Episode 3 Getaways

Hello, and welcome to Getaways.

This is the travel show where we go where you want us to go.

On our website we asked you for your top tips

of what to do here, and what to avoid.

We've taken your recommendations, and are going to rate

and review them for ourselves and for you at home.

This week we're visiting Boston and Cape Cod.

We're combining an American city break with a trip to the coast.

Based on your suggestions,

we visit a museum dedicated to an iconic American...

..head to Boston's weekend resort, Cape Cod...

..and I'm taking a short getaway in the Glens of Antrim.

Flights to Boston take around seven hours

and the time difference is five hours.

So, expect a bit of jetlag.

If you're flying to the States from Dublin

then on most flights you can pre-clear US customs and immigration.

And this is a huge plus, because since 9/11,

the Americans really have ramped up security,

and it can take ages on the other end.

Boston is on the eastern seaboard of the USA,

about 300 kilometres north of New York.

It's the capital of Massachusetts, and the gateway to New England.

It's a small city about the size of Dublin,

and has a very European feel to it.

-Joe, you've been to Boston before.

-Indeed.

What are you hoping to find out on this trip?

Well, Boston is often described I think harshly

as a "decaffeinated New York"

but there's still a lot of fun to be had.

I want to see what's changed since the last time I was here. You've been here as well, though.

Yeah, I was here seven years ago with the girls

but I didn't go to any museums on that trip, so

that's what I want to do this time, have a look at the museums.

Plus, two of the top ten universities in the world are here in this city,

and I want to see, does that college vibe

-permeate through the place, does it make it a good spot for a city break?

-Yeah.

So, what's the best way to get your bearings?

Many of you, including Natalie McDermott from Roscommon,

suggested we hop on a Duck Tour -

an amphibious vehicle that dips into the water from time to time.

Although it might seem very touristy,

it is a big thing to do in Boston

and it's a fun way to check out the city.

And another way to see the city is from the air.

Adrian Finnegan from Belfast suggested the Skywalk...

52 storeys high, at the top of this monster, the Prudential Building.

The day I went it was foggy,

but you could still see that Boston is surrounded by water.

And, unlike many American cities, it's not laid out in the grid style.

At the top of the building

there's also a small exhibition about the city's roots.

There's a huge focus on immigration up here, and for about 100 years

the Irish made up the majority of the immigrant population.

They've depicted stories from all over the world, and here

they've shown us some of the items that people brought with them

on their journey into the New World.

A large number of you, including Lorraine O'Flynn from Kildare,

said that if you go to Boston you really have to do an historical tour.

Now, in most cities an historical tour would involve

putting on headphones and being guided by a slightly robotic voice.

Here in Boston however, you get this fine gentleman as a guide.

James Blake, everyone. Everyone - James Blake.

Hello. James Blake, a smither of tin and a smither of stories for you.

Here, the Freedom Trail, you'll find it on a map -

it's marked by a red line.

I love it, so instead of the yellow brick we're going on the red brick.

Oh, yes. We can skip if you'd like, as well, arm in arm.

-All right, then. Come on.

-All right. All right. Here we go...

-Oh, Joe...!

-AOIBHINN LAUGHS

We started our Freedom Trail in Boston Common,

50 acres of green right in the heart of the city.

So you're getting a total picture

-of the history of Boston during the Trail.

-Yes. Yes.

The whole colonial history, from when the Puritans first landed here

to when we threw off the tyranny of the British Empire!

And declared our independence.

This is the "New" State House,

our 215-year-old "New" State House.

-OK.

-This was designed by the same gentleman

-who designed The White House.

-BOTH: Ah.

The trail takes you past dozens of key historical landmarks.

The Freedom Trail, for us anyway, ends at Faneuil Hall,

also known as Quincy Market.

-And even JFK spoke here.

-Yes - the last leg of his presidential campaign

was here, right down here.

Any heads of state we have, we entertain them right down here.

-This is the heart of politics.

-This is the heart of politics to the state.

Quincy Market is also a popular shopping destination.

And the other place for great shopping in Boston

is Newbury Street, where you'll find lots of cool boutiques.

As well as shopping, Boston is also a great place for museums.

In the past few years

science museums all around the world have become far more creative and interactive,

and Boston's Museum of Science is no exception.

Loads of you, including Brian Graney from Greenisland,

recommended that we come here.

And apparently, this is the city's most popular cultural attraction.

They try to cover just about every branch of science here.

There's the physics of lightning...

some zoology, with the butterfly house,

a special mathematics section,

and a tribute to the moon landings.

This is a to-scale model of the Apollo command capsule.

This is the only part of the craft to return to Earth.

I'm feeling claustrophobic

and I've only been in here for about ten minutes -

but there would have been three astronauts in here for a couple of days.

But I suppose the view would have made up for that.

Now, a great number of you all contacted our website

all suggesting the same must-see,

and Lee McMahon from Fermoy was one of them.

She said that when you come to Boston,

you must go and visit one of its most beloved residents,

the USS Constitution - affectionately known as Old Ironsides.

Now, you may be asking why is she called Old Ironsides

when she is clearly made of wood? Let me explain.

I shall take you back to 1812,

to the shortest recorded battle in naval history.

The USS Constitution got into a wee bit of a tussle

with the HMS Guerriere.

Now, it was bombarded at the sides by the Guerriere's cannon,

and when they examined it afterwards they discovered

that either the cannonballs had embedded in its side

or merely bounced off and into the water.

And someone exclaimed, "Her sides are made of iron."

As you can see, back then

sailors were either a lot smaller, or unconscious a lot.

You find me in the Captain's quarters.

No hammock for him, a rather swish-looking bed,

and look - a sunroof?

Well, so you would think. Check this out.

It's the khazi.

A poo...with a view.

Over on OUR side of the Atlantic,

we tend to sell most of our best seafood to the rest of Europe.

Here though, they keep the biggest and the ugliest

for domestic consumption.

Oh, my God...!

-Lord...

-I'm never going to get through that.

I've seen you take down some serious contenders,

but I think this one is going to have you beat.

I don't think I'll manage all of it.

The eastern seaboard of the United States

is a massive producer of shellfish and crustaceans.

So you can't get very far in this town

without coming across a seafood restaurant.

Down in one. Down in one...

Be prepared to shell out, though, for the best - get it -

as a whole lobster is likely to set you back 40.

It is high-maintenance food. It is delicious, though.

-But it's definitely not first date food.

-No.

HE GRUNTS WITH STRAIN

If a long-haul flight seems a little bit too much,

why not try a short break a bit closer to home?

This week I'm visiting the east coast of Northern Ireland, and the Glens of Antrim.

The Glens of Antrim are nine glens cutting through the landscape to the sea,

and the area's a real dramatic mix of cliffs, moorlands and beaches.

On a clear day, you can see the Scottish islands and the Mull of Kintyre.

The Glens are located between Larne and Ballycastle,

along a 40-mile stretch of the Antrim Coast Road.

One of the best-known Glens is Glenariff, or Queen of the Glens,

and the view here is said to have inspired

the Victorian novelist William Makepeace Thackeray

to describe it as a "miniature Switzerland".

No, I don't think he'd ever actually BEEN to Switzerland.

Glenariff Forest Park is popular with walkers and cyclists,

and best-known for its spectacular waterfalls.

This is Ess na Crub,

or the Horseshoe Waterfall.

The Glens of Antrim have inspired many myths and legends,

and when you come to a place like this, it's easy to understand why.

The next stop on my tour of the Glens

brings me to the village of Cushendun.

Cushendun means "edge of the Dun", which is this river here,

and it's long been a landing place and ferry point

between Scotland behind me in the distance, and Ireland.

This picture-postcard village is unique

and protected by the National Trust.

These cottages in particular were designed by Clough Williams-Ellis,

the architect responsible for Portmeirion in Wales.

The houses were commissioned by Lord Cushendun,

who wanted to make his Cornish wife Maud feel at home in their Antrim estate.

Cushendun has inspired many poets and painters over the years,

and more recently film-makers.

This coastline was used as a location in Game Of Thrones.

This week, we're in the States,

and we're visiting the east coast city of Boston.

Based on your recommendations, so far we've enjoyed the Freedom Trail,

taken a glimpse at the space race

and seen a loo with a view.

Welcome aboard! Welcome aboard the Eleanor.

The harbour area is vital

to Boston's history, and any tourist coming here

won't want to miss the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum.

Lots of you, including Janice Coley,

recommended this is a really fun way

to find out about Boston's past.

So Dave, tell me what this museum is all about.

This museum is not a traditional museum,

this is an interactive adventure.

You get to be part of the town meeting where Sam Adams

exhorts you to go and destroy the tea...

come aboard a ship and get to explore the ship AND destroy the tea...

Are we all still willing to take this risk? If you are, say aye!

-ALL: Aye!

-Huzzah!

We try to make it a story and an adventure

that everybody can become immersed in.

This is the very spot where in 1773

angry patriots disguised

as Mohawk Indians threw three shiploads of tea into the harbour,

in protest at King George's heavy taxation.

This dumping of tea became known as the Boston Tea Party.

It was one of the founding moments in American history,

and was one of the events that led up to the American War of Independence.

And it all started...right here.

And the one place I really, really wanted to investigate

while in Boston is a few miles south of the city.

I would strongly advise that you make the journey,

because it is fascinating.

They're sometimes referred to as America's royal family,

and over the last century they've certainly provided enough power,

politics, riches, scandal, glamour and style to rival any dynasty -

or to fill any museum.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy was the offspring of two families

who migrated to America because of the Irish famine -

the Fitzgerald family from County Limerick,

and the Kennedys from County Wexford.

It only took a few generations for the Kennedy family

to create enough money and political clout

to make a bid for the White House.

In 1960, JFK beat Richard Nixon

in a closely-fought contest.

At 43 years old, this Harvard graduate,

war hero and Democrat

became the youngest ever president of the United States of America.

The centrepiece of the museum

is this beautiful recreation of the White House corridor,

and off it are plenty of exhibits from JFK's time in the presidency,

from the space race to the Cuban Missile Crisis

and Jackie Kennedy's own oral histories.

This part of the United States may sometimes seem obsessed with

the Kennedys, but this magnificent building, which also houses

the Kennedy archive, is a fitting tribute to its most famous son.

As you leave the exhibition space, you step into a vast empty

cathedral of glass and steel, with a huge American flag at its centre.

It allows you space to contemplate and reflect.

A great number of you said that if we were

going to visit Boston we have to take the time to visit Cape Cod.

Sarah said it was "absolutely breathtakingly beautiful".

Cape Cod is around 100 kilometres southeast of the city,

and there are lots of beaches and activities.

It's where all the Bostonians take time out from the city, and you'll

also find a lot of New Yorkers leave the Big Apple to chill out here too.

They're very protective of the look

and feel of this area - for example, local businesses are not allowed

to have any neon signs or anything considered too gaudy,

and if you're building a property here

there are building regulations

that stipulate that the outside must have this wooden shingling.

And it gives that... chocolate-boxy effect.

-OK, Joe. One of us gets to go on a cycling trip...

-That's right.

-..and the other gets to go on a Jeep ride across the sand dunes.

-Indeed.

-How do we decide?

-Well, I've looked at this, the pros and cons,

-I think we should do it in a scientific way...

-Mm-hm.

-I'll flip you a coin for it.

-All right.

-Winner picks. Call.

-Heads.

-Oh... What do you want to do?

-Lovely. I'm going to go cycling, then.

-All right,

I'll go across the dunes in a buggy. Brilliant.

'There are dozens of miles of unspoilt beaches here on the Cape.

'Cars aren't allowed on the dunes - the exception being

'if you go with a recognised Jeep safari company.'

Woohoo!

Oh, yes, that's it!

That's what we want.

See, I can't get a real job still. This is too much fun.

-Yeah, you've got one of the coolest jobs ever.

-Hang on...

HE LAUGHS

My guide was Barbara, who advised

that it maybe wasn't a great idea to go immediately after lunch.

What is that house up there, are there many of those?

They're called dune shacks.

They started being built in the 1920s and '30s

-by squatters.

-OK.

And most of those people were artists and writers -

Eugene O'Neill, Jack Kerouac,

Jackson Pollock was here, Homer Winslow...

A lot of famous people passed through.

Wow. That's quite impressive alumni.

There's a great cycling tradition here,

with dozens of places where you can pick up a bike for a few hours.

It's great flat terrain, the countryside is absolutely beautiful,

and there's miles and miles of trail to enjoy.

This trail used to be a railroad,

but they converted it into 40 kilometres of cycle track

that goes right through the heart of Cape Cod.

But here's a word of warning about the Cape.

We visited Provincetown in May,

when it was quiet and calm,

but we WERE advised that in the heart of summer, it can get very crowded.

There are a huge range of places to stay in Boston and Cape Cod,

and here are some of our choices.

The Loews Boston Back Bay Hotel

is a converted police headquarters,

and has decent-sized rooms,

which it's hard to find sometimes in Boston.

There ARE cheaper options, though.

The Boston Midtown Hotel, in the shadow of the giant

Prudential Building in the Back Bay is not going to find itself

in any of the glossy magazines for its design features.

But it's in a great central location, and the rooms are a good size.

In Cape Cod they're forbidden to build high,

so the bigger hotels tend to sprawl out across huge sites.

This means that the Cape Codder, where we stayed,

has multiple pools both inside and out.

This price also includes five days' car hire, with insurance.

We booked our holiday package, including hotels and flights,

with American Holidays and Aer Lingus.

There are 14 flights a week from Dublin to Boston.

If you'd like any more information about our holidays,

please visit our website.

So Aoibhinn, what do you make of Boston as a city break destination?

I love it. It's so pretty, there's a real community feel to it, and the museums were brilliant -

and you probably expect that from a university town, but the Science Museum, I just loved it.

It's a great city whether you're here as a couple or whether you're here as a family,

-and if you have the time, get out to Cape Cod, particularly Provincetown.

-Definitely.

We loved it. See you next time on Getaways.