I'm glad I took the train to NYC. It was cheaper and far more relaxing than flying. Also New England is a nice area and the train passed through and stopped at lots of interesting places. The only tricky part was hoisting my backpack on to the storage racks above - managed it without assistance. Then getting it down again without killing anyone - again rocked it solo. Nailed it! Research works. HI hostels send you a email a day before you arrive reminding you of...

Catching DC public transport to the airport, which only costs $9 as opposed to a $60 taxi. Love that game! Or even better is a free shuttle bus from Logan Airport in Boston to Downtown where I can walk the rest of the way to the hostel! Boston weather is similar to what I experienced in DC, but there is the melting snow to contend with. For a clumsy person like me, I gotta be careful. That s*** is slippery My first afternoon was a frustrating one. I arrived at ...

Just love when you order a taxi through the hotel and it's 20 minutes late. And even more so when it's a flat fee which is most definitely more expensive than a metered taxi. On my way into Orlando the taxi cost a total of $40 including the airport surcharge and cost of tolls, in a fair amount of traffic. At 5.30am there is no traffic to the airport so it should have been the same price or cheaper. Not happy. Anyhow because the taxi was 20 minutes late, this real...

So Orlando, Florida was meant to be the last warm weather stop before the bitter chill awaiting me in DC, Boston and New York. Only Mother Nature had other plans... First off I needed to hit the drug store to pick up a few items. Walgreens came through and met all my needs and more. Shops are crazy over here. Walgreens is meant to be a pharmacy yet it also stocks half a supermarket. Suited me. Picked up snacks for my theme park days and saved me a trip to an act...

I was dubious about coming to Cancún but it was actually great. First of all I am staying in a totally sick hostel. It's standard fare to have breakfast included with your stay but this normally means DIY bread, jam and butter and maybe some cornflakes if you're lucky. It does not mean an exotic fruit plate - cantaloupe, mango, star fruit, apple, banana and papaya and a second course of something hot and delicious. My first morning it was spaghetti bolognese. ...