Summer gateways – Episode 4: Boston, Cape Cod, & Martha’s Vineyard, MA

November 10, 2020

Summer Gateways on the East Coast during a pandemic

I am writing this post in the middle of the COVID 19 pandemic.

I am writing this post in the middle of the COVID 19 pandemic. 2020 Summer ended already, and I wanted to share with you the positives of this pandemic, in terms of travel. Does it sound a bit contradictory? If it had been a regular summer, I supposed we would have been to France for vacations to visit our family, since it has been a year now that we moved to the US. But like many countries, the US put in place a travel ban and we were stuck here for the whole summer. So, I decided to make a list of destinations in the ‘safe’ states to visit: some of them are famous among foreign tourists and others are well known from American travelers, and we did them all!

~~Bethany Beach, Delaware~~
~~Washington, DC~~
~~The Hamptons, NY~~
Boston, Cape Cod, & Martha’s Vineyard, MA
Newport, Rhode Island
Niagara Falls, NY

In this post, I’ll talk about Boston, Cape Cod, & Martha’s Vineyard, MA.

I love Boston: this city is so clean compared to NYC! I love the building architecture and the restaurants and shopping are as good as in NYC. It is basically a small Manhattan with all positive aspects without its inconvenient!

If you want to escape the town, you go to Cape Cod. It is like the Hamptons for NYC. It is…. quiet. No big town. Just miles of trees and beaches. I didn’t really appreciate the little towns of Cape Cod, but Provincetown that really has charming vibes: many shops and restaurants on small streets. It reminded me of some European towns.

Beaches are infinite, but no one swims: the ocean is freezing cold (16 degree Celsius), and there are seals and sharks!

If you want to learn more about the Pilgrims, how they lived, or you don’t know how to spend a cloudy day in Cape Cod, you can visit the Plymouth Plantation which is a living history museum in Plymouth. It replicates the original settlement of the Plymouth Colony established in the 17th century by the English colonists “the Pilgrims”.

Martha’s vineyard is definitely worth it, despite the long trip to reach the island from the mainland. But do watch the movie Jaws the night before going, since it has been filmed on the island! I visited Edgartown and Oaks bluffs, and both towns have historic districts like the gingerbread houses or color-candy houses in Oak Bluffs. Don’t miss the Jaws bridge!

Where to stay?

We rented a house from a local realtor in the middle of Cape Cod, next to a lake. It was quite central to go to Provincetown and Marthas’ vineyard and the owner gave us a beach permit for ton beaches.

What to do?

Have Italian dinner at Hanover street in Boston, Go shopping to Provincetown, walk to Bass hole in Cape cod, seals and sharks watching on the Cap Code beaches, spend one day in Martha’s vineyard to visit Edgartown and Oaks bluffs, looking for Jaws filming locations on the island.