First Impressions of America - 2025 Winter Break Travel Notes

📍 New York · 👁 1611 reads

The plan to travel to the US was made long ago. After visiting Canada in 2017, I wondered when to go to the US? Originally planned for 2020, but for well-known reasons it was delayed until 2024, and two elderly friends joined the group, making it a five-person group of old, middle-aged, and young. The itinerary had to be repeatedly revised, and places I was interested in were almost zero; even if there were, it was only a whirlwind tour. In April 2024, the travel itinerary was planned, flights were booked, hotels were booked, and a car was rented, but then one of the elderly companions fell ill. Whether to cancel or postpone became the most pressing issue. But to avoid disappointing the two seniors, we decided to postpone until the 2025 winter break, meaning we would spend the New Year in the US. So the new dates were January 19 to February 12, 2025, a total of 25 days.

As mentioned earlier, "whirlwind tour and check-in" was the main purpose of this trip, so the direction was simple. In the Western US, we visited three cities: San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego. In the Eastern US, we chose four cities: New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington DC. The Western US took eight days: three days in San Francisco, three in Los Angeles, and two in San Diego. The Eastern US: eight days in New York, and three days each in the other three cities. Also as mentioned, the summer trip became a winter trip, and the main change was from the original "Eastern US first, then Western US" to "Western US first, then Eastern US" because we needed to spend the New Year with relatives and friends in New York. Also, the planned road trip on Highway 1 was canceled; winter is indeed not suitable (and I later heard that Highway 1 was still under repair and required detours).

Finally, the detailed itinerary followed the group's interests in four aspects: visiting relatives and friends, outlet shopping, landmark check-ins, and university tours. The following are attractions we personally tested and recommend. You can also refer to other travelogues and a treasure trove website, MeiLvTong.

In the city, you must ride the cable car; it takes you directly to Fisherman's Wharf. If you are a walker, you can buy a day pass and take the cable car to visit all the sights along the way. Winter at Fisherman's Wharf is very comfortable, perfect for watching sea lions. You can also choose a restaurant, sit by the window, enjoy seasonal seafood, and admire the bay view. Then we took a bus directly to the southern end of the Golden Gate Bridge. Although you cannot overlook from the north end, looking straight or up at the bridge is also great. If you have energy, you can walk across the Golden Gate Bridge round trip. Forget Chinatown; during the New Year, shops are closed. We also checked in at the Golden State Warriors' home court and bought something satisfactory at the official store. On the way to Los Angeles, we stopped by Stanford University, the first university on our itinerary.

Overall impression: public transportation is very developed; subways, buses, and trains are all good, with diverse and convenient transfer options. We stayed near Union Square, so safety was high. However, winter is dry with strong UV rays; sunscreen and moisturizing are necessary. San Francisco is probably the most technologically advanced city in the US.

The Getty Center was temporarily closed due to wildfires, so we had to change to Huntington Garden. Its library is the best, housing famous Western books from ancient to modern times, such as incunabula, Shakespeare's First Folio, the US Declaration of Independence, and first editions by famous authors, too numerous to list. Griffith Observatory is worth visiting if you want to overlook all of Los Angeles; on the way, you can check out the Hollywood sign. Downtown includes Hollywood Boulevard and the Wax Museum; if you haven't seen them, they're worth a look. UCLA claims to be the top university in the US; we watched students train and play games there—very exciting and professional. Unfortunately, we didn't go to Universal Studios; maybe next time. But we did go outlet shopping for a whole day; we couldn't be dragged away.

Overall impression: driving is the only means of transportation; otherwise, it's too tiring. We stayed in a neighborhood not far from UCLA; it was generally okay, and it was convenient to go out for dinner at night. To be honest, visiting Los Angeles once is enough; as for living and working, it's not as good as San Francisco.

Just to check in on the USS Midway Museum—it was spectacular. The interior was like a maze; without guide lines, you wouldn't know how to get out of the cabins. Retired elderly couples were everywhere; it's a vacation paradise. We also went to an outlet on the US-Mexico border, feeling more and more like a shopping group.

On our first day in Boston, it snowed heavily. The white Boston had a different charm. Harvard and MIT were must-visits; the winter campus was quiet and solemn. If it weren't the weekend, we might have had the place to ourselves. The Harvard Art Museum has stolen artifacts from the Mogao Caves in Dunhuang. At the time, I didn't feel much, but when I visited the Mogao Caves in June and saw the incomplete murals, it stung my heart. Quincy Market is an indoor street food market, with exorbitant prices—a lobster roll cost over $40; we just looked. Boston Common is worth a visit, especially the ice skating rink. In summer, the lake ripples; in winter, it becomes everyone's ice stage. Unfortunately, we missed the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; maybe next time.

Overall impression: Boston is the best city for tourism and living in the Eastern US. Four distinct seasons, well-developed public facilities. Perhaps because of the Chinese-American mayor, it feels most friendly to Chinese people. We stayed in the city center, so walking everywhere was very convenient; the subway station was right under the hotel.

Mainly to visit UPenn—it's huge, like a small city. We checked a few popular spots, saw two of the Six Steeds of Zhao Mausoleum, and then visited City Hall and Independence Hall. Honestly, if you're not familiar with US history, it's hard to feel much, like Boston's Freedom Trail.

Overall impression: from capital to slum doesn't take long; it's a warning for countries like ours still in urbanization.

Washington DC:

The capital, after all, is high-end and grand. The individual buildings are majestic and solemn, with a grid-like urban plan. Too many museums and landmarks; three days are not enough. We mainly visited the National Museum of Natural History, National Air and Space Museum, National Museum of American History, the White House, Capitol Hill, Washington Monument, and Lincoln Memorial, and saw the Pentagon from afar. I especially want to mention that when the US introduces its history, the main thread is war—haha, you can figure it out yourself. Meanwhile, China looks at maps and the size of its territory.

Princeton University in New Jersey:

We stopped by; the museum was under renovation and couldn't be entered, so we just walked around the campus. I personally recommend it—a quiet and leisurely town, after all, it's a cradle for social science scholars.

We stayed a full week; two days I was alone, visiting bookstores and MoMA. Two or three days I went out with friends and relatives in New York, mainly checking popular spots. The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Central Park can be visited together. We took a free ferry to see the Statue of Liberty from a distance—not because we didn't want to spend money to go to the island, but to experience the feelings of those immigrants in movies when they first saw the Statue of Liberty.

Overall impression: As a Shanghainese, there wasn't much novelty. We stayed near the New York Public Library in Manhattan; many subway lines made it convenient to get anywhere. The smell in the subway stations was unbearable, but it was much better on the trains. My impression of New York came from movies and books; being there in person still inexplicably stirred my heart.

After looking at the photos, I suddenly remembered we also visited the 9/11 Memorial. I didn't take photos, but I'll note it: a moment of silence for the victims.

The three of us spent about 120,000 RMB in total. The biggest expense was airfare. Actually, it could have been lower; we bought tickets for the summer and then changed the date, otherwise we could have saved nearly 20,000. Accommodation was all hotels, basically about $300 per room per night. These costs are unavoidable, given the obvious inflation in the US. But what is harder for Chinese to accept is sales tax and tips. In China, prices are usually tax-inclusive; in the US, they are mostly tax-exclusive, added only at checkout. The minimum tipping option is 15%, with 18% and 20% also available. For example, if you eat a bowl of noodles in downtown New York for $25, with a sales tax rate of, say, 11%, plus tax it's $27.75. The tip based on $25 is at least $3.75, totaling $31.50. That $6.50 is the sound of the deduction when you sit down, and it's also the dividing line between rich and poor. All fast-food restaurants are tax-inclusive and have no tipping.

Well, I've written a lot of nonsense. Please look at the photos in the article—I think they're decent. Thank you, dear readers! Salute!

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