25th - After leaving the apartment clean and tidy yesterday we traipsed to the hotel 13 blocks south weighed down with 2 suitcases, a duvet in a bag, a laptop in a bag, a backpack and a cowboy hat!We were relieved when we arrived and, after mistakenly giving us the keys to someone else's room which had all their stuff in, we got the keys to our room and decided to go to New York's amazing main post office (it takes up an entire block and is open 24 hours a day 36...

It's Sunday 21st October and we're still in Boston - we were planning on moving onto New York by now but a few vehicular hiccoughs have delayed us. We are sourcing some transport and will be moving on on Tuesday, regardless. At the moment it feels like we can't get away from Massachusetts, but its not a bad place to be stuck. With Boston Bruins (ice hockey) matches, Salem Halloween festivals and Red Sox fever, we are kept well entertained.

Monday 15th Oct was supposed to be a tourism day in the Beacon Hill area of Boston followed by a walk along the Freedom Trail - where we are reminded how tyrannous and vile the British are/were. As we were feeling peckish by the time we got into Boston and we had been told how good the restaurants are in the North End, we headed for that area and a quick lunch turned into a three-course meal with a few drinks added in at a fantastic Italian place. The food was so...

After a really nice week staying with family and friends and saying our goodbyes (thanks very much everyone for the send-offs and the wonderful hospitality) it was quite a wrench to leave. The flight via Dublin was uneventful except for blagging better seats on the plane and keeping Kirsty (and rows 9-12) amused with my comical snoring. Nearly 100kgs of luggage and no excess fares to pay - so that paid for the executive lounge in Dublin where a copious amount ...