tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58795160642658847642024-03-13T21:31:00.281-04:00StefcationsConnecting fun people with fun placesStef Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02885211807706422849noreply@blogger.comBlogger44125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879516064265884764.post-44626611278124698102012-10-21T16:47:00.000-04:002013-06-04T15:53:20.653-04:00A Story on South Africa<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGMF040f3VTCDgOqSngfz_8E1jJFyHKPNwPHqVFn3wVPDdxrdicx7uJOglW2W3o9naOlVXDS479z_tralvYMpbhljU7A4XBGcNc1im295rKIgXkWBjx2X48ZKNYW10SDfEfYX6_r2HM9E/s1600/IMG_1544.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGMF040f3VTCDgOqSngfz_8E1jJFyHKPNwPHqVFn3wVPDdxrdicx7uJOglW2W3o9naOlVXDS479z_tralvYMpbhljU7A4XBGcNc1im295rKIgXkWBjx2X48ZKNYW10SDfEfYX6_r2HM9E/s400/IMG_1544.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another cruiser approaches during <br />
one of many amazing game drives in South Africa.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Thanks to the fabulous folks at <i>USA Today</i>, I've gotten a story published on their <a href="http://www.usatodayeducate.com/staging/">College website</a>!<br />
<br />
Please be sure to <a href="http://www.usatodayeducate.com/staging/index.php/ccp/post-grad-alternative-field-guide-training-in-south-africa">check it out</a>. It's a piece highlighting one of the programs offered at <a href="http://www.natureguidetraining.com/">Entabeni Private Game Reserve in South Africa</a>, which I had the opportunity to visit this past summer.<br />
<br />
And seriously, people, there are so many reasons to get yourself to South Africa. Beautiful landscape, beautiful people, and unbelievably beautiful animals so worth preserving for future generations.<br />
<br />
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Check out more on the reserve itself <a href="http://www.natureguidetraining.com/">here</a>, or find their <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Entabeni-Nature-Guide-Training/105329614556">Facebook page</a> and ask questions!<br />
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<br />Stef Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02885211807706422849noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879516064265884764.post-54888945848326959802012-08-03T07:30:00.000-04:002012-08-03T09:16:24.637-04:00One Year of Stefcations<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbdU2F2GkarsU81EJbgAhW2wzbqyMPrJ6uZPeTzEURj_0HxLmw9hSwkasCyD88Ua0CM_hzy7FbV7cYYYhRHBIsmqgq88SHKIFfP6gTvLom2nWN9F56zUMwN4El3frf_9caz_28YsyrhpY/s1600/Reba.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="153" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbdU2F2GkarsU81EJbgAhW2wzbqyMPrJ6uZPeTzEURj_0HxLmw9hSwkasCyD88Ua0CM_hzy7FbV7cYYYhRHBIsmqgq88SHKIFfP6gTvLom2nWN9F56zUMwN4El3frf_9caz_28YsyrhpY/s200/Reba.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me and Reba, my retired racing greyhound, <br />
hanging at home in Connecticut.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Dearest Stefcations readers,<br />
<br />
It's been a year since I started
this blog. Happy anniversary to me! It's been a fun and enlightening
road, and I have learned a couple of things along the way:<br />
<br />
<b>(1) Connecticut doesn't completely suck.</b><br />
<br />
I can't believe I just said that.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvPLEcSNg14xeRlENbdirIdS-6TbFkAwqCzFD-ryoA56iGuXGdYnn5VOplOwXognBBNRRkYNFjkbOnGVSfMpcemqk8_9k4qbGG_NB4rntSLNddnz3lIKiKiqZzr-A9KwHNWclIPlwt9mE/s1600/apolo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvPLEcSNg14xeRlENbdirIdS-6TbFkAwqCzFD-ryoA56iGuXGdYnn5VOplOwXognBBNRRkYNFjkbOnGVSfMpcemqk8_9k4qbGG_NB4rntSLNddnz3lIKiKiqZzr-A9KwHNWclIPlwt9mE/s200/apolo.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That's right, hanging with <br />
Apolo Anton Ohno this past year.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
But really, for me, this has been nothing
short of a revelation. <br />
<br />
I grew up here. I went to college here. I
have spent most of my adult life here (save for a short stint in NYC).
My husband and I bought our first house - and then our next house -
here. If you'd told the teenage Stef that she was going to do these things, she
would've laughed. Or cried. Or punched you in the face.<br />
<br />
Alas, here I
am, still living in Connecticut. So what have I learned? That it's
actually not so bad. Sure, you can't
typically order up Thai food to be delivered at 3 a.m. You are not
likely to bask under palm trees or enjoy year-round weather in the 70s. For heaven's sake, Sunday liquor purchases became legal only a few short months ago. So no, it's not the wildest or craziest place around.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirMybp-266wv_hB1Q3Js02q70onKxy5hTb5C3UOgkA1iURrMb3fVygsaYHTQs-57fHgGVz6yaCEEywB9Gqe-N5KoNzEaMqbpRwTm99KoI55mPPguOAIhNP-uVxzyrlE1Tgx9nJ5o-r32U/s1600/Feud.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirMybp-266wv_hB1Q3Js02q70onKxy5hTb5C3UOgkA1iURrMb3fVygsaYHTQs-57fHgGVz6yaCEEywB9Gqe-N5KoNzEaMqbpRwTm99KoI55mPPguOAIhNP-uVxzyrlE1Tgx9nJ5o-r32U/s200/Feud.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Auditioning for Family Feud <br />
earlier this year with my fam.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
All that said, there's still plenty to
do; as with anything else, it's truly what you make of it.*<br />
<br />
Even after a
year of recording some of my most enjoyable Connecticut-area outings here on this blog, I've found there are endless other, unexpected adventures to
be had, restaurants to be visited, and lovely and interesting sights to see.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZZt45KUZ_7G8-HODInhNvwwBjcnDbZNpsJxTUpeQkzzYOlrZFYRDE9s38GVwbm-5OiMh7Prxdwc0P8scsAwiCW-OE57w3EFUFFtObpexgjKYqad8J4De3kL03MSJwaSrdbRsS0RTnTWw/s1600/Roller+derby.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZZt45KUZ_7G8-HODInhNvwwBjcnDbZNpsJxTUpeQkzzYOlrZFYRDE9s38GVwbm-5OiMh7Prxdwc0P8scsAwiCW-OE57w3EFUFFtObpexgjKYqad8J4De3kL03MSJwaSrdbRsS0RTnTWw/s200/Roller+derby.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Checking out my first<br />
roller derby bout this year.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Need proof? Behold the photos throughout this post.<br />
<br />
<i>* Disclaimer:
This is not to say I'm staying permanently ... I'm not entirely past
the no-palm-trees thing.</i><br />
<br />
<b>(2) Social media doesn't completely suck. </b><br />
<br />
Another
major revelation for <i>moi</i>.<br />
<br />
Once upon a time - not so long ago - I
wondered what on Earth possessed so many people to spend so much of
their precious time in the realm of social media.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDQbmhWV1GBuUGhNXnOYzGLCqwnbVQbVHuC55xBxbC6ACGRjLzGP_S3FPFJtTvz24Cxs1egmMUeDMfJL3a5tK0Z2El9iMdoh3QAoZRq2hyphenhyphensRkgDvPF8JgcgCfShcANF4agJUvT2hOL1YA/s1600/Tea+Rose.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDQbmhWV1GBuUGhNXnOYzGLCqwnbVQbVHuC55xBxbC6ACGRjLzGP_S3FPFJtTvz24Cxs1egmMUeDMfJL3a5tK0Z2El9iMdoh3QAoZRq2hyphenhyphensRkgDvPF8JgcgCfShcANF4agJUvT2hOL1YA/s200/Tea+Rose.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Enjoying afternoon tea <br />
at <a href="http://www.tearosestearoom.com/">Tea Roses</a> in Cromwell.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I was a hater, and I
readily admit it. But I have seen the light, and so I thank you. (After
all, it's folks like you - who have checked out my blog, who share my
posts with their friends on Facebook, and with whom I've tweeted - who
have led me to
see the error of my ways.)<br />
<br />
It's been refreshing to connect with old
friends on Facebook and a pleasant surprise to discover so many
creative, wonderful people on <a href="https://twitter.com/stefcations">Twitter</a>. I even have a
Foursquare
account, people.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic-N1044wVZrWMPwd-4jW6U7B77_boVpRkRS81zV3OYnfp3H0D2e-bpBikAILzCgASwnkGmj_jAgyBft97IoZYRAsMG7ckgR55fsGFbkQDKjWK9Bmf0FwadtOnazb-yZDcVNIwxxbmKeY/s1600/Beach.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic-N1044wVZrWMPwd-4jW6U7B77_boVpRkRS81zV3OYnfp3H0D2e-bpBikAILzCgASwnkGmj_jAgyBft97IoZYRAsMG7ckgR55fsGFbkQDKjWK9Bmf0FwadtOnazb-yZDcVNIwxxbmKeY/s200/Beach.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A lovely day spent <br />
at <a href="http://www.ct.gov/dep/cwp/view.asp?a=2716&q=325210&depNav_GID=1650">Hammonasset Beach State Park</a>.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
And, lo and behold, this blog has been a great way to open up
to the world - which turned out to be nowhere near as scary as I'd
initially assumed.<br />
<br />
<b>(3) It's OK to change your mind. </b><br />
<br />
As
a teenager, I disparaged Connecticut to no end, swore I'd escape as
soon as humanly possible.<br />
<br />
As an adult, I disparaged Connecticut to no
end ... and then extended that to include Facebook, Twitter, and the
like.<br />
<br />
But sometimes you just have to give
things a chance. As you can see, I've come around. <br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRvNQ0C1nC7hw-MjuYRCaw0qaCpNIwNwXMSBlhyphenhyphen19Pg802FXQImOGO7Rnje4nDVPSi5ijdAoSm285tQP6nIqolSgrOZHGY0vpkC1l0Cfx8Jw_9Q-WXePt1Vh_OWvf_Ql4ZAwQ0jOM5sHU/s1600/Rooftop+120.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRvNQ0C1nC7hw-MjuYRCaw0qaCpNIwNwXMSBlhyphenhyphen19Pg802FXQImOGO7Rnje4nDVPSi5ijdAoSm285tQP6nIqolSgrOZHGY0vpkC1l0Cfx8Jw_9Q-WXePt1Vh_OWvf_Ql4ZAwQ0jOM5sHU/s200/Rooftop+120.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fun drinks at <br />
Glastonbury's Rooftop 120.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
One of my favorite quotations of all time has long
been the following:<br />
<br />
<i>"Do I contradict myself?<br /> Very well then I contradict myself,</i><br />
<i> (I am large, I contain multitudes.)"</i><br />
<div style="margin-left: 120px;">
<i>- Walt Whitman, Song of Myself</i></div>
<br />
It's one idea that I never seem to outgrow ... which, I guess, is the point - to keep growing, to keep finding new ways to contradict oneself.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw66U4q6lriFBsIJQ8QjDsvXnfupH3St2HgW0vlLAyz4pKhNmeZrlP3DqCTtCrkztFHf6z8sds8lICTuB6Mu4cv0vzfYC2buFgAtEjUpc74zsGHVvAG4lQXRLvwdjBcmNYYMrUFQ-Ejgw/s1600/Bollywood.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw66U4q6lriFBsIJQ8QjDsvXnfupH3St2HgW0vlLAyz4pKhNmeZrlP3DqCTtCrkztFHf6z8sds8lICTuB6Mu4cv0vzfYC2buFgAtEjUpc74zsGHVvAG4lQXRLvwdjBcmNYYMrUFQ-Ejgw/s200/Bollywood.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Amazing Indian feast <br />
at <a href="http://bollywoodgrillct.com/index.htm">Bollywood Grill</a> in Glastonbury.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Which
brings me to one last piece of business: My hiatus from blogging.<br />
<br />
I'm heading out tomorrow for a trip to South Africa. No, I'm not pulling a Dave Chappelle, but Stefcations <i>is </i>taking an extended Stefcation. So this blog may be back in a few weeks, or it may not return at all; I'm not yet decided.<br />
<br />
No matter where things end up, I did want to thank you reader peeps
for making it a fun year. For teaching stubborn little ol' me things I
didn't even realize were worth learning. For giving me a reason and an opportunity to sing a little song of myself, as it were.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioEyTh5Q68WE5zESekdGs8NfYR0OMBLzrwRHCzs4UAKnfl73MuqKToVIhhSg8sLe7EZnJrpgn3TtDoqyZPWs7AJxeD7fV8n4L8MYDBw3DBs3eAHMwx6eA6JpRpad3jg3Vh9dhLq4yo7Ks/s1600/Norah+jones.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioEyTh5Q68WE5zESekdGs8NfYR0OMBLzrwRHCzs4UAKnfl73MuqKToVIhhSg8sLe7EZnJrpgn3TtDoqyZPWs7AJxeD7fV8n4L8MYDBw3DBs3eAHMwx6eA6JpRpad3jg3Vh9dhLq4yo7Ks/s200/Norah+jones.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A night out with my mom <br />
(one of my faithful blog readers)<br />
to see Norah Jones.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
In my very first post, I declared my intention to connect a few cool people with more
than a few cool places to see and things to do in Connecticut and
beyond. I hope I've accomplished that.<br />
<br />
Thanks so much for reading. <br />
Stef<br />
<br />Stef Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02885211807706422849noreply@blogger.com5Glastonbury, CT, USA41.6861794 -72.545077941.5913149 -72.703006399999992 41.7810439 -72.3871494tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879516064265884764.post-85618977090861103712012-07-15T08:41:00.003-04:002012-07-15T08:51:02.109-04:00Kayaking on the Farmington River - Collinsville, Conn.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg3BRREcarjjdhn8ag6xVLSdIaQCtQr4_WjXGjIXvt4aAi3Do2ds04m3k7tII2J0oluUYmqlbzmm411OaBAf_4UuTl0FOau3xcQOvx6oNQuyyzlbNF8W4G6Fbo_Vi0ovNM5FWk1l1d8eY/s1600/IMG_3940.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg3BRREcarjjdhn8ag6xVLSdIaQCtQr4_WjXGjIXvt4aAi3Do2ds04m3k7tII2J0oluUYmqlbzmm411OaBAf_4UuTl0FOau3xcQOvx6oNQuyyzlbNF8W4G6Fbo_Vi0ovNM5FWk1l1d8eY/s320/IMG_3940.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ahhhh. Sun, warmth, and water. <br />
This is what summer is all about.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
Have you been taking advantage of this amazing summer weather???<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white;">Perhaps you've been to the beach, attended a few picnics, or maybe even </span><a href="http://stefcations.blogspot.com/2012/07/storming-gillette-castle-east-haddam.html" style="background-color: white;">gone hiking</a><span style="background-color: white;">. </span></div>
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All very well and good. Here's one more suggestion: A<span style="background-color: white;"> fantastic few hours spent kayaking on the Farmington River. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Don't own a kayak? No problemo; neither do we. Simply head to <a href="http://www.cckstore.com/index.htm">Collinsville Canoe & Kayak</a> - set in a lovely spot by the river in a quaint, adorable little town in central Connecticut - and rent one. </span></div>
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Rental costs are very reasonable, but vary depending on how many people you want in your kayak - and for how long (see costs outlined below). </div>
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My husband and I each opted for our own kayak - just $12 for one hour, and that includes the life jacket and your paddle. If you are really enjoing yourself in the water and go beyond the hour, they'll charge you a few dollars extra for each additional 15 minutes. </div>
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It was pretty much the perfect day. The weather was fantastic, the sun wasn't too hot, and the water was calm and an ideally refreshing temperature. </div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><b><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Today's Stefcations Highlights:</span></u></b></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYBw4XqgouHPO64Jms45mQyih3PaT-29-essQSMnuGv8_-Uxj4vpXrM-fx6mcwQiD2upmliIMZbUzGge3e2SwxVxXgy3mupTDtv2DkpUIORcN1Lwi4qH7ZAeSFLcJB2wLuH_BkhrwX9FI/s1600/IMG_3874.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYBw4XqgouHPO64Jms45mQyih3PaT-29-essQSMnuGv8_-Uxj4vpXrM-fx6mcwQiD2upmliIMZbUzGge3e2SwxVxXgy3mupTDtv2DkpUIORcN1Lwi4qH7ZAeSFLcJB2wLuH_BkhrwX9FI/s320/IMG_3874.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My husband eyeing the paddleboards.</td></tr>
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<li style="border: none; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.4; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 12px;"><b>What You'll Find:</b> Kayaking on the Farmington River - a most amazingly refreshing day in the outdoors. </span></li>
<li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small; line-height: 12px;"><b>Where You'll Find It: </b><a href="http://www.cckstore.com/">Collinsville Canoe & Kayak</a>, <a href="https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q=41+bridge+st+collinsville+ct&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x89e7a6755e9766e7:0x2d48f737704e3926,41+Bridge+St,+Collinsville,+CT+06019&gl=us&ei=zMwBUJjGK4z22AWX2aiFCw&ved=0CAYQ8gEwAA&oi=local_group">41 Bridge Street, Collinsville, Conn.</a></span></span></li>
<li style="border: none; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.4; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b>When to Go: </b>The season starts around May 1 and runs through to around October. Rental hours are M-W & F from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; Sat. 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; and Sun. 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. (FYI: If you're headed there on a summer weekend, it's usually wise to make a reservation. I called the morning of and was fine.)</span></li>
<li style="border: none; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.4; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b>What It'll Cost:</b> $12 for a solo kayak for one hour. Tandem (two-person) kayaks are $20 per hour. These prices include the life jacket and paddle. You can also opt for daylong (3 hours or more) on-site rentals (solo kayaks = $40 per day; tandems = $50 per day). There is even an option, for an extra charge, to take the kayak for up to 24 hours off-site. </span></li>
<li style="border: none; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.4; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b>By the Way:</b> You can rent other things here, too. Namely, bicycles for the nearby Farmington River Bike Trail, which overlooks the river, or paddleboards. As I learned today, <a href="http://www.cckstore.com/programs/suplsns.htm#yoga">Collinsville Canoe & Kayak occasionally offers paddleboard yoga</a>! I hear it's a great core workout. Might have to try that next...</span></li>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wildlife along the way.</td></tr>
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What's great is that you can really take things at your own pace. Even if you're not particularly athletic, this part of the river is dammed and so very serene, with a barely detectable current. If you've only got an hour, you can paddle up the river about a mile and a half to the bridge before turning around to head back to the boat ramp where you started. </div>
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Admittedly, the current becomes far stronger as you approach the bridge, but even so, we still had plenty of time to head up toward the bridge, turn around, pass the ramp where we had initially launched, then dawdle for a while longer, admiring the scenery and paddling circles around what appeared to be a former railroad trestle.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Perfect weather.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Fear you'll flip your kayak? I assure you, there's no real danger - the river is </span><span style="background-color: white;">no more than three feet deep in most places.</span></div>
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Once you've paddled long enough to either form a few blisters or work up an appetite (I'd achieved both of these things by the end of the afternoon), you might want to get a bite to eat. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crown & Hammer's turkey Reuben <br />
and "stealth" fries. Mmmm.</td></tr>
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Just down the road, you'll find <a href="http://crownandhammer.com/">Crown & Hammer Pub</a>, an always reliably friendly and tasty local restaurant. <span style="background-color: white;">The pub takes its name from the symbol of a former world-renowned local manufacturer, the Collins Company Axe Factory. Yes, s</span><span style="background-color: white;">trangely enough, Collinsville was once a world-renowned manufacturer of machetes, knives, and axes. Wacky. Anyway, w</span><span style="background-color: white;">e each enjoyed lunch here before heading out for just a few more minutes of exercise.</span></div>
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The <a href="http://www.townofcantonct.org/content/142/default.aspx">Farmington River Trail</a> run right through this area. It's a scenic and peaceful 16-mile stretch of paved trail, and you'll find lots of people riding bikes or walking their dogs along the way. We even came across a few kids leaping off of an old train trestle into the river (granted, it's significantly deeper on this stretch of river). I have to admit, it looked like fun. Probably not legal, but tempting nonetheless ...</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh10gzqn8NryZK37rgECcHSYZOJ-t-mmlJ1YhFDMPLAV9BwvwhUUZN4EyBgJouiv2HrW8aSSlXLNT0hbsE4Kfc0IqxLOGEk2vOjA8m8_slYcefNa7c7te9qo_aQifrnSqFGvlmAfowGXLY/s1600/IMG_3948.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh10gzqn8NryZK37rgECcHSYZOJ-t-mmlJ1YhFDMPLAV9BwvwhUUZN4EyBgJouiv2HrW8aSSlXLNT0hbsE4Kfc0IqxLOGEk2vOjA8m8_slYcefNa7c7te9qo_aQifrnSqFGvlmAfowGXLY/s320/IMG_3948.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Local kids leaping from the train trestle <br />
into the water below. Pretty badass.</td></tr>
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We were pretty much ready for a nap after all of this, but if you're still raring to go, Collinsville is a beautiful little place to explore. <span style="background-color: white;">Y</span><span style="background-color: white;">ou'll find a couple of antique shops and flea market-type establishments, a weekend farmers' market, a <a href="http://www.lasallemarket.com/">market and deli</a> with an outdoor seating area, and even a </span><a href="http://www.41bridgestreet.com/" style="background-color: white;">music venue that features live acts throughout the summer</a><span style="background-color: white;">.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">It was a great afternoon outing if I do say so myself - and perhaps not quite what you'd expect from the former world-farmous center of machete-making. </span></div>
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</div>Stef Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02885211807706422849noreply@blogger.com241 Bridge St, Collinsville, CT 06019, USA41.8110098 -72.923587741.8095303 -72.9260552 41.8124893 -72.9211202tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879516064265884764.post-83362047908942065242012-07-03T11:54:00.000-04:002012-07-04T22:25:10.571-04:00Storming Gillette Castle - East Haddam, Conn.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghbTdcuqiTQnbzYaoYHnpkG-ml1_PeMol9a_cF4kPTcUO-n-_49-4VpvnF188fDFwc-BHcu1WwwKXJk9bf8KLJXdK3mo_sip2oK_Vn8q-7SFpFEkeKhDHG72JqEpb-TxHsUM9xe2aWiGw/s1600/Gillette8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghbTdcuqiTQnbzYaoYHnpkG-ml1_PeMol9a_cF4kPTcUO-n-_49-4VpvnF188fDFwc-BHcu1WwwKXJk9bf8KLJXdK3mo_sip2oK_Vn8q-7SFpFEkeKhDHG72JqEpb-TxHsUM9xe2aWiGw/s320/Gillette8.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's not your imagination; that's a castle! Gillette Castle, <br />
a beautiful and totally unique 24-room mansion, <br />
found on the Connecticut River.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />
Beautiful, cloudless Sundays in July are a rare commodity here in New England - and the perfect excuse for spending the day by the water or breaking in a new pair of hiking boots.<br />
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Seeking to accomplish both of these things (whilst continuing on my never-ending quest to soak in my fair share of Vitamin D), I headed out on the first glorious day of July to <a href="http://www.ct.gov/dep/cwp/view.asp?a=2716&q=325204&depNav_GID=1650">Gillette Castle State Park</a> in <a href="https://maps.google.com/maps?q=67+river+road,+east+haddam,+ct&hl=en&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=53.345014,114.169922&t=h&hnear=67+River+Rd,+East+Haddam,+Connecticut+06423&z=16">East Haddam, Conn.</a><br />
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I'm rather ashamed to admit that I'd never before set foot in this place. It's one of those landmarks my friends had all seemed to frequent on their grammar school field trips, but for whatever reason, I'd never had the pleasure.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Let's just say it was worth the wait.<br />
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Here, on 184 acres of what was once the estate of a famous stage actor named William Gillette, you'll find <a href="http://www.ct.gov/dep/lib/dep/stateparks/maps/gillettecastlemap.pdf">hiking trails</a> galore, fantastic views of the Connecticut River, picnic areas, a campground, and lots of enchanting little stone-lined bridges and paths. There's even a visitors' center shop and a grill serving food and ice cream in case you're starved by the end of your trip.<br />
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But the real star attraction is the 24-room stone castle, a mansion designed ingeniously by Gillette himself. <br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia,Utopia,'Palatino Linotype',Palatino,serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><b><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Today's Stefcations Highlights:</span></u></b></span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8hgYZRpS_9uNV9IhEyBGXxfIlDLhr45FYF6Ok7lRyD4Lial1Ze3bpkt0SVKt9r_ZHPzcUVLQcdAyhkFn2zpQwkHWhQ__OTGOUYfAswcqqiMH8idlQwvORm-d30Dw01VJjsCPKlhyc2Bo/s1600/Gillette1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8hgYZRpS_9uNV9IhEyBGXxfIlDLhr45FYF6Ok7lRyD4Lial1Ze3bpkt0SVKt9r_ZHPzcUVLQcdAyhkFn2zpQwkHWhQ__OTGOUYfAswcqqiMH8idlQwvORm-d30Dw01VJjsCPKlhyc2Bo/s320/Gillette1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boarding the Chester-Hadlyme Ferry.</td></tr></tbody></table><ul style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 2.5em; padding-right: 2.5em; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-color: initial; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 12px;"><b>What You'll Find:</b> An honest-to-goodness stone castle (no, really!), perched above the Connecticut River, surrounded by <a href="http://www.ct.gov/dep/lib/dep/stateparks/maps/gillettecastlemap.pdf">plenty of hiking trails</a> and scenic views. Located in <a href="http://www.ct.gov/dep/cwp/view.asp?a=2716&q=325204&depNav_GID=1650">Gillette Castle State Park</a>, <a href="https://maps.google.com/maps?q=67+river+road,+east+haddam,+ct&hl=en&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=53.345014,114.169922&t=h&hnear=67+River+Rd,+East+Haddam,+Connecticut+06423&z=16">67 River Road in East Haddam, Conn.</a></span></li><li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b>When to Go: </b>The grounds are open year-round, while the castle itself is open from Memorial Day through Columbus Day, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (with a special Christmastime season). If you'd like to take the Chester-Hadlyme ferry to get here, it runs from late April through November.</span></li><li style="border-style: none; line-height: 1.4; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b>What It'll Cost: </b>The park itself is free. Roam the trails, picnic by the lily-padded ponds, or longingly watch the boats and jet-skis speed by on the Connecticut River. For the self-guided tour of the castle, it's $6 per person and $2 for kids ages 6-12, with no charge for kids under 5. The ferry, should you choose to take it, is $3 per car (bring cash).</span></li><div style="text-align: right;"></div><div style="text-align: right;"></div><li style="border-style: none; line-height: 1.4; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b>By the Way:</b> Reportedly, the castle is a sight to see during the winter season, when it's decorated for the holidays. </span></li></ul><br />
<a name='more'></a><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc8-67_pv_wvkhaha3gcLKpPOtDT1x5e1cUTmJANdotGW_g3NTkDGeGBXBcfc2mSvA8Jf8Dls8f-ilouy70e1Nf_IqjqDoBXJxlB5JrWAsK5QzjjvyYirsHcLiwkNhsEdpeayl93_Gqn8/s1600/Hike.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc8-67_pv_wvkhaha3gcLKpPOtDT1x5e1cUTmJANdotGW_g3NTkDGeGBXBcfc2mSvA8Jf8Dls8f-ilouy70e1Nf_IqjqDoBXJxlB5JrWAsK5QzjjvyYirsHcLiwkNhsEdpeayl93_Gqn8/s320/Hike.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lots of (mostly light) trails to choose from; <br />
check out the park's hiking map <a href="http://www.ct.gov/dep/lib/dep/stateparks/maps/gillettecastlemap.pdf">here</a>.</td></tr></tbody></table>Gillette, a playwright and actor who back in the day was best known for portraying Sherlock Holmes on stage, was clearly a very cool guy with a flair for more than just acting.<br />
<br />
No stranger to drama, he designed his home (where he lived from 1919 until his death in 1937) to feature all the wacky things you'd picture in mystery novels - including secret passageways and hidden mirrors through which he could covertly observe his guests from afar without them knowing it.<br />
<br />
At the same time, this place is a museum and a true work of art. Every wooden door and latch is carved with an ornate design (no two doors in the place are exactly alike). Artifacts and correspondence from Gillette's lifetime grace the various rooms - down to the "cat bell" that summoned Gillette's 15 cats for dinner every evening. (Love it!) Tour guides stationed throughout will happily share entertaining anecdotes with you. There's an art gallery. Even the light switches are funky little artistic creations. <br />
<br />
And, um, it's a <i>castle</i>. <br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO8CfYLAg0A8iSacCmnYf8Ss8lDOObEX-Wk_E8z7N1g1aL6NUMIGwtWO9d5rQ_0ZiWuORm9EYS1J4phqB26kLZk0Prxh7KnuGKrCKmmeHShxoqbeSynUOt9kMWA8zV8Oof7bmbXupCo5M/s1600/Gillette5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO8CfYLAg0A8iSacCmnYf8Ss8lDOObEX-Wk_E8z7N1g1aL6NUMIGwtWO9d5rQ_0ZiWuORm9EYS1J4phqB26kLZk0Prxh7KnuGKrCKmmeHShxoqbeSynUOt9kMWA8zV8Oof7bmbXupCo5M/s200/Gillette5.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tourists on motorcycles <br />
enjoyed the park, too.</td></tr></tbody></table>The day I visited, the place was bustling with activity. People of all ages were strolling around - young couples, families with baby strollers, even tough-looking motorcycle dudes in muscle T-shirts, who I caught attentively snapping photos of the castle's stone walls and the surrounding flowerbeds.<br />
<br />
There were also rehearsals going on the park's small outdoor stage, where actors from a local theater troupe were practicing for an upcoming production - about, what else, Sherlock Holmes. (If you want more detes on this, you can find them <a href="http://easthaddam.patch.com/announcements/ushers?logout=true">here</a>.)<br />
<br />
So if you're up for a little fairy tale of an adventure, you can find it - no matter what your age - right here in the heart of Connecticut.<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNNlmgEiaNtfg3oGLFLEX7CRPaHdnU6Ra4HeuhFmfBgR1tjBeXyC_1MQc17gqEL4YTCMPey_Gi10IfrB7bUoXk66Q_ZJuKmwoY6lrcgkXlhr7gnr3TGyxYnp8v56cwxi7YY8Om97oeaEk/s1600/Gillette3a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNNlmgEiaNtfg3oGLFLEX7CRPaHdnU6Ra4HeuhFmfBgR1tjBeXyC_1MQc17gqEL4YTCMPey_Gi10IfrB7bUoXk66Q_ZJuKmwoY6lrcgkXlhr7gnr3TGyxYnp8v56cwxi7YY8Om97oeaEk/s400/Gillette3a.jpg" width="297" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fantastic views of the Connecticut River <br />
from Gillette's estate, also known as the Seventh Sister.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu6swWOf44jVw9yvFqTuerOLkHLnaDXKrJCld3TYbIVCIT4YzFROabDbz8JykGA0SxPWQ8ZTsHMceBBzWNLwqJR3iwV8NpqpLyMedy1hH2qDRa3znPFwgXhR9Zx-RL3dOJINH2BnQIsKw/s1600/Gillette4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu6swWOf44jVw9yvFqTuerOLkHLnaDXKrJCld3TYbIVCIT4YzFROabDbz8JykGA0SxPWQ8ZTsHMceBBzWNLwqJR3iwV8NpqpLyMedy1hH2qDRa3znPFwgXhR9Zx-RL3dOJINH2BnQIsKw/s400/Gillette4.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Enjoy a picnic by the one of the park's lovely lily ponds.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />
<br />
Stef Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02885211807706422849noreply@blogger.com567 River Rd, East Haddam, CT 06423, USA41.4314299 -72.428996341.429941899999996 -72.431463799999989 41.4329179 -72.4265288tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879516064265884764.post-30166609129185538392012-06-25T17:15:00.000-04:002012-07-02T13:17:19.300-04:00There's Always Paris<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8QdvTaYACkvjjfJYVrrQIFxf5mXV31p4dJeJ_W_niWejBaGeGj6dF0LNiTJPbepI4HqZpW5RmqlYekmd-nifJX9g3Q_j6UE8jPQGvLYZvSHkSoaBPGxB7zY9sAuZFlTYfraoToQ9dmII/s1600/Eiffel2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8QdvTaYACkvjjfJYVrrQIFxf5mXV31p4dJeJ_W_niWejBaGeGj6dF0LNiTJPbepI4HqZpW5RmqlYekmd-nifJX9g3Q_j6UE8jPQGvLYZvSHkSoaBPGxB7zY9sAuZFlTYfraoToQ9dmII/s320/Eiffel2.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">See how happy you can be here? <br />
(Fact for the Day: The Eiffel Tower <br />
was originally painted red.)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
If you're a lover of art museums, a foodie, a oenophile, a history buff, or - better yet - all of the above, it's high time you booked yourself a trip to Paris. <br />
<br />
The wealth of things to do in this beautiful city is rather overwhelming. There are the obvious sightseeing spots - including the <a href="http://www.eiffel-tower.com/">Eiffel Tower</a>, the <a href="http://www.louvre.fr/en">Louvre</a>, the <a href="http://www.arcdetriompheparis.com/">Arc de Triomphe</a>, and <a href="http://www.notredamedeparis.fr/-English-">Notre Dame</a>. They're all amazing and undoubtedly worth the trip. <br />
<br />
But there are so many other hidden treasures to be found here. <br />
<br />
This spring, I was lucky enough to enjoy Paris for the second time in my life. And though I did revisit many of the typical touristy places, I made it my mission to discover a handful of new gems, too. <br />
<br />
Here are three of my favorite discoveries, should you one day find yourself in need of whiling away a day in the City of Love and Lights.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsp8cyBzwc3OZx0_A3RQDtcO69YzoLOKWsR-P1hiuusSwJBDM9We-8jICzkcP6Q9mDG2VhFdbMF37pLVtMofBdCwvw_qmXYiCj8j2flO3DwE3jpfqNfZNKQnZGUlP6li5ocT6jiRcN3vY/s1600/BreadCheese.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsp8cyBzwc3OZx0_A3RQDtcO69YzoLOKWsR-P1hiuusSwJBDM9We-8jICzkcP6Q9mDG2VhFdbMF37pLVtMofBdCwvw_qmXYiCj8j2flO3DwE3jpfqNfZNKQnZGUlP6li5ocT6jiRcN3vY/s200/BreadCheese.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our daily Parisian "siesta": <br />
Bread, cheese, wine. Done.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia,Utopia,'Palatino Linotype',Palatino,serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><b><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Today's Stefcations Highlights:</span></u></b></span></span><br />
<br />
<ul style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 2.5em; padding-right: 2.5em; padding-top: 0px;">
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-color: initial; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 12px;"><b>What You'll Find:</b> A few of my favorite places to visit in Paris.</span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b>When to Go: </b>I've visited in August and in April. August's weather is lovelier and less rainy, though many of the locals seem to be missing in action, as they are known to leave the city to go on holiday during this summer month. If you go in April, bring an umbrella and sunglasses everywhere you go - it can be rainy and sunny all in the same day.</span></li>
<li style="border-style: none; line-height: 1.4; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b>By the Way:</b> Do not miss the <a href="http://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/home.html">Musee d'Orsay</a>, known for its spectacular collection of Impressionists, including mind-blowing paintings by Van Gogh. I assure you, you can't imagine how awesome they are until you see them in person!</span></li>
</ul>
<b></b><br />
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5879516064265884764" name="more"></a><b></b><br />
<a name='more'></a><b>1. Musè</b><b>e Rodin</b><br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQztkc1sK-5o7MK4f3emmnnb1oSwUMd_1xbrZxehlvL3NZTlbSeALT7GoQEwJxtsTHLwlj_Vv8lcol1OXNT46tj_gh_sm-L2MUXzGVOyhpyGFjf7XxquBhf0f8rdrWppd_1nz9dsNERXI/s1600/Thinker.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQztkc1sK-5o7MK4f3emmnnb1oSwUMd_1xbrZxehlvL3NZTlbSeALT7GoQEwJxtsTHLwlj_Vv8lcol1OXNT46tj_gh_sm-L2MUXzGVOyhpyGFjf7XxquBhf0f8rdrWppd_1nz9dsNERXI/s200/Thinker.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Thinker</i>, <br />
unperturbed by the rainstorm.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Museum-goers like me can happily spend hours ogling exquisite paintings, skillful drawings, and historical artifacts of all sorts.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.musee-rodin.fr/">Musèe Rodin</a>, an indoor-outdoor museum dedicated almost exclusively to sculpture, offers a specific kind of experience, a glimpse into the life and work of a single genius artist.<br />
<br />
The Musèe Rodin - or the Museum of Rodin - is housed in Paris' Hotel Biron, where Auguste Rodin himself once lived.<br />
<br />
For a mere 9 Euros, you can walk through the main building's many rooms and get up close and personal with each sculpture, then stroll through the surrounding gardens (for only 1 Euro more) to view such world-famous (and massive!) works as <i>The Thinker</i>, <i>The Gates of Hell</i>, and <i>The Three Shades</i>.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaWMXfg-b4xd5c_9jUire1g8fF6WN1H3UXbVNQiY301SpyC6QvzbjAdsoEmBdFoP8mHFzk8rNX7j4NCAzOnRG1RdmIhG9bFLSNV39cPPHmtuHX4nnMYDkEhLWdlcQ7ZGomjYgzuTroIUg/s1600/Gates.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaWMXfg-b4xd5c_9jUire1g8fF6WN1H3UXbVNQiY301SpyC6QvzbjAdsoEmBdFoP8mHFzk8rNX7j4NCAzOnRG1RdmIhG9bFLSNV39cPPHmtuHX4nnMYDkEhLWdlcQ7ZGomjYgzuTroIUg/s320/Gates.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me, at The Gates of Hell. It took Rodin <i>37 years </i><br />
to complete this massive, 20-foot-tall sculpture. <br />
That's dedication.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The museum's audio guide will give you lots of great insight into Rodin's life and friends, his passion for art, as well as the incredible accusations his work initially endured from the art world.<br />
<br />
Rodin was literally so good at creating realistic, life-size sculptures of people that it was to the point of being unbelievable. Early on in his career, his contemporaries called him a fraud and accused him of casting his works from actual people - cheating, essentially. His solution? He began creating larger-than-life sculptures that clearly could not have been modeled from actual humans. <br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqlw0XxKg-w8i-g3uXruSm6IOMG30ZJ8BqBO8HeEKKfAej0Pvo8XMYjGREib74YV7XEQLKW9O3hmrntqK3-vQzaffjghTJh-fYRvbUDNTnF0_RQuUIuD8ocIoU9C43V25ANOW49PPcpAg/s1600/RodinGarden.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqlw0XxKg-w8i-g3uXruSm6IOMG30ZJ8BqBO8HeEKKfAej0Pvo8XMYjGREib74YV7XEQLKW9O3hmrntqK3-vQzaffjghTJh-fYRvbUDNTnF0_RQuUIuD8ocIoU9C43V25ANOW49PPcpAg/s200/RodinGarden.jpg" width="149" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of Rodin's gardens.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Although I happened to visit on a very rainy April day, I am happy to report that the weather in no way dampened my awe for Rodin or this fabulous museum.<br />
<br />
P.S. Just one block over, you can also visit Napoleon's tomb, at the Hotel des Invalides.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>2. The Palace of Versailles</b><br />
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OK, technically, this isn't part of Paris. It's a suburb about 10 miles away. But if you're a sucker for mind-boggling opulence (and who isn't?), this is simply a must.<br />
<br />
Truth be told, you could spend an entire weekend exploring the gardens alone, never mind the palace. The grounds literally stretch as far as the eye can see. It's not difficult to picture Marie Antoinette wandering through the maze of manicured trees, feeling quite pleased with herself.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6e_SWesHESWndEuaZweHXfUhiAqtGUzWbPp0zOBukwOJ_tDqwta2H43EOrQYkDUtuv9um-C01fkhNQE5vTBbqBcdINhPkh5MNOadfYijHekNKVlbGfnnrO9g6OJVsWXUIH5LqHW6qOwk/s1600/Versailles+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6e_SWesHESWndEuaZweHXfUhiAqtGUzWbPp0zOBukwOJ_tDqwta2H43EOrQYkDUtuv9um-C01fkhNQE5vTBbqBcdINhPkh5MNOadfYijHekNKVlbGfnnrO9g6OJVsWXUIH5LqHW6qOwk/s200/Versailles+1.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Why, hello, royal gardens.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
It's hard to summarize the exhausting amount of beauty found here. Acres and acres of flowers, topiaries, statues, fountains, and pools. And that's just the outside.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl4_iv-9w_GM84V4GvTRh6vuccBoECZ04wKPzD7oJmheId_gRFYkgAaDEB8Do8-P6v3A1W4-mOR_r6a87L2sK00dJ1ZUjhB2-EXz-qaMkfGB5kOE1g_z7NP-N5LBPsaP_W_8O8rkD-VNE/s1600/Versailles+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl4_iv-9w_GM84V4GvTRh6vuccBoECZ04wKPzD7oJmheId_gRFYkgAaDEB8Do8-P6v3A1W4-mOR_r6a87L2sK00dJ1ZUjhB2-EXz-qaMkfGB5kOE1g_z7NP-N5LBPsaP_W_8O8rkD-VNE/s200/Versailles+2.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Palace of Versailles, where you can tour <br />
the astonishingly ornate palace and gardens.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Inside the palace - which comprises nearly 722,000 square feet of space (!!!) - you can tour of a good number of rooms, including the chapel where Marie Antoinette and King Louis XVI were married, the famous (and beautiful) Hall of Mirrors, and the bedchambers of Marie Antoinette. You can even see the door through which she'd escaped the angry mob in 1789.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMnjBuhhVKb69JumV0aFoH3XozuqSkHJSm2QRiXDoUGmLC42PPd-Q7OpPDPiFlXkaQ2aypNfUnyCmR-gCJrA2AsHqR5uTybmsKlFAl20V9cEpm5hbBFoM8VEiZikRzOKHKGdvlQ9eYW_c/s1600/Versailles+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMnjBuhhVKb69JumV0aFoH3XozuqSkHJSm2QRiXDoUGmLC42PPd-Q7OpPDPiFlXkaQ2aypNfUnyCmR-gCJrA2AsHqR5uTybmsKlFAl20V9cEpm5hbBFoM8VEiZikRzOKHKGdvlQ9eYW_c/s200/Versailles+3.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hall of Mirrors <br />
at the Palace of Versailles.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The cool thing about this place is that everything here<span class="captiontext" id="captiontext" style="cursor: default;"> is French, literally. The entire palace and garden were built and designed by artisans, sculptors, architects, and gardeners who hailed from France, using only materials that came from France.</span> <br />
<br />
Honestly, you really, really, have to see it all to believe it. <br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFfcwcJDmsO1gdycsAhRfcsU6ICdGkvIi1j0ajKPpc1HGS79EZ0BJXajz5PtqagVTPdknofwI63QV220_DNztpwItaeIQn7sZh4IAlisOB0EHDJsF8_EZGBpNN4Ug9zGM5iNvqPJQ4Z3g/s1600/Snail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFfcwcJDmsO1gdycsAhRfcsU6ICdGkvIi1j0ajKPpc1HGS79EZ0BJXajz5PtqagVTPdknofwI63QV220_DNztpwItaeIQn7sZh4IAlisOB0EHDJsF8_EZGBpNN4Ug9zGM5iNvqPJQ4Z3g/s200/Snail.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No, really, eat the snails. <br />
Enjoying escargot at <a href="http://www.parisdailyphoto.com/2009/03/cafe-limonade.html%20">Cafe Limonade</a>.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<b>3. Parisian Cafè</b><b>s </b><br />
<br />
Obviously, I cannot write this blog post in good faith without a few words on food. Heavenly, decadent, mouth-watering French food. Think escargot, fresh bread, cheese, and wine.<br />
<br />
Paris is the sort of place where you can walk into nearly any non-descript neighborhood market and emerge armed with warm, crusty bread, a wheel of cheese, and a bottle of wine.<br />
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Or, perhaps even better, stroll into any of the innumerable cafès that line the city streets, take a seat amongst the open-air tables, and enjoy an impromptu meal of divine delicacies along with some good old-fashioned people-watching.<br />
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<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlfLRAuP3w5mGauZ2yPvAp27owsI5kDgKN0aOs5pER-tyZ_ecaZtErpU2vXXKourQeFkTe2TaDfI6igRpLf7Q9spOFWoKGXa_MDnmHUdYmCeDZ0tnrebBY_iymvOdifP2mQzR0mXaifIs/s1600/Wedding.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlfLRAuP3w5mGauZ2yPvAp27owsI5kDgKN0aOs5pER-tyZ_ecaZtErpU2vXXKourQeFkTe2TaDfI6igRpLf7Q9spOFWoKGXa_MDnmHUdYmCeDZ0tnrebBY_iymvOdifP2mQzR0mXaifIs/s320/Wedding.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These newlyweds drove right past the cafe <br />
where we were sitting, to many delighted <i>oohs </i>and <i>aahs</i>.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
For example, within hours of landing in Paris, we happily wandered the streets, coming upon a beautiful monument (the Porte Saint-Denis) just as it began to rain. Luckily, the monument stands right in front of one of Paris' many cozy cafès.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKIIQFFrR9gzEJ0TObeByKaukBCsGlXP6eRIq1V8ZGTCKrqC9G7EjcyAyMPm1o-cyS7Vv8QdnnEea5p5C4sHsKxYuAD8UBjegCf2h796pH6Dl7PYuO9A_jgZ5HDPcGJnrmm9Ca4uU6yUk/s1600/Dominic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKIIQFFrR9gzEJ0TObeByKaukBCsGlXP6eRIq1V8ZGTCKrqC9G7EjcyAyMPm1o-cyS7Vv8QdnnEea5p5C4sHsKxYuAD8UBjegCf2h796pH6Dl7PYuO9A_jgZ5HDPcGJnrmm9Ca4uU6yUk/s200/Dominic.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our jovial server, Dominic, <br />
at Petit Pot Saint Denis.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
This particular cafè, the <a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/le-petit-pot-saint-denis-paris">Petit Pot Saint Denis</a>, offered us the perfect place to gather ourselves after a long flight. Looking for nothing more than a quiet, low-key place to chat and unwind with some wine, we were doted on by our extremely friendly server, Dominic.<br />
<br />
He not only chose a great Cabernet for us (a bottle of Chateau Bacchus), but also presented us with a plate of fresh French bread and camembert cheese on the house!<br />
<br />
Voila! A perfect way to start our trip.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
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<br />Stef Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02885211807706422849noreply@blogger.com1Paris, France48.856614 2.352221948.773036 2.1942934 48.940192 2.5101504tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879516064265884764.post-10402137944627332332012-06-08T20:28:00.001-04:002012-06-14T11:01:15.394-04:00A New Source of Scrumptious, Simple Recipes<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivNIMaya4W3Rif39ksgmZFhLKnLrkSwpd7-FnbHIcEeu67WZAp2sJ38xdjEqFygemjO7Zes5G3tziZ1TvV5TW9Xx0x0t3hDgqrjPZLzr-mjlBTY0b0PNP1j5y27GFTO8ZKF5POpLUWSCc/s1600/IMG_3350.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivNIMaya4W3Rif39ksgmZFhLKnLrkSwpd7-FnbHIcEeu67WZAp2sJ38xdjEqFygemjO7Zes5G3tziZ1TvV5TW9Xx0x0t3hDgqrjPZLzr-mjlBTY0b0PNP1j5y27GFTO8ZKF5POpLUWSCc/s320/IMG_3350.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crazy delicious pasta e fagioli, <br />
courtesy of Chef Silvio Suppa.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
Wish you knew how to cook up a fantastic marinara sauce? Think making fresh pasta from scratch is absolutely out of your league? Longing for amazing recipes that require only simple ingredients?</div>
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As I've learned in recent weeks, some of the dishes I'd always assumed could never be part of my repertoire are, in fact, deceivingly simple. Where did I learn this? Cooking classes.</div>
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No, I'm not talking about stressful, pricey lessons that for last weeks on end. No, you don't have to spend extra cash on kitchen supplies. And no, you certainly need not possess Iron Chef-like skills.</div>
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I'm talking a single two-hour weeknight outing that will prove to be fun, delicious, and educational - not to mention it's a lovely way to acquire some unbelievable new recipes while coming upon the revelation that cooking up some really great food is shockingly doable.</div>
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<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia,Utopia,'Palatino Linotype',Palatino,serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><b><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Today's Stefcations Highlights:</span></u></b></span></span><br />
<ul style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 2.5em; padding-right: 2.5em; padding-top: 0px;">
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-color: initial; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 12px;"><b>What You'll Find:</b> Several options for fabulous, user-friendly cooking classes.</span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b>Where You'll Find it:</b> Two of my latest finds include the <a href="http://vikingcenter.com/culinaryforum/?cat=9">Viking Center</a> at <a href="https://maps.google.com/maps?q=4+Laser+Lane,+Wallingford,+CT&hl=en&sll=41.490856,-72.764073&sspn=0.009435,0.01929&oq=4+laser+lane,+&hnear=4+Laser+Ln,+Wallingford,+New+Haven,+Connecticut+06492&t=m&z=16">4 Laser Lane in Wallingford, Conn.</a>, and <a href="http://www.martinosmarket.com/">Martino's Italian Market</a> at <a href="https://maps.google.com/maps?q=948+Terryville+Avenue,+Bristol,+CT&hl=en&ll=41.681053,-72.982328&spn=0.009407,0.01929&geocode=+&hnear=948+Terryville+Ave,+Bristol,+Connecticut+06010&t=m&z=16&iwloc=A">948 Terryville Avenue in Bristol, Conn</a>.</span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b>When to Go: </b>Check their websites for upcoming class schedules, prices, and other details - Find Martino's classes <a href="http://www.martinosmarket.com/wp-menu/cooking-class/">here</a> and the Viking Center's <a href="http://www.deliainc.com/learn/events">here</a>.</span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b>What It'll Cost:</b> Usually around $60 a person, although you can find deals - like I did! - on <a href="http://livingsocial.com/">LivingSocial</a>, <a href="http://www.groupon.com/">Groupon</a>, and other deal-of-the-day websites. </span></li>
</ul>
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<a name='more'></a><br />
My mom and I recently signed up for two different classes - a cooking demo at the <a href="http://vikingcenter.com/culinaryforum/?cat=9">Viking Center</a> in <a href="https://maps.google.com/maps?q=4+Laser+Lane,+Wallingford,+CT&hl=en&sll=41.490856,-72.764073&sspn=0.009435,0.01929&oq=4+laser+lane,+&hnear=4+Laser+Ln,+Wallingford,+New+Haven,+Connecticut+06492&t=m&z=16">Wallingford, Conn.</a>, and a hands-on class at <a href="http://www.martinosmarket.com/">Martino's Italian Market</a> in <a href="https://maps.google.com/maps?q=948+Terryville+Avenue,+Bristol,+CT&hl=en&ll=41.681053,-72.982328&spn=0.009407,0.01929&geocode=+&hnear=948+Terryville+Ave,+Bristol,+Connecticut+06010&t=m&z=16&iwloc=A">Bristol, Conn</a>. They were both great fun. Whether you want to spend a relaxing night out with a fellow foodie or are strictly on a mission to eat some damn good food, I guarantee that one of these will fit the bill. </div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZUW67HNJ-RH8cQpROq_-H4J5p9f10alrrBrBwSvW8i6O-UgRT39E9DGdOKwfLc0Lh52y_4fZ5KppF3AJhnYe2y_yU0pvLquljyMiw7qsmL57ziCJrvMn6fLmOB1XG1trbP10xssy30Hg/s1600/IMG_3443.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZUW67HNJ-RH8cQpROq_-H4J5p9f10alrrBrBwSvW8i6O-UgRT39E9DGdOKwfLc0Lh52y_4fZ5KppF3AJhnYe2y_yU0pvLquljyMiw7qsmL57ziCJrvMn6fLmOB1XG1trbP10xssy30Hg/s320/IMG_3443.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There is no longer any reason to fear <br />
making fresh ricotta gnocchi.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<b>Hands-On Classes</b></div>
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If you don't mind getting your hands a little dirty, doughy, and in on the action, then I highly recommend the hands-on lessons at <a href="http://www.martinosmarket.com/">Martino's</a>, which offers classes periodically, each focused on a particular theme - from Italian food to chicken dishes to canning and making jams.</div>
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The night we attended, Mom and I learned how to make marinara sauce, pomodoro sauce, and vodka sauce, as well as fontina cheese-stuffed meatballs and fresh ricotta gnocchi. Yum!</div>
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The instructor, Chef Brenda, was fantastic - laidback, informative, and pleasant, doling out useful words of kitchen wisdom beyond the basics of how to make each dish.</div>
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Plus, they supplied each of us wanna-be chefs not only with delicious red wine during and after the lesson, but also our own <a href="http://www.surlatable.com/product/PRO-71290/?affsrcid=Aff0001&mr:trackingCode=AB6FAEDC-D781-DE11-B7F3-0019B9C043EB&mr:referralID=NA&origin=pla&mr:adType=pla&mr:ad=9439506461&mr:keyword=%7Bkeyword%7D">gnocchi board</a> to take home! Score.</div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmO7B1wgcFm_ylvhTGHbIoXfvoI4gS_46TKQ3R1gGQC-lZCfAVN-3Ce7EyAlsoAk4gjeWYdH0PGyMtRIuMgns2AsjmLy9o03j567MgTCoXwZpNCbfzcYG326IAd-gmj-IZKbh9IdGWY1o/s1600/IMG_3444.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmO7B1wgcFm_ylvhTGHbIoXfvoI4gS_46TKQ3R1gGQC-lZCfAVN-3Ce7EyAlsoAk4gjeWYdH0PGyMtRIuMgns2AsjmLy9o03j567MgTCoXwZpNCbfzcYG326IAd-gmj-IZKbh9IdGWY1o/s320/IMG_3444.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our own freshly made ricotta gnocchi, <br />
fontina cheese-stuffed meatballs, and pomodoro sauce.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
To top it all off, we got to sit down together afterward and enjoy all of our amazing creations. You couldn't ask for a more enjoyable and refreshing Thursday night.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Cooking Demos</b></div>
<div>
Perhaps you would prefer to sit back with your glass of wine and simply observe from the other side of the counter? No judgment. You'll still get to chow down on a delicious, multi-course dinner, after all. If that sounds more your style, a cooking demo would suit you. </div>
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<div>
The <a href="http://vikingcenter.com/culinaryforum/?cat=9">Viking Center</a> in <a href="https://maps.google.com/maps?q=4+Laser+Lane,+Wallingford,+CT&hl=en&sll=41.490856,-72.764073&sspn=0.009435,0.01929&oq=4+laser+lane,+&hnear=4+Laser+Ln,+Wallingford,+New+Haven,+Connecticut+06492&t=m&z=16">Wallingford, Conn.</a>, offers a variety of classes throughout the year - both cooking demos <i>and </i>hands-on classes. (P.S. While there, you can also ogle the Viking designer double wall ovens and other such impressive kitchen appliances in their showroom.)</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
<a href="http://www.chef-silvio.com/">Sylvio Suppa</a>, chef and owner of <a href="http://www.allegrecafe.com/">Cafe Allegre</a> in <a href="https://maps.google.com/maps?q=madison+ct&hnear=Madison,+New+Haven,+Connecticut&gl=us&t=h&z=12">Madison, Conn.</a>, led the demo we attended. He regaled us with stories of his childhood, spent cooking alongside his grandmother back in Italy, while whipping up a selection of Italian dishes featured in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Cooking-With-Chef-Silvio-Authentic/dp/1438433638/ref=la_B001JXUW3W_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1339200386&sr=1-1">his latest cookbook</a>:<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaS25bd7JVJxKhlN2zgsSl-qSDJS5UBzWNa4xkrEFy1jeSI-vnkxiBDQKQLeCRGrXMFUn0x4_AR-KD9L7IQHeX_wUEJzLBmbdM0EYv8hrT6ws6C1gPXPQ8ZeS5NqcjtVsqEGrZyG9HUFI/s1600/IMG_3349.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaS25bd7JVJxKhlN2zgsSl-qSDJS5UBzWNa4xkrEFy1jeSI-vnkxiBDQKQLeCRGrXMFUn0x4_AR-KD9L7IQHeX_wUEJzLBmbdM0EYv8hrT6ws6C1gPXPQ8ZeS5NqcjtVsqEGrZyG9HUFI/s200/IMG_3349.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A beautiful stewed artichoke. <br />
Melts in your mouth.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<ul>
<li>Pasta fagioli (Bacon is what makes this soup. OMG.)</li>
<li>Panzanella (A simple bread salad made with day-old bread, red onions, oregano, basil, olive oil, and tomatoes, simply tossed by hand)</li>
<li>Stewed artichokes (A good tip from Chef Silvio: Use gloves when handling artichokes; raw artichokes are very bitter, and the bitterness will transfer to any other foods with which your hands come into contact.)</li>
<li>Braciole with cavatelli (Braciole = Beef, pounded until thin, wrapped around a filling of parmesan, garlic, and other goodness, and simmered for several hours.)</li>
</ul>
<br />
Better yet, we got reap the rewards. By the time the last course was served, I had to request a doggie bag. I couldn't eat one more bite - but there was zero chance I was letting that braciole go to waste.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_kiM0diZreb4mknC-pEvswTmlal83BEdB7bIF25fBgg7RHQFL7Yj-oElfEvlAk45tcNHbAGcUOvvI9CaDzYb9vd5qZIPyPt_0BqE3vNPAzBvdfyemIM2PqFIZ0TYRa8_RK0DE8IIKgz8/s1600/IMG_3351.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_kiM0diZreb4mknC-pEvswTmlal83BEdB7bIF25fBgg7RHQFL7Yj-oElfEvlAk45tcNHbAGcUOvvI9CaDzYb9vd5qZIPyPt_0BqE3vNPAzBvdfyemIM2PqFIZ0TYRa8_RK0DE8IIKgz8/s200/IMG_3351.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chef Silvio's <br />
beautiful panzanella (bread salad). <br />
As Silvio explained, traditional peasant <br />
dishes like this are served nowadays<br />
in the finest restaurants. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
So if you like to cook and like to eat, this kind of night out is a win-win - also a great gift for anyone that appreciates a good meal.<br />
<br />
If you know of any cooking classes or demos in Connecticut, please leave a comment and give me the detes! I need to sign up, pronto.<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
<i>And, P.S., courtesy of the very kind Martino's Italian Market, I've added a recipe for their marinara sauce! Enjoy!!</i><br />
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Martino's Marinara Sauce</b></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
1. Pour a No. 10 can of San Marzano whole tomatoes (These are the <i>really </i>big-daddy-size cans that you'll find at Costco) into a large bowl and hand-crush. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
2. Heat a 6-count of olive oil in a large stock pot. Add 1 large, finely chopped onion and saute until it begins to soften. Add 4 smashed garlic cloves and saute for about a minute. Do not let the garlic take on any color. </div>
<div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzsN1BI9rG94tKeNt70LcCEj_n0yOtJmcnQZdLYgZtZJNDmUgI-N0ngu3XEUlItz0EkV5AorI-5ZS2eehb8WHBntk04rh-tyEgksGLEEGGj3PD3M9kOpcqMoU10AQMwqvk0mki7QZiXHc/s1600/IMG_3343.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzsN1BI9rG94tKeNt70LcCEj_n0yOtJmcnQZdLYgZtZJNDmUgI-N0ngu3XEUlItz0EkV5AorI-5ZS2eehb8WHBntk04rh-tyEgksGLEEGGj3PD3M9kOpcqMoU10AQMwqvk0mki7QZiXHc/s200/IMG_3343.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chef Silvio does his magic.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div>
3. Add the tomatoes, along with their liquid, into the pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and add 4 bay leaves, 3 T. of sugar, and salt and pepper. Cook for about an hour, uncovered. The sauce will reduce and thicken.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
4. Adjust the seasoning as needed. Remove sauce from heat and stir in a 1/4 cup each of fresh, chopped basil and parsley. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Per Brenda, this makes about enough sauce to cover 3 pounds worth of pasta. You can freeze it, too, for later use. Enjoy!!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUcWc-5ABAyl5L2zqF7FMTBa6PngJQKm_C00BTFjSB-WqyERpkA3uhzyhkOiZFwI3TrBi_w0tGhIpOjl5SHMUw2Az0-Amum_p5qJ2Ed3nRQUs79ky8alCxi3gTJoeSuqzrvTYaOFqfbT8/s1600/IMG_3442.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUcWc-5ABAyl5L2zqF7FMTBa6PngJQKm_C00BTFjSB-WqyERpkA3uhzyhkOiZFwI3TrBi_w0tGhIpOjl5SHMUw2Az0-Amum_p5qJ2Ed3nRQUs79ky8alCxi3gTJoeSuqzrvTYaOFqfbT8/s320/IMG_3442.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Stef Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02885211807706422849noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879516064265884764.post-49611502377413904712012-05-24T13:24:00.000-04:002012-06-14T11:14:13.235-04:00Relish This: Blackie's Hot Dog Stand - Cheshire, Conn.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSAbIgbjlLdjTbgMwqWJ4r_p8hbSdPTqqXTi6PvBg76Z0UEuECVgmo6jtVPajMJT6q6_ZZ-TfklclkouMJ-iEQUTn6fHgi8dhbOjy5vwCFefBI08lhrSh9FbCiT0SoddHqC54WNtPvzD8/s1600/DSC04224.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSAbIgbjlLdjTbgMwqWJ4r_p8hbSdPTqqXTi6PvBg76Z0UEuECVgmo6jtVPajMJT6q6_ZZ-TfklclkouMJ-iEQUTn6fHgi8dhbOjy5vwCFefBI08lhrSh9FbCiT0SoddHqC54WNtPvzD8/s320/DSC04224.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oh. So. Good.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Perhaps it's the refreshingly rare birch beer fountain soda. Or the bold, distinctive spice of their famous homemade hot pepper relish. Or those familiar red countertops and the wonderful lack of pretense.<br />
<br />
Whatever it is, my summer days are never complete without a visit to <a href="http://www.blackieshotdogs.com/">Blackie's Hot Dog Stand</a> in <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?q=cheshire+ct&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x89e7c5fc8ea23e2d:0x869f4127e743dcc0,Cheshire,+CT&gl=us&ei=eHm9T5CXEIiViAKBs6zYDQ&sa=X&oi=local_group&ct=image&ved=0CJUBELYD">Cheshire, Conn</a>.<br />
<br />
This fine establishment has been serving up simple, yet consistently fabulous burgers and dogs for 84 years now. So let's just say that they know what they're doing.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia,Utopia,'Palatino Linotype',Palatino,serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><b><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Today's Stefcations Highlights:</span></u></b></span></span><br />
<ul style="background-color: white; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 2.5em; padding-right: 2.5em; padding-top: 0px;">
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-color: initial; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 12px;"><b>What You'll Find:</b> Old-school hot dog and hamburger stand that has stood the test of time.</span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b>Where You'll Find it:</b> <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?q=cheshire+ct&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x89e7c5fc8ea23e2d:0x869f4127e743dcc0,Cheshire,+CT&gl=us&ei=eHm9T5CXEIiViAKBs6zYDQ&sa=X&oi=local_group&ct=image&ved=0CJUBELYD">2200 Waterbury Road, Cheshire, Conn.</a></span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b>When to Go: </b>Every day throughout the year, <u>except Friday.</u> Open 11 a.m.-7 p.m. from January through March and from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. April through December.</span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b>What It'll Cost:</b> A couple of bucks apiece. Cash only!</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small; line-height: 12px;"></span></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQF3rqJZXeBe0VtmK04DQ-yefqx4Qp_BI5r5hGSAZsK-PpwzHT1TvkgW0dMDMiwcr7_K0YCAGBsItU6rmQkQDPOUMX2qnBf7GokOWL7jtzpgH57pSnE06ol2E6kLO0oOnGHVFx5FFe1ds/s1600/DSC04217a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQF3rqJZXeBe0VtmK04DQ-yefqx4Qp_BI5r5hGSAZsK-PpwzHT1TvkgW0dMDMiwcr7_K0YCAGBsItU6rmQkQDPOUMX2qnBf7GokOWL7jtzpgH57pSnE06ol2E6kLO0oOnGHVFx5FFe1ds/s200/DSC04217a.jpg" width="200" /></a>Blackie's serves as something of a generational landmark for my family. Not only have my brother and I been coming here since we were kids, but my father spent his childhood chowing down here, too.<br />
<br />
I picture him as a teenager, standing at the very same counter with his friends back in the day, ogling hot rods in the parking lot. With Dad having passed away before either my brother or I had reached our own teenage years, returning to his former hangout has long had special meaning. Meanwhile, my grandparents, now both in their 80s, are still quick to request their favorite meal - a hot dog topped with Blackie's relish - whenever we tell them we're on our way for a visit.<br />
<br />
So with the warm weather having finally arrived, I recently took a ride out with friends (one of them a Blackie's newbie) to get my fix.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWKtGHuMOm_OwePs_ytob8ZTHlh7HHPtdY0d0_Mkb1dc1k6RqQKtLV42UQZ8avpHMcKVxuP4cUdPgcjXYzCtRJGWq1krHNt_FSL5Yn7u0lKFox6WbgND79YhhLlqVHc02ENcnBE81No-Y/s1600/DSC04231.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWKtGHuMOm_OwePs_ytob8ZTHlh7HHPtdY0d0_Mkb1dc1k6RqQKtLV42UQZ8avpHMcKVxuP4cUdPgcjXYzCtRJGWq1krHNt_FSL5Yn7u0lKFox6WbgND79YhhLlqVHc02ENcnBE81No-Y/s320/DSC04231.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blackie's never disappoints.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Ordering food at Blackie's is simple: Step up to the counter and choose between hamburgers, cheeseburgers, and/or hot dogs. (I believe the hot dogs are a beef-and-pork variety made by Hummel, if you're curious about that sort of thing.)<br />
<br />
There are no fries to be had; that's just how it's always been. However, you can opt a personal-size bag of potato chips.<br />
<br />
Condiments are self-serve. There's ketchup and mustard, but if you're up for some serious heat, scoop yourself some of the hot pepper relish. It's got a satisfying zing and is seriously delicious, particularly when paired with a hot dog. Personally, I always eat my Blackie's hamburgers plain, and my Blackie's hot dogs with a good helping of the hot stuff. <br />
<br />
If you find yourself as obsessed with the relish as most of Blackie's loyal fans, you can also purchase a jar to go. We have some on hand in our fridge at home, which is always handy for cookouts. <br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6aLHk_87okE7U5OXwsL5ZmcB4Cmcaj2-09JQ4fPJkQwKDP4OWfSinQe0LyaUaHD0Qvfe5bmM7wfGj23DDSrhN7rR73x34THeVf1hL1BguROe-FtFFaCLrxwwiPBkM4IQvH2Gd-E5M8gg/s1600/DSC04226a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6aLHk_87okE7U5OXwsL5ZmcB4Cmcaj2-09JQ4fPJkQwKDP4OWfSinQe0LyaUaHD0Qvfe5bmM7wfGj23DDSrhN7rR73x34THeVf1hL1BguROe-FtFFaCLrxwwiPBkM4IQvH2Gd-E5M8gg/s320/DSC04226a.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hot dogs are serious business.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
And to drink: Milkshakes, cartons of chocolate milk, and the usual fountain sodas - save for one rather unusual choice: birch beer. Sorta similar to root beer, except clear in color, it's what I choose every time, and it always hits the spot.<br />
<br />
In all the times that I've been there, I can't say that Blackie's has ever let me down. The video games and jukebox that my brother and I used to love to play as kids might not be around longer, but beyond that, virtually nothing else has changed. And I think Dad would have appreciated that.<br />
<br />
<br />Stef Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02885211807706422849noreply@blogger.com32200 Waterbury Rd, Cheshire, CT 06410, USA41.5447266 -72.958252441.543241099999996 -72.9607199 41.5462121 -72.955784900000012tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879516064265884764.post-72107831591962120002012-05-12T13:11:00.003-04:002012-06-14T11:00:35.605-04:00London: Where I Died and Went to Heaven<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI2ga9FtAyLhN_1WMxG4_GBs_isMXaGKvfybxygG2OF3Y_eL_03tB0R-0mV2pql6vPE0JIobKvy5y8x9Akf4arWDcazPmgE3HRCEHv7tIIDwY8nMRDYfCLRpiEITbAapajmGehUo5NKPo/s1600/DSC03849.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI2ga9FtAyLhN_1WMxG4_GBs_isMXaGKvfybxygG2OF3Y_eL_03tB0R-0mV2pql6vPE0JIobKvy5y8x9Akf4arWDcazPmgE3HRCEHv7tIIDwY8nMRDYfCLRpiEITbAapajmGehUo5NKPo/s320/DSC03849.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just across the pond, you can, in fact, <br />
enter heaven on Earth.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
My husband and I recently returned from 10 days away, in Europe, with my in-laws. Along with my brother-in-law, his wife, and their 3-year-old. And yes, we no doubt resembled <a href="http://www.lizandlaura.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/european-vacation.jpg">this bunch</a>. Except there were more of us.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
By some miracle of God, we did not all gouge one another's eyes out, as I may have initially expected.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Thankfully, my husband and I enjoyed some alone time here and there, separate from the fam (as so wisely prescribed in this <a href="http://www.traveldudes.org/travel-tips/how-not-kill-your-travel-companions-tips-how-stay-friends-road/16644">recent TravelDudes blog entry</a>.) And so all in all, it turned out to be a very lovely trip.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I am lucky enough to have a friend in London named Brian (known to many of us back home as Stu), whom I hadn't seen in nearly 10 years. Nowadays, Stu is happily basking in the historic beauty of London, no doubt drinking pints upon pints of delicious local beer on a regular basis, taking in the sights, and generally enjoying the heck out of this ridiculously fabulous city with his wife and newborn daughter. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
We couldn't wait to take full advantage of our alone time to meet up with this lucky bastard and have him show us around.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU3j65ZkMLn7mvU6d7WEjD9yBiWfjrTzYG_vV5VFYWvC-YbKNpBa-9r25UX4G4TqFqwJB94ALHfiSsn2hhsZAcTh-3ycICvW71r9BIF5ZwsDMGH89yXLlkGKcV-hdFPxtT_9-ajp0H42Q/s1600/DSC03850.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU3j65ZkMLn7mvU6d7WEjD9yBiWfjrTzYG_vV5VFYWvC-YbKNpBa-9r25UX4G4TqFqwJB94ALHfiSsn2hhsZAcTh-3ycICvW71r9BIF5ZwsDMGH89yXLlkGKcV-hdFPxtT_9-ajp0H42Q/s320/DSC03850.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eat anything this man recommends.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
Stu did not disappoint. In fact, I am fairly certain he may have missed his calling as a tour guide. With the aid of his meticulous directions, provided along with his cell phone number just in case, we found our way to London's <a href="http://www.boroughmarket.org.uk/">Borough Market</a>. </div>
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There, outside the <a href="http://www.markettaverns.co.uk/the_market_porter.html">Market Porter</a>, a popular pub, where droves of British businessmen gathered outside during their Friday lunch hour to chat amiably over freshly draught pints of beer (seriously, what <i>bastards!</i>), we were reunited.</div>
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After catching up over an ale or two, we followed Stu into what, for foodies, has got to be the center of the universe.</div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1_psHmfz50D5HjPQnQ3t_VYHOSbjAz1NhMbMCXyU_m6BFKr3tNyJMo_i6XdLtcI4eHx_oScVhSTBhbwBxoDn1kPrd_I7RbUAcVrlU2FuQrkr8FLOWO9GmNs9V8nnz2e-iV_1Jk1f83q4/s1600/DSC03855.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1_psHmfz50D5HjPQnQ3t_VYHOSbjAz1NhMbMCXyU_m6BFKr3tNyJMo_i6XdLtcI4eHx_oScVhSTBhbwBxoDn1kPrd_I7RbUAcVrlU2FuQrkr8FLOWO9GmNs9V8nnz2e-iV_1Jk1f83q4/s200/DSC03855.JPG" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Freakishly large rabbit, no?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Borough Market is an outdoor food market overflowing with fresh, um, everything - vegetables, meats, seafood, baked goods, cheeses, breads, and the list goes on and on. The variety is dizzying. A local guide (a la Stu) comes in very handy.</div>
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<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia,Utopia,'Palatino Linotype',Palatino,serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><b><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Today's Stefcations Highlights:</span></u></b></span></span><br />
<ul style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 2.5em; padding-right: 2.5em; padding-top: 0px;">
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-color: initial; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 12px;"><b>What You'll Find:</b> Foodie Nirvana.</span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b>Where You'll Find it:</b> <a href="http://www.boroughmarket.org.uk/page/visit-us">Borough Market, London, England</a>. Check out the <a href="http://www.boroughmarket.org.uk/page/market-map?trader%5B%5D=58&mapUpdate=1">map </a>for the layout of the various stands.</span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b>When to Go: </b>Open Thursdays, 11-5; Fridays, 12-6; and Saturdays, 8-5.</span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b>What It'll Cost:</b> Whatever you like. Go nuts, or just indulge in the Greatest Grilled Cheese Known to Man for a few measly British pounds. Bring cash. Probably easier that way.</span></li>
</ul>
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Stu offered up a number of options. We couldn't make up our minds on what sounded best to eat, so we told him to bring us to all of them. </div>
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And eat we did.</div>
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I won't bore you with <i>all </i>the details. But I will tell you the facts in a nutshell: where to go, what to eat, and why.</div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixMZxCyqRSsxGtYFafFqLbID5gjc04ksFqVHNHIclwsBq5193ETK_g2A61IijrGJpAmAcdD1y2xNZZGq0r-RcMotmyx3h4wM7FMr7-Y5ugdp3vsy7m6oIhsdwXrkO-SKpkSHcrz9R8FYU/s1600/DSC03868.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixMZxCyqRSsxGtYFafFqLbID5gjc04ksFqVHNHIclwsBq5193ETK_g2A61IijrGJpAmAcdD1y2xNZZGq0r-RcMotmyx3h4wM7FMr7-Y5ugdp3vsy7m6oIhsdwXrkO-SKpkSHcrz9R8FYU/s320/DSC03868.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Guildable's lamb creation.<br />
We were this excited, and we hadn't even eaten it yet.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
1. <a href="http://www.northfieldfarm.com/">Northfield Farm</a>. Grilled ground pork-and-stilton burger, with the option to add sauteed onions. Sizzling, juicy, amazing combo of flavors, with the cheese embedded right in there so that it'll melt in with the meat. Wow. Just wow. (P.S. The meat there is raised humanely. Another plus.)</div>
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2. <a href="http://www.theguildablemanor.co.uk/">The Guildable Manor</a>. Lamb sausage, made with fresh mint, cumin, paprika, and coriander, grilled up before your eyes, thrown on a bun, topped with marinated halloumi cheese if you like, along with your choice of sauces. (Try the spicy Morrocan spicy chili paste.) Freaking unbelievable. Oh, and huge. </div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrgkDjgPHfykquj3nKnuWAazEkGH3IZQ_Vh4Dx_H4XEiMr_oNlQvrmH2HcUGz1fp5jSMFNWRQhZbezKUQ2dGjJvIdUqCaXbX5jnvYv9dYYfJnfIf_DI_rgRQd26uTQQQ6CADmYCTeCfy4/s1600/DSC03872.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrgkDjgPHfykquj3nKnuWAazEkGH3IZQ_Vh4Dx_H4XEiMr_oNlQvrmH2HcUGz1fp5jSMFNWRQhZbezKUQ2dGjJvIdUqCaXbX5jnvYv9dYYfJnfIf_DI_rgRQd26uTQQQ6CADmYCTeCfy4/s320/DSC03872.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cheese toasties - not yet toasted - innocently<br />
waiting to blow someone's mind.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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3. Stu saved the best for last. This is the show-stopper, folks: <a href="http://www.kappacasein.com/">Kappacasein</a>. For the love of all that is holy, buy the toasted cheese sandwich for yourself and, perhaps, for any uninitiated passing stranger (who may subsequently feel compelled to hug you).</div>
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It is like the Holy Grail of grilled cheeses: Sourdough bread that houses your weight in cheese, chopped red onion, garlic, and leeks, then pressed to perfection on a hot grill and handed to you wrapped in a waxy paper.</div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrd10xKBgJETBID66GpP3IHt_yKghl9JwnzrO_4cuxjgqNuF3IERsaDHa3fxpb1xJwe_w4f3wq21UOJ2g2kymd_a5MwNahgu5mLhyws9YQo874Q_SkpYaptOcVllu9DtrkqkPRL329cZk/s1600/DSC03883.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrd10xKBgJETBID66GpP3IHt_yKghl9JwnzrO_4cuxjgqNuF3IERsaDHa3fxpb1xJwe_w4f3wq21UOJ2g2kymd_a5MwNahgu5mLhyws9YQo874Q_SkpYaptOcVllu9DtrkqkPRL329cZk/s320/DSC03883.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kappacasein's toasted cheese miracle.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
It's a multisensory experience, people. As I was about to bite into this thing, the fragrance of the leeks and garlic hit me head-on. One of the best and most memorable things I have eaten in my life. </div>
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Oh, and it's not over. Kappacasein also has something called a raclette: melted cheese over a pile of potatoes, sprinkled with a helping of spicy gherkin pickles. Presented on a small paper plate that weighs about a ton. (Yes, food coma pretty much set in halfway through this.)</div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf4ZyncXeoCH5BUKvK751E3xIHhdB3DYWvGq0T3dAfImAweL40YjYmsYJyLiz1duOre_ij0MwDJ3e0crlYzT7k_tl_tqU4hSW5JH2JE0gsvfi1UINeROdFC-2zbVxSgQWIEFKlmWFLOJc/s1600/DSC03880.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf4ZyncXeoCH5BUKvK751E3xIHhdB3DYWvGq0T3dAfImAweL40YjYmsYJyLiz1duOre_ij0MwDJ3e0crlYzT7k_tl_tqU4hSW5JH2JE0gsvfi1UINeROdFC-2zbVxSgQWIEFKlmWFLOJc/s200/DSC03880.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Raclette madness.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div>
Dessert? We couldn't squeeze it in after sharing all of the above, but we did buy some stuff to take away for later. </div>
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Stop by the <a href="http://thecinnamontreebakery.co.uk/">Cinnamon Tree Bakery</a> stand and check out the treats on display. The dude working the stand had a splendid sense of humor, given that I was snapping photos and we were having him go through the trouble of wrapping our desserts separately.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqAtSgdix5Ln7hEm2Ki-BNSbdVSZycxWlZNWyjUasMxr-DKdc-F7fgE-0qEEsKmrkOTwC5Kjpvbrktf7UXykFN5dtGXA6Z5y5IfruDBZ5NdbFtUoIADdAHuRRGqa_bSGPHu-fSIiZyA_I/s1600/DSC03892.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqAtSgdix5Ln7hEm2Ki-BNSbdVSZycxWlZNWyjUasMxr-DKdc-F7fgE-0qEEsKmrkOTwC5Kjpvbrktf7UXykFN5dtGXA6Z5y5IfruDBZ5NdbFtUoIADdAHuRRGqa_bSGPHu-fSIiZyA_I/s200/DSC03892.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cinnamon Tree Bakery = Yummmm.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The orange pecan shortbread was fantastic (I devoured this later on with my afternoon tea, thank you very much). I also grabbed a flapjack to go - not a pancake, but a granola-y kind of dessert bar that resembles a Rice Krispies treat in a way. It was fabulous and not at all dry as you'd maybe presume granola to be. Super tasty.</div>
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Yes, we may very well have consumed four days' worth of calories apiece. No judging! All in the name of research, I say. You're welcome. </div>
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Stef Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02885211807706422849noreply@blogger.com248 Southwark St, London, Greater London SE1 1TL, UK51.5050824 -0.090080851.5026114 -0.0950163 51.5075534 -0.085145300000000007tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879516064265884764.post-34381086478614903322012-05-02T19:44:00.000-04:002012-06-14T11:00:23.803-04:00My Old Kentucky Home<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMbHQEbZSQqfdSLBn1J38fZ60xmcrBaCEp4AABXxnDuJqzUeUbmRF1grkZ5ZsrnDvMusMgFwQFt8U6VOGGCLn4qnTPRcpUM-qcZXFa4eghm78rep3li4T7EoDsUm9tOzEzhIVrLIzfufU/s1600/Kentucky2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMbHQEbZSQqfdSLBn1J38fZ60xmcrBaCEp4AABXxnDuJqzUeUbmRF1grkZ5ZsrnDvMusMgFwQFt8U6VOGGCLn4qnTPRcpUM-qcZXFa4eghm78rep3li4T7EoDsUm9tOzEzhIVrLIzfufU/s320/Kentucky2.jpg" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The mint julep. Bourbon, sugar, and mint leaves. <br />
And, the nastiest-tasting official drink around.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I'm not big into <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYa1IsxGVuc">gambling</a>. Or <a href="http://www.billboard-outdoor.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/liquor-billboard.jpg">bourbon</a>. Or <a href="http://www.hatsca.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Royal-Wedding-Unusual-Hats-Kate-William-princess-beatrice.jpg">hats</a>.<br />
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But I embrace all of the above for one Saturday in May. Namely, the Kentucky Derby.</div>
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Luckily for me, my husband has family in Kentucky - awesome, fun-loving, heavy-drinking family who last year were kind enough to invite us to stay at their place and then drive us to the Derby and celebrate with them. Score.</div>
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The Derby itself is one of those things you should try one day, just to say you've done it - whether you pay several hundred dollars per person for the good seats, several thousand dollars for the <i>really </i>good seats, or a <a href="http://www.kentuckyderby.com/tickets/2012-general-admission">mere 40 bucks for general admission</a>, which gets you all the space you'd like on the inner track.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD02ies5whJPbAS9BHrOZtlhDLI4CCzZe1MErVpg8hOumkM4Ip7sMN8vl_HtlKktS1qFnMwPCQaZyLa3kASBoVADw9m0qB6KXJ9l0xjedpaK5i6lvAiRch0VS1rB6HhJQEambGeT6T6uQ/s1600/Kentucky6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD02ies5whJPbAS9BHrOZtlhDLI4CCzZe1MErVpg8hOumkM4Ip7sMN8vl_HtlKktS1qFnMwPCQaZyLa3kASBoVADw9m0qB6KXJ9l0xjedpaK5i6lvAiRch0VS1rB6HhJQEambGeT6T6uQ/s320/Kentucky6.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Among the many sights of <br />
the Kentucky Derby.<br />
Not weird ... at all.</td></tr>
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In truth, the inner track doesn't quite have the glitz and glam of the larger stadium.<br />
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You won't, for instance, have a reserved seat per se, though you <i>can </i>bring your own lawn chair.<br />
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You can't actually see the track. (That's what the big screens on either end of the stadium are for nowadays.)<br />
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Annnd, there's no shelter to speak of to protect you from the elements. So bring an umbrella ... or if you're really classy, a tarp.<br />
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But, really, where else on the planet can you drink freshly made mint juleps with the masses, chow down on giant turkey legs while standing around in a dress and fancy hat, and spend the day hoping to make money off of animals with funky-sounding names?<br />
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Besides, you've got to admit that it isn't all that often you come across a half-man, half-horse jumping rope with the local kids. These are the trenches, people, where you will experience the real deal.</div>
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And I swear to you it's all worth it for those two short minutes of pure excitement during the actual Derby race.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDFf5qaR9r4SXdr8aa3bs2wWknnzN9WWHmOjhEb8qZzMEObgNtC2evge1plBk9_AeU33FoLLc4ECcEU4WG_UsqX7W4OdaE1JeToSFELY84PivtcAgtvBGA9lDtyeDgBendBUOS0u9Hzow/s1600/Kentucky5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDFf5qaR9r4SXdr8aa3bs2wWknnzN9WWHmOjhEb8qZzMEObgNtC2evge1plBk9_AeU33FoLLc4ECcEU4WG_UsqX7W4OdaE1JeToSFELY84PivtcAgtvBGA9lDtyeDgBendBUOS0u9Hzow/s200/Kentucky5.jpg" width="146" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Drinking bourbon,<br />
and losing money.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
A mere mint julep or two in, and you won't be able to help yourself from freaking out alongside the thousands and thousands of people around you, frenzied with adrenaline, fist-pumping and yelling at full volume from the stands, cheering on their horses to the finish line. It's all about the atmosphere. There's no way to recreate it. At the very least, from a purely anthropological perspective, it's certainly worth the experience.</div>
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So I learned last year, when we braved the rain in our dresses and hats, our lawn chairs, and, oh yes, our cash money. We placed bets on races all day long, before the official Derby kicked off. My mother-in-law even won some money - on a horse named A Good Time Was Had By All. </div>
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All in all, a fine time in my book.</div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLSrPqdpOodYR-zQIOVmhix7luXC7Z3DAxXaquPzqGuc4NoNsra9INmlA5ZlulbYivlekYEO5sDf3-T63zRvU0fH1zqoXEk1pbeVMnCT9OqGQ72ZQ_7sgQZUojJ0LGO5_v2lxutQpP0zs/s1600/Kentucky+7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLSrPqdpOodYR-zQIOVmhix7luXC7Z3DAxXaquPzqGuc4NoNsra9INmlA5ZlulbYivlekYEO5sDf3-T63zRvU0fH1zqoXEk1pbeVMnCT9OqGQ72ZQ_7sgQZUojJ0LGO5_v2lxutQpP0zs/s320/Kentucky+7.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cousin Emily with the requisite mint julep and turkey leg. <br />
Mmmm.</td></tr>
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Alas, I am <i>not </i>headed to Kentucky this year. But I still plan to commemorate the day with a gathering at my place - complete with hats, a few friendly wagers, and some strong drinks. </div>
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<div>
In the interest of full disclosure, I refuse to make mint juleps. They may get you drunk, but they are far from tasty.<br />
<br />
So, seeing as the 138th Kentucky Derby will fall on Cinco de Mayo, we'll be downing margaritas instead. Ole!<br />
<br />
A good time, I am sure, will still be had by all.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW6nOF5OafC5lbLF3USsPj5d5STL5-2YhR7DWRM3uLzldZVTw8AMNGkKMhGrJM1PypGkOd6JfTuyrD54NfsyNg7DqRX6B9IRYKwV0ub-AwqVI4ZC9qJcGmANu7e8eDcR8S79Taq3jSwrw/s1600/Kentucky.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW6nOF5OafC5lbLF3USsPj5d5STL5-2YhR7DWRM3uLzldZVTw8AMNGkKMhGrJM1PypGkOd6JfTuyrD54NfsyNg7DqRX6B9IRYKwV0ub-AwqVI4ZC9qJcGmANu7e8eDcR8S79Taq3jSwrw/s320/Kentucky.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Stef Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02885211807706422849noreply@blogger.com0Louisville, KY, USA38.2526647 -85.758455738.053160199999994 -86.0743127 38.4521692 -85.4425987tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879516064265884764.post-44743305059842988192012-04-17T10:37:00.002-04:002012-06-14T11:10:57.044-04:00May the Odds Be Ever in Your Favor - Connecticut Wine Trail<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiej9H-Go47KCrG1ZsJPSovPbftodM4EDKG55YL_yBeUPxkqRg4uCy2UK159GkafXjKnYxQxpCnrBek2Am5_jy-oiRWlfr-8kgGjav9ksV-HW2dAgZyyfYBWTTzZ_uMtepWD5632zk_M_c/s1600/DSC00753.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiej9H-Go47KCrG1ZsJPSovPbftodM4EDKG55YL_yBeUPxkqRg4uCy2UK159GkafXjKnYxQxpCnrBek2Am5_jy-oiRWlfr-8kgGjav9ksV-HW2dAgZyyfYBWTTzZ_uMtepWD5632zk_M_c/s320/DSC00753.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The time is ripe for drinking.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Spring is in the air.<br />
<br />
Sadly, I'll be missing out on these next two weeks of late April here in Connecticut, when things finally start to turn green. Not so sadly, I'll be away for a few weeks on vacation abroad. (Future posts on London and Paris to come!)<br />
<br />
In my absence, however, I urge you to take full advantage of one of my favorite and most fabulous Connecticut activities: the trusty <a href="http://www.ctwine.com/">Connecticut Wine Trail</a>.<br />
<br />
It's back! Many of Connecticut's wineries are opening back up for the season, offering tastings, tours, and ideal places for a picnic. As of May 1st-ish, visit any of the wineries that belong to the official Wine Trail and pick up your Connecticut Wine Trail Passport.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFkvzOyjOGrByNGM4PNiFMKQhZgNvgcb1xZVssAso8p4sFwHeoCnbaD5M_1Qk7iYrjcQv3RfhR_Rx8ykYEG69uY9wo0pkmWTl8-Wg4tSL5tRZgDD54Yn3likDUhyphenhyphenDsym4R-nBycq7e7kI/s1600/photo+%2815%29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFkvzOyjOGrByNGM4PNiFMKQhZgNvgcb1xZVssAso8p4sFwHeoCnbaD5M_1Qk7iYrjcQv3RfhR_Rx8ykYEG69uY9wo0pkmWTl8-Wg4tSL5tRZgDD54Yn3likDUhyphenhyphenDsym4R-nBycq7e7kI/s200/photo+%2815%29.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Enjoying one of the bottles <br />
we won at <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CEUQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.priamvineyards.com%2F&ei=X3yNT-edIery2QXC3_2BDA&usg=AFQjCNGHQDZ_1D3j-oO9JmhUsX1i1iYTFA&sig2=VqWoH6EbyE81Nu3dR-DMjA">Priam Vineyard</a>!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
For every winery you visit on the trail between May and November, you can ask the folks there for a stamp on said passport. Collect at least 16 stamps, and you can then enter a ridiculously amazing raffle, which typically includes TWO Grand Prize winners who will enjoy a two-week trip to Spain (amongst many, many other prizes).<br />
<br />
Just this past year, I won third prize myself - several free bottles of wine from <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CEUQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.priamvineyards.com%2F&ei=X3yNT-edIery2QXC3_2BDA&usg=AFQjCNGHQDZ_1D3j-oO9JmhUsX1i1iYTFA&sig2=VqWoH6EbyE81Nu3dR-DMjA">Priam Vineyard</a> in Colchester, Conn.! We just enjoyed one of the bottles (Jeremy River White, deeelicious) this past weekend, in the beautiful 80-degree weather.<br />
<br />
Rumor has it that a mere 1,600-ish oenophiles actually complete the Wine Trail challenge and bother to hand in their completed passports each year. When there are roughly 30 prizes to give away, that seems like some damn good odds, in my opinion.<br />
<br />
Of course, I have my favorites. Here are just a few recommendations:<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<ul><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi92k_AYCCEHJ5kxh80EcI4jGw2Ko5tx0QnlUGK1fu23QoL4l8b3Budacx6_xKJtTfLd4AeMHZupxvRvY2wIVAKulbohdNUL-LvsgssSrVyX-Y7mrrqeocfHp002jwyNMjz7EFW580A1Jk/s1600/IMG_0061.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi92k_AYCCEHJ5kxh80EcI4jGw2Ko5tx0QnlUGK1fu23QoL4l8b3Budacx6_xKJtTfLd4AeMHZupxvRvY2wIVAKulbohdNUL-LvsgssSrVyX-Y7mrrqeocfHp002jwyNMjz7EFW580A1Jk/s200/IMG_0061.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taylor Brooke Winery's <br />
semi-retired (and adorable) dog, Zima.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<li>For some of the friendliest folks and a particularly lovely (and reasonably priced) summer peach wine, check out <a href="http://www.taylorbrookewinery.com/index.html">Taylor Brooke Winery</a> in <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?ix=acb&q=woodstock+ct&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x89e69a3501aa6391:0x8ff309a7574258db,Woodstock,+CT&gl=us&ei=U1iNT_e1M-nO2gXPrfiNDA&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=image&resnum=3&ved=0CEoQ8gEwAg">Woodstock, Conn.</a> (Opens for the season on April 27.) It's in a beautiful setting, offers outdoor seating, and has a staff that is ultra-friendly and informative. I was also a big fan of the Green Apple Riesling, the Traminette (another one of those grapes apparently created by the geniuses at Cornell), and the Raspberry Rendevous. The chocolate-infused merlot port is also amazing, if you can handle a dessert-y wine. </li>
</ul>
<div>
<ul>
<li>For good wine AND an unbelievable restaurant, go to <a href="http://sharpehill.com/">Sharpe Hill Vineyards</a> in <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?ix=acb&q=pomfret+ct&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x89e682f1324872b7:0xfaaf96ba912d91b4,Pomfret,+CT&gl=us&ei=QFiNT-CMCIei2wXOkpHqCw&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=image&resnum=3&ved=0CD8Q8gEwAg">Pomfret, Conn.</a> (Open year-round ... because they're awesome.) They have a considerably long list of wine to sample (the full flight is somewhere around 11 wines ... clearly, I lost count) and the grounds are gorgeous. Their restaurant is totally romantic, but keep in mind that you'll often need reservations weeks in advance. Note: Given the restaurant on the premises, you are, unfortunately, not permitted to picnic here. So unless you've got a reservation, expect to get pretty toasted. Love their website? That's because <a href="http://sitelysolutions.com/">some awesome dudes</a> made it.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<ul><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNrroxnNFd8YGdk7S1qyyZzGdmsWVGeyxNOE8Xt2yek1h9_wuRJn0TM8KW1GzxL3-J4ibiSXJU9aHKaVy7_P94JlljAQVQE7nBUJYQWfLWqCOdH-1ygZMgahG5BOCoSgxChQA6eyv0E3M/s1600/IMG_0115.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNrroxnNFd8YGdk7S1qyyZzGdmsWVGeyxNOE8Xt2yek1h9_wuRJn0TM8KW1GzxL3-J4ibiSXJU9aHKaVy7_P94JlljAQVQE7nBUJYQWfLWqCOdH-1ygZMgahG5BOCoSgxChQA6eyv0E3M/s200/IMG_0115.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hanging last year with Mr. and Mrs. Fun <br />
at <a href="http://www.gouveiavineyards.com/">Gouveia Vineyards</a> in Wallingford, Conn.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<li>For the most unique and largest wine selection (that I've come across, at least), try <a href="http://www.digrazia.com/">Digrazia Vineyards</a> in <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?ix=acb&q=brookfield+ct&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x89e7f9916aab7abd:0xe87da79ad1e0a8bb,Brookfield,+CT&gl=us&ei=eFmNT5oSiNLZBfWNpPcL&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=image&resnum=2&ved=0CDMQ8gEwAQ">Brookfield, Conn.</a>, Connecticut's first winery. (Opens for the season on May 5.) Enjoy complimentary cheese and crackers while the experts walk you through the tasting. Try the <a href="http://www.shop.digrazia.com/product.sc?productId=12&categoryId=7">Wild Blue</a>; it has brandy in it, and boy is it tasty. Browse their shop, then unpack your picnic lunch and hang for a while outside under the pergola. <a href="http://stefcations.blogspot.com/2011/08/connecticut-wine-trail-part-deux.html">The Gator</a> enjoyed it.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>A few minutes away from the casinos of Connecticut is <a href="http://www.mauglesierravineyards.com/index.html">Maugle Sierra Vineyards</a>, in <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?ix=acb&q=ledyard+ct&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x89e674c905148ae7:0xf40f3a180bd7b0f9,Ledyard,+CT&gl=us&ei=L1uNT7KyNMji2gXoxICHDA&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=image&resnum=3&ved=0CEQQ8gEwAg">Ledyard, Conn.</a> (Already open for the season.) They've got a newly renovated and much larger tasting room, live music on Fridays and Saturdays, and an all-around good vibe. For the love of all that is holy, get a glass - no, a bottle - of the St. Croix. </li>
</ul>
<ul><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh7qGKYlhu7F-5xKE8BpdqUPOgeetk0W4tNYz7pJTOuc05qA8PPtfDlqwSQf-u3RlCyoXPv1sEW0mdL61M0hXZq8QzRsBdtWfG1LaCk5LRh6zTZmThtyVYzE9XeLJJPpOO0hGaLis8lQY/s1600/P5220023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh7qGKYlhu7F-5xKE8BpdqUPOgeetk0W4tNYz7pJTOuc05qA8PPtfDlqwSQf-u3RlCyoXPv1sEW0mdL61M0hXZq8QzRsBdtWfG1LaCk5LRh6zTZmThtyVYzE9XeLJJPpOO0hGaLis8lQY/s200/P5220023.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Enjoying lots of St. Croix <br />
at <a href="http://www.mauglesierravineyards.com/index.html">Maugle Sierra Vineyards</a><br />
in Ledyard, Conn.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<li>If you can't make up your mind, and you find yourself enjoying all different kinds of wine, then take a trip to <a href="http://www.ctvalleywinery.com/">Connecticut Valley Winery</a> in <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?ix=acb&q=new+hartford+ct&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x89e7a6c51be6b89f:0x29628a298c5e6b13,New+Hartford,+CT&gl=us&ei=YFuNT4-OF5OA2AXnwNH_Cw&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=image&resnum=3&ved=0CEAQ8gEwAg">New Hartford, Conn.</a> (Also open year-round.) It's got a wide selection of reds, whites, dessert wines, and unusual fruity wines. Some of them also boast particularly high alcohol contents, heh (try the Black Bear, mmm). The family who runs the place is super friendly, chatty, and informative, too.</li>
</ul>
<div>
That should get you started. Regardless of whether you win anything, you'll get to try all sorts of local wine, see parts of the state you may not venture to normally, and will meet lots of fun people. But yes, may the odds be ever in your favor.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Q2BWDpzYGgTTiqJMJsRJSUVwbUwXNOIVvgnEL_FA7IXBaNvOM75DLjBzwFBD_VhjLKVvnlF8ttJ8FdBgnK8VBeaEe8WacuI7J1yTJ3W97P9_wDXI0xNwT0tK_sl6NLC7pYZM9B313HI/s1600/P5230027.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Q2BWDpzYGgTTiqJMJsRJSUVwbUwXNOIVvgnEL_FA7IXBaNvOM75DLjBzwFBD_VhjLKVvnlF8ttJ8FdBgnK8VBeaEe8WacuI7J1yTJ3W97P9_wDXI0xNwT0tK_sl6NLC7pYZM9B313HI/s320/P5230027.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At <a href="http://www.cassidyhillvineyard.com/">Cassidy Hill Vineyard</a><span id="goog_1590608460"></span><span id="goog_1590608461"></span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/"></a> in Coventry, Conn.<br />
One of our many summer days last year,<br />
spent roaming the wine trail with my awesome in-laws!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'trebuchet ms',verdana,arial,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span></span></div>Stef Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02885211807706422849noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879516064265884764.post-43668539428410428722012-03-31T13:50:00.000-04:002012-06-14T11:14:01.318-04:00Liquid Lounge: Perfecting the Science of a Good Party - Hartford, Conn.<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0aoAmridiUx9fgsxxbZBpS2m9IeeH9tqifUGEt8r0i0oeOsJqHeN377OvI2DwYBfSyS0HlEfCUgxauDBatGzO5c0c6YOCUZuuSeuW7OuIJYcFveI9DhNK9-0OzlZHhY3W-wNhUCCgzJA/s1600/Liq+Lounge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0aoAmridiUx9fgsxxbZBpS2m9IeeH9tqifUGEt8r0i0oeOsJqHeN377OvI2DwYBfSyS0HlEfCUgxauDBatGzO5c0c6YOCUZuuSeuW7OuIJYcFveI9DhNK9-0OzlZHhY3W-wNhUCCgzJA/s320/Liq+Lounge.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yes, you may have finally found an excuse <br />
to wear that cape of yours in public.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Let's be clear: Geeks rock. And, they know how to get their freak on.<br />
<br />
Particularly at the <a href="http://www.ctsciencecenter.org/">Connecticut Science Center</a> in <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&q=hartford+ct&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x89e65311f21151a5:0xcc8e4aa8e97d5999,Hartford,+CT&gl=us&ei=5N11T7DjO6HE0QH8_JjcDQ&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=image&resnum=2&ved=0CGMQ8gEwAQ">Hartford, Conn.</a><br />
<br />
I am fairly confident that you'd be hard-pressed to find another venue that offers live music, drinks, karaoke, and dancing (... wait for it), along with roving magicians, interactive science exhibits, and superheroes who provide massages and one-on-<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB4zfyBiMphfHq9gqh1N7Dc-Rn0L9JtQDXtzYbmSkhDNBTb3S0tqzAZBpC3xgTHj-AWqQAc5DOv7Htwm6q89I4RzfzE10j-uwYMPUQKk0v9Qx0OrswdLjZwBmZbYMlCqfRAxUeocD3ezQ/s1600/DSC03615.JPG">one coaching in yoga</a> - all in one place at the same time.<br />
<br />
Welcome to <a href="http://www.ctsciencecenter.org/things-to-do/liquid-lounge.aspx">Liquid Lounge</a>, a four-story party that periodically descends upon downtown Hartford, each time with a different (awesome) theme.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia,Utopia,'Palatino Linotype',Palatino,serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><b><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Today's Stefcations Highlights:</span></u></b></span></span><br />
<ul style="background-color: white; color: #333333; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 2.5em; padding-right: 2.5em; padding-top: 0px;">
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-color: initial; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 12px;"><b>What You'll Find:</b> The most fun you've ever had in a science museum. It's a 21+ party, complete with four floors of music, drinks, games, and more.</span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b>Where You'll Find it:</b> The <a href="http://www.ctsciencecenter.org/Default.aspx">Connecticut Science Center</a>, 250 Columbus Blvd., Hartford, Conn.</span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b>When to Go: </b>Stay tuned to the <a href="http://www.facebook.com/ConnecticutScienceCenter">Science Center's Facebook page </a>to find out! This event returns every few months. </span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b>What It'll Cost:</b> A mere $15! ($12 in advance) Bring some cash for drinks. Note: This event is shockingly popular. You've been warned.</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
Yes, the event is held at a science museum.<br />
<br />
But no, this does not mean you are relegated to observing the exhibits quietly and dutifully.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtzuZA6AzE4zdXymG9zsF5JH7v4pGkWQtv9JECjBWFA4q0KngIPRgBWyu_7tt5U0JOMlx54BwP9Ta-gU4OF2FuCw13XyjQpH9xoUP6EE5jJ8setHjV_5xkrlfZ0uC75LTvzO8SOIqmSo0/s1600/DSC03592.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtzuZA6AzE4zdXymG9zsF5JH7v4pGkWQtv9JECjBWFA4q0KngIPRgBWyu_7tt5U0JOMlx54BwP9Ta-gU4OF2FuCw13XyjQpH9xoUP6EE5jJ8setHjV_5xkrlfZ0uC75LTvzO8SOIqmSo0/s320/DSC03592.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Superheroes, or villians? You be the judge.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
On the contrary, you are invited - encouraged, even - to get dressed up in whatever freak-and-geek outfit befits you.<br />
<br />
Then you are free to traipse around, with drink in hand, to learn about geology, the human body, and space exploration whilst wandering around to take part in any number of activities - from singing karaoke to getting a temporary tattoo to just chilling by the bar with your newfound superhero homies.<br />
<br />
Case in point: Behold the exhibit <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhifW0TkJEPS3eJvG4wmbOodCt_neY4l4JiZ6EAk250ShIAzcvWgC-WiAtMXSN6qqZCtOK5lzFqKl2nktjB3xg5yxBVLoC0iY5KuolLccFrfUBfmX8BBWRdr6Havbys6dg806GvhG4yVnQ/s1600/DSC03646.JPG">illustrated here</a>, in which party-goers could stand before a green screen and attempt to give a coherent weather report.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Why, I ask you, can't all weather-men and -women illustrate their predictions of the forthcoming humidity with a cold beer in hand?<br />
<div>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcRMnGEe1aV2XK0weia6JjU1bzseJaZwVyPzB6pnYdaCdM1Vh5St6yhjziXzshcRtUxjglY9Q4I_yqNb0AAFuqkKRuuB6iVtbYhCEYpnQq1bTKuib6G9u8epKzm3d3jSIGA0iuDzCM8l0/s1600/DSC03650.JPG" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcRMnGEe1aV2XK0weia6JjU1bzseJaZwVyPzB6pnYdaCdM1Vh5St6yhjziXzshcRtUxjglY9Q4I_yqNb0AAFuqkKRuuB6iVtbYhCEYpnQq1bTKuib6G9u8epKzm3d3jSIGA0iuDzCM8l0/s320/DSC03650.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Quite possibly the best weather report ever given.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Given the "Superfly" theme of this most recent Liquid Lounge soiree, many took it upon themselves to get into character.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
Those in attendance included <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR0_ZcD-PTj7iX7I4w7UpKGjdD2Bpf-CUH6iJG3PZR970YF7MCk1Bb-qU5MGHBIbIB1rwQdFYOmuWPtUtr9vv1Nkr5JLdCDJR9B-Wa_k9DBg-HIrpyg9Clvytr_rNqM7XSWeFXjAcgQ5w/s1600/DSC03658a.jpg">Flash Gordon</a>, Lara Croft, numerous Spider-Men, a Transformer, Catwoman, the always alluring <a href="http://www.transformer-ivan.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/batman.jpg">Batman</a>, and my personal favorite, Rainbow Brite!<br />
<br />
I, for one, arrived as the <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ9BNUSF2Ek4su_Sw6DncJzkwkMwgDOtERgULClMf4ZyFmjpO5vNYq6yGzNgGfu4fAFHAXwe3M-2Yvz52hbdTBKvug2ZjMxlzr2fe8w8VSCalXg01v6tNB8OoeZ0NHmyRF4bhsNU3dn6o/s1600/DSC03619.JPG">Polish Princess</a>, dedicating myself to the selfless cause of saving the world, one pierogi at a time. (New Christine, you get credit here.)<br />
<br />
It should come as no surprise that the folks running a science museum clearly have the know-how to put together a rockin' party that can suit the taste of nearly anyone. They've seriously thought of everything, too.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8AwVzTfxAWhTlehv-hb8DFjVhDxs9hBcK5i80ix2xH3TvPagdm8iPMrlTQVpUULDC2CS7C5zHvtjz8tSTVqe91CKfj9ZiceaFMavuTFUtR5j1K3nxSdky6f97lMdKtuqxhIQ0P95aWYU/s1600/DSC03610.JPG" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8AwVzTfxAWhTlehv-hb8DFjVhDxs9hBcK5i80ix2xH3TvPagdm8iPMrlTQVpUULDC2CS7C5zHvtjz8tSTVqe91CKfj9ZiceaFMavuTFUtR5j1K3nxSdky6f97lMdKtuqxhIQ0P95aWYU/s320/DSC03610.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rainbow Brite knows where <br />
all the cool kids hang.</td></tr>
</tbody> </table>
You like live jazz? They have it covered.<br />
<br />
Looking for a dance party? Done.<br />
<br />
Need a drink? Sidle up to the bar for a beer, wine, or <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrM1H69iu1nM8D-8ooRcmMGsznrXunP2i7oN3TLqGcN94O7ibXlBHf4iB34RgA2SnPEeJuUjyRhP426B7oX-o0DJACdVca3Kt_OTybEl0hSfALb1aC2bFm0mC5J0cOjsk_HrsgmgUoJ0I/s1600/DSC03586a.jpg">Smokin' Green Lantern</a> - complete with vodka, Sour Apple Pucker schnapps, Sprite, and dry ice.<br />
<br />
Hungry for a hot dog? No problem.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAqQbtyLdK186QQMkmKhCFvYKepWpy8b41ylnjjbrRMjl-a9bmvFVTvJGKXCVvi9k5f7jw3QbhfYRJ5bBJfHcfAvMxQpydy7TqbWK7Xq0jUxU-oqAvEoUCINlODrzvJMX1RKhw6juLsDY/s1600/DSC03616.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAqQbtyLdK186QQMkmKhCFvYKepWpy8b41ylnjjbrRMjl-a9bmvFVTvJGKXCVvi9k5f7jw3QbhfYRJ5bBJfHcfAvMxQpydy7TqbWK7Xq0jUxU-oqAvEoUCINlODrzvJMX1RKhw6juLsDY/s200/DSC03616.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Feeling tense? Let that costumed <br />
avenger save the day.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Hoping to pet a skank? Come now, I'm referring to a <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOhIv1G_ugL4Bck_jHzhA_dfWkQvIp_tPBqxCzx6LD0W0NZYRHR4_XOHvnRZQjGoleeJEguvm7e6h6knnjyy6WBt5pJttnYWzpoNbAPkavw3vqe-y7MjdLQGFXqKuqwVflhSZMglv2zP0/s1600/blue_tongued_skink.jpg">blue-tongued skank</a>, a type of carnivorous lizard, of course. But yes, apparently you can do this, too, as a museum staff member was on hand to offer the resident reptile up for a friendly stroke on the head. It is a science museum, after all.<br />
<br />
Speaking of science, you may actually learn something as you wander around from floor to floor. Despite yourself, you'll swiftly get sucked into learning about soil erosion, sustainable energy, the skeletal system, and stop-motion animation.<br />
<br />
Your fellow superheroes and villians also become part of entertainment.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_pqWdz1AhBktTL1wvT9SPmzfo-wx5Whb4kD2sB5CI-4arKFROyCoRx5dZxH-mnuwOFLQBzp1pvnWnf2WOeRCdwObAZX88ZBnPmOkxWVCqKw_fIj9BY22dbtoTrnxgetc02Lq28Sd-8ZA/s1600/DSC03621.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_pqWdz1AhBktTL1wvT9SPmzfo-wx5Whb4kD2sB5CI-4arKFROyCoRx5dZxH-mnuwOFLQBzp1pvnWnf2WOeRCdwObAZX88ZBnPmOkxWVCqKw_fIj9BY22dbtoTrnxgetc02Lq28Sd-8ZA/s320/DSC03621.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A serious Mindball competitor.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Consider Mindball, where you and your competitor can put your telekinetic powers to the test. Here, you'll sit at opposite ends of a table and try to move a ball with your mind. The more relaxed you are, the further you push the ball to the other end of the table. Meanwhile, your brainwaves are on display for all to see.<br />
<br />
So if you need rescuing from the horrors of the real world, or if you just want to wear that Spandex unitard in public without the weird looks, be sure to drop in the next time Liquid Lounge rolls around.<br />
<br />
I think my job is done here.<br />
<br />
<div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaKnC_KfmAsen1s9XaKFHxc5XbYnqA6OVG5maWwkmwFPHAlJG37b9y0q5Z20BPwkfL41CxMBEBtyL5NYBf-yDOCQ81KjKztvhNHqdbKuLuxBjo2YV9tls0nxE5A9BuZWJ-yyh7uv2LW1Y/s1600/DSC03670.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaKnC_KfmAsen1s9XaKFHxc5XbYnqA6OVG5maWwkmwFPHAlJG37b9y0q5Z20BPwkfL41CxMBEBtyL5NYBf-yDOCQ81KjKztvhNHqdbKuLuxBjo2YV9tls0nxE5A9BuZWJ-yyh7uv2LW1Y/s320/DSC03670.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One man not afraid to reveal his true identity.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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</div>Stef Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02885211807706422849noreply@blogger.com5250 Columbus Blvd, Hartford, CT 06103, USA41.7653495 -72.66955189999998841.765349 -72.669561399999992 41.76535 -72.669542399999983tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879516064265884764.post-13862671749421147832012-03-09T12:07:00.002-05:002012-06-14T10:56:30.156-04:003 Eggs-cellent Omelets in Central CT<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPLxtgkEKNtzuqqSTvl47PXrzg20i3De3R073Tj0jqaIJGiu6MAmJEopwl7R1hQOybgkmOtvGD9ld7Uf8-zgl_QufPBudwBXUe1vQ0j9Dc9z0DlmpSDCjjAQh-24ot19FBIUOu_5OyYEs/s1600/IMG_2457.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPLxtgkEKNtzuqqSTvl47PXrzg20i3De3R073Tj0jqaIJGiu6MAmJEopwl7R1hQOybgkmOtvGD9ld7Uf8-zgl_QufPBudwBXUe1vQ0j9Dc9z0DlmpSDCjjAQh-24ot19FBIUOu_5OyYEs/s320/IMG_2457.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reflecting on the awesomeness of diners.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Bleary-eyed and ravenous, you have awoken on a fine weekend morning to discover your fridge devoid of groceries. What to do?<br />
<br />
If you're in the vicinity of central Connecticut and a fan of omelets, then you, my friend, are in luck.<br />
<br />
I'm here to share my three favorite picks for some of the most reliably tasty omelet-makers around.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
Listed in no particular order, here they are:<br />
<br />
<b>1. <a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1533704468">Ken's Corner - Glastonbury, Conn</a></b><a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kens-Corner-Breakfast-Lunch/110556332309938">.</a><br />
<br />
<b>Hours: </b>M-F, 7 a.m. - 2 p.m.; Sat.-Sun., 7 a.m. - 12:45 p.m.<br />
<b>Serves:</b> Breakfast and lunch<br />
<b>Location: </b><a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?ix=hca&q=30+hebron+ave,+glastonbury,+ct&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x89e6518f71818a11:0x221579b8b2b53fc3,30+Hebron+Ave,+Glastonbury,+CT+06033&gl=us&ei=TcNOT-P9Lu7ksQKx6rgj&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=image&resnum=1&ved=0CCIQ8gEwAA">30 Hebron Ave., Glastonury, Conn.</a><br />
<br />
I live in Glastonbury, so there's no way I would NOT make it my personal mission to find some manner of fine eating establishment to satisfy my love of breakfast foods. And Ken's is it.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDFgIYXxC6OBRKJSztXk0LJTzeSRNUVPnK_7gK_IoQYgPZh7PYu7vvS8QN_QiAImrpH9wp55x9vWmmXCVGf1U-dX3zKBBmb8iaBcpvLa61k6RqiyHp-wmVTsdPk2UKj7eDI2w4LjoI9e0/s1600/IMG_0506.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDFgIYXxC6OBRKJSztXk0LJTzeSRNUVPnK_7gK_IoQYgPZh7PYu7vvS8QN_QiAImrpH9wp55x9vWmmXCVGf1U-dX3zKBBmb8iaBcpvLa61k6RqiyHp-wmVTsdPk2UKj7eDI2w4LjoI9e0/s320/IMG_0506.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Behold: The bacon, avocado, and Swiss cheese omelet,<br />
courtesy of Ken's Corner.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Here, all the standard sorts of omelets are available, served with home fries and toast, but it's the omelets on Ken's list of specials - posted above the register by the door - that are really worth a look.<br />
<br />
Nearly every time I visit, I cannot help but order their bacon, avocado, and Swiss cheese creation. Sooo tasty and satisfying. It's got the perfect amount of gooey cheese, with lovely slices of fresh avocado, and - duh - heavenly, crispy bits of bacon, all skillfully fried up in a mound of eggs. It might sound unusual, and sure, it kinda is, but it's also perfectly awesome, I assure you.<br />
<br />
The neighborhood agrees, apparently, because this place almost always has at least a short wait. So if you've only just rolled out of bed at, say, 11 a.m. on a Sunday, you had better expect a line out the door.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtFgt0LuPK_LiCUZtfpUbiqtqOt7a5Y2aaZ2R1UGxA3F8suIQPjd4-iv4t4j0A2C3MKA9f9AwqmabZcZhL9TNsZssx4ZLK3RNihAZ1uKvDYzn2dHWAoGwd-FDpHSEfyR-O4gyrpgwiUrc/s1600/IMG_2377.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtFgt0LuPK_LiCUZtfpUbiqtqOt7a5Y2aaZ2R1UGxA3F8suIQPjd4-iv4t4j0A2C3MKA9f9AwqmabZcZhL9TNsZssx4ZLK3RNihAZ1uKvDYzn2dHWAoGwd-FDpHSEfyR-O4gyrpgwiUrc/s200/IMG_2377.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ken's is a popular spot, <br />
particularly on weekends.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Mind you, Ken's Corner doesn't just do omelets, either. They've got plenty of other breakfast fare (and lunch, too), but again - be sure to check out that board of specials, which boasts such rare and delicious concoctions as pina colada pancakes, apple walnut crepes, and pumpkin French toast. It's <i>all </i>quite tasty, in my experience.<br />
<br />
By the way, if you're into flavored coffees, Ken's Corner always has a pot of something other than regular brewing - I've tried blueberry, raspberry, pumpkin, butter pecan, vanilla ... Just ask your server what the special coffee is that day. I've always liked the coffee here, even when I'm not indulging in some fun, random flavor.<br />
<br />
Best part? The service. Ken's never fails to be bright-eyed, bushy-tailed, uber-friendly, and accommodating.<br />
<br />
<b>2. <a href="http://cosmicomelet.com/">Cosmic Omelet - Manchester, Conn.</a></b><br />
<br />
<b>Hours: </b>Tues-Sun.,<b> </b>6 a.m. - 2 p.m.<br />
<b>Serves:</b> Breakfast and lunch<br />
<b>Location: </b><a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?ix=hca&q=485+Hartford+Road,+Manchester,+Conn.&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x89e657476cd807b9:0xe1eff165e4287406,485+Hartford+Rd,+Manchester,+CT+06040&gl=us&ei=OcdOT7iIN-2OsAKng4UB&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=image&resnum=1&ved=0CCUQ8gEwAA">485 Hartford Road, Manchester, Conn.</a><br />
<br />
Cream cheese in omelets. Cream cheese, I say. Trust me, dear readers, when I tell you this is ingenious.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidW3QygSreL_r0veQbGdz7mNOUioYg9821wNBIYT1VXnYt-MR-MXkd1B_7n-V5YSkV0yW71hKVBozxIcliY0PYI0jr77Vina75DyixakvXQUXJBNfNOklSk-3Bo3m76ysRKNrtIilF_r0/s1600/IMG_2031.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidW3QygSreL_r0veQbGdz7mNOUioYg9821wNBIYT1VXnYt-MR-MXkd1B_7n-V5YSkV0yW71hKVBozxIcliY0PYI0jr77Vina75DyixakvXQUXJBNfNOklSk-3Bo3m76ysRKNrtIilF_r0/s320/IMG_2031.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yes, it lives up its name. <br />
Omelets = Pretty much out of this world.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The good people at Cosmic Omelet know what they are doing. And the folks around here love them just as much as I do, as evidenced by the restaurant's recent construction work, which has quite literally doubled the size of the place. <br />
<br />
My favorite concoction here is Tracy's Cosmic Omelet (named after the owner). It includes a freaking ridiculously good combination of eggs, tomatoes, red onion, cilantro, cream cheese, and cheddar. Dude. No words.<br />
<br />
Of course, what Cosmic Omelet does best is create, ahem ... <i>cosmic </i>omelets. The wacky-yet-scrumptious choices range from the Cosmic Cloud Nine Omelet (eggs with turkey, tomato, bacon, and the aforementioned awesome cream cheese) to the McOmelet (eggs with hamburger, onion, ketchup, yellow mustard, and American cheese - with optional pickles).<br />
<br />
My brother swears by Leo's Death Dog Omelet, which is an omelet that includes - that's right - hot dog, as well as bacon, onions, BBQ sauce, and American cheese. All omelets are served alongside toast and a heap of shaved, fried potatoes, but these sides obviously pale in comparison to the stellar main attraction.<br />
<br />
The atmosphere here is laid-back and informal, and I'll admit that sometimes I find the service on the slow side. At the same time, once I've snagged a table, it's going to be hard to convince me to leave before I've scarfed some of their tasty food. While you wait, you can always take advantage of the deck of playing cards that's kept at every table - a nice touch, in my humble opinion.<br />
<br />
<b>3. <a href="http://www.fordnewsdiner.com/">Ford News Diner - Middletown, Conn.</a></b><br />
<br />
<b>Hours: </b>Mon.-Sat., 7 a.m. - 2 p.m.; Sun., 7:30 a.m. - 2 p.m.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaC7e2qvz6GHW_LM2QbiIqx9WJNWQo-8ptSY_Us56WHlA3l0Ne-K8zsAEP-cfNNIsxLXF5Q0ypoyNRUEZoRlwH8yfylmafFDo-7X_FdbsdCWCmqnragwrHizuahOsl7CgbJj35zuAW_g0/s1600/DSC03579.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaC7e2qvz6GHW_LM2QbiIqx9WJNWQo-8ptSY_Us56WHlA3l0Ne-K8zsAEP-cfNNIsxLXF5Q0ypoyNRUEZoRlwH8yfylmafFDo-7X_FdbsdCWCmqnragwrHizuahOsl7CgbJj35zuAW_g0/s320/DSC03579.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ford News: A fab discovery.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>Serves:</b> Breakfast and lunch<br />
<b>Location: </b><a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?ix=hca&q=358+Main+Street,+Middletown,+Conn.&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x89e64a43117fbd95:0xa3395f17da3a0573,358+Main+St,+Middletown,+CT+06457&gl=us&ei=Vc9OT5K2C8aBsgLgj50k&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=image&resnum=1&ved=0CCIQ8gEwAA">358 Main Street, Middletown, Conn.</a><br />
<br />
On a recent trip to a diner in Middletown, my husband and I were sad to find that our intended destination had a line snaking out the door. Seeing as it was February, and I'm not a fan of the cold, I wasn't about to stand outside and allow my arse to freeze off.<br />
<br />
But Middletown rarely disappoints. Its Main Street is one of those places where all sorts of cool restaurants and fun things to do are hiding out in plain sight - from the <a href="http://www.vinniesjumpandjive.com/">Vinnie's Jump and Jive</a> to the <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/NoRA-Cupcake-Company/147995001962192">NoRA Cupcake Company</a> to the <a href="http://www.buttonwood.org/">Buttonwood Tree</a>.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
And so a brilliant iPhone app called <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/aroundme/id290051590?mt=8">Around Me</a> led us to the doorstep of Ford News Diner, a tiny little place with just a couple of tables and a row of trusty chrome stools lined up along at the counter.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMQ-IU14LdnrflEiz81oP5bP6mxs3OsJdbxVOmaLZkoV_LAyXa7ZCEYz5fn7_0Xe9PtMRuTH_xno6eF3ogLiTP2B06qyiB9oMYmb8KOyIn-R7rQNp1oxMCn9WrqUqt6uVu2_QLAZDmst4/s1600/IMG_2460.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMQ-IU14LdnrflEiz81oP5bP6mxs3OsJdbxVOmaLZkoV_LAyXa7ZCEYz5fn7_0Xe9PtMRuTH_xno6eF3ogLiTP2B06qyiB9oMYmb8KOyIn-R7rQNp1oxMCn9WrqUqt6uVu2_QLAZDmst4/s320/IMG_2460.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ford News Diner's veggie omelet is classic, <br />
but it hits the spot.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I came for an omelet, although there are a good number of other options, from their 'famous' pancakes to various combinations of eggs, bacon, homemade hash, toast, and more. The Ford News veggie omelet - eggs, mushroom, tomato, onion, peppers, and cheese - is pretty standard as far as omelet ingredients go, but it was also cooked perfectly. And with a dash of hot sauce, it totally hit the spot.<br />
<br />
(And P.S., those 'famous' pancakes? <i>Really </i>good. I don't know what on earth they put in them, but damn, they are amazing. My husband was kind enough to share a few bites with me, but this calls for a return trip.)<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9FPiU3DTBWLN4mFy8JVQeh1kLb02GECqOvdu4Y2Q0YYGMbj1t8xVH22MqJifqknQklfvZsqbweemR-Y9goektGyM2NoysEKn3aWzCw0U-YhRrNew1MS1EZg535_70DzTLyK82q-KvQlQ/s1600/IMG_2449.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9FPiU3DTBWLN4mFy8JVQeh1kLb02GECqOvdu4Y2Q0YYGMbj1t8xVH22MqJifqknQklfvZsqbweemR-Y9goektGyM2NoysEKn3aWzCw0U-YhRrNew1MS1EZg535_70DzTLyK82q-KvQlQ/s200/IMG_2449.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Good coffee.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The vibe in this place is no-frills yet friendly, and immediately reminded me of the diners on Steinway Street in Queens, New York, where I used to live (fortunately, minus the guy behind the counter, smoking his cigarette over the open grill).<br />
<br />
And if you like, Ford News has also got a takeout menu (which offers lunch options, too), so that you can order up ahead of time and take your food to go.Stef Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02885211807706422849noreply@blogger.com4Hartford, CT, USA41.763711099999988 -72.68509319999998341.721823599999986 -72.722644199999976 41.805598599999989 -72.64754219999999tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879516064265884764.post-56185005898871013512012-02-26T16:27:00.001-05:002012-06-14T11:11:14.220-04:00I Ain't Afraid of No Ghosts - Hartford, Conn.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO1mTHO3npuTAzUwrcNcsimvbFj94us5fZRWRtx81kqAGPFxLaohVke68Smgm27zeqAc7t8VdITi7e6UgDkJXOEYbBShFVwVAs-erjlORk8TbEGoa57wv2CbIpIAeJWhYgC1DPveC_mc0/s1600/IMG_2445.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO1mTHO3npuTAzUwrcNcsimvbFj94us5fZRWRtx81kqAGPFxLaohVke68Smgm27zeqAc7t8VdITi7e6UgDkJXOEYbBShFVwVAs-erjlORk8TbEGoa57wv2CbIpIAeJWhYgC1DPveC_mc0/s320/IMG_2445.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Should the spirit move you ...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
OK, that's not quite true.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Ghost stories creep me out. Horror movies have been known to prevent me from getting a good night's sleep for days at a time. I would certainly not hesitate to characterize myself as a wuss. </div>
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<br /></div>
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But curiosity can often get the better of me.</div>
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<div>
If you happen to be an aspiring ghost hunter or a believer in the paranormal - or perhaps just a harmless history buff, or a lover of literature like me, it's time to get yourself to the <a href="http://www.marktwainhouse.org/">Mark Twain House</a> in <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?ix=hca&q=hartford+ct&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x89e65311f21151a5:0xcc8e4aa8e97d5999,Hartford,+CT&gl=us&ei=fXpKT5umFtGEsgLFme3qCA&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=image&resnum=3&ved=0CEoQ8gEwAg">Hartford, Conn</a>., which every so often invites brave souls to embark on nighttime ghost tours at the former home of famed author Samuel Clemens - otherwise known by his pen name, Mark Twain.</div>
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That's right, the house in which Mark Twain lived and wrote the classic <i>Huckleberry Finn</i> is reportedly very haunted. And even 120 years after he, his family, and his servants have moved away, the house's daily visitors, tour guides, and security guards continue to come across ghosts - seeing them, hearing them, and, yes, even feeling them.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Believe it or not, two of the people in our own tour group - including my husband - reported their own brief encounters with the dead.</div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVlvk0X298SIsCYzDGR8hTnNHVmmybUXjRellVhwPjqWkFpUp_Ldkk_2sQBV39yPLVLUWBIxekYSjbaVT7aqp_q3PDTs2g5fkaju3kod3gaEgS5F1oYnNSqvKNnA9wwrIRf6xBvMo1tcw/s1600/Twain_House1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVlvk0X298SIsCYzDGR8hTnNHVmmybUXjRellVhwPjqWkFpUp_Ldkk_2sQBV39yPLVLUWBIxekYSjbaVT7aqp_q3PDTs2g5fkaju3kod3gaEgS5F1oYnNSqvKNnA9wwrIRf6xBvMo1tcw/s320/Twain_House1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Built in 1874 for just $45,000, this house was what<br />
Twain apparently was known to describe as part medieval castle, part riverboat, and part cuckoo clock.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia,Utopia,'Palatino Linotype',Palatino,serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><b><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Today's Stefcations Highlights:</span></u></b></span></span><br />
<ul style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 2.5em; padding-right: 2.5em; padding-top: 0px;">
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-color: initial; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 12px;"><b>What You'll Find:</b> A haunted house. What could be intriguing?</span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b>Where You'll Find it:</b> The Mark Twain House, at <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?ix=hca&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=twain+house+address+hartford+ct&fb=1&gl=us&hq=twain+house+address&hnear=0x89e65311f21151a5:0xcc8e4aa8e97d5999,Hartford,+CT&cid=0,0,412189419859660495&ei=TnhKT6jDC4nlsQLj2OHqCA&sa=X&oi=local_result&ct=image&ved=0CBcQ_BI">351 Farmington Avenue, Hartford, Conn.</a></span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b>When to Go: </b>Graveyard Shift Ghost Tours will return for March 30, and for April 27 and 28. Tours take place at 6 p.m., 7 p.m., 8 p.m., and 9 p.m., and are <u>by reservation only</u>. Call 860-280-3130 to make a reservation. Tours regularly sell out.</span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b>What It'll Cost:</b> $20 for adults age 17 and up; $16 for members of the Mark Twain House; $13 for children 16 and under. (FYI, the ghost tours are not recommended for kids under 10 years old.)<a name='more'></a></span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small; line-height: 12px;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5879516064265884764" name="more"></a></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small; line-height: 12px;"></span></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAV8aVRLa3rz_9ROXpH02VMlT1Ny6u4apb7YuaBnePn71zEeavayaskugMb-yDPxbJSoe-brK1MfaHVBV4c41kJOSu-VGOO7yHcVu0ipWQtAs5hMUGQgMnVyuIkW2cdUG-GkbCtXRmMlA/s1600/DSC03542.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAV8aVRLa3rz_9ROXpH02VMlT1Ny6u4apb7YuaBnePn71zEeavayaskugMb-yDPxbJSoe-brK1MfaHVBV4c41kJOSu-VGOO7yHcVu0ipWQtAs5hMUGQgMnVyuIkW2cdUG-GkbCtXRmMlA/s200/DSC03542.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our totally awesome tour guide.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br />
<br />
Led by our fearless and uber-knowledgeable tour guide, Allison, our group of 18 or so wound our way past the family carriage house (also haunted) and throughout the three floors of Twain's immense home, which stands right on Farmington Avenue in Hartford.</div>
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<div>
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<div>
Here, Twain lived with his wife, three daughters, and about 10 to 15 servants, from 1874 to 1891. It's said that the family was a very social bunch, regularly entertaining visitors from afar as well as folks from the surrounding neighborhood, including Twain's next-door neighbor, author Harriet Beecher Stowe (whose house, I learned last night, is haunted as well - and <a href="http://www.harrietbeecherstowecenter.org/visit/">where ghost tours are also offered</a>). </div>
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<div>
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<div>
With so many people in and out, the house was often buzzing with activity back in the day - children ran around causing mischief, dinner guests spent evenings listening to Twain's tales of his past adventures on the Mississippi River, and servants bustled about to keep things running smoothly.</div>
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<div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIwN1Co0tj2DQ0Qe86YuS2zL-nSx_YhPolFNKSyMemKj_SXRkr7Tjp0zC1ADZ700M3c7kQRIaORUwoNvjRKRLv94FNi2W8vbOcKtK66MsLFb8CRJuecFb5p92zpUoVC0R6MtX1q2UjgwE/s1600/IMG_2472.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIwN1Co0tj2DQ0Qe86YuS2zL-nSx_YhPolFNKSyMemKj_SXRkr7Tjp0zC1ADZ700M3c7kQRIaORUwoNvjRKRLv94FNi2W8vbOcKtK66MsLFb8CRJuecFb5p92zpUoVC0R6MtX1q2UjgwE/s320/IMG_2472.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There's always the daytime, non-ghost tours <br />
of the Twain House ... although my cousin <br />
Amy claims to have visited years ago as a child and<br />
encountered an apparition then, too.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
As it turns out, Twain himself was a big believer in the paranormal, and on the tour, you'll learn why. As you stroll from room to room - dimly lit to mimic the gas lighting used in the late 1800s - you'll also hear the details about who died in the house and what sort of apparitions are seen, time and time again, on each floor of the residence.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
And if you're the sort of soul who tends of attract these things - as my husband apparently is - you may even be on the receiving end of some supernatural phenomena. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
That is, feeling a playful tug on his sleeve while we stood in the drawing room, my husband turned back to see what it was that I wanted - and found me instead engrossed in taking notes. Eep!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The aforementioned children, who are among those said to haunt the house, seemed to want to get his attention, because he says it happened again a few moments later as we were led into the Twains' dining room. (Let's just say I'm relieved that I don't have a knack for captivating children.)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK_HwgOYzc4TpOWyz4hldasrNC3xvMDcum1SG2NRKhxgNudhDSaLeBfQlGn-RpPP3Gr9aQWfsQYhSlwqdEWvK7XOK4RfnwM1wYQc7VyYZEM1uE8XDJVZe7A5QK-WaoMsWEDIaUPahi5qU/s1600/DSC03564.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK_HwgOYzc4TpOWyz4hldasrNC3xvMDcum1SG2NRKhxgNudhDSaLeBfQlGn-RpPP3Gr9aQWfsQYhSlwqdEWvK7XOK4RfnwM1wYQc7VyYZEM1uE8XDJVZe7A5QK-WaoMsWEDIaUPahi5qU/s320/DSC03564.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Samuel Clemens stands watch, <br />
in Lego form.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
Consider, too, the tales we heard from one of the security guards, with whom we struck up a conversation afterward. While locking up for the night, he says he has more than once heard his name being called and, on one especially creepy occasion, he stood in the basement after hours, arming the security alarm and found himself dodging a silver tray that was thrown in his direction. </div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Perhaps you're a skeptic. No matter. Join the tour for the historical information alone, and you won't be disappointed. Plus, the house itself is beautiful, with ornately carved mantelpieces, Victorian-era decor, and many cool rooms to explore. And merely walking through the home of one of America's most famous authors of all time is impressive in and of itself. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdotUtrHz7gQGx7vdTqLCMTBsMu960IklyokuxMrzZGpsUG7wZcuNfb5SbWVlc152Jcr1VKgmkcQ_ta-4CK8Bi1Wppw2JnkMBD03oXixZNHkw0goM1iNW4RIGS5ZFlBNKW07ccBuGPYy8/s1600/DSC03562a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdotUtrHz7gQGx7vdTqLCMTBsMu960IklyokuxMrzZGpsUG7wZcuNfb5SbWVlc152Jcr1VKgmkcQ_ta-4CK8Bi1Wppw2JnkMBD03oXixZNHkw0goM1iNW4RIGS5ZFlBNKW07ccBuGPYy8/s200/DSC03562a.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pondering the <br />
coolness of Twain.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
Although photography is not permitted during the indoor portion of the tour, you are invited to make use of any ghosthunting apps you might have on your smartphone. (Who knew those even existed?!)</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
And if you're not up for the tour, the Mark Twain House always has plenty of other activities to offer. Check out the <a href="http://www.marktwainhouse.org/museum/current_exhibits_main.php">adjoining museum</a>, for example, or the occasional book talks or writing workshops.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Case in point: Conveniently enough, when we finished up our tour, we happened upon a party taking place in the lobby of the museum building, where the Twain House was hosting a weekend-long <a href="http://www.ctfilmfest.com/landingpage/index.html">film festival</a>.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Guests were enjoying drinks and passed hors d'oeuvres. An exhibit of expressive, life-size <a href="http://www.marktwainhouse.org/museum/current_exhibits_main.php">puppets from the UConn Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry</a> lent a festive touch. The room was filled with the pleasant noise of lively conversation. It struck me that, here in his former home, this spirited, social atmosphere was exactly the sort of thing Twain himself would have loved to see.</div>Stef Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02885211807706422849noreply@blogger.com1351 Farmington Ave, Hartford, CT 06105, USA41.7675194 -72.7011474999999941.7675109 -72.701149499999985 41.7675279 -72.7011455tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879516064265884764.post-57321819510383873892012-02-19T12:58:00.001-05:002012-06-14T10:55:48.220-04:00Talks of the Town<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWW9buCV8lxyvANTVO3nfH4MaAGYsh-LR3kENyQhyphenhyphenwvdfYr5SgddrReuqWVJr_Z1ApUGX0I_zdBCo-PRqJnGDk2YSFvJ0rAIZ_-2Txk96dkfcBJpe0E-76OlSbFwMdAozDi-e98H4Px10/s1600/IMG_2426.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWW9buCV8lxyvANTVO3nfH4MaAGYsh-LR3kENyQhyphenhyphenwvdfYr5SgddrReuqWVJr_Z1ApUGX0I_zdBCo-PRqJnGDk2YSFvJ0rAIZ_-2Txk96dkfcBJpe0E-76OlSbFwMdAozDi-e98H4Px10/s320/IMG_2426.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sound advice: Go see this movie.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I've mentioned before how cool some of my co-workers are. They are, in fact, the wise folks who urged me to start this blog in the first place.<br />
<br />
Luckily, in addition to getting me through the workday, they have also proved to be fun outside of the office, during book clubs, happy hours, and game nights.<br />
<br />
Most recently, a handful of us decided it would be cool to plan occasional trips together to movies, plays, museums, and other fun, arts-and-culture-type outings.<br />
<br />
So we've created what we're now referring to as our very own <a href="http://www.culture-club.co.uk/">Culture Club</a>. (Mr. Burdique, you so get credit for the genius name.)<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia,Utopia,'Palatino Linotype',Palatino,serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><b><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Today's Stefcations Highlights:</span></u></b></span></span><br />
<ul style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 2.5em; padding-right: 2.5em; padding-top: 0px;">
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-color: initial; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 12px;"><b>What You'll Find:</b> A cool movie theater and a fabulous pub to visit afterward.</span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b>Where You'll Find it:</b> The theater is at <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&view=map&geocode=&q=330+New+Park+Ave.,+Hartford,+CT+06106&sll=39.392627,-107.088128&sspn=0.003914,0.006813&ie=UTF8&ll=41.747814,-72.713163&spn=0.007556,0.013626&z=16&iwloc=addr&om=1">330 New Park Avenue in Hartford, Conn</a>.; the pub is at <a href="http://www.cornerpug.com/ordereze/directions.aspx">1046 New Britain Avenue in West Hartford, Conn.</a></span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b>When to Go: </b>Check showtimes at Bow-Tie Cinemas <a href="http://www.bowtiecinemas.com/odyssey-theater.html">here</a>. Meanwhile, <a href="http://www.cornerpug.com/ordereze/default.aspx">The Corner Pug</a> offers lunch and dinner every day, including food till 11 PM Thursday and Saturday, and until midnight on Fridays.</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
For our first outing - this past weekend - six of us ventured out to <a href="http://www.bowtiecinemas.com/odyssey-theater.html">Bow-Tie Cinemas in Hartford, Conn.</a>, to see <i>The Artist</i>, a French movie that's gotten a lot of hype - for good reason.<br />
<br />
But take note: Although it's been nominated for an Oscar in 10 different categories (including Best Picture) and honored with a <a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_artist/">97% rating</a> from <a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/">Rotten Tomatoes</a>, <i>The Artist</i> has also reportedly been a major source of <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/18/silent-film-the-artist-outrages_n_1212707.html">outrage for many moviegoers worldwide</a>.<br />
<br />
That's because it's 100 minutes worth of film <i>without </i>spoken dialogue.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5879516064265884764" name="more"></a><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1ANNCDCjHBn6NjoM3jQc3B73xKyMumjhQifdsUjkLl27G_k5zqrgHixkwuQL5kUrao5cSo5NMu2sX0WYNRfpVDU61IEIdmfE-L6TS4uXwW6VNNn6GowERyo4ZS2PFArS69WiNST76xCQ/s1600/IMG_2427.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1ANNCDCjHBn6NjoM3jQc3B73xKyMumjhQifdsUjkLl27G_k5zqrgHixkwuQL5kUrao5cSo5NMu2sX0WYNRfpVDU61IEIdmfE-L6TS4uXwW6VNNn6GowERyo4ZS2PFArS69WiNST76xCQ/s320/IMG_2427.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beer lover? Pub lover? Dog lover? <br />
This place caters to all of you.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I know it might sound hoity-toity, but I swear to you this was a shockingly enjoyable movie to watch - even if there was no (or well, almost no) talking to speak of.<br />
<br />
Of course, Bow-Tie Cinemas is worth a trip no matter what movie you're going to see. It's clean, less crowded than some of the other mainstream theaters in the area, and shows current releases in addition to one or two older movies (Right now, <i>Dirty Dancing</i> is on the listed showtimes!).<br />
<br />
What's fun, too, is that there's a designated space for moviegoers to write their own personal movie reviews on a slip of paper and tack it to the communal bulletin board. (For the record, <i>The Artist </i>appeared to be a crowd-pleaser.)<br />
<br />
Of course, our silent movie night wouldn't feel right without <i>some </i>kind of dialogue ... and, uh, beer. (What better to fuel a lively discussion?)<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8AV491nlKrgscPrmUHo9IU0rBrgl5Tr0ZcX8biYCWLkUk6Pppi0iA0lLkmLMF8yVta8uNYKHldiXnWvktdzvUbbwwVrVmRnNeKFLwHJ05BKqNVaE3t3QUTWtbNGDuw9AIgmbV3FiaFv8/s1600/IMG_2428.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8AV491nlKrgscPrmUHo9IU0rBrgl5Tr0ZcX8biYCWLkUk6Pppi0iA0lLkmLMF8yVta8uNYKHldiXnWvktdzvUbbwwVrVmRnNeKFLwHJ05BKqNVaE3t3QUTWtbNGDuw9AIgmbV3FiaFv8/s200/IMG_2428.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Corner Pug, where you can <br />
always get some hair of the dog.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
So the Culture Club headed to <a href="http://www.cornerpug.com/ordereze/default.aspx">The Corner Pug</a>, one of the most delightful drinking establishments I've visited in quite a while.<br />
<br />
I'm 100 percent ashamed to say I'd never been there before, even though I've lived within a half-hour of the place for most of my adult life.<br />
<br />
Yet my newbie status proved surprisingly useful. Upon arrival, I checked in via Foursquare (Note to the uninitiated: This is a smartphone app that these same wise co-workers got me into last summer) and unlocked a special deal for newcomers: Free onion rings! Woot!<br />
<br />
These onion rings were no joke, either. They were practically the size of doughnuts, and there were a whole lot of 'em.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwNjBWj0mkSeGaSvGhjq-09t7spH1LwQgOFlxUDDZToK7RMJA-gDYp2rUXyO1Ex_JuEkaQcgiVtK1psuBG45dDiwzHv7YfkrlK250fyaDL9p_qy3uNBGZgNZwMII5WIq_AcQr50sz76ss/s1600/IMG_2408a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwNjBWj0mkSeGaSvGhjq-09t7spH1LwQgOFlxUDDZToK7RMJA-gDYp2rUXyO1Ex_JuEkaQcgiVtK1psuBG45dDiwzHv7YfkrlK250fyaDL9p_qy3uNBGZgNZwMII5WIq_AcQr50sz76ss/s200/IMG_2408a.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Newcomers: Foursquare will make it <br />
worth your while with free onion rings! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Our table gobbled them up no problem before turning our attention to the menu, which features 12 worthy beers on tap and plenty of mouth-watering food options: mac and cheese, fish and chips, shepherd's pie, Philly cheeseburgers, and the list goes on. You really can't go wrong.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqWtOaYmCkl-IDY7fT7XNMHnPsaQpZ27Vwe3DHMn3MSgQ2gsQAA_uOX3WMKsWx5KlJJLgyDTqmAg-3BCVonAMRogUcymaQkBz4S_M2iE0B0kTEKWWz5zJGnvnGBrrCRtzua1DrxYrxdtg/s1600/IMG_2406a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqWtOaYmCkl-IDY7fT7XNMHnPsaQpZ27Vwe3DHMn3MSgQ2gsQAA_uOX3WMKsWx5KlJJLgyDTqmAg-3BCVonAMRogUcymaQkBz4S_M2iE0B0kTEKWWz5zJGnvnGBrrCRtzua1DrxYrxdtg/s200/IMG_2406a.jpg" width="149" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Black and tan happiness.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
And as the name suggests, The Corner Pug isn't just about a love of food and drink.<br />
<br />
Along every ledge and in every corner, you'll find framed photos of customers' pooches - pugs, of course - conversation pieces that add just one more dimension of warmth to the cozy booths, exposed brick walls, Irish flags, and twinkling lights that gives this place so much character.<br />
<br />
So even if you're without cool co-workers or a Culture Club of your own, there's no reason <i>not</i> to spend a couple of hours here chowing down on some great food, enjoying a pint or three, and talking all you want.Stef Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02885211807706422849noreply@blogger.com21046 New Britain Ave, West Hartford, CT 06110, USA41.7305791 -72.7255852999999779.5120015999999978 -132.49121029999998 73.949156600000009 -12.959960299999977tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879516064265884764.post-31533689915375765072012-02-05T11:42:00.008-05:002012-06-14T10:55:34.341-04:00Sweet Victory<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzndq3Imq25NmevUMB71b4XlBDN2MXcJnkqt3K1JtKx8gzZmtbPDPA0RluqOv-9Z9vT6MUEaPcZ1ZVPQ9XYN6ycgBOJV_UqDdv1-oJMncyKptmhybkGR2Io4r3JeaBTmQX0fFlR1cjs_M/s1600/Oreo_Cupcake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzndq3Imq25NmevUMB71b4XlBDN2MXcJnkqt3K1JtKx8gzZmtbPDPA0RluqOv-9Z9vT6MUEaPcZ1ZVPQ9XYN6ycgBOJV_UqDdv1-oJMncyKptmhybkGR2Io4r3JeaBTmQX0fFlR1cjs_M/s320/Oreo_Cupcake.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Super Bowl? Super delicious.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
It's Superbowl Sunday, and this means good things are afoot. <br />
<br />
Given my indifference to football, it's an event I would otherwise not have reason to acknowledge - were it not for the festive parties, wealth of beer, and heart attack-inducing snacks. <br />
<br />
That said, I felt I had to do my part and whip something up for the shindig we'll be attending tonight. Since the chilis, chicken wings, and dips had all been claimed by other guests, I figured a dessert might be a good way to go. <br />
<br />
Enter cupcakes, one of the universe's greatest gifts to humankind. You just cannot go wrong with them. <br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
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But Superbowl snacks are certainly no joke. Traditionally, they are artery-clogging and mouthwatering. And really, who am I to get in the way of tradition?<br />
<br />
So, I deduced, there was no choice but to take these cupcakes up a notch and at least strive to ensure that they would be in the same league as the other decadent dishes that would be making an appearance. Simple vanilla or chocolate with mere sprinkles clearly would not do.<br />
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=5879516064265884764&postID=3153368991537576507" name="more"></a><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4tBskREmX8cNeyAJYwGIiVsyHA3ad7Kg_IppwFmCer0roNkfnHxhYgSVIey6ZacfzSvCafjT0_1K7IIxajMnbQgL0nkYwpQsTy1TAMKnkZe86kRqK03ay-evTQj6QfHlmcDEms0OVO4g/s1600/Oreos.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4tBskREmX8cNeyAJYwGIiVsyHA3ad7Kg_IppwFmCer0roNkfnHxhYgSVIey6ZacfzSvCafjT0_1K7IIxajMnbQgL0nkYwpQsTy1TAMKnkZe86kRqK03ay-evTQj6QfHlmcDEms0OVO4g/s320/Oreos.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cupcakes that can compete</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I don't have much of a sweet tooth, to be honest, but I can get behind Oreos any day. I found a recipe on my lovely Big Oven app (Thanks, Zoe and Fernando!) and went to work. <br />
<br />
Hence, I offer you your own personal path to happiness:<br />
<br />
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line two cupcake pans with paper liners. <br />
<br />
2. Separate 12 Oreos and lovingly place one side of each cookie in the bottom of each paper liner, icing side up.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiITf7fN8MVl-5guLj53DsGVfbQR9gGP4GXnVPd1rDEriY9gpKJ_OKzmPWXyusQn8Dh1K09KISxmCb-VMKkMaS_slyZSmH2GQRQUdZ-Vm2fYT2L6r6wMyIW698JKrKrhPokoBYlHNfGPU0/s1600/frosting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiITf7fN8MVl-5guLj53DsGVfbQR9gGP4GXnVPd1rDEriY9gpKJ_OKzmPWXyusQn8Dh1K09KISxmCb-VMKkMaS_slyZSmH2GQRQUdZ-Vm2fYT2L6r6wMyIW698JKrKrhPokoBYlHNfGPU0/s200/frosting.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Want to score extra points? <br />
Combine frosting with Oreos.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
3. Count 18 more Oreos, place them in a large ziplock bag, and crush them with a rolling pin. (Yes, indeed, if you do the math properly, you should have a few extra Oreos to eat while you bake. Mmm.)<br />
<br />
4. In a large mixing bowl, mix a package of white cake mix, a cup of sour cream, three eggs, a 1/2 cup of vegetable oil, and two teaspoons of vanilla extract. Once that's mixed up well, add a cup and a half of the crushed Oreos to the bowl (save the rest of the crumbs for the frosting) and stir. <br />
<br />
5. Scoop the batter into each cup of the cupcake pan. (You'll get roughly 22-24 cupcakes total.)<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3ZpM74GPJrglEtLx5J6MTBIwU9YKxfxwYa8ea6q3INvF8bJy5hsUeCwQUZzJz8e2p40VGJSsAI5Gqduci6205zRynO7mPW7KLGky1kWM0mheNeqFQQJ8XK70drW_o2DZhz-81030ZivY/s1600/Ready+to+Bake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3ZpM74GPJrglEtLx5J6MTBIwU9YKxfxwYa8ea6q3INvF8bJy5hsUeCwQUZzJz8e2p40VGJSsAI5Gqduci6205zRynO7mPW7KLGky1kWM0mheNeqFQQJ8XK70drW_o2DZhz-81030ZivY/s200/Ready+to+Bake.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ready to tackle the oven.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
6. Bake until golden, about 18-20 minutes, then cool. <br />
<br />
7. Once they've cooled off, it's time to frost these babies. I took the lazy way out and bought a container of Betty Crocker Fluffy White frosting, mixed the remainder of the Oreo crumbs into it, and commenced frosting. <br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<br />
Voila! (Do football fans even use that word? Sigh.) Well, either way, pretty painless perfection. Go Pats!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZP4o39iuQHsI9nHed2CyRAd8QPOn6Y-DGqDDT2Z6Gt-5Y7fU1aYUt5DvXGljcF3x_CUlsMzPzzEpiNkMD1GrBdW88BiVb1siBUBhqNHuqP4iQe_CB29Ip6Bu0RyzqtgBDjGa9MkQu33A/s1600/superbowl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZP4o39iuQHsI9nHed2CyRAd8QPOn6Y-DGqDDT2Z6Gt-5Y7fU1aYUt5DvXGljcF3x_CUlsMzPzzEpiNkMD1GrBdW88BiVb1siBUBhqNHuqP4iQe_CB29Ip6Bu0RyzqtgBDjGa9MkQu33A/s400/superbowl.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Year of the wardrobe malfunction. Can you feel the love? </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>Stef Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02885211807706422849noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879516064265884764.post-73560613143422634282012-01-21T19:53:00.001-05:002012-06-14T11:11:26.956-04:00You Say Potato, I Say Po-Tot-o - Colchester, Conn.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK-VRh2BzDPVxWnue5DD6wLUjys7BgGhZHHO-iN4iqFbmqxqwLFPJ4eJFDjlpH14Ckpx7qde_CqcH_k9UuDjyzlyrkpD-AQR1Dvr4fN-SbDT94cVHum8G24vw3iIXppA7c8A1VBzbNdsQ/s1600/IMG_2199.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK-VRh2BzDPVxWnue5DD6wLUjys7BgGhZHHO-iN4iqFbmqxqwLFPJ4eJFDjlpH14Ckpx7qde_CqcH_k9UuDjyzlyrkpD-AQR1Dvr4fN-SbDT94cVHum8G24vw3iIXppA7c8A1VBzbNdsQ/s320/IMG_2199.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">As fun to eat as it looks.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Who doesn't love tater <a href="http://www.hulu.com/watch/8732/napoleon-dynamite-2004-you-gonna-eat-your-tots">tots</a>, I ask you?<br />
<br />
If you adore indulging in your fair share of carbs as much as I do, be sure to stop by <a href="http://www.cafeonmainct.com/">Cafe on Main</a> some night soon. Located right on the green in <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?q=colchester+ct&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x89e6421cd4dc9509:0xafd80a6242e3c80d,Colchester,+CT&gl=us&ei=x2cYT-G_E6Tx0gGTzKDMCw&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=image&resnum=4&ved=0CEcQ8gEwAw">Colchester, Conn</a>., Cafe on Main offers one of the friendliest, laid-back neighborhood hangouts around.<br />
<br />
Here, nearly every glorious item on the menu - from Philly steak grinders to steamed hamburgers to the aforementioned tots - costs a mere $6 apiece. And we're not talking about skimpy portions, either, my friends. Not to mention there's also a considerably long list of fun beer on tap from which to choose.<br />
<br />
Luckily for me, I have a very wise friend named Heather who lives literally across the green from this cozy establishment and knew just whom might enjoy such affordable deliciousness: <i>moi</i>. So being the lovely gal she is - as well as one of my beer-drinking partners-in-crime from those long lost days of college - she cordially invited me and our fellow adventurer, Marisa, out on the town. <br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia,Utopia,'Palatino Linotype',Palatino,serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><b><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Today's Stefcations Highlights:</span></u></b></span></span><br />
<ul style="background-color: white; color: #333333; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 2.5em; padding-right: 2.5em; padding-top: 0px;">
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-color: initial; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 12px;"><b>What You'll Find:</b> Inexpensive, comforting pub food - each item a mere $6 apiece - along with many flavorful beers on tap.</span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b>Where You'll Find it:</b> <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?q=20+main+st,+colchester,+ct&hl=en&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=54.005807,114.169922&vpsrc=6&hnear=20+Main+St,+Colchester,+Connecticut+06415&t=h&z=17">20 Main Street, Colchester, Conn., adjacent to the town green</a>.</span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b>When to Go: </b>Sunday-Thursday from 11:30 a.m. to 1 a.m.; Friday-Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 2 a.m.; Kitchen's open till 11 p.m. everyday; Also, take note: Happy Hour runs M-F from 4-7 p.m. (allegedly with FREE pizza!)</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5879516064265884764" name="more"></a><br />
Venturing out into the cold isn't something I'll do without good reason. But offer up the prospect of <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/i_heart_tater_tots_tshirt-235364893376062718">tater tots</a> smothered in goodness alongside a long list of interesting draft beers, and I'm there.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUD7dnWM2C96_duJ0fTOCSfUXgryIMVfAOqmlsxmydtzZzNkDH2SeV0bXBjEdGXGNE99ZKBkzcO9SEUr5b8n6kJ_DsZOHcLQDRJG4_Besuqq_eLMoPAnyXw_vDjpmH-pF-sgf3ZFjf9nE/s1600/CafeonMain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUD7dnWM2C96_duJ0fTOCSfUXgryIMVfAOqmlsxmydtzZzNkDH2SeV0bXBjEdGXGNE99ZKBkzcO9SEUr5b8n6kJ_DsZOHcLQDRJG4_Besuqq_eLMoPAnyXw_vDjpmH-pF-sgf3ZFjf9nE/s320/CafeonMain.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hang at the bar or at one of the cozy tables.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
With a sign above the bar that reads: "Good food ... Good friends ... Good times," Cafe on Main is true to its word. It's one of those places where you feel instantly comfortable and unhurried, ready to settle in for a few pints and some great conversation.<br />
<br />
Our servers were wonderfully amiable and accommodating, making enthusiastic recommendations on food and allowing us the option to taste the beer before ordering the full pint. Note: There are nearly two dozen varieties on tap here, in addition to more than 30 bottled beers. <i>Lots </i>of great choices.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT3vvG3giUnzBaI6mSXEa4wHStlk2ukCg231vwejdtUkFuPk6Kqn35EsDQi1ggsIFnuExP_opf1oPFs1Br-UEii04EwaxVAV1Zri3WGo6yaa6ePipZPORj9cjE7Rx6i26HeVp6pM6kCDY/s1600/IMG_2205.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT3vvG3giUnzBaI6mSXEa4wHStlk2ukCg231vwejdtUkFuPk6Kqn35EsDQi1ggsIFnuExP_opf1oPFs1Br-UEii04EwaxVAV1Zri3WGo6yaa6ePipZPORj9cjE7Rx6i26HeVp6pM6kCDY/s320/IMG_2205.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The most refreshing of ciders I think I've ever had.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I started off with a Sam Adams Double Pumpkin Ale - dark and very tasty - but the real highlight was our second drink, which Heather and I shared: Crispin's Cho-Tokkyu Hard Apple Cider. Our valiant server, T.J., told us it would be fantastic - and it was. Made with sake yeast and served very chilled, this cider is a beautiful pale, cloudy gold and super refreshing. Kinda wish I'd listened to Master T.J. from the start.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, the food, of course, hit the spot. Marisa's Philly steak grinder was huge and, reportedly, luscious. But the tots? The tots made my night.<br />
<br />
The evil geniuses at Cafe on Main are kind enough to top your tots (or your tortilla chips, onion rings, pub fries, sweet fries, or potato skins) with jack cheese, but then also invite you to bury them in your choice of three additional toppings - everything from chili to pepperoni to black beans to mac and cheese. It's ludicrous. Yet awesome.<br />
<br />
I chose a combo of buffalo chicken, jalapenos, and diced tomatoes. Mmmm-mmm. Presented in a huge basket, there were so many tots that I still had plenty left over to take home even after we'd all had a chance to pick at them. Agreed, certainly not the most nutritious of meals, but I believe I'm allowed some naughtiness now and again.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgqnAvzDHZcJz4zGQeLhF3eQeh4KxRgsU1N6kN7yRo5RqCv4HRkStdyPJ2E5X4l5GFDVb8j0dhtEXOETtsAn4J8jI059MVatrrm4X_R-X_2uD1E6oRpT-YcJO731ujO8bPmu4fEU2__eY/s1600/DSC03477.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgqnAvzDHZcJz4zGQeLhF3eQeh4KxRgsU1N6kN7yRo5RqCv4HRkStdyPJ2E5X4l5GFDVb8j0dhtEXOETtsAn4J8jI059MVatrrm4X_R-X_2uD1E6oRpT-YcJO731ujO8bPmu4fEU2__eY/s320/DSC03477.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Everyone needs a trusty drinking buddy or two.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
In addition to fun food, yummy drinks, and a fab crowd, there are nights with live music (anything from reggae to acoustic rock, <a href="http://www.cafeonmainct.com/good-times.php">just check the calendar</a>). When we were there, the musician - Dave Mack - and his talented backup singer entertained us with covers of Fleetwood Mac, Eric Clapton, and the like. Cafe on Main also hosts trivia nights and weekend days dedicated to soccer-watching and sandwich-eating. And if you're short on a cash, there's an ATM on-site that does not charge a fee (!).<br />
<br />
This is a bar for the people, people!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Stef Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02885211807706422849noreply@blogger.com320 Main St, Colchester, CT 06415, USA41.5759547 -72.33240239999997841.575950199999994 -72.332409399999975 41.5759592 -72.332395399999982tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879516064265884764.post-49201077193984752442012-01-09T16:34:00.000-05:002012-06-14T11:11:39.150-04:00My Pilgrimage to Fine Food, Wine, and More - Plymouth, Mass.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwX-NT2TeDXiP2jIRblRnH2MHYamaI58hGSA_bSy8KWMnPqNA0vhXCiXfJK5iSBJcPvWmHfniWepaff1S4WcjCxWWMh9pCqjdcuNBc2YlMzHuSfb_sNXDA91JLLcL4dpDQKHzyf9yKnMk/s1600/DSC03444.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwX-NT2TeDXiP2jIRblRnH2MHYamaI58hGSA_bSy8KWMnPqNA0vhXCiXfJK5iSBJcPvWmHfniWepaff1S4WcjCxWWMh9pCqjdcuNBc2YlMzHuSfb_sNXDA91JLLcL4dpDQKHzyf9yKnMk/s320/DSC03444.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The <i>Mayflower II</i>, a replica of the 17th-century vessel that<br />
brought those courageous pilgrims to this side of the pond, <br />
adds to the picturesque Plymouth Bay.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
A lifelong New Englander, I'm rather ashamed to admit that it was not until this past week that I made the trek to Plymouth, Mass., which, as it turns out, is one cute seaside town that has more to offer than its famed little granite rock.<br />
<br />
Courtesy of my mother, who purchased a one-night stay at a local inn for my birthday (thanks, Mom!), my husband and I enjoyed a pleasant night away, checking out some of the historic sites, doing a bit of shopping, and spending a solid couple of hours tasting just about everything on the menu in a fabulous wine, tapas, and dessert bar.<br />
<br />
Best of all, it was just two hours from our home base of Glastonbury, Conn.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia,Utopia,'Palatino Linotype',Palatino,serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><b><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Today's Stefcations Highlights:</span></u></b></span></span><br />
<br />
<ul style="background-color: white; color: #333333; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 2.5em; padding-right: 2.5em; padding-top: 0px;">
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-color: initial; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 12px;"><b>What You'll Find:</b> A quaint seaside town perfect for a relaxing night or two away.</span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b>Where You'll Find it:</b> <a href="http://www.visit-plymouth.com/">Plymouth, Mass.</a> (Take note, The Wine Cellar - a fab wine, tapas, and dessert bar, can be found at 690 State Road in Plymouth. Visit their <a href="http://www.wineanddessertbar.com/">website </a>for more info.)</span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b>When to Go: </b>Anytime! It looks like it'd be especially lovely in the summer, but we spent a night away in January, and it was still enjoyable. Note that some of the historic exhibits are <a href="http://www.plimoth.org/plan-your-visit/hours-prices">open only seasonally</a>.</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<a name='more'></a>I recalled from my days in grammar school social studies class that the pilgrims arrived in the New World in 1620, allegedly at Plymouth Rock (turns out the rock's more of a historic symbol than the <i>Mayflower</i>'s actual landing place).<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Plymouth Rock.</td></tr>
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What I didn't know was that the pilgrims arrived in Plymouth in the wintertime ... Perhaps not the most timely of arrivals for as-of-yet uninitiated New Englanders. Even with the help of the local Native Americans, nearly half of the original 102 Mayflower passengers died over the course of those first few winter months. Eek.<br />
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Unlike those unfortunate pilgrims, we encountered a curiously balmy weekend in early January, where the temps reached 60 degrees. Definitely preferable in my book.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9MXM81-F7W9HtZdsjEtdIVNeTponoOFbTPyS_2R-JcuiH8diJ_1fOZSsjTBK12wMy9dfY76_HC888U-FO4GFwictl1hKzNJat0d_Qwnb1seRQjRQ4IwlhCrY9ClUboVVLey1o51iqvbs/s1600/DSC03458.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9MXM81-F7W9HtZdsjEtdIVNeTponoOFbTPyS_2R-JcuiH8diJ_1fOZSsjTBK12wMy9dfY76_HC888U-FO4GFwictl1hKzNJat0d_Qwnb1seRQjRQ4IwlhCrY9ClUboVVLey1o51iqvbs/s320/DSC03458.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The striking statue of Massasoit, chief of the <br />
Wampanoag, who befriended the pilgrims.</td></tr>
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For the most part, we did a bit of strolling around, visiting the requisite Plymouth Rock, checking out Main Street's gift and antique shops, and admiring the views of the surrounding bay. We weren't the only ones out and about on a January morning, either - plenty of locals were walking with their dogs and kids and taking advantage of the unseasonably good weather, too.<br />
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If you're a big history buff, there are plenty of historic homes, state parks, statues, monuments, museums (including the so-called outdoor "living exhibits" like <a href="http://www.visit-plymouth.com/plimothplantation.htm">Plimouth Plantation</a> and the <a href="http://www.plimoth.org/what-see-do/mayflower-ii">Mayflower II</a>, a full-scale replica of the original ship), and the like to take in at your leisure. Note that many of the outdoor exhibits aren't open for the season until March.<br />
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One of the highlights for me, of course, was the wine, tapas, and dessert bar we found through a perfectly timed LivingSocial deal (again, brought to my attention by my mom), which I quickly snatched up.<br />
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Just about 10 minutes from Main Street, the Wine Cellar is hidden away on the lower level of a building that you might otherwise miss if you weren't keeping an eye out for it.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Wine Cellar has the feel of a secret hideaway, <br />
perfect for a romantic evening.</td></tr>
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Descend the stairs, and you’ll find the secret alcove that is the restaurant, which somehow manages to feel tantalizingly inviting and exclusive all at once.<br />
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With its stone façade, comfy leather seating, bamboo shades, and romantic lighting, The Wine Cellar offers a cozy sort of nook perfect for a special date or an intimate dinner with a few good friends.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The lounge-ier side of The Wine Cellar, <br />
complete with live music.</td></tr>
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It’s still not clear to me what’s housed on the upper floor (it looks like a fully equipped restaurant up there, after all), but I’m not complaining.<br />
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The space is divided into two areas - one side lined with a bar and wrap-around seating ideal for huddling with friends over wine or flavored martinis, and another side with a number of small tables for those more serious about chowing down (that would be yours truly).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheXg7n5ZitnIpxjB-7uDx_nae1g_dvWX9P0-LN1UtunP821SPgcl9Er5k1VVdCj8xj5Q-9PBcOcv0ohg9FwIZvuacIYbFvulvdRKeQpiNAUa_3phemj6HPAurnqeMWvPQ5qiSespJU7dk/s1600/Cheese.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheXg7n5ZitnIpxjB-7uDx_nae1g_dvWX9P0-LN1UtunP821SPgcl9Er5k1VVdCj8xj5Q-9PBcOcv0ohg9FwIZvuacIYbFvulvdRKeQpiNAUa_3phemj6HPAurnqeMWvPQ5qiSespJU7dk/s320/Cheese.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cheese plate? But of course.</td></tr>
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Now, for me, the magic of tapas is that you can try all kinds of small dishes suitable for sharing, and still not spend a ton of cash. The Wine Cellar definitely delivered not only on ambiance, but also variety, tastiness, and affordability.<br />
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We ordered a bottle of wine (an Oregon Pinot Noir, yum) and started things off with a cheese plate that featured three types of cheese (the goat cheese was our fave), a homemade warm apple cranberry onion jam (deeelish), crostini, toasted kettle-corn almonds, and a fabulous fresh grape and tarragon salad.<br />
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We followed it up with dates stuffed with gorgonzola and wrapped in bacon; seared shrimp with fresh avocado; and a couple of very tasty meatballs (super yummy). My husband added the Mediterranean flatbread for good measure.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhosar99awwD-2EyK0o0f4Bt6vhdmf8RWnC5QhnIaAipI5YFwyxOA9Q4KZKI-Qevqc9l0EjJ7dSkziVWwwlsuBkD8gxlxqGXfLG_DIMuZffxQE-D-Pngt7N5LOD9PMFEH6zHpuLS9_i3fI/s1600/IMG_2140a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhosar99awwD-2EyK0o0f4Bt6vhdmf8RWnC5QhnIaAipI5YFwyxOA9Q4KZKI-Qevqc9l0EjJ7dSkziVWwwlsuBkD8gxlxqGXfLG_DIMuZffxQE-D-Pngt7N5LOD9PMFEH6zHpuLS9_i3fI/s200/IMG_2140a.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Raspberry sorbet, served between <br />
our tapas and dessert. <br />
Don't mind if I do.</td></tr>
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Between polishing this off and receiving our dessert order, we were each presented with surprise: a miniature martini glass with a small scoop of raspberry sorbet. An unexpected (and more than welcome) little intermezzo. Um, fabulous. Not to mention, adorable.<br />
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The Wine Cellar's dessert menu included some tempting options, from cheesecake to handmade chocolates to limoncello mousse. Decisions, decisions! We chose the banana crepes to share, which were perfect little pockets of warm banana and caramel-y yumminess that we couldn't help but recommend - unsolicited - to our neighboring table.<br />
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All of this deliciousness rang up to about $82, though we were able to take another $30 off with our Living Social coupon. Certainly worth it, even with the two-hour drive. It's too bad the pilgrims didn't stick around for this.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi04XGeOgqhFPARu8wstFT8N-plvDohm-5eVEHTZZn1x8FaYXIIY2kKqJeouA5ujQBWEb0MFbLgXRrLMqRtZey68XhDfqP6yFIjAMf6-ujQQrPO5KpWRQJwefGHKNl0qlj1LGWc2_aIGao/s1600/IMG_2132a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi04XGeOgqhFPARu8wstFT8N-plvDohm-5eVEHTZZn1x8FaYXIIY2kKqJeouA5ujQBWEb0MFbLgXRrLMqRtZey68XhDfqP6yFIjAMf6-ujQQrPO5KpWRQJwefGHKNl0qlj1LGWc2_aIGao/s320/IMG_2132a.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Evidence of awesomeness.</td></tr>
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<br /></div>Stef Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02885211807706422849noreply@blogger.com1Plymouth, MA, USA41.9584457 -70.66726210000001641.833058699999995 -70.781149100000022 42.0838327 -70.553375100000011tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879516064265884764.post-64815558212727558452011-12-30T14:35:00.002-05:002012-06-14T11:11:53.891-04:00Baja's: Bordering on Brilliance - Orange, Conn.<div class="MsoNormal">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jaIJJ8JAcDs/Tv4ILApkI1I/AAAAAAAAAm8/fBFm36hGv4M/s1600/bajafood.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jaIJJ8JAcDs/Tv4ILApkI1I/AAAAAAAAAm8/fBFm36hGv4M/s320/bajafood.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The utterly fantastic carnitas plate, <br />
found in Orange, Conn., of all places. <br />
(Tortillas not shown.)</td></tr>
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You may recall that I’m a huge fan of San Diego – where fresh, authentic, delicious Mexican food can be found at a moment’s notice, whether it’s at the <a href="http://www.oldtownsandiego.org/restaurants.html">fabulous restaurants in Old Town</a> or among the most random of <a href="http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=Food+Trucks&find_loc=Ocean+Beach%2C+San+Diego%2C+CA">food trucks by Ocean Beach</a>.</div>
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Unfortunately for me, Connecticut is not known for its Mexican cuisine. Living in central Connecticut, I often lament the fact that finding decent Mexican fare remains a never-ending challenge.</div>
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Hence, this is why I will happily take a 45-minute drive down to <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?q=orange+ct&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x89e875865c65f63f:0x72d7b73158195485,Orange,+CT&gl=us&ei=Egv-Tu-WGcPL0QHJxo2OAg&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=image&resnum=3&ved=0CD0Q8gEwAg">Orange, Conn.</a>, for the best Mexican food I’ve found yet in this state. </div>
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Baja’s Mexican Restaurant is the quintessential hole-in-the-wall. Nestled in a nondescript strip mall between a liquor store and a Town Fair Tire (You can literally smell that rubbery tire scent from the parking lot, but do not be deterred!), Baja’s remains a hidden gem among all the big-box stores along the Boston Post Road.<br />
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Its exterior may not be much to speak of, and its décor may be best described as no-frills. But what it lacks in ambiance, it more than makes up for in incredibly delicious food. My comrades and I recently organized a trip down to Orange to partake.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia,Utopia,'Palatino Linotype',Palatino,serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia,Utopia,'Palatino Linotype',Palatino,serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><b style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Today's Stefcations Highlights:</span></u></b></span></span><br />
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<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-color: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: initial; border-width: initial; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-indent: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 12px;"><b>What You'll Find:</b> My favorite Mexican food in Connecticut.</span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-indent: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b>Where You'll Find it:</b> Baja's Mexican Restaurant at 63 Boston Post Road, Orange, CT. (There is no website to speak of, which kinda fits its decidedly un-luxurious setting.)</span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-indent: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b>When to Go: </b>Year-round, except for February. Call first! (203) 799-2252</span><span class="tel" id="bizPhone"></span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-indent: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small; line-height: 12px;"><b>Cost: </b>Moderately priced.</span></span></li>
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First things first. Upon arriving, visit the salsa bar. You’ll get basket after basket of free homemade tortilla chips and as much of their amazing salsa as you wish. Choose from about half-a-dozen kinds – from the mildest of smoky chipotle salsas to fresh pico de gallo to the hottest habanero variety, in a lovely shade of bright green.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xFgfdjipyNQ/Tv4JFCYyQpI/AAAAAAAAAng/Znelbh-PZH8/s1600/bajawall.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="149" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xFgfdjipyNQ/Tv4JFCYyQpI/AAAAAAAAAng/Znelbh-PZH8/s200/bajawall.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bathroom wall graffiti speaks the truth: <br />
Baja's = Muy Bueno.</td></tr>
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Munching away on chips and salsa will fill you up quickly, so beware. You want to save room for the entrees, because this is where the real deal is.</div>
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I have a hard time deciding between my two fave dishes - the carnitas plate and the chile verde. The former is a mouth-watering marinated pork served with rice, refried beans, sour cream, guacamole, and two of most fantastic flour tortillas around. The latter is also pork, served with the same accompaniments, but marinated in a flawless chili verde sauce for so many hours that the pork literally melts in your mouth. So, so tasty.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KEPOhK8xLGY/Tv4Idhud0OI/AAAAAAAAAnI/YpCNddYhizY/s1600/seafoodgone.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="149" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KEPOhK8xLGY/Tv4Idhud0OI/AAAAAAAAAnI/YpCNddYhizY/s200/seafoodgone.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What was left of Baja's seafood burrito.</td></tr>
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I can also personally vouch for the fish tacos and the carne asada. But I have to admit I haven’t ventured much beyond that because everything I’ve had is so damned delicious that I can't help but satisfy my fix.<br />
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Friends of mine swear by the chicken mole, while another of my recent dining companions enjoyed the seafood burrito. Notoriously unflappable, he surprised everyone by clearing his plate entirely and nonchalantly proclaiming that it was literally the best thing he'd ever eaten. High praise coming from him, I tell you.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vUdXBNE94vA/Tv4KNdG-G7I/AAAAAAAAAoQ/9gdK3O9zsMc/s1600/brianbaja.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vUdXBNE94vA/Tv4KNdG-G7I/AAAAAAAAAoQ/9gdK3O9zsMc/s320/brianbaja.JPG" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The dazed happiness of Baja's devotee Brian <br />
is testament enough: The food more than <br />
makes up for the lackluster decor.</td></tr>
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In my experience, the portions are quite generous; I almost always leave with leftovers (probably due in part to the fact that I can’t tear myself away from the salsa bar).<br />
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Of course, you may wash down all of his delectable food with a refreshing margarita or draft beer. An added plus? One of my favorites is always on tap – <a href="http://dosequis.com/">Dos Equis</a> – both lager or amber varieties.</div>
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One thing to note: Right around February each year, the owners close up shop for the month and head back to their native Baja to seek out delightful new recipes.<br />
<br />
The saddest part is that several years ago, I lived just minutes from this place and didn't know of its existence! A major travesty in my book. So if you're anywhere near it, get yourself and your friends there - <span class="st"><i>mañana</i></span>.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KyXHrv71qKQ/Tv4JeyFSxvI/AAAAAAAAAns/ZGDr1CEKeQY/s1600/comrades.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KyXHrv71qKQ/Tv4JeyFSxvI/AAAAAAAAAns/ZGDr1CEKeQY/s320/comrades.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My trusty Baja's comrades, <br />
giddy over the leftovers they're bringing home.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>Stef Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02885211807706422849noreply@blogger.com263 Boston Post Rd, Orange, CT 06477, USA41.2780389 -72.98780270000003241.2780334 -72.987811200000039 41.2780444 -72.987794200000025tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879516064265884764.post-33292997130891270712011-12-16T09:27:00.001-05:002012-06-14T11:12:06.092-04:00The Art of R&R - New Britain, Conn.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKkkoBWnfyrl51gg0VXmgDIU3rl9Q8V-xExvn0Jfwp8V7PyWOFFK-Mihp1et-oXOb3lcVuGjuXG-IreCgFb0MtDt4f3qs3yS8UYAU5I6LmrFknaYKm79rDZVnY1_yoZc4xQwwXq3pu5oc/s1600/IMG_1547a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKkkoBWnfyrl51gg0VXmgDIU3rl9Q8V-xExvn0Jfwp8V7PyWOFFK-Mihp1et-oXOb3lcVuGjuXG-IreCgFb0MtDt4f3qs3yS8UYAU5I6LmrFknaYKm79rDZVnY1_yoZc4xQwwXq3pu5oc/s320/IMG_1547a.jpg" width="318" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me, marveling at the museum's giant wall o' color <br />
(made of paper and plastic cups painted in bright colors and <br />
nailed to the wall by the thousands), by Lisa Hoke.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The holidays can get a tad overwhelming.<br />
<br />
Particularly if you're, say, hosting a big holiday dinner, having family and friends from out of the state stay over, or trying to fit in all the last-minute shopping, gift-wrapping, and cleaning around your day-to-day life.<br />
<br />
I'm doing all of the above - and let's just say I was in dire need of an afternoon filled with nothing but peace and quiet.<br />
<br />
For you Connecticut peeps, it may come as a surprise that of all places, Hard Hittin' New Britain offers just such an oasis.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
My husband and I recently ventured to the <a href="http://nbmaa.org/">New Britain Museum of American Art</a>, a great spot to spend a relaxing couple of hours just ... unwinding. Here, you can take in the art at your own pace, check out whatever exhibits interest you, wander around the outside grounds to see cool pieces of sculpture, and, perhaps, find a bit of inspiration and calm.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia,Utopia,'Palatino Linotype',Palatino,serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia,Utopia,'Palatino Linotype',Palatino,serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><b style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Today's Stefcations Highlights:</span></u></b></span></span><br />
<ul style="line-height: 1.4; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: disc; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 2.5em; padding-right: 2.5em; padding-top: 0px;">
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-color: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: initial; border-width: initial; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-indent: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 12px;"><b>What You'll Find:</b> A wonderful place to de-stress during the holidays. </span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-indent: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b>Where You'll Find it:</b> <a href="http://www.nbmaa.org/">The New Britain Museum of American Art</a></span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-indent: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b>When to Go: </b>Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursdays 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Saturdays 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sundays noon to 5 p.m. (Closed Mondays!)</span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-indent: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small; line-height: 12px;"><b>Cost: </b>Admission is a super reasonable $10 per adult and free for kids under 12. Senior admission is $9, and student admission is $8.</span></span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=5879516064265884764&postID=3329299713089127071" name="more"></a>The museum, which underwent an expansion a few years back, features 10 galleries with a surprisingly diverse collection of art - from sculptures of bronze or glass to paintings to interactive installations.<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinZhkpqx8DvLJ-BFVtSWUrEetLJmCTGv2qG0OEwJLVFitKKCNC8z9hyPOakOvF6LAPBQH9PW0Z0ZBSx7Q4kai4iugXs23eCcWueGyt7G0qLzJV6fqVYVmpP_RnuqCsglFkvQK2EMDNK9k/s1600/IMG_1603.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinZhkpqx8DvLJ-BFVtSWUrEetLJmCTGv2qG0OEwJLVFitKKCNC8z9hyPOakOvF6LAPBQH9PW0Z0ZBSx7Q4kai4iugXs23eCcWueGyt7G0qLzJV6fqVYVmpP_RnuqCsglFkvQK2EMDNK9k/s200/IMG_1603.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A visitor checks out a very realistic <br />
painting of the Arragoni Bridge, situated<br />
between Portland and Middletown,<br />
by Connecticut native Peter Waite.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
What's especially cool is the assortment of pieces created by artists associated with Connecticut. Who knew such a massively talented populus had any connection to this little state of ours?<br />
<br />
My favorite was a painting by George Chaplin, who once upon a time studied art at Yale, and previously taught at Silvermine Art College in Norwalk, Conn. and at Trinity College in Hartford, Conn.<br />
<br />
His "Untitled (Yellow #2)" looks deceivingly simple at first glance - a rectangle of yellow surrounded by a thin edge of lavender. But take a moment to contemplate this painting, and it will kind of blow your mind.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyuPVOGgzqExmCBEm9yENpd_kBV_SK7k-Qt_1u1AScAFRftx5WWoXmUIleiy6lU1SJDmFUDccWcEUdoupJ2z5RzzUVox7Kl7nuBtHTlUaTrJji5jDOYLIJbvFNOreu_xQvUHK-zO2K_3A/s1600/IMG_1576.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyuPVOGgzqExmCBEm9yENpd_kBV_SK7k-Qt_1u1AScAFRftx5WWoXmUIleiy6lU1SJDmFUDccWcEUdoupJ2z5RzzUVox7Kl7nuBtHTlUaTrJji5jDOYLIJbvFNOreu_xQvUHK-zO2K_3A/s320/IMG_1576.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My husband, Matt, reads about <br />
one of my fave paintings in the place.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The painting literally looks like it's glowing - like it's luminous at its center. But that's just the way it's painted that makes you perceive this. The palest white-yellow fades into colors of brighter and deeper gold so realistically that you could swear the painting has a spotlight focused straight on it. Super cool, I'm telling you.<br />
<br />
I also recommend checking out the installation by Mississippi native Carson Fox, whose indoor "fire-and-ice" rooms - complete with resin snowflakes, ceiling icicles, and hand-painted flames - tell the story of her family background. <br />
<br />
All in all, the museum offered a nice way to unplug for an afternoon. Of course, if you *must* squeeze some holiday shopping in, there's always the museum gift shop.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5LtRLGXoV7_uCOSx5lBZeXivV2U9UpMzr4rFuVuWLNnjqx6haFIK_mIv-FhXEQDMx8f62Lcza7Qly7IYrrohCuBffdO3Ns1c71cHzUO165cawYn2i3sB3pfUVpWS7h6lzZydRBxinDqA/s1600/IMG_1528.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5LtRLGXoV7_uCOSx5lBZeXivV2U9UpMzr4rFuVuWLNnjqx6haFIK_mIv-FhXEQDMx8f62Lcza7Qly7IYrrohCuBffdO3Ns1c71cHzUO165cawYn2i3sB3pfUVpWS7h6lzZydRBxinDqA/s320/IMG_1528.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A sculpture of Don Quixote invites <br />
you to the museum entrance.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Stef Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02885211807706422849noreply@blogger.com056 Lexington St, New Britain, CT 06052, USA41.664328 -72.7921210000000099.4191225 -132.557746 73.9095335 -13.026496000000009tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879516064265884764.post-70533649970458365232011-12-10T17:10:00.001-05:002012-06-14T11:12:17.685-04:00Keepin' It Regal - Mashantucket, Conn.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8-v0zHqfS6puWjk3AMignRYvOqONJpa12F0RGsoQpYKbjYqndVj3VRxTVGdzSkhhIDzNNNS_CacTtw9iJzTc5ynfwZH5EetsEnPhDtIQFaPMqyBtvzqZbMiU2jwWGUmIidvdSpjuhuF0/s1600/IMG_1710.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8-v0zHqfS6puWjk3AMignRYvOqONJpa12F0RGsoQpYKbjYqndVj3VRxTVGdzSkhhIDzNNNS_CacTtw9iJzTc5ynfwZH5EetsEnPhDtIQFaPMqyBtvzqZbMiU2jwWGUmIidvdSpjuhuF0/s320/IMG_1710.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Royal Tea," indeed. <br />
Delicious sandwiches and sweets served<br />
at Foxwoods Resort & Casino's Royal Tea, <br />
part of "<a href="http://www.foxwoods.com/diana2.aspx">Diana: A Celebration</a>."</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Perhaps some of you can trace back your ancestry to an illustrious line of aristocrats – earls and duchesses, kings and queens, and the like. Much to my chagrin, it appears I am not one of these people.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Just the same, don’t let this stop you from getting up close and personal with the dazzling tiaras and brooches, royal wedding gown, and other amazing treasures that once belonged to the late Princess Di – all on display for you to ogle through the rest of this month and on into the new year.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.foxwoods.com/default.aspx">Foxwoods Casino</a> in <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=foxwoods+mashantucket+ct&fb=1&gl=us&hq=foxwoods+mashantucket+ct&cid=0,0,13187243640955199470&ei=XMDjTqG_AoHKsQLlmZ33BQ&sa=X&oi=local_result&ct=image&ved=0CCUQ_BI">Mashantucket, Conn.</a>, is currently featuring “<a href="http://www.foxwoods.com/diana2.aspx">Diana: A Celebration</a>,” an exhibit open through Jan. 15 that offers a look at a breathtaking collection of personal items from Diana’s life – from photo albums, home movies, and school report cards from her childhood days spent at Althorp Estate in England to the awe-inspiring tiara, earrings, and gown (complete with its 25-foot train) that she wore on her wedding day.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia,Utopia,'Palatino Linotype',Palatino,serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><b style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Today's Stefcations Highlights:</span></u></b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"></span><br />
<ul style="list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: disc; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 2.5em; padding-right: 2.5em; padding-top: 0px;">
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 12px;"><b>What You'll Find:</b> An intimate look into the <a href="http://www.foxwoods.com/diana2.aspx">inspiring life and work of Princess Diana</a>. </span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-indent: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b>Where You'll Find it:</b> <a href="http://www.foxwoods.com/default.aspx">Foxwoods Resort & Casino</a></span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-indent: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b>When to Go: </b>Now through Jan. 15, 2012</span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-indent: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small; line-height: 12px;"><b>Cost: </b>$25 per person for the exhibit. Or, pay $36 for the Royal Tea Package, which includes admission to the exhibit as well as a fabulous <a href="http://www.foxwoods.com/uploadedFiles/Entertainment/Royal%20Tea%20Signage.pdf">afternoon tea time that's, well, fit for a princess</a>. Tickets for both options can be found <a href="http://www.foxwoods.com/diana2.aspx">here</a>. Note: You'll need to reserve tickets for the Royal Tea Package in advance, due to its popularity!<a name='more'></a></span></span></li>
</ul>
<br />
It's not all about ogling, of course.<br />
<br />
For one, there's the option to take things up a notch (as any princess would do, I imagine) and reserve your rightful place at the Royal Tea, an afternoon tea time package where you'll sip hot tea, nibble on an assortment of crustless cucumber, ham and cheese, and egg salad sandwiches, and enjoy all sorts of delicious cakes and scones. (The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madeleine_%28cake%29">madeleines</a> were especially tasty.)<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAA5ofGPVFZVLQkb-yvZiCK1iYu79-9eH8c7h_6E5qTgLlRV_6w44xTLGymKhsegal3nlysD05TCftQuCDOawZzymdtVRZ63ppSWl5IuzwoVbMUGoVbLTvWSqVydtbczpx7fx6lbocsh4/s1600/IMG_1717.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAA5ofGPVFZVLQkb-yvZiCK1iYu79-9eH8c7h_6E5qTgLlRV_6w44xTLGymKhsegal3nlysD05TCftQuCDOawZzymdtVRZ63ppSWl5IuzwoVbMUGoVbLTvWSqVydtbczpx7fx6lbocsh4/s200/IMG_1717.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Honorable Lady Marisa, <br />
who can vouch for the fabulous <br />
madeleines as well.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Plus, there's plenty of history to take in - for instance, at the exhibit you'll see Diana's family tree, dating back to the 1300s; watch moving footage of her charity work with HIV/AIDS patients, landmine victims, and others; and read her correspondence with friends and colleagues.<br />
<br />
Even Anglophiles like me will truly be surprised by how much there is to learn. And even if you tend to lack imagination, I'd be surprised if you didn't - at least on some level - feel moved by what you'll see.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrFBqZYJEmYYI59BkMoQjgkV1ZBjWpvzQbZcMCgTPEqCQBf0RR5Ewt7tMD920ozww8fKJMyKoBvnFtAdYdka6mf00B40z6x46tuFfEnU9nPNu3NzLFYXGRtjdt2Fqg0Y2aXySPQm_2q1E/s1600/IMG_1715.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrFBqZYJEmYYI59BkMoQjgkV1ZBjWpvzQbZcMCgTPEqCQBf0RR5Ewt7tMD920ozww8fKJMyKoBvnFtAdYdka6mf00B40z6x46tuFfEnU9nPNu3NzLFYXGRtjdt2Fqg0Y2aXySPQm_2q1E/s200/IMG_1715.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mini scone with Devonshire cream, <br />
preserves, and whipped honey? <br />
Why yes, I believe I shall.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The exhibit offers an unexpectedly intimate look at the work Diana did and the countless individuals she touched across the world in her brief 36 years. You'll see her personal letters - signed "With love from Diana," in gold ink, in her own script; her favorite stuffed animals, worn from wear; and the Tiffany-blue typewriter she used as a young schoolgirl.<br />
<br />
Of course, you cannot go to an exhibit about Princess Di without assuming you'll see something about her tragic 1997 death. Ladies, you may be so inclined as to bring along a travel-size packet of Kleenex for yourselves and to share with fellow exhibit-goers.<br />
<br />
There were few dry eyes – my own included – when it came to reading the eulogy Diana’s brother gave at Westminister Abbey, watching footage of her funeral, and seeing photos of the tremendous blankets of bouquets, candles, and homemade cards spread before Buckingham Palace in the weeks following the princess' death.<br />
<br />
Most heart-wrenching of all were the bookcases filled with the volumes and volumes of letters of condolences sent by hundreds of thousands of people from around the world. Children and adults, acquaintances, close friends, and adoring fans offered cards, notes, and drawings expressing love and gratitude to Diana for the inspiring life she led, and heartfelt sympathy for her young sons, William and Henry.<br />
<br />
You may think I'm a sap. And mind you, not in a million years did I expect to be standing somewhere inside a casino, whispering to my friend, "I'm getting all <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDXEgBh0TF0">verklempt</a>." I was in it for a glimpse at some fantastic jewels and the infamous wedding dress. What I got was a glimpse into the life of someone who did not take her privilege and fame for granted, but in fact used her visibility to advocate for the sick and oppressed - for those who felt invisible.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLLY-uzcGcVcb0MYHsSWboMfsQZGZwKD04ZsV95Tgm61dimZV0U-WAPjYAcDvcEDFGuu4FTR-B7tSR35xewglm8yfUknAbyjpueYse2wKpbN1QAaQd8ZgT2qP5yRE_1u6-wWvVE3BB6IE/s1600/IMG_1723.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLLY-uzcGcVcb0MYHsSWboMfsQZGZwKD04ZsV95Tgm61dimZV0U-WAPjYAcDvcEDFGuu4FTR-B7tSR35xewglm8yfUknAbyjpueYse2wKpbN1QAaQd8ZgT2qP5yRE_1u6-wWvVE3BB6IE/s320/IMG_1723.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wear a chic hat for the festivities, like these ladies.</td></tr>
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I implore you to find an afternoon to stop in and view this exhibit. Leave your significant other at the slot machines if you must, and make it a solo trip. But personally, I recommend taking along a few of your closest and classiest friends, who can appreciate a refreshing bit of beauty and inspiration. </div>
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<br /></div>Stef Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02885211807706422849noreply@blogger.com2350 Trolley Line Blvd, MASHANTUCKET, CT 06338, USA41.473969100000012 -71.9607833999999689.15253160000001 -131.72640839999997 73.7954066 -12.195158399999968tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879516064265884764.post-29881271219721975722011-11-30T20:49:00.003-05:002012-06-14T11:13:34.660-04:00Whale Watching ... in Downtown Hartford<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9LIhcn3ctsyhtHWopQSl_GNeRaJ6sGWA5H1_uBHjSwkxZz482iqXhUoB-_N9EkD9fhjhpKRCWF_EpV92Qs64fY1pXMN0xS1B5P4Msq_j_mdeFVvgHlcWj86CojBUszkdhgkprKlrv90M/s1600/IMG_1452.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9LIhcn3ctsyhtHWopQSl_GNeRaJ6sGWA5H1_uBHjSwkxZz482iqXhUoB-_N9EkD9fhjhpKRCWF_EpV92Qs64fY1pXMN0xS1B5P4Msq_j_mdeFVvgHlcWj86CojBUszkdhgkprKlrv90M/s320/IMG_1452.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is what a midprice ticket will get you: <br />
Pretty awesome seats. <br />
(We were in the sixth row.)</td></tr>
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Winter's settling in. Even if you aren't a fan of sledding, building snowmen, or braving New England's freezing temperatures to ski or snowboard, all is not lost.<br />
<br />
Whether you've got a family to entertain on the cheap or are just looking for a fun night out with a couple of friends, perhaps it's time to check out the <a href="http://www.ctwhale.com/">Connecticut Whale</a>.<br />
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I'm talking about hockey here for those of you not familiar with the Whale. Not NHL, of course, but still the very worthy American Hockey League, where the top Whale players still score six- and seven-figure annual salaries.<br />
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The best part is, you won't have to go broke buying <a href="http://www.ticketmaster.com/artist/836574?tm_link=edp_Artist_Image">tickets</a>. They run about $12 apiece for kids (ages 2-16) and between $12 and $25 per adult. And this is for very decent seats. (Good luck finding prices under $100 apiece - even in the nosebleed section - for any Boston Bruins game.)<br />
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Not a sports fan? Well, me neither, technically. I assure you, the Connecticut Whale's got something for everyone.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia,Utopia,'Palatino Linotype',Palatino,serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><b style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Today's Stefcations Highlights:</span></u></b></span><br />
<ul style="line-height: 1.4; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: disc; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 2.5em; padding-right: 2.5em; padding-top: 0px;">
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-indent: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b>What You'll Find:</b> A fun, inexpensive night out, no matter who you are - sports fan or no, child or adult</span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-indent: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b>Where You'll Find it:</b> The <a href="http://www.xlcenter.com/">XL Center</a> in <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?q=hartford+ct&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x89e65311f21151a5:0xcc8e4aa8e97d5999,Hartford,+CT&gl=us&ei=rX7VTuK8BcGFsAKwloHxDg&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=image&resnum=2&ved=0CFwQ8gEwAQ">Hartford, Conn.</a></span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-indent: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b>When to Go: </b><a href="http://www.ctwhale.com/default.asp?ctwhale=22">All winter long</a> (through April 2012)</span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; border-width: initial; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-indent: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small; line-height: 12px;"><b>Cost: </b>Usually around $12 a ticket for kids, ages 2-16; $12-$25 per adult, depending on the game (and you won't be in nosebleed)</span></span></li>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wee hockey fans <br />
getting into the action.</td></tr>
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For the men, there's beer (try the Whaler Ale) and hockey - plus the occasional fistfight if you're up for that sort of thing.<br />
<br />
For the ladies, there's beer, there's hockey, there are those delectable soft pretzels covered in salt, and, well, there's ogling the hockey players themselves. Ahem... </div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
And for the kids, the Whale's always got a giveaway of some sort - whether it's a lunchbox, a towel to wave around overhead at the game, or those <a href="http://www.victorystore.com/bam_bams/metallic.htm">funky plastic doohickeys that you inflate and bang together</a> to make noise (which, admittedly, are kinda fun).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCAKzX2AriLzV5_b0aI4QB6a_DtWjnYjw4EvqGe16fD4bHdV-mTPN-2BTHULjMEg7P1-51ieVHHa7kpDS68HA2VhcA8ZKe5E_zENrJ3OeuGzC9_ZNEr4Hx7_PtGzOTbtkCkX2csirQrVc/s1600/IMG_1448.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCAKzX2AriLzV5_b0aI4QB6a_DtWjnYjw4EvqGe16fD4bHdV-mTPN-2BTHULjMEg7P1-51ieVHHa7kpDS68HA2VhcA8ZKe5E_zENrJ3OeuGzC9_ZNEr4Hx7_PtGzOTbtkCkX2csirQrVc/s320/IMG_1448.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Who doesn't love a bouncy house?</td></tr>
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Not to mention the bouncy house, where you can have your children burn off some of that extra energy before the game. They may be able to snag a ride on the Zamboni, too, or catch a T-shirt thrown from the ice by none other than <a href="http://www.facebook.com/PuckytheWhale">Pucky the Whale</a>, the Connecticut Whale's mascot. (Before you make fun of Pucky, keep in mind that the dude in that costume can ice-skate and chuck T-shirts into the crowd whilst wearing that giant whale head. That's some skills, people. Have some respect.) </div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
Or, perhaps your kids'll be lucky enough to be caught on camera and see themselves on the Jumbotron, perfecting their fist pump or dancing around to the <a href="http://www.brassbonanza.com/hcc/whalers-audio/brass-bonanza">old Whalers' theme song</a>.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
To top it all off, it's not an agonizingly long night out. Three periods, 20 minutes each, with the possible added excitement of some OT. No need to sit through nine long innings in these parts. Any way you slice it, kids are going to enjoy themselves - and they're not going to forget it. I can attest to my own fond memories from back in the day, seeing the Hartford Whalers play at the same venue, then known as the Civic Center.</div>
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It's a pretty good time, no matter who you are. And the irony is that I kinda don't care about sports. I suppose it's somewhat shameful - perhaps even more so having graduated from UConn, where not caring about basketball is straight-up blasphemy.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mmmm, <br />
a hockey game staple.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I totally enjoy watching tennis on TV (though, in truth, I only really tune in to see the major matches). I'll happily attend Superbowl parties (because of the delicious food, duh). I played a bit of volleyball in high school. And oh yeah, I met Olympic speed skater Apolo Ohno the other day (does that count?).<br />
<br />
But that's really about it. As a kid, the only sport I really remember experiencing in the flesh was hockey. And having married a lifelong <a href="http://bruins.nhl.com/">Boston Bruins</a> fan - and seeing them <a href="http://proicehockey.about.com/od/stanleycupbunker/a/2011-Stanley-Cup-Playoffs-Complete-Schedule-And-Results.htm">win the Stanley Cup</a> last year - it's obviously continued to be a part of my life.<br />
<br />
All in all, it's an easy way to beat the winter doldrums without breaking the bank.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyoyDjOPVmQKlltUR6rlGKcc4jZUziQ4ufXaqL_IyeymST7djrJbdhr6l05jkZpwSvZbcCEmiKD0oUS0qcxXW-QsmHSJie5cZgpi_MgSQ8oi3jAEoBjAKYqrccZ4-TMr9bz55FXeksEzk/s1600/IMG_1610.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyoyDjOPVmQKlltUR6rlGKcc4jZUziQ4ufXaqL_IyeymST7djrJbdhr6l05jkZpwSvZbcCEmiKD0oUS0qcxXW-QsmHSJie5cZgpi_MgSQ8oi3jAEoBjAKYqrccZ4-TMr9bz55FXeksEzk/s320/IMG_1610.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me and my crazy whaling friends.</td></tr>
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</div>Stef Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02885211807706422849noreply@blogger.com2XL Center, Center St, Hartford, CT 06103, USA41.768399 -72.67698530000001341.767392 -72.678219300000009 41.769406000000004 -72.675751300000016tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879516064265884764.post-84622399703488234522011-11-16T18:33:00.000-05:002012-06-14T11:13:40.410-04:003 Things You Need to Do in San Diego<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">San Diego beckons.</td></tr>
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For those of you living in New England, you are more than likely aware of the craziness that was this year's so-called "Snowtober," a snowstorm that slammed us in October, dumping several inches of snow on our poor little pumpkin patches, downing tree limbs and power lines, and spoiling Halloween for countless kids (and adults - myself included, damn it).<br />
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Not to mention the week spent without power ... and heat ... and, for some, water. If you'd seen <a href="http://stefcations.blogspot.com/2011/10/halloween-for-die-hards.html">my most recent post</a>, you may have some inkling of how excited I was for the Halloween party of the year at the <a href="http://wadsworthmansion.com/">Wadsworth Mansion</a>. Alas, the party was canceled, marking my first un-Halloween. Sniff.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Where to go when your backyard looks like this,<br />
and it's not yet even Halloween? Fly south. Pronto.</td></tr>
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As it is, I'm not a big fan of the autumn months, so sans power and heat, and with Halloween erased from the calendar altogether, I ask you, what was I supposed to do? Um, fly to Southern California, that's what.<br />
<br />
I swear I'm not <i>that </i>much of a prima donna. It just so happened that I'd planned my vacation with uncannily perfect timing - on the Thursday that we were scheduled to depart for San Diego, it was Day Six of no electricity. Otherwise known as Time to Get the Hell Out of Here.<br />
<br />
OK, so San Diego. If you haven't been, I recommend it to anyone who hopes to escape the winter doldrums. It's the perfect getaway for the non-snow bunnies among us, like moi.<br />
<br />
In addition to the heavenly weather, there are oodles of things to do there - from the San Diego Zoo to the beaches to Tijuana (just 15 minutes away), you can spend numerous vacations there, as I have, and not see everything. But there are at least three things I <i>do </i>recommend you do once you've arrived.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<b>1. Eat</b><br />
<br />
San Diego is among the largest cities in the United States. Suffice it to say there about a zillion restaurants, bars, and food trucks out there serving deeelicious food. But there are two stops in particular that I'd recommend over any other: <a href="http://www.hashhouseagogo.com/">Hash House a go go</a> (serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner, plus brunch on weekends) and <a href="http://thetractorroom.com/">The Tractor Room</a> (serving dinner and brunch on weekends). Both in the Hillcrest section of San Diego, they are well-known for their monstrous portions and amazing food. Oh, and their lines. So make a reservation if you can or be prepared to wait for some time - though I can't stress enough how much it is worth the wait.<br />
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I could really go on and on about the food, but I kinda think some of these pictures speak for themselves. For one, please behold The Tractor Room's chocolate chip bacon pancake:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijc0PPEc9jaYNZIHGgCp_FsC2psvo7V2S_ccgpHxQwRlCk-FiM3IhXxz1u1JYkpLrbACASCKFPUD3p7DRXmBgS0QClwm7knHGN-0aLD0F1Uh16RMx5SK3O0VCV_Zv_lTPzmzVdqR5suW4/s1600/IMG_1317.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijc0PPEc9jaYNZIHGgCp_FsC2psvo7V2S_ccgpHxQwRlCk-FiM3IhXxz1u1JYkpLrbACASCKFPUD3p7DRXmBgS0QClwm7knHGN-0aLD0F1Uh16RMx5SK3O0VCV_Zv_lTPzmzVdqR5suW4/s400/IMG_1317.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The $10 special - a gigantic chocolate chip and bacon pancake.<br />
(And yes, strips of bacon are embedded in it, that's right.)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Or, try The Tractor Room's braised, free-range buffalo quesadilla, which comes with scrambled eggs, tomato, cheddar, a venison stock reduction cream sauce (ooo lah lah!) and the best home fries around. I shared this with a friend and we still didn't quite finish it:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-TTM6FC2PXK62h_B_2Dx9k2JK0p5-tsXQ0j0tez98chVuE3Ah2_xiaVB8wCDjspFP3Y-JCIcsW7nWTxzQrMDiK1om9pbg7LgzDekq4PdvlHCCHugpWW-1AcFgVLwq9vA51Ntjr3VzVIc/s1600/IMG_1320.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-TTM6FC2PXK62h_B_2Dx9k2JK0p5-tsXQ0j0tez98chVuE3Ah2_xiaVB8wCDjspFP3Y-JCIcsW7nWTxzQrMDiK1om9pbg7LgzDekq4PdvlHCCHugpWW-1AcFgVLwq9vA51Ntjr3VzVIc/s400/IMG_1320.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Massive, I tell you. And massively delicious, too. (P.S. Try the cornbread, too.)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I haven't even mentioned the Drinks of Giant Proportions. Think Bloody Marys as big as your head, with a skewer of filet mignon if you like. For reals.<br />
<br />
Hash House a go go - the same geniuses behind The Tractor Room - is just as outstanding. Hash, as the name implies, is their specialty. Similar to The Tractor Room, most meals arrive not on plates, but on huge cast iron skillets. Like this one beautiful hash, complete with eggs, home fried potatoes, fruit, a scrumptious biscuit, and, oh yes, a full stalk of rosemary:<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR-qB-Ko8ZUmsgDFl-kM9j5ptHkGkxIDUrQXNEcGgM2KJiX4nPB__9_IDJ_4u7Fce1CQ0LGWeBVAA5jboT5TZl311ULEUDAnZlBaAluySZSD6zyso1nlgLne6-F1PvSvqYtUHmEn2t554/s1600/San+Diego+Nov+2010+267.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR-qB-Ko8ZUmsgDFl-kM9j5ptHkGkxIDUrQXNEcGgM2KJiX4nPB__9_IDJ_4u7Fce1CQ0LGWeBVAA5jboT5TZl311ULEUDAnZlBaAluySZSD6zyso1nlgLne6-F1PvSvqYtUHmEn2t554/s320/San+Diego+Nov+2010+267.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sooo tasty!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>2. Hike</b><br />
Um, time to burn calories. Thankfully, there are innumerable trails and scenic state parks all over San Diego County. Two that I'd highly recommend are <a href="http://www.mtrp.org/">Mission Trails Regional Park</a> in San Diego and the <a href="http://www.torreypine.org/">Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve</a> in La Jolla, Calif. Among the better known hiking areas, they each have their own unique advantages.<br />
<br />
Mission Trails is huge (about 6,000 acres and 40 miles of trails), with all levels of hiking available - for novices up on through hard-core rock climbers. Torrey Pines has about 8 miles of trails, but comes with breathtaking views of the Pacific Ocean and interesting plants and trees - namely, the very cool-looking Torrey Pines, which is in fact the rarest pine tree in North America. Again, pictures from each of these destinations probably tell a better story:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHoaZC62n1cibxYbmVVSNWJlNmj7SQxeqGREMu7rzdqRzNY9-yNF-PHDGNHkuw96li240tuUq17rX-qkOcLK9J2GyWeqF5XwaBGslxh_se0mt5d-idGvFPrd64DSNtkK5RVN_zLS7MXzE/s1600/IMG_1386.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHoaZC62n1cibxYbmVVSNWJlNmj7SQxeqGREMu7rzdqRzNY9-yNF-PHDGNHkuw96li240tuUq17rX-qkOcLK9J2GyWeqF5XwaBGslxh_se0mt5d-idGvFPrd64DSNtkK5RVN_zLS7MXzE/s400/IMG_1386.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Up for some cardio? Try Climbers' Loop Trail at <a href="http://www.mtrp.org/park.asp">Mission Trails Regional Park</a>. <br />
A short hike, but one of the most challenging, you'll ascend quickly - more than 400 feet - and get to hike right along the face of this mountain of granite.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgPJjuFkuLqWKs2ukaHDeDkSMR1swlijwKWRFidy_0XeFj9UCxC8_Kui57F4taitn_oXSHBEwOaVxu999sezlTr541ky3TegunVrii11uiHVtlpAESSb5Ulw_qqxtmMwkZNHR5ICO0PtU/s1600/IMG_1680.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgPJjuFkuLqWKs2ukaHDeDkSMR1swlijwKWRFidy_0XeFj9UCxC8_Kui57F4taitn_oXSHBEwOaVxu999sezlTr541ky3TegunVrii11uiHVtlpAESSb5Ulw_qqxtmMwkZNHR5ICO0PtU/s400/IMG_1680.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A view from the top of Climbers' Loop Trail at <a href="http://www.mtrp.org/park.asp">Mission Trails Regional Park</a>.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG-uIHaMeq1TABczD9S2vXIR8K1PovD0-I7EmplsktW9LGUi2fqs6qVGzuXEcXubdbnvpDm5xJwxVKdmCy00cNat8mzPb9zY812JVa0Em1c0_IcEulpwF_GFBIWXOsfQ4S4sapTyfrQSE/s1600/San+Diego+Nov+2010+310.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG-uIHaMeq1TABczD9S2vXIR8K1PovD0-I7EmplsktW9LGUi2fqs6qVGzuXEcXubdbnvpDm5xJwxVKdmCy00cNat8mzPb9zY812JVa0Em1c0_IcEulpwF_GFBIWXOsfQ4S4sapTyfrQSE/s400/San+Diego+Nov+2010+310.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hang with some of the Torrey pine trees, at the aptly named <a href="http://www.torreypine.org/">Torrey Pines State Reserve</a>. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilODdlqQ13bpVcJ477oMzv6tx2D8Wl8XoFuwAy-cvJJ64zP-Hbvy6Hk8TpMFarVjL9WXVwvDdoCBpEFapaRWTF7I7qeIH9uGoNpgwjW9wz8q2ZZJ2jsu2vu8Cd1pqLSHoDUMaHKHIIYd0/s1600/San+Diego+Nov+2010+293.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilODdlqQ13bpVcJ477oMzv6tx2D8Wl8XoFuwAy-cvJJ64zP-Hbvy6Hk8TpMFarVjL9WXVwvDdoCBpEFapaRWTF7I7qeIH9uGoNpgwjW9wz8q2ZZJ2jsu2vu8Cd1pqLSHoDUMaHKHIIYd0/s400/San+Diego+Nov+2010+293.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hike along the cliffs at <a href="http://www.torreypine.org/">Torrey Pines</a>, or stroll down to the Pacific Ocean.<br />
If you're going down there, though, be prepared for the long, steep walk back up the bluffs.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<b>3. Drink beer (especially if you're an IPA fan)</b><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlb7IVe2RltCAr6suMZGIQCodLhsmdzQCy9HMQ1v5T8m7jpWEm8ezzaMKoOK7lNWnyV_WSqHWqtPtcY16Pbd3WtaCdF2_eWTgs7WvrfvDFD5rJb_f3BNtFDorm-xMzPItOH-f-QXtTm-o/s1600/IMG_1375.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlb7IVe2RltCAr6suMZGIQCodLhsmdzQCy9HMQ1v5T8m7jpWEm8ezzaMKoOK7lNWnyV_WSqHWqtPtcY16Pbd3WtaCdF2_eWTgs7WvrfvDFD5rJb_f3BNtFDorm-xMzPItOH-f-QXtTm-o/s320/IMG_1375.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No joke, there are designated parking spots<br />
for those folks who come in to get refills<br />
on their Stone Brewing growlers. Genius.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Third? Get yourself to the <a href="http://www.stonebrew.com/">Stone Brewing Co.</a>, about a half-hour north of downtown San Diego. You will not be disappointed. And if you're a lover of pale ales, you're even less likely to be disappointed, as this appears to be their specialty. The Stone Brewing Ruination IPA boasts more than 100 IBUs, or international bittering units. That's pretty much off-the-charts bitter. Ruination indeed. You better like hops if you're going to try this one.<br />
<br />
Even better is that this establishment is reportedly planning to build a hotel across the street from the brewery - what they're claiming to call the most "beer-friendly" hotel around. I'm not 100 percent sure what that means, but I like the sound of it. (P.S. Per our tour guide, they're actually looking for suggestions for said hotel. Personally, I think such a place would only be complete with a flowing beer fountain placed in the lobby, from which you can drink their beer at any time. Thoughts?)<br />
<br />
Anyway, go for the tour. It's free! (Tours run Monday-Friday at 12, 2 4, and 6 p.m.; Saturday on the hour every hour from 12 noon to 7 p.m.; and Sunday at 12, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 p.m.)<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoFScRdbrTgeshY1rImfWLMFv-Zj6chH9cGczxCsjdhOaMFmtCRNjR6mKTlO3nGsYJ3bmWg0pkQJLOZtZ_DeCY9J6Iy05VuvMARZqcCPH4T9xwQosxTb2gkV45DFptR8uiRk2HdM9SMB8/s1600/DSC03333.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoFScRdbrTgeshY1rImfWLMFv-Zj6chH9cGczxCsjdhOaMFmtCRNjR6mKTlO3nGsYJ3bmWg0pkQJLOZtZ_DeCY9J6Iy05VuvMARZqcCPH4T9xwQosxTb2gkV45DFptR8uiRk2HdM9SMB8/s320/DSC03333.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Why thank you, sir, I <i>will </i>take another.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Stone Brewing Co. brews a whole lotta different beers - all with rather steep alcohol contents, mind you. Prior to the tour, we sat at the bar in their bistro and sampled quite a few. (Yes, we may or may not have been <i>those </i>people on the tour.)<br />
<br />
The tour itself lasts about 40 minutes, and in our case was narrated by a friendly and chatty dude named Phil. Afterward, you are invited to partake in four pretty hefty-sized samples (see above). You also have the opportunity to shop around for shirts, hats, and other Stone Brewing paraphernalia - or, of course, bring in your empty growler for a refill.<br />
<br />
P.S., if you're lucky enough to be in San Diego in November, as we were, you may also want to check out the festivities that are a part of <a href="http://sdbw.org/about-sdbw/">San Diego Beer Week</a>. We were there, too...Stories for another time. For now, do what I tell you, and get yourself to this fabulous city.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi9br6XGuZn4_ctMD_x90lDbgGaMIrej8osIys38ljZ1llpUxQcorztPPCpWSgG1jeGZ4dKMdq2jFu8jPRSk36aQEKqzHsBwctZATLJY6VYfjORkkBeimLiQjSsqsLebTA990-BXpTQJc/s1600/DSC03330a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi9br6XGuZn4_ctMD_x90lDbgGaMIrej8osIys38ljZ1llpUxQcorztPPCpWSgG1jeGZ4dKMdq2jFu8jPRSk36aQEKqzHsBwctZATLJY6VYfjORkkBeimLiQjSsqsLebTA990-BXpTQJc/s400/DSC03330a.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Happy, shining people, no?<br />
My Best Coast West Coast BFF, Licia, and yours truly, <br />
enjoying white ale at Stone Brewing Co.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Stef Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02885211807706422849noreply@blogger.com2San Diego, CA, USA32.7153292 -117.1572550999999932.4256327 -117.35807359999998 33.0050257 -116.95643659999999tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879516064265884764.post-16357319045265231462011-10-27T21:28:00.005-04:002012-06-14T11:13:09.712-04:00Halloween for the Die-Hards - Middletown, Conn.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2IDLQZCAwIg8-HnGLMoWbmClpUX22FcjfmdgLYNQPCi0Ia_KoLWa9W1hRIlb0unHpTVN3zm_bcUL7nxfglnuSbQ2mlvxjr_15HAt3PNCAA3KzveGPSbfzBjQqcXY9uRnwD5Y1v6wcYII/s1600/Halloween+2010+031.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2IDLQZCAwIg8-HnGLMoWbmClpUX22FcjfmdgLYNQPCi0Ia_KoLWa9W1hRIlb0unHpTVN3zm_bcUL7nxfglnuSbQ2mlvxjr_15HAt3PNCAA3KzveGPSbfzBjQqcXY9uRnwD5Y1v6wcYII/s320/Halloween+2010+031.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Halloween, where it's OK to pose<br />
for photos with perfect strangers. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I am a Halloween fanatic, plain and simple. There's not been a single Halloween that's come and gone without my donning a costume and making it a priority to find my way to a festive party. Candy is always an added plus, of course, and then there's the fact that my birthday follows two days later. It's really just a week filled with sugary happiness.<br />
<br />
Halloween stands out as my favorite holiday, hands down. I love the fact that dressing up as someone you're not gives you some kind of magical power to be whomever you want to be. I find that people in costume instinctively become more outgoing, jollier versions of themselves.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwQCuJGJRT5Z2Ffzc7iQB9zr2X_UfovZPrX8gLPL-Pz0Z_URulnesCKH9ADg38vYSlgHMhJKIHjS11aIJvfwc5m0o5XRlUmoWvgHsdGv3udJ2xyrJ8A3ZVQ2qwppPvQnR1LZPSWHjGmK8/s1600/Halloween+026.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwQCuJGJRT5Z2Ffzc7iQB9zr2X_UfovZPrX8gLPL-Pz0Z_URulnesCKH9ADg38vYSlgHMhJKIHjS11aIJvfwc5m0o5XRlUmoWvgHsdGv3udJ2xyrJ8A3ZVQ2qwppPvQnR1LZPSWHjGmK8/s200/Halloween+026.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Joker, at last year's Wadsworth party. <br />
Awesome, obviously.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><b style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Today's Stefcations Highlights:</span></u></b></span><br />
<ul style="list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: disc; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 2.5em; padding-right: 2.5em; padding-top: 0px;">
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-indent: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b>What You'll Find:</b> The best Halloween party around! (21+)</span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-indent: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b>Where You'll Find it:</b> Wadsworth Mansion, Middletown, Conn.</span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-indent: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b>When to Go: </b>Saturday, Oct. 29, 7 p.m.-12 a.m.</span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-indent: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small; line-height: 12px;"><b>Cost: </b>$38 a person. <a href="http://wadsworthmansion.com/html/halloween.html">Buy your ticket online</a>. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 12px;">Doooooo it. </span></li>
</ul>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJsahe6or1FYkqdDNE3EcJb1oyS-LJgSME68BHJC4BY-svROb73TMIpo0e-k5a6Fu5CMNNACUQGOGAA1tbzIug8ZzfhvH0Ew2Zz-dNOgK76RJLKrDJflfNuEicdSyx4TPfTTV5Mu3rymo/s1600/Halloween+079.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJsahe6or1FYkqdDNE3EcJb1oyS-LJgSME68BHJC4BY-svROb73TMIpo0e-k5a6Fu5CMNNACUQGOGAA1tbzIug8ZzfhvH0Ew2Zz-dNOgK76RJLKrDJflfNuEicdSyx4TPfTTV5Mu3rymo/s200/Halloween+079.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More awesome people <br />
at last year's Wadsworth party.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
At any given Halloween party, I find that you can enthusiastically compliment perfect strangers on their outfits, without getting any weird looks. You can walk up to zombies and movie stars alike, and ask to pose for a photo, sans any awkwardness. Halloween, for me, never fails to be a really, really good time.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYg5snCT4KoqwFUw5zvDeGHdbESgRxLu_NafbCRBU4xA8suo20w4hNC87ugvXsSgnkKdh2tT7KPWL4S3t3nRW0cT5BHgwgJP1Y-5oqLuwIQ2hdqQVT5wRrV-LVpMdeaf9hdC4T6blHHok/s1600/Halloween+075.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYg5snCT4KoqwFUw5zvDeGHdbESgRxLu_NafbCRBU4xA8suo20w4hNC87ugvXsSgnkKdh2tT7KPWL4S3t3nRW0cT5BHgwgJP1Y-5oqLuwIQ2hdqQVT5wRrV-LVpMdeaf9hdC4T6blHHok/s200/Halloween+075.jpg" width="126" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wolverine giving <br />
the smackdown. Love it.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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So this year, I'll be appearing as Peanuts' Lucy, with Charlie Brown in tow, at the <a href="http://www.wadsworthmansion.com/">Wadsworth Haunted Mansion's Costume Bash in Middletown, Conn.</a> If you're up for a completely fantastic party with some super cool, friendly, fun-loving people, I very, very highly recommend this particular soiree. I was there last year with several friends, as you can see from the photos, and we had a total blast.<br />
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Tickets are $38 a person and will get you some light dinner fare (think carving station, crudite, veggies and dip), a nightlong dance party with other costumed Halloween enthusiasts, and entry into the costume contest. Bring some extra cash for the bar, raffle tickets, and the palm reader. All the funds raised go toward supporting the Wadsworth Mansion.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9qdnY5IRD5pE3_ifMeOFGcB9xnAGx6fyPbX8ddcpLizKOR0c8zzQUtXQyyrKaPp1wyHjMxBGg8uLv8gzEsKAEyDSJyuC2CHt559NxyWrEgk-hRjAwuv3X5_s9YRrdHC0iT2f5hTiJLUo/s1600/Halloween+2010+042.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9qdnY5IRD5pE3_ifMeOFGcB9xnAGx6fyPbX8ddcpLizKOR0c8zzQUtXQyyrKaPp1wyHjMxBGg8uLv8gzEsKAEyDSJyuC2CHt559NxyWrEgk-hRjAwuv3X5_s9YRrdHC0iT2f5hTiJLUo/s320/Halloween+2010+042.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My scarecrow husband befriending Maverick and a sailor gal.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Want more info? Visit <a href="http://www.wadsworthmansion.com/">http://www.wadsworthmansion.com/</a>. Happy Halloween!<br />
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</div>Stef Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02885211807706422849noreply@blogger.com2421 Wadsworth St, Middletown, CT 06457, USA41.5414043 -72.6750213000000269.2469248000000022 -132.44064630000003 73.8358838 -12.909396300000026tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879516064265884764.post-30194012219448529202011-10-24T17:22:00.000-04:002012-06-14T11:13:00.600-04:00The Most Comforting of Comfort Food - Hartford, Conn.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl7BqUUHvQA1E5BVof9x_tusEXrq3F3kVQwa-chFaKgltimH3PFRSWpX9JugZ3MFUOUHVsrWzVYbo9TfNfuw2SUjJQ549Tgd4AF5J_SQaPqe0w8kaV5A2H1Ajk-iNVChWkrVdxVReG5bY/s1600/wedding+pics.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl7BqUUHvQA1E5BVof9x_tusEXrq3F3kVQwa-chFaKgltimH3PFRSWpX9JugZ3MFUOUHVsrWzVYbo9TfNfuw2SUjJQ549Tgd4AF5J_SQaPqe0w8kaV5A2H1Ajk-iNVChWkrVdxVReG5bY/s320/wedding+pics.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My "Babcia," having a grand old time <br />
at my wedding five years ago.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
This past week, our family lost its matriarch - my grandmother, who emigrated in the late '60s from Poland to the United States, along with my grandfather, mother, and several of my aunts and uncles.<br />
<br />
Known to me and my cousins (14 of us in total, not counting my grandmother's nine great-grandchildren) as "Babcia," my grandmother was a fixture at every holiday gathering, contentedly sipping her ever-present mug of Lipton tea and quietly observing our banter - a lively mix of Polish and English - from her seat at the head of the table.<br />
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At our family breakfasts each Easter, my cousins and I would try unsuccessfully to stifle our giggles as Babcia murmured what seemed like never-ending, unintelligible prayers in her native language. Every Christmas Eve at our traditional Polish feast, Babcia would watch our annual grab-bag antics with amusement, laughing heartily whenever she chose the gag gift, even if she never quite understood what was so funny.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5NucODmiZuCN5nlK-ngk6v2PQiG9E6TF5xLQnbAam0WVVcFEONGSkNwjK8xhqqb6wFH8FzSrPsqiBtUO-ck8SkaH6gl8M64zFGaVBr6XoZO9aupHewGynDczgPbXh_asOM-jygYJSV3I/s1600/wedding.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5NucODmiZuCN5nlK-ngk6v2PQiG9E6TF5xLQnbAam0WVVcFEONGSkNwjK8xhqqb6wFH8FzSrPsqiBtUO-ck8SkaH6gl8M64zFGaVBr6XoZO9aupHewGynDczgPbXh_asOM-jygYJSV3I/s200/wedding.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Babcia and her six children.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
But no matter what the event - anniversary parties, holidays, birthdays - our aunts and uncles would at some point inevitably insist that all the cousins surround Babcia to mark the occasion with a family photo. We'd roll our eyes and dutifully squeeze ourselves and our significant others in around Babcia to smile for the eight different cameras haphazardly snapping photos all at once.<br />
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For the first 14 years of my life, I was lucky enough to have Babcia living with us in our house as part of my immediate family. As a child, I remember following her and our dog around the backyard garden among the tomato plants and sitting with her on the porch while she snapped the ends off of freshly picked string beans, that cup of Lipton tea eternally at arm's reach.<br />
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As I grew older, she would welcome me home from school every day, never failing to offer me some kind of a snack, including what I still recall as the single most amazingly flaky, melt-in-your-mouth sugar cookies I have ever tasted. I truly don't remember a day she wasn't in the kitchen, experimenting with something. As time went on, her cooking and baking started to get a little wacky, her recipes increasingly more peculiar, but clearly it was an activity that remained absolutely essential to her being.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCi8PPgN1MbNkGqzpc1vF1ENGLwU6QTr3bwzw_cN3o2TuzziIVdKfH0SuHyyBCwmLgcKpIK-yIVoSJ_E_l5VfR4DLtQxqiBa3mwpEYq6hZoGOA6KhWpw7tP5IjKQddkGp7MgY2pcMdci0/s1600/poland.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCi8PPgN1MbNkGqzpc1vF1ENGLwU6QTr3bwzw_cN3o2TuzziIVdKfH0SuHyyBCwmLgcKpIK-yIVoSJ_E_l5VfR4DLtQxqiBa3mwpEYq6hZoGOA6KhWpw7tP5IjKQddkGp7MgY2pcMdci0/s200/poland.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My mother and one of my uncles<br />
at their childhood home<br />
during a 2004 visit to Poland.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Babcia later moved in with an aunt who lives in the next town over, where she ended up spending the past 20 years, up until her passing this past week. In all those years I knew her, I can't recall a single time where she lost her temper or raised her voice to me, my brother or cousins, or anyone else. Without the presence of her peaceful smile, our Christmases, Easters, and family celebrations are probably going to feel a whole lot emptier from here on out.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWHUE8cCEjzlPvHILzFOsYuuNvImVED3golr0VSsFNks9wTYRR0DfyxOx4L4Yie2iCuupnEdwhNN71jZahxe5qZRMSxIl7HIThWzhajaQKtU0pehCHM78RyxSmYnRRf-JbpYeM6aTw8mk/s1600/Moms50th.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWHUE8cCEjzlPvHILzFOsYuuNvImVED3golr0VSsFNks9wTYRR0DfyxOx4L4Yie2iCuupnEdwhNN71jZahxe5qZRMSxIl7HIThWzhajaQKtU0pehCHM78RyxSmYnRRf-JbpYeM6aTw8mk/s200/Moms50th.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me and Babcia at a birthday party <br />
several years ago.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I'm sure for many people, grandmothers and cooking often seem to go together. Same goes for me. It's no wonder that now, in my 30s, I love to cook up my own dishes in the kitchen. After all, I spent my formative years watching Babcia as she tried to show me (in Polish, of course, with much of it lost on me) how to make any number of things, including those impossibly delicious cookies that I'll likely never be able to recreate.<br />
<br />
I guess it makes sense that after I learned that she had passed, I found myself unable to do anything other than go home and spend several hours immersed in a cooking and baking frenzy. I was on autopilot - baking cake and bread, simmering sauces and stews. It felt right. And it's probably was what she would have done to feel better, too.<br />
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In the end, of course, our family came together this week - to mourn, but also to remember Babcia and our roots as a family. We gathered to go through withered albums of black-and-white photos from Poland. We asked questions about her and what it was like growing up with her. Each of us cousins was able to go home with a trinket of hers - a hankerchief, rosary, or one of the dozens of crocheted blankets she'd completed over the past few years. And even in the face of such a loss, we collected ourselves after the funeral and met up for a traditional Polish meal around the corner from the church.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwDVc4VteLfGEkMq_1RTnLdk1I5tdf7T-PWeJXdQaxJqwdnwGa5sivGT1K4Pa1a0lvuAgByNBItHiRn1gnwfY7Y7jK7C-4c4u-Bptm8J5bKJscDHCJmJ7FSBuYVTKHhbBpLl4Auu4Tais/s1600/Sarah-Melissa-Mike-John%2527s+B-day++00029.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="119" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwDVc4VteLfGEkMq_1RTnLdk1I5tdf7T-PWeJXdQaxJqwdnwGa5sivGT1K4Pa1a0lvuAgByNBItHiRn1gnwfY7Y7jK7C-4c4u-Bptm8J5bKJscDHCJmJ7FSBuYVTKHhbBpLl4Auu4Tais/s200/Sarah-Melissa-Mike-John%2527s+B-day++00029.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of many family photos.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The Polish National Home on Charter Oak Avenue in Hartford, Conn., may not be <a href="http://historicbuildingsct.com/?p=178">the most inviting of buildings</a>. It's certainly no-frills, but it's historic (having once stood in the midst of Hartford's Polish community), it's nostalgic, and our family has a special connection to it: One of my aunts worked there as a waitress when she first arrived in the States, while one of my uncles, a butcher by trade, was a cook in the back kitchen. Even after the most sorrowful of occasions, the Polish National Home remains a space where our family gathers for what is as close as we can possibly get to a home-cooked meal.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO0GMdQT-9Fg6qn1LiQTG9kl-LWfFzvdQ8d_sXPx-ckAw7E2VVE84S4QR8ciygCbEkVFbrXGygPVCCo_GaG-P4pecPYJ22uNPRX6FilpBhWVKcTCzpe2ILeFHWEch5yNxKXGntadm5u24/s1600/IMG_1096.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO0GMdQT-9Fg6qn1LiQTG9kl-LWfFzvdQ8d_sXPx-ckAw7E2VVE84S4QR8ciygCbEkVFbrXGygPVCCo_GaG-P4pecPYJ22uNPRX6FilpBhWVKcTCzpe2ILeFHWEch5yNxKXGntadm5u24/s320/IMG_1096.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The unassuming entrance to the Polish National Home<br />
on Charter Oak Avenue in Hartford, Conn.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Not to mention that the food is, for me and many others, the absolute definition of comfort food. Poles - as well as plenty of non-Poles - have been coming here for years to enjoy a beer, share a smoke, or consume some of the best Polish food around, from pierogis, potato pancakes, and borscht (beet soup), to golumbkies (aka, stuffed cabbage), bigos (kielbasa and sauerkraut stew), and soft, fresh rye bread. It's the food I grew up eating, and I can never get enough of it.<br />
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The helpings are huge, and as one of my uncles says: It looks like a lot of food, but it goes down easy.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghpUmlyVKTzyPZw07Bu8cMcT8Px3pZnK2JI5HCcPb_jyysIGGvGhQOtluSS187LJ_qlWUTm2A1yAVQUkAcb6Y1R0dbEsl2M_z4svQ1rhP-YZy-DCGzTsgxpbodiTxoovs8xS9plzyJtpE/s1600/100_1841.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghpUmlyVKTzyPZw07Bu8cMcT8Px3pZnK2JI5HCcPb_jyysIGGvGhQOtluSS187LJ_qlWUTm2A1yAVQUkAcb6Y1R0dbEsl2M_z4svQ1rhP-YZy-DCGzTsgxpbodiTxoovs8xS9plzyJtpE/s200/100_1841.jpg" width="200" /></a>So if you'd like to go, I recommend ... everything. And in mass quantities. There's no website to speak of, but you can check out the hours <a href="http://findlocal.courant.com/listings/the-polish-national-home-hartford">here </a>or give them a call at 860.247.1784.<br />
<br />
Maybe it sounds crazy, but even in losing this central member of our family, there seemed to be a silver lining - getting together to commemorate the life of a loved one around delicious, comforting food. I think Babcia would be happy to hear that.Stef Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02885211807706422849noreply@blogger.com560 Charter Oak Ave, Hartford, CT 06106, USA41.7591897 -72.67219549999998741.759182700000004 -72.672197499999982 41.7591967 -72.672193499999992tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5879516064265884764.post-83590960048403718602011-10-10T21:42:00.002-04:002012-06-14T11:12:53.008-04:00Where Girls Become Roller Girls - Vernon, Conn.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzdNtDA22MIGQtOh6V6jbS-IGnKnw35dZUznv6-zj1GUseTmFTbSsoC6zZBcc-xfWr_hFmxGYBt7HeKpnpExY6bLlsaaUkSmoYARvJAnFmsSeCnuG03_xqzlXcYwsnk_TzWFCAcQs57y0/s1600/whiteskates.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzdNtDA22MIGQtOh6V6jbS-IGnKnw35dZUznv6-zj1GUseTmFTbSsoC6zZBcc-xfWr_hFmxGYBt7HeKpnpExY6bLlsaaUkSmoYARvJAnFmsSeCnuG03_xqzlXcYwsnk_TzWFCAcQs57y0/s320/whiteskates.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Break out your skates, ladies.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Back in the day, roller skating was one of my favorite activities - not only as a kid, when I attended birthday parties for my elementary school friends, but even as an adult, when I descended upon <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roxy_NYC">The Roxy</a> with all kinds of characters for late-night Roller-Skating Wednesdays when I lived in New York City for a time. Sniff.<br />
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Unbeknownst to me, roller skating rinks actually still exist in Connecticut. And better yet, roller derby.<br />
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So when I heard through <a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/aishamo">a fabulous Twitter follower</a> that nearby <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?q=vernon+ct&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x89e6f6373c232447:0x873710b587d2823f,Vernon,+CT&gl=us&ei=LUWTTpeBJIrW0QHXkc0t&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=image&resnum=3&ved=0CDoQ8gEwAg">Vernon, Conn</a>.'s <a href="http://www.ronaroll.com/">Ron-A-Roll</a> hosts twice-a-week practices for the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/HartfordAreaRollerDerby?sk=info">Hartford Area's Roller Derby</a> (otherwise known as H.A.R.D.), I <i>could</i> <i>not wait </i>to pull on my colorful knee-high socks and roll on up to the rink.<br />
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<b><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Today's Stefcations Highlights:</span></u></b><br />
<ul>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b>What You'll Find:</b> Roller skating! Need I say more?</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b>Where You'll Find it:</b> <a href="http://www.ronaroll.com/">Ron-A-Roll in Vernon, Conn.</a></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b>When to Go: </b>If you're interested in the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/HartfordAreaRollerDerby?sk=info">roller derby league</a>, stop by Sunday nights or Monday nights (practice typically runs from 5-7 p.m. and 6:30-8:30 p.m., respectively). If you just wanna skate, Ron-A-Roll's schedule is available <a href="http://www.ronaroll.com/home.html">here</a>. (I will <i>so</i> see you there.)</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b>Other Info:</b> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Ladies only, of course, and you must be at least 21 years old. Bring a skateboard-style helmet and mouthguard (You can borrow pads and skates for your first time if you don't have your own). <b><i>No experience needed</i></b>, though it seems you do need some semblance of athleticism to be a contributing member of the team. </span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b>For the guys: </b>H.A.R.D. is looking for referees (male or female, actually), if you're interested!</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
I'd hoped to rope in a few of my gal pals for the tryouts. No dice. My 30-something friends appear to have better sense than I. And OK, perhaps I am too old for this kind of thing. Sigh. So, I instead opted to go check things out from the safety of the rinkside with an obliging friend who, like me, was considering getting in on the action.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This isn't your average roller skating, people. <br />
These Roller Girls mean business.</td></tr>
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Ron-A-Roll is much like the roller skating rink I remember from my heyday - dark, old-school, with the vintage vending machines, snack bar, and racks of worn, nude-colored roller skates for rental. Then count in the smooth hardwood rink, the colorful lights, the pumping music (everything from Bon Jovi's "Livin' on a Prayer" to Wreckx-N-Effect's "Rumpshaker"), and - last but not least - the ever-so-fabulous dangling disco ball. It was all I could do not to steal someone's skates and join the pack.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Can't you <i>feel </i>the nostalgia??</td></tr>
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Everyone here for roller derby, though, is clearly in it to win it. Veterans show up with their own set of gear - from skates complete with wheels specially made for the indoor rink to their skateboard-style helmet, knee and elbow pads, and the requisite mouthguard. (Should you be interested in checking things out for yourself, no worries - you can borrow skates and pads for your first time.)<br />
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Also popular? Those totally cool knee-high socks. What better reason for breaking out the 10 super fabulous pairs that I own?!<br />
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Best thing of all, though, were the ladies themselves. Several of them came over and introduced themselves, wanted to know whether we were new and interested in joining. When I told them them I was holding off for fear of being too old, one of them - a super fit blonde - told me she was 46. No way she looked it. I later witnessed that same Roller Girl sailing effortlessly around the rink - backwards. Um, <i>totally </i>badass.<br />
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And P.S., turns out there aren't really tryouts, per se. Essentially, there are different levels of teams - kind of like JV and varsity - based on experience, talent, and good attendance. For the newbies, you just have to show up and be willing to learn. (And perhaps willing to sustain a few bruises, too.)<br />
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Practice is led by a longtime Roller Girl known as Diesel (who reportedly used to be part of a league in Boston until she moved to Connecticut and started H.A.R.D.). The session I observed started out with some warm-up laps, followed by stretching exercises, situps and pushups, a 1-minute plank, and then a series of drills. Veterans pair up with any new gals for multiple laps around the rink, to practice pushing and pulling each other, weaving around one another, and hip-checking one another.<br />
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<b>The "Game" </b><br />
For starters, do not refer to the competitions as "games" - totally not the proper lingo, as I quickly learned. Bouting season, as it's called, runs from April to October, although in addition to the bouts, it sounds like the players get together for other gatherings as well. (<a href="http://www.hartford.com/event-detail.php?id=341">Hartford's Hooker Day Parade, this Saturday</a>, is one of them.)<br />
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As for the rules, I'm still not entirely clear on those. Essentially, each team competing in a bout has a player designated as the "jammer." For the team to score, the jammer must complete a lap around members of the opposing team (avoiding, of course, any attempts to knock her down). If you'd like at least a primer, <a href="http://catherine-galioto.suite101.com/roller-derby-easily-explained-a55589">here's one</a> that may be helpful.<br />
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Watching these ladies fly around the rink really got me pumped up to get back into roller skating - although for now, let's just say that I may have chickened out of the derby experience. Still, that's no reason why I can't a) revisit my roller-skating days, and b) go check out an upcoming roller derby bout. And of course, there's c) always time to watch <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQGPdXnb2Gg">Whip It</a> yet again.<br />
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Either way, it looks like a serious (but fun) workout and a great chance to meet some awesome new people. For more info, find H.A.R.D. on Facebook: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/HartfordAreaRollerDerby">http://www.facebook.com/HartfordAreaRollerDerby</a>Stef Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02885211807706422849noreply@blogger.com585 S Frontage Rd, Vernon, CT 06066, USA41.8348309 -72.45962930000001741.8348274 -72.459637300000011 41.8348344 -72.459621300000023