I love the New England countryside; forested mountains, hilly pastures, red barns – postcard pictures. We decided to go there in the middle of September – which was too early for the famous autumn colours – so that we could escape the crowds which usually fill the rural roads during October, and to save some money of course as well.
After three days in Boston we headed north and that’s where, for me, the real New England begins.
My favourite New England state is Vermont, especially the Lake Champlain coast and islands. From Burlington we took US Hwy 2 north and then across the causeway, to visit tiny settlements located on the lake’s islands. From the south they are: South Hero, Grand Isle, North Hero, Birdland, Alburgh and some other tiny hamlets whose names I don’t even remember.
There you can visit country stores, art galleries or local cafés. Even when stopping for petrol you can chat with friendly locals over a cup of tea or coffee. We would have liked to stay a few days more in the area, but as it is with such road trips we had more things to see and not that much time. After crossing yet another causeway we entered New York State, specifically a town called Rouses Point. Most people associate this state with the urban craziness of New York City, but up in the north, next to the Canadian border, things couldn’t be more different; towns are small, country music rules and the sky is big.
We decided to eat at the tiny Gino’s Pizza – a place where the furniture harks back to the early ‘80s, people are friendly and the chef looked like he had just arrived from Naples, yet spoke with strong Yankee accent. When we asked for a big pizza, he said that because we are Europeans we should have a look how big the big pizza actually is. It was absolutely enormous so we took his advice and scaled down to the medium one (which was still bigger than any big pizza you can get anywhere else).
Absolutely full, we headed north again. After crossing the Canadian border without much hassle at the quiet and deserted border station we drove towards Montreal. I expected a lot from the famous city but unfortunately I was seriously disappointed. The biggest reason was due to the dreadful weather – it was raining like a hell for whole afternoon so we only had a quick walk and went back to our car completely soaked. At this point we decided to pass on Montreal sightseeing and drove west towards Toronto, hoping for a change of weather.
And what a difference a day can make. The following day was absolutely fantastic – sunny and warm but not too hot; perfect for a peaceful drive. We went off the main motorway and decided to explore the back roads. I especially recommend the Thousand Islands region, and the best way to visit it (apart from a boat of course) is to drive the 1,000 Island Parkway. It is an absolutely amazing road hugging water all the time with great views over the islands. Some of them are tiny with just one tree, on some there are houses, on others whole mansions and even a castle.
Another good way to see the varied topography of the St Lawrence waterway is a visit to the viewing tower located on the Hill Island, right next to the border crossing to the US. To get there you have to drive along a narrow and steep suspension bridge alongside massive 18-wheelers. It is a bit scary. From the top of the tower you can see how many islands and channels create the region. At the westernmost point of the region is the historic city of Kingston where you can stop for dinner or a bit of shopping.
Our next destination was Toronto. Driving from the east we used the famous (or infamous) Hwy 401. Some say it is the busiest road in the world; it has anything from12 to18 lanes and it is a weird experience to drive it. Fortunately we arrived to the Toronto area late in the evening and avoided the notorious 401 rush hours.
Toronto is actually a very nice city. If Montreal was a disappointment, Toronto was a big pleasant surprise (great weather definitely helped for a more positive experience). The day started with a visit to the CN tower. For a long time it was the tallest free-standing structure on earth but by the time of our visit it had already been overtaken by Burj Dubai. To be honest it doesn’t really matter it is not the tallest any more, it is still an amazing structure and offers stunning views from the viewing platform at 346m. Everyone brave enough should try to walk over the glass floor panels. Even I knew this was a very strong, perfectly safe floor, I still tried to step on the little metal frames joining the glass panels. I also realised that most people did the same thing.
After the tower we walked around the nice and compact Toronto downtown and visited the provincial parliament building which offers quite interesting, free, guided tours.
The best part of the whole Toronto experience was a visit to the beaches. Yes, Toronto has beaches – just a few miles east from downtown. All you have to do is to take a cool, old fashioned red tram and in 30 minutes you can enjoy the seaside-like environment. The beaches are surrounded by attractive old houses, and the main drag (Queen Street East) offers great food and shopping. There is even Kew Gardens for homesick Brits; they are a bit smaller than our Kew but it is still a nice spot. Our day in Toronto ended with a long walk along the beach at the sunset.
The following day we went towards Niagara. But before we reached the famous waterfalls we popped in to Niagara-on-the-Lake. It is a lovely small town set – as the name suggests – on the lakeshore and surrounded with wineries. It is a complete tourist trap, full of tour buses and American tourists looking for a British experience close to home. But it is still worth visiting and offers especially good shopping – locally made wine, Irish accessories, antiques, and organic food. And of course it is the perfect place for an afternoon tea.
The best way to approach Niagara Falls is to drive the Niagara Parkway – a scenic road connecting Lake Ontario with Lake Erie and follows the Niagara River for its entire 56km. Some say Niagara Falls is so commercialised, kitsch and tacky that going there it is a complete waste of time. I don’t think so. True, there are all the possible gift shops and tacky attractions you can only imagine, but the falls itself are still worth seeing. We just ignored the encroaching kitsch, and concentrated instead on the falls, which is not too difficult because they were truly amazing. I recommend going down to the base of the falls; after paying quite a hefty fee you can enter the tunnel leading to the base and it is worth every penny. As we approached, we could feel that everything was vibrating; the thousands of tonnes of falling water was making the ground shake. We stood on the platform with the falls right next to us – in fact, almost directly above us. We also went through smaller side tunnels which open right behind the curtain of water.
After the whole experience we were almost completely soaked; the plastic ponchos you get when you enter the tour don’t give much protection against the eternal mist forming behind the falls.
We continued south on the Niagara Parkway, which becomes very rural and quiet just a few miles from all the hustle and buzz of the falls. But it still offers beautiful scenery and is worth driving.
We entered back into the US at Buffalo which is completely insignificant and not worth a stop, although the countryside around it is very pleasant. We went off the main highway again to drive the back roads of upstate New York. We got a bit lost and almost ran out of fuel but saw plenty of nice towns and villages. After dinner in one of these small towns, we headed east towards the Big Apple, still a long way to go. We had to spend a night somewhere and it wasn’t easy to find motels off the main interstate highways in this rural region. We finally spotted one in the town of Warsaw. It was one of the dirtiest and dodgiest motels I have ever slept in, but it was late, we were tired and it was extremely cheap. Anyway, if you can, avoid staying in a motel in Warsaw.
The next day was spent driving the quiet highways on the New York – Pennsylvania border heading steadily towards New York City, which was our final destination. But this is the subject for a completely different story.
Author: Gregor Swiderek
Date: 22 August 2008
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