Hello Brooklyn - Day Eleven, Part 1 - Tuesday 14 February

Ah 14 February... our arch nemesis. Luckily we had the distraction of having bigger fish to fry.

We had packed the night before so there was no need to be up at the scrake of dawn on Tuesday morning. However there was still a free breakfast to be taken advantage of, so we popped down to the lobby, grabbed some bagels and beverages and brought them back to our room to chill out for a little while. Then it was goodbye to Nu Hotel and indeed Brooklyn, as we made our way back to our old and familiar friend, Penn Station.



It was a bit of a trickier journey on the subway this time though, as we somehow had to manage two backpacks and three cases between the two of us. I needed one hand for my crutch, so the Yorkshireman bravely took on two of the cases. It might not have been so tricky if the handle on our new Bed Bath and Beyond bag didn't keep trying to sneak back into the frame every time we stopped, but then what can you realistically expect for $19.95?

Eventually we made it, found the Amtrak departure gates and settled in to wait for our train to board. I left the hassled-looking Yorkshireman to bag-sit while I went and gathered a little picnic for myself for the train - we wouldn't be arriving in Boston until almost 3.30pm and then we'd have to go straight to the hotel to check in, so lunch was inevitably going to be a train-bound experience. I grabbed a ham and cheese croissant and a cupcake from Zaro's (I'd seen them every time we popped in and out of Penn Station over the last eight days so I was finally going to give one a try!). I also took one look at my poor overheated and overwhelmed husband and decided to buy him an iced tea to cool him down. He was irrationally grateful bless him.

Then soon enough we were wrestling our big bags on to the train and once again enjoying the views and the comfortable seats as Amtrak whisked us down the east coast where new exciting adventures awaited us in Boston. Although I must admit I did feel sad as the Manhattan skyline faded from view. It's still my favourite city in the world and if money and time allows me, I will definitely be back one day in the not-too-distant future.

Back on the train, I enjoyed relaxing and reading my book. I also enjoyed my picnic, although the cupcake tasted quite mass-produced and was definitely not going to be competing with Crumbs any time soon. There was a bit of a delay on the tracks about an hour away from Boston, but we arrived at Back Bay Station just after 3.30pm. Time to see what Boston had in store for us!