Just a quick note and Thank you to the people of NYC and Boston for making our family vacation over Christmas and New Year fantastic...

And to everyone on here who gave good advice and tips a big thanks and best wishes for 05!

Highlights

NYC
Wicked (great show!)
Grey line tours (good fun and a great way for my sister - a first timer in NYC- to get an overview of the city)
Statue of Liberty - great that you can go inside again (pre book thru circle lines a must!)
Too many eating places to mention but cementing the fact that NYC has some great places to eat!


Boston

Boston Pops - !!!
The Snow - crisp and clean
Blue man group (ok touristy but thats what we were!)
Cheesecake Factory for Lunch
SHOPPING (at a great exchange rate -sorry all of you in USA!)
Boston Folk - you do not live up to your reputation of being stuffy - rather you are great fun!

only negatives!

Limoliner - late and not a great service

Boston Cabs - how many of these guys own a map of boston - I say this as a majority did not seem to know our address on Beacon Street! ( I asked one friendly driver if we were asking the wrong way but it seems we just lucked out!)

Anyhow small glitches in a great 10 days in USA

Heres to the next one!

Jon

Hi Jon, thank for the report. Would you care to give any details about your disappointment with the Limoliner, since it has been promoted on these boards as superior to regular buses that cost a fraction as much? Were services promised and not delivered? (Other than promptness; was bad weather or hloliday traffic perhaps to blame?)

Boston cabbies certainly do not get the same rigorous training and testing as their peers in London. Next time you come to Boston and stay on a major street, be prepared to tell the cabbie the nearest cross street, it will help.

Hello

I wish to be fair to Limoliner and have asked them for comment on the level (lack of)recvd - with the intention of posting both sides on here.
Will be interested to see what they say.

With regard to Boston Cabbies - we were staying on Beacon Street (so not that small a street!) and attempts at

1) 113 Beacon Street
2) At the Junction of Arlington and Beacon
3) Beacon Street - close to common just past Cheers
4) 113 Beacon St - about 4 houses past the junction with Arlington Street on the left

All failed - if someone has advise on how to say "take us to 113 Beacon Street"
not covered by above I seriously would be interested!

Rgds

Jon

Yikes, you certainly gave those cabbies a chance! That's an extremely basic location to find in downtown Boston! Maybe the word "junction" was too tough for them? Cheers & Arlington Street are at the Public Garden, not the Common, but that's no excuse.

maybe its me London accent innit guv!



Jon

jonldn - so glad you had a great trip. Am especially glad you enjoyed the Pops!

Driving in Boston for the most part is horrible - the roads are always changing around the Big Dig and there were some changes while you were here. BUT, none of that should have effected getting to 113 Beacon St.

Recently a friend tried to take a cab from Boston to my office just the next city over. She got so frightened by the cabbie's driving that she made him stop and let her out several miles from her destination. I had to drive to go find her. My mom has tried several times to do the same thing and it usually ends with me going and finding her on a corner no where near here.

That exchange rate is a killer...for those of us anxious to go back to the UK...but glad you enjoyed our Boston...Didn't some of the brownstones remind you of London? Come back in the summer/spring and enjoy it further.

Jon, LOL at the possibility of accent problems. Perhaps you should do as we do when visiting a city where we don't speak the local language, and carry a brochure or business card from the hotel itself to show the cabbie!

Dear Bennie

The POPS was one of the highlights and you review was spot on!

As for Cabs hay it all adds to the rich tapestry of life! and a very minor glitch in what was a great time! I already feel homesick for Beacon Street

J