us a favour!

There are lots of historic buildings in Boston. The oldest is Paul Revere's house built in 1680 before he was born. He was the revolutionary who rode his horse through the night in 1775 to alert the militia the British were coming. There's a famous but historically inaccurate poem called "Paul Revere's Ride". He was also the first person in America to roll copper into sheets. He was a silversmith and industrialist when he was not pestering the British.

Most of the old warehouses and large buildings in Boston have been repurposed as offices or apartments. In some streets the building facades cannot be altered due to their historic significance.

In the 1960s several public buildings were built in the brutalist style of architecture, mostly from formed concrete. The name comes from the French bréton brut meaning raw concrete. However, even some of these chunky concrete buildings are being remodeled into apartments.

One of the very clever things Boston did was remove about 2 miles of the raised highway Interstate 93 that passed through the city, and put it underground. In its place the Rose Kennedy Greenway was built, all at huge cost with delays, allegations of substandard work, leaks and legal disputes. The 10 year anniversary of the Greenway was being celebrated today and thousands of people were out enjoying the sunshine.

The city also had to build ventilation shafts to ensure the air quality below the city was not dangerously polluted.

More Portland

Back at our ship we had to wait while this liferaft was being deployed over the side of the ship, presumably as part of the US Coast Guard inspection that was happening onboard. These liferafts are in the white canisters that can be seen on the left of the first photo. They inflate automatically but the crew had to deflate it and put it back in its cover.

The sun came out in the afternoon while we strolled around the port area. Most of the buildings are historic but this first photo shows the old and the new.

This Holy Donut shop regularly sells out each day. There can be queues up the street but service is quick. The secret ingredient is Maine potatoes, which apparently add an interesting texture and moisture to the donuts.

 
We watched the sunset as we sailed away from Portland. The map shows our location but we still have great phone and internet coverage - much better than the ship's WiFi.

Day 55 - Portland, Maine

We woke up in Portland, Maine on the east coast as opposed to Portland, Oregon on the west coast. It was a cold drizzly morning so we were glad to be doing a bus tour and not walking around. Everyone on board had to be cleared by US Customs before going ashore.

The bus was an improvement on Gaspé's school buses. Our African American driver Brother Reed was quite a character. Our guide was well informed and described the extent of Portland destroyed by the great fire on 4 July 1866. Most of the buildings had to be rebuilt so from an architectural perspective the city is predominantly Victorian architecture.

We drove through Portland only able to take photos through the bus windows. Here are a few passable pictures of stately homes where I have edited out the bus driver's head. Most of these once large homes have been converted to apartments.

There are some impressive public buildings in Portland. The red tower survived the great fire through the efforts of the owner and his workers carrying buckets of water to the top and pouring them over the outside of the building. The tower was built in 1807 to see ships approaching the harbour. This gave about three hours notice to prepare for the unloading and reloading. It is the last standing maritime signal tower in the country.

The peak of the fall colour is about a week away, according to our guide. The odd maple tree has turned red and some other trees are yellow. The coastal rose bushes are covered in red rose hips.

The bus stopped at a coastal park where this lighthouse still operates. The drizzle had stopped but it was cold.