Boston

Boston, the last stop of my post-graduation-north-east-solo-trip. What a great way to end a trip as well. I couchsurfed at the 'Den, a small co-op, self declared this year. Immediately upon entry everyone was so welcoming and we shared wine, cheese and stories the rest of the night. Small scale intentional communities seems to be a trend in Boston right now, groups are getting together moving in together and living cooperatively. I had the opportunity to spend time in another nearby co-op that runs itself differently than 'Den and had a great time. While in the area I walked around and saw some of the tourist attractions like a famous cannoli place in little Italy (where I ate a mint and chip cannoli) and Harvard and MIT. But really the best time I had was Hanging out with the 'Den. I got to experience the filming process of a movie (as there house was used as a set for a film Major at BU whilst I was there), I got to experience the local student bar scene, I got to check out local thrift stores, cafes and even accompanied a housemate to Planned Parenthood in the rain. Oh and of course I got to see a play for free thanks to them! I had a great time and left in a rush after sharing a great meal and throwing my shoes over the phone lines. I left with just enough time to get to the bus that takes me to the airport, however I was not expecting there to be a detour in the road. So I got to the bus terminal late, but lucky for me Greyhound double booked my bus. Greyhound Canada sold tickets for a bus they weren't supposed to sell tickets for causing enough drama to delay my bus long enough for me to get on.

I climbed a lot of stairs for this picture!

 These pictures are from the Boston Commons, the Central park of Boston. Don't let the pictures fool you, it was freeezing!

  The Boston Harbor! I almost threw a tea bag in just to be patriotic

 This was the Mapparium, a giant stained-glass globe you can walk inside. Unfortunately pictures were not allowed to be taken so this is all I could sneak

 The city with a Bridge's point of view

 MIT has the coolest architecture

This is a thrift store, they sell cloths a dolor a pound

Burlington... not the coat factory

To greet me back to America after being in Canada there was the cute little town of Burlington. I went to the waterfront and walked down Church Street (that is the downtown area full of small local stores). The best part of my stay was really the time I spent with my couchsurfers (One of which was a one-legged athlete... very inspiring) They were so welcoming and absolutely hilarious. We cooked, watched cold steel youtube videos, and they taught me to play Catan. 

Penny Lane there is a fireman with an hourglass

And in his pocket is a portrait of the Queen

He likes to keep his fire engine clean

It's a clean machine

This is the food coop in Burlington, it was huge 

Thee House... Don't mind if I do

A mural at a local Artist Coop

The most beautiful part of Burlington, The Colorful Houses.. Oh the many colorful houses

  

Montreal

Montreal, what a cool city. I couchsurfed with some cool Lebanese brothers,  hung out with some friends I made in Ottawa, caught up with my friend Alex I met in New Zeland, spent time at a local co-op, an of course just explored the city. Montreal has a huge park running through it and wall after wall covered in street art. I really liked Montreal and can see myself living there someday... in the summer, because it was freeking cold, but the rent is also ridiculously cheap for being a city. It is a French-Canadian city, but nearly everyone speaks English (however, I did learn to say je ne parle pas français very well)

I was in Montreal for my birthday and I did not do anything outlandish, but I was happily surprised by the kindness of people. As I mentioned I met some people in Ottawa that I ran de vouxed with in Montreal. Chloe` and Bastien are some french students abroad in Montreal, and we made a delicious dinner at their house and this apple tart. They shut off the lights and said it was environmental then came out with the tart and sang happy birthday in French, English and Portuguese (their roommates are from Brazil). It was so nice and I really am so thankful that I had the pleasure to meet such nice people while traveling. 

 The Candles melted a bit into the pie

 My french friends!

 These are some pictures from coop Genereux. They are closely associated with Food not Bombs and are a community space to host events. There is a landlord but this house has been a coop for years and all the rooms were not originally there, they were constructed as you can see below. 

 They were so happy waving to me!

 Poutine! This is a regional specialty that is basically french fries with gravy and cheese curds and this particular variety also has bell peppers and bacon. My other friend I met in Ottawa Florence who is from Germany, took me to the best Poutine joint in town!

 In Montreal there is a house called the Productive House that a Swedish architect designed and is living in. Their energy is largely solar and geothermal. They have a garden and a greenhouse. They have a large gray water system at work and a bakery with a wood burning oven that will become a worker cooperative that will serve the community. Above is a picture of the most visually pleasing part of the house in my opinion.

 At the coop there was a staircase painting party. There were people making plaster molds to make sculptures of body parts that will come out from the walls and people drawing with markers and glitter and painting. I decided to partake... this would be what I left

 This was probably my favorite addition and I had a great talk with the artist. 

This was the coolest bus driver ever! he had his bus decked out in hockey fan gear and had a bowl of free candy where you put in your bus fare that he refilled at red lights. 

 The view of the city from my couchsurfer's apartment 

My couchsurfer used to study architecture and has a ton of little wooden block that he let me use to make a piece of art. that's it!