Stop 7: Boston We were lucky to arrive in Boston free people.... We arrived into the greyhound station where Nat attempted to take a photo of the bus as a keepsake of the hungover bus journey of DOOM - only to be shouted at by some officious (read jumped up) bus attendant who threatened Nat with 'Homeland Security' for committing the 'serious felony' of photographing the bus... Err what?! Naturally we both laughed loudly in his face, sure he must be joking - Am...

Stop 6: NYC Day 1 - Friday After a not-so-pleasant greyhound ride - during which our dictatorial bus driver demanded absolute silence, no use of mobile phones and all lights turned off despite the early hour of 7pm - we were relieved to arrive in NYC. We were collected from the bus depot (glamour) by Helen's friend Andres who kindly chauffeured us to our home for the next eight nights. Having fantasised about the luxury of unpacking and having a homely haven a...

Stop 5: Philadelphia We made our grand arrival into Philadelphia by....... Greyhound bus - for a grand sum of $8 each! the experience was relatively painless with leather seats, free wifi and even plugs for our ever-needy mobiles. We decided it was an EXCELLENT idea to continue our money-saving travels by walking the 1.5 miles from the station to our accommodation.... a few hundred yards in, our combined luggage weight of 75kg began to take its toll and we dec...

Stop 4: Washington, D.C. So our plan to "follow the good weather around America" backfired a little as we arrived to four inches of snow in Washington, where our suitcases laden with bikinis and sun cream proved to be absolutely useless - cue frantic Michelin Man style layering and unauthorised raiding of our host's wardrobe for knitwear. Whilst foraging in the knitwear cupboard of the apartment we were staying in, Nat encountered a long-dead full animal fur c...

Stop 3: Charleston As quaint and pretty as it was, Charleston was a little bit of a disappointment after New Orleans. Our visit started well with plenty of red wine, making some more new friends in an oyster bar called Pearlz (amazing seafood gumbo) and (yes, more) cookie dough, but it all became a tad boring from there on... It didn't take us long to explore all that Charleston has to offer - a smart Main Street filled with bars and restaurants; Rainbow Row ...