Las Vegas, USA

Country: United States of America
Location(s): Las Vegas
Date of Visit: Easter 2007
Means of Transport: Southwest Airlines

USA Details
Population: 301,874,000
Government: Federal Constitutional Republic
Primary Language(s): English, Spanish
Primary Religion(s): Protestant, Catholic
Currency: US Dollar



Well, what can I say about Vegas. This was scheduled in one of my trips as an unnecessary stop, but we had to do it seeing as we were so close. I was expecting a dirty, cheesy, trashy and cheap-looking city that would not even be worth a mention. Quite the contrary. I fell in love with Vegas, and I can't even gamble or drink. The place is surprisingly beautiful. Every casino has its own charm and appeal that is sophisticated and gives a sense of class, not corruption and filth.

This made the first steps inside each lobby enchanting to see the extravagant decor and attractions that try to bring people in. My personal favorites were the ones that really exuded a Bond-like quality. The interior of Wynn was pretty awesome as well as the Bellagio. You really notice how much money is loose around Vegas with all the little details in each hotel. Like the canals at the Venetian or the Coliseum at Caesars or the pirate ship at TI (the hotel we stayed at).

The thing that was so worth doing, for only 10 bucks, was the walk north to get to the Stratsophere tower. On a beautiful low 90s day that I visited, I got panoramic views of the entire LV basin area and an awesome sight of the strip all the way to Mandalay Bay.

I mean, you know that these casinos try to get every cent out of you, the lack of clocks or daylight on the casino floor, however, some of my preconception existed in the form of the numerous pamphlets for prostitutes littered across the street. But these are easily ignored and did not hamper my enjoyment of the fastest growing city in the United States, I would go back in a flash. It surprised me, and I love it. Its like disneyland for grownups!

Montréal, Canada

Country: Canada
Location(s): Montreal (Montréal)
Date of Visit: July 2006
Means of Transport: Car

Canada Details
Population: 32,935,300
Government: Federal Constitutional Monarchy
Primary Language(s): English, French
Primary Religion(s): Catholic, Protestant
Currency: Canadian Dollar



Review:
Well I have some family out in a small town in Ontario, so I am fairly often driving through Montréal to get there from the New England area. Last summer we decided to drive into Montréal for the evening to a have a meal and watch some fireworks.

The spotlessly clean city was all dressed up for Canada Day, although not as popular in Quebec, it is still celebrated on a large scale. Everyone was wearing red and white and there were almost as many Canadian flags as Quebecois ones. The riverfront area is particularly special as it was the site for the firework celebration that goes throughout the summer, but were even greater on this Canadian holiday.

The architecture is modern French with a fairly impressive skyline from the river. It is one of the biggest cities in North America yet it seems to be often overlooked. The shopping area and the streets had a quintessentially French vibe about the place, of course, French being the official language of Quebec, its what you hear spoken most frequently. What surprised me however was the large mix of cultures present in the city. I had pictured Montréal as a very white Canadian city, but found it as mixed as a European city.

Also, in the streets were loud football fans cheering on the French national team as they had just won their game in the World Cup. Driving down the streets singing and chanting, soon to be followed by Portuguese and Italians doing the same thing.

I may be going back this summer for a bit longer to do some more exploring. I wasn't able to see many of the sites as such due to our very brief period there.

Boston, USA

Country: United States of America
Location(s): Boston
Date of Visit: At least bi-annually, last visit in Easter 2007
Means of Transport: American Airlines

USA Details
Population: 301,874,000
Government: Federal Constitutional Republic
Primary Language(s): English, Spanish
Primary Religion(s): Protestant, Catholic
Currency: US Dollar



Review:
Well there is a very good chance that I'm gonna be biased about this review. Boston, one of my favorite cities in the world is the closest big city to my hometown and therefore very dear to me. Over the numerous times I have visited it still draws me back because it is so different to most American cities. It was designed like old English cities with no grid system and red brick buildings, unusual to find in most parts of the US. It can easily be said that Boston probably has some of the oldest history in the country seeing as it was one of the primary settlements for the Pilgrims and then a secondary hub (after New York) for immigrants moving to America.

Its hard to know where to start with Boston. The best thing to do first, is probably take a duck boat tour around the city. This will familiarize you with the surroundings and you can pick up lots of little snippets of knowledge from the very informative tour guides. You can pick up the boat outside the Prudential Center or the Museum of Science, both great places to visit as well.

The Prudential Center is one of the main shopping centers as well as office blocks in Boston. There are great restaurants also located under the tower including one of my favorites, The Cheesecake Factory. It also has its own stop on the very convenient subway called the T. Although the T is both a mix of streetcar and subway, I find Boston a very walkable city and it is possible to walk from one side of the city to the other in about an hour.

The North End is another place that visitors have to see. The Italian district is littered with amazing restaurants offering fantastic Italian food, but hands down, the most popular place is Pizza Regina which is in the back streets of the North End, but offers the city's best pizza.

Unlike some downtowns in America, Boston's is quite lively as there are many hotels and tourist attractions mixed in. For example, all the regular sites such as Faneuil Hall, Beacon Street and the parks are all right in the center of town. Copley Plaza is a focal point of downtown which is right adjacent to two of Boston's oldest churches and the Boston Library.

Now, it seems more often than not, that when I am in Boston, I'm usually going on a Red Sox pilgrimage. This means showing up at 5pm in the Fenway/Kenmore area (on the Green line), and getting to watch the highest quality of baseball America has to offer. The atmosphere at Fenway Park is out of this world, even if you aren't a baseball fan, the Red Sox are a big part of city culture and camaraderie, and its an experience worth doing.

For places to stay, I recommend the Hotel Commonwealth which is located in the Kenmore area. It is a little bit outside of downtown, but very near Fenway Park and many good restaurants. Its a bit more pricey, but if you are on a budget, during the summer, some of the Boston University dorms are turned into a youth hostel which is actually in a building of an old Howard Johnson hotel. For little money you can get a basic room with access to the T in 5 minutes. Also in this area, its quite likely that you would bump into Matt Damon or Ben Affleck as they live in the area and walk around on the streets.

If you are interested in academia, Boston is the place for that too. In Cambridge you can visit the famed schools of Harvard and MIT as well as the hundreds of other universities in the area of what is known to be called College Town, USA.

Boston has the best aquarium in the world in my opinion, of the ones I have seen anyway, although recently it has got even more expensive, it is definitely worth a visit because their tanks are very unique. Close to the aquarium is one of my favorite places, a quiet square that overlooks the Harbor and where you can watch the planes taking off. You can find it by seeing four large sheets of metal arranged in a square, apparently a piece of art called 'Untitled'.

Ah, well thats only touching the surface of Boston. If I think of anything else, I will be sure to blog it. Boston is definitely one of the greatest cities in the world.

Oslo, Norge

Country: Norway (Norge)

Location(s): Oslo, Oslofjorden, Sandefjord

Date of Visit: June 2007
Means of Transport: Ryanair

Norway Details
Population: 4,695,134
Government: Constitutional Monarchy
Primary Language(s): Bokmål, Nynorsk
Primary Religion(s): Evangelical Lutheran
Currency: Norwegian Krone



Review:
Well this was one hell of a wild trip. A couple of months back I am surfing around the Ryanair website and bump into a deal that couldn't be missed. Return flights being offered for 2p to lots of destinations inclusive of all taxes and charges. This meant I had to get booking pretty quick as location after location kept getting sold out. I considered going to Milan and Bremen, but by the time I had logged on it was too late. Nevertheless, I was able to book flights to both Norway and Denmark for the day.

So, as a day trip to Scandinavia would most probably imply, this meant an early start to get to Stansted. Probably the only drawback to Ryanair is that its based in Stansted seeing as I live only a few minutes from Heathrow. Anyway, it wasn't enough of a deterrent to stop a 4am start to get a 6.30 flight to Sandefjord Torp. Check in was easy and before we knew it, we were on a plane headed to Norway. On the plane we met a nice woman, Christina, who advised us about certain things to look out for and also let me take her window seat so I could watch the descent into southern Norway. From the plane you could see the hundreds of islands just off of the mainland coast with maybe one house on each, a very bizarre phenomenon to me. Also the fjords became more evident as we traveled further along the coast.

We landed in a pretty small airport called Torp, which is actually a provincial airport and not really a hub for Oslo at all. With just a backpack for the day, we had no luggage to collect and it was quick getting out apart from the stare at the American passport that traveling in Europe always gets. First thing that hits us is the smell of Pølser (hot dogs), a smell recognisable from the numerous trips to IKEA. We then hop on a coach that takes us into downtown Oslo in about two hours. What is noticeable pretty quickly is the huge building of highways and the number of boats in water. Everybody must have a boat out there, like having a second car I guess.

We arrive at Oslo Sentralstasjon and head towards civilization. Of course, we have to deal with the numerous McDonalds on the very pleasant main street call Karl Johans Gate but manage to pick out some of the main buildings such as parliament and the national theater. A desperate urge to see some Nordic water, we head down to the port at Aker Brygge where we walk around the town hall plaza and see a statue of FDR amongst all people. Another observation, is the number of statues and fountains located in this clean, clean city. It really adds atmosphere and focal points to large and small areas. Something to take a picture of anyways.

What we notice from outside the town hall are tour boats. We run towards the dock as one looks to be leaving and for only 115NOK we were able to get a 50minute cruise around the Oslofjorden. We picked up some history and some details from a charming Chinese/Norwegian tour guide who spoke in English. The water had that glass/tablecloth quality about it, as I had noticed in Switzerland, but it was a deeper blue color than what I had seen before. The boat ride was timed just right as we were out in beautiful 85degree weather with sun and blue skies all around (apparently unusual for Oslo). All the houses on the surrounding islands all were either blue, yellow, red or green, a tradition that has been continued throughout Scandinavia. They also fly a Norwegian banner which is different to the flag itself, but more of a naval flag shape.

Looking at a time crunch, we figure we have just enough to hop on the metro called the T-bane, similar to Boston, and go outbounds to Holmenkollen, the Olympic ski jump. A long uphill trek from the metro station, you actually get to the Ski Museum and Jump and are confronted with breathtaking views of the entire Oslo bay and the surrounding islands and mountains. The ski jump itself is a feat of engineering which holds 110,000 fans at capacity and launches skiers into the air for 130meters. For only 70NOK I am able to gain entry to the museum which shows the evolution of skiing in Norway and the history of the 1952 Olympics as well as gaining access to the tower itself which offered even greater views of the city.

All in a days work, we start to head back to Sentralstasjon to get the coach back to the airport. The lack of AC anywhere is apparent, but the Norwegians, a fair people seem neither phased nor burned in the heat. We arrive at the airport, pick up some Pølser for 20NOK and hop on the plane back. We arrive back home at 12.30 GMT and its almost hard to believe we had just spent the day in Norway! I would thoroughly recommend day trips to Europe if the deal comes up.