The Distracted Wanderer

The Red Caboose Motel at Paradise Station

2024-07-14T12:02:00.002-04:00

"There's beauty in being unique and different." The Little Red Caboose by Marian Potter, published 1953.

If you're planning a visit to the Amish Country in Pennsylvania and want to stay somewhere out of the ordinary, check into the Red Caboose Motel at Paradise Station in Ronks where you can sleep in an authentic 25-ton railroad caboose!

The concept for the Red Caboose Motel began way back in the summer of 1969 when hotelier Donald Delinger placed a bid on 19 cabooses that had been decommissioned and were being sold off as surplus by the Pennsylvania Railroad. Six months later he found out that he had won the auction and on Mother's Day in 1970, his nostalgic concept came to life.

In February of 2016, the iconic Red Caboose Motel & Restaurant was bought by the father and son team of Todd and Tyler Prickett who, along with their wives Debra and Katherine, continued to take great pride in offering guests a unique and exceptional experience in the heart of Amish Country.

When the unique motel first opened, all 19 of the cabooses were painted red but since then, the inventory has grown to 38 cabooses - some of which have been painted a variety of colors to reflect the color schemes of the most famous railroad lines in American history. In addition to the cabooses, the motel also offers sleeping accommodations in a baggage car, a mail car, four efficiency units in their Victorian farmhouse and the newly-constructed Conductor's Quarters which opened in 2023.

When my cousin Amy and I wandered down to Amish Country for an overnight visit, we spent the night in Caboose #6 which is a double-double caboose that had the bathroom in the middle separating two sleeping areas. There was also a small sitting area, a microwave, air-conditioning/heating units, a mini-fridge, a coffee maker and flat-screen TV.

Cabooses sleep anywhere between 1 to 6 people in a variety of configurations and handicap options are available for those requiring them. With two double beds, our caboose could fit four people but to be honest, it would be a tight fit if you were trying to do more than simply sleep there.

A couple other cabooses across from ours that had the more unique paint themes.

The Strasburg Railroad which offers historic steam train rides through the Lancaster area, runs past the Red Caboose Motel and we had a nice view of it from ours. As a train lover, I thought this was mega-cool!

In addition to the unique sleeping accommodations, the Red Caboose Motel also offers year-round dining at Casey Jones' Restaurant. Located in two original P-70 80-ton dining cars that were used by the Pennsylvania Railroad in the early 1900s, the 175-seat restaurant is open 7 days and offers breakfast, lunch and dinner. There's outdoor seating available also along with take-out and even "caboose-service" should you wish to dine in yours!

We only had breakfast at the restaurant but the coffee was good & hot and the food was plentiful and delicious! The waitstaff was quite nice and the views from the windows of the Amish countryside were pretty nice, too!

The Depot Gift Shop has a huge selection of train-related gifts, memorabilia, clothing and more so be sure to leave yourself some time to take a good long look around and find a nice souvenir to take home with you.

It should be mentioned that because you're sleeping in a converted caboose, the accommodations are going to be tighter than what you'd have in a motel room and you're also not going to have the same amenities. If you're looking for spacious along with all of the bells and whistles, this may not be your best choice of a place to stay but, if you're looking to stay somewhere that's beyond the ordinary or are a train lover like myself, then the Red Caboose Motel is definitely going to put you on the right track!

The Red Caboose Motel at Paradise Station is located at 312 Paradise Lane, Ronks, Pennsyvlvania, 17572.

Exploring the Unique Architecture and Design Elements of High-End Hotels Across America - A Guest Post by Jennifer King

2023-12-10T09:12:00.003-05:00

From luxury tented pavilions and modernized American motor lodges to Georgian splendor, America is home to no shortage of beautiful high-end hotels. In addition to gorgeous architecture that reflects the natural beauty of the surrounding landscape, America’s luxury hotels also offer the benefit of a myriad of amenities for you to take advantage of. This holiday season, luxury travel is on the cards for at least 47% of Americans, who are spending around $510 more on average than they did last year. Luxury travel needn’t involve great distances, either – 60% of Americans plan to take a trip within their home state.

Camp Sarika, Canyon Point, Utah

Camp Sarika is a luxury desert retreat comprising ten large canvas-topped pavilions right in the heart of Utah’s awe-inspiring, slotted-canyon desert. Designed to provide guests with optimal privacy, along with uninterrupted panoramic desert views, the pavilions are made from stretched canvas covers made from recycled plastic bottles. As well as providing vital respite from the fierce desert sun, the pavilions are also durable enough to withstand twelve tons of snow. Far from your standard glamping experience, each pavilion at Camp Sarika also comes complete with its own private plunge pool, firepit, indoor and outdoor living room, and dining and bar areas. There’s also indoor and outdoor showers, as well as a freestanding tub perfectly placed to allow guests to gaze out at the natural rock escarpments estimated to be as much as 164 million years old. And, if the mood strikes, you can also ask for a telescope for midnight stargazing.

Tourists, Massachusetts

Tourists in North Adams, Massachusetts is a hotel and riverside retreat that puts a luxury twist on the traditional American motor lodge circa the early twentieth century. Located on the banks of the Hoosic River, the hotel’s design takes an interesting U shape, with the main body featuring a central courtyard brimming with native plants. Oak white planks are also used to unite the architecture with the surrounding natural landscape. Inside, the 48 rooms feature high ceilings, built-in seating, and king-size beds, while the bathrooms are home to concrete floors, roomy showers, and unique cylindrical sinks. The hotel also prides itself on eco-conscious design. For example, the stylish powder-coated metal sliding doors are made from recycled steel. Using recycled metal is increasingly important as a way of reducing environmental impact (for instance, 1.83 tons of carbon dioxide are generated globally for every ton of steel).

Huge square windows are another defining feature of each room in the hotel, therefore providing guests with gorgeous panoramic views of the surrounding Hoosic River and Appalachian trails. An advanced air-circulation system also regularly refreshes the rooms with fresh, country air. The decks even feature outdoor showers to further reinforce the connection between guests and nature.

The George Inn, New Jersey

The George Inn in Montclair, New Jersey preserves the genius of Georgian architecture, while, at the same time, rooting the design firmly in the 21st century. The gorgeous building dates back to 1902 when it was constructed as a private home for Charles Van Vleck (an architect who worked for the Rockefeller’s). In 1940, it became the Georgian Inn, before finally being declared a historical landmark in 2008. In 2012, makeup artist Bobbi Brown, along with her husband Steven Plofker, purchased and started work to restore the building. Six years later, it finally opened as the George Inn: a British-inspired luxury hotel. The hotel’s exterior is striking, featuring classic red brick and large white pillars. Inside, the hotel is adorned with industrial accents from distressed, dark gray painted wood panels and original exposed brick to chic, matte black finishes. Interestingly, each of the thirty-one rooms has its own distinct theme. In the “Jack” room, for example, you’ll find photographs of celebrity Jacks (like Jack Black and Jack Nicholson) on the walls, while the “Mike” room showcases the likes of Michael Jackson, Michael B. Jordan, and even Mickey Mouse.

America has no shortage of beautiful high-end hotels with unique architecture. Whether you stay at Camp Sarika, Tourists, or the George Inn, any one of these establishments are destinations in and of themselves.

Sycamore Gap and the "Robin Hood Tree" on Hadrian's Wall

2023-04-09T16:50:00.007-04:00

Update: It is with great sadness that I have to add to this post that the beautiful Sycamore tree that stood in the gap was felled sometime during the overnight on Thursday, September 28th, 2023. Needless to say there has been an outpouring of both sadness and rage all over the world at the senseless and cruel loss of this iconic tree and I am right there with them. I am so glad that I had the opportunity to visit it when I did.

Nestled within a gap along the Great Whin Sill, Sycamore Gap is a natural amphitheater located on Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland, England between Milecastle 39 and Crag Lough, about 2 miles west of Housesteads Roman Fort.

This section of the 73-mile wall follows the edge of a cliff and has several sharp dips in it caused by melting glacial waters - the tree occupies one of those dips. The wall and adjacent land, including the site of the tree, is owned by the National Trust and is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the area not just for its fascinating history but also for its dramatic views of the surrounding countryside.

Sycamore Gap - which is visible from the roadway though at a pretty good distance - gets its name from a towering sycamore maple estimated to be over 300 years old. Actually I'm rather impressed with the following photo that I took from a moving car!

Located in the middle of the dramatic dip in the landscape with Hadrian's Wall rising up on either side, the tree’s roots have grown around the stones of the wall which predates the tree by about 1400 years.

The name “Sycamore Gap” was coined by a National Trust Employee when asked if the previously unnamed spot had a designation during a remapping project of the area.

Described as one of the most photographed trees in England and probably the most photographed point in all of Northumberland National Park, the Sycamore Gap Tree is also known as the “Robin Hood Tree” as it was featured in scenes from the 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves starring Kevin Costner.

The tree was also featured in the music video of Bryan Adams’ power ballad “(Everything I Do) I Do It For You" - the lead single from the film. Side fact: the song went on to become one of the biggest hits in British chart history spending 16 consecutive weeks at number one on the UK singles chart.

In 2016, the tree was voted England’s Tree of the Year in a competition put on by the Woodland Trust. Receiving 21% of the nearly 12,000 votes cast by the public, the prize was a £1000 grant which was used to survey the health of the tree and to carry out work to protect its roots which were becoming exposed due to the high volume of foot traffic passing over them.

Located on Hadrian's Wall Path, a long-distance walking path that follows the course of Hadrian's Wall, Sycamore Gap is a popular spot for hikers and cyclists as well as for picnics and photography. Lots of photography!

The area is well-signposted, and there are several trails that lead to Sycamore Gap from nearby car parks. From Steel Rigg car park the hike is about 1.5 kilometers (9/10ths of a mile) and from Once Brewed car park it’s closer to 2 kilometers (1.25 miles.) The walk is fairly easy - depending on your definition of easy! - but there are some steep sections and when they say ‘steep’ they really mean it!

See what I mean about "steep"? That's steep! Well, unless you're from the UK then that's nothing but a regular old stroll! They wouldn't call this a 'hike', this would just be a 'walk' and probably not much of one either! Makes me wish I took more after all of my British ancestors!

There were 80 milecastles - guarded gates - along the length of Hadrian's Wall. The milecastles guarded a gate between the wall and had a turret on either side so that the soldiers guarding the gates could see anyone approaching. This is Milecastle 39, also known as Castle Nick, which was believed to have been occupied until the late 4th century and was excavated in 1908-11 then re-excavated between 1982-1987.

A beautiful view to the east from the top of Hadrian's Wall looking down towards Sycamore Gap. The photos from up here were taken by my son Michael as he and my UK friend Claire took the steep way to Sycamore Gap while I cut through some farmer's property as I didn't think my knee was going to be able to handle the upper route. If it was private property then I sincerely apologize, I didn't see any signs saying not to go that way.

With views like this, I really wish that I had tried the upper path but instead, that's me standing down below talking to two other Americans (New Yorkers, actually!) who were hiking along Hadrian's Wall. Both Mike and Claire assured me that it was tough going so I'm glad I took the smarter route though I'm still bummed about missing the views!

No sheep but I did get to meet a couple of the local residents while taking my flatter route! Does it look like she was judging me?

Not sure if that was a look of disdain or understanding! Hey, it wasn't all easy going, I did have to climb over a gate that was surrounded by a very large puddle! Honest!

In summation, if you're planning a visit to Northumberland, Sycamore Gap is definitely more than worth a stop and the hike to get to. The views are simply stunning, and the tree itself is a sight to behold. It's a truly unique place, and it's sure to leave a lasting impression on all who visit!

Now for a couple of hopefully helpful tips if you decide you want to visit the "Robin Hood Tree":

The best time to visit is during the spring or fall when the weather is mild and the crowds are smaller. This is not a hike you want to make if it's strangely warm in England!
Be sure to wear comfortable shoes with a good grip as there is some walking involved to get to Sycamore Gap and some of it - as I mentioned - can be pretty steep. If you have walking sticks, all the better!
If you have the time, bring a picnic lunch to enjoy in the stunning surroundings. You'll probably work up an appetite making the trek out to the tree and why rush the trip back when you can sit and enjoy this beautiful tree and the surrounding countryside a bit longer?
If you are planning to hike or cycle to Sycamore Gap, be sure to check the weather forecast and pack appropriate clothing. During our walk to the tree it was both sunny and rainy at the same time!
As Sycamore Gap is a popular tourist destination, be prepared for crowds even though it looks like you're out in the middle of nowhere.

No crowds here, just me and the tree!

Housesteads Roman Fort in North East England

2023-04-08T16:56:00.001-04:00

Lying midway on Hadrian's Wall atop a steep escarpment of the Great Whin Sill, Housesteads Roman Fort once played a vital role in defending the Roman province of Britannia from attack along the northern border of their empire. One of the best excavated and preserved Roman forts in Britain, the fort is well worth a visit if you’re interested in the history of the Roman army and their way of life. If, by chance, you really couldn't give two hoots about the Roman army and their history, Housesteads is still well worth a visit as it's located in one of the most dramatic spots in Northumberland!

Hadrian's Wall, also known as the Roman Wall, Picts' Wall, or Vallum Hadriani in Latin, is a former 73-mile (80 Roman miles) long defensive fortification that ran east to west across northern England from the Solway Firth to the River Tyne. Built by the Romans beginning in about AD 122 under the orders of then-Emperor Hadrian, the wall took at least six years to complete. The original plan was for a wall of stone or turf with a guarded gate every mile that included two observation towers in between. Before work was completed in approximately AD 128, 15 forts were added including Housesteads which was constructed about AD 124 and became part of a total garrison of 10,000 men along the wall's length.

Housesteads Roman Fort was a large stone fort covering 2.2 hectares (approximately 5.5 acres) surrounded by a stone wall with eight gates. The fort's Roman name has been variously given as Borcovicus, Borcovicium, Velurtion and Vercovicium meaning "the hilly place." The fort gets its current name from a former farm - circa late 1500s - whose lands included the ruins of the fort.

From the late 2nd century AD to the end of the 4th century AD, it's believed that the fort was garrisoned by auxiliaries - infantry and cavalry raised from the conquered peoples of the Roman empire. Housesteads' regiment of 800 infantry soldiers - known as a military cohort - was called the Tungrians as they were originally recruited from German-speaking tribes in the district of Tongres in modern Belgium.

Housesteads in the 4th century AD, Housesteads Roman Fort (Vercovicium).

Picture Credit: Carole Raddato. Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license

A fascinating place to visit, Housesteads Roman Fort is located in a beautiful spot, high on a ridge overlooking the River Tyne offering visitors the chance to see for miles across the Northumberland countryside.. Obviously the Romans took the view into consideration when they decided that this was the perfect place to build a line of defense along Hadrian’s Wall as they would be able to see enemies coming from miles away. What visitors need to take into consideration is that the walk to get to the fort is approximately ½-mile up a gradual steep incline. Personally I used the excuse of stopping to take a photo of the beautiful countryside every so often as a chance to rest and catch my breath!

Looks flat, doesn't it? Don't let it fool you!

Once you've managed to make your way up the hill and it's leveled out a little bit, you can take a few moments to congratulate yourself on the climb, take in the view and check out the interpretive sign at the top. I don't know about you but I love interpretive signage as I like to know just what it is I'm looking at!

Outside of the fort walls, there’s a visitors center with a gift shop where you purchase your tickets to walk around inside the fort walls. There's also a museum which displays artifacts from the fort but I didn't take too many photos in the museum. We had gotten to the fort rather late in the day and wanted to make sure we had time to walk around inside the fort before closing time.

I did however, take a photo of one the displays that talked about the relationship between Hadrian's Wall and the Ice Wall in George R.R. Martin's series "A Song of Fire and Ice" where the Night's Watch stands guard. If you've ever watched "Game of Thrones" then, trust me, you'll love Hadrian's Wall!

Even though you won't see Jon Snow, Samwell Tarly or Maester Aemon guarding the fort and wall, you might see some of the local residents guarding the gates ... or mowing the lawn if you will!

Not sure if these little guys were part of the Welcoming Committee but they were nice enough to stop cavorting and pose for me near the entrance to the fort. Aren't they just the cutest?

Are you winking at me? I think he's winking at me!

After entering through a former gatehouse, visitors will find inside the fort's walls the remains of the barracks, a hospital, a bathhouse, a granary, the headquarters building and other buildings. One of the most popular spots with apparently both young and old alike is the former latrine which is located beside the gatehouse entrance. Honestly, the Romans were pretty advanced when it came to hygiene and they had some really impressive latrines and bathhouses. Chances are good, this is the oldest latrine that you may ever lay eyes on - in Britain at least!

Roman forts were equipped with bathhouses and latrines (lavatrina) for the troops and Housesteads was no exception. The most impressive set of latrines, and the one used by most of the garrison, lay in the southeast corner of the ramparts, right up against the ramparts. The latrine had a constant flow of water from adjacent tanks that flushed away waste matter. The water, rainwater and and draining surface water, also fed a small channel running at the foot of the toilets which was used to wash the sponges that were used instead of toilet paper.

Based on the surviving joist holds, it was believed that the latrine's toilet seats were wooden and proof of that was confirmed when an intact wooden toilet seat was found at nearby Vindolanda, a Roman auxiliary fort south of Housesteads. This reconstruction drawing of the Roman latrine at Housesteads which can be seen on the interpretive sign, shows that there were no individual cubicles so men sat side by side, probably catching up on their day or making lewd jokes … hard to say!

According to archaeological research, as many as 40% of excavated Roman military camps have preserved traces of latrines but the stone latrine at Housesteads is considered to be the best-preserved in all of Roman Britain. Considering Housesteads itself is the best preserved Roman fort in all of Roman Britain, I guess that makes sense!

So, moving on from the latrine, here are some (hopefully!) helpful tips for visiting Housesteads Roman Fort should you have the chance to visit. First and foremost, give yourself plenty of time to explore as there's a lot to look at. I'm pretty sure that we missed a lot as we got there fairly late in the day but as it was tipping down rain the next day, it was good that we went when we did!

There are guided tours of the fort available, which are a great way to learn more about its history. If possible, it’s a good idea to book a tour in advance or read up some about the fort so you have an idea of what you're looking at. There are, of course, also a whole legion of YouTube videos that you can watch prior to your visit also!

There is a car park at the fort, but it can get busy in the summer months. It is advisable to arrive early or book your parking in advance. We had no problems with room in the car park but then again, we were there off-season and later in the day.

The fort is located on Hadrian's Wall, which you can see here stretching out towards the east, so you can combine your visit with a walk along the wall. There are a number of walks that start from the fort, ranging from easy walks to more challenging hikes.

Excavations have revealed major buildings, defenses and the civilian settlement outside its walls. Even if you only have limited time, a quick walk around inside and outside the fort will give you the chance to see a good number of the excavated areas.

The fort is a great place to take photos, so be sure to bring your camera and wear comfortable shoes as you’ll probably find yourself doing a lot of walking around both inside and outside of the fort.

Speaking of taking photos, these photos show the fort's granaries which were vital to the feeding of the garrison. The impressive system of underfloor heating/ventilation can still be seen.

The fort is located in Northumberland National Park, the northernmost national park in England boasting the cleanest rivers, the darkest skies and and rare wildlife, so there are plenty of other things to see and do in the area. In addition to Housesteads there are numerous other Roman sites worth visiting and the scenery is gorgeous pretty much everywhere you look!

Housesteads Roman Fort is a UNESCO World Heritage Site owned by the National Trust, the biggest conservation charity in Europe, and managed by English Heritage, a charitable organization which cares for over 400 historic monuments, buildings and place. Honestly, if you like history then this is a must-visit part of England should you have the time to work it into your itinerary. It's a steep climb but it's definitely worth it!

I'm going to end this with a YouTube video from the good folks at English Heritage who also maintain and operate many of the other sites along Hadrian's Wall. Sometimes I don't think a person can grasp the enormity of what they're looking at unless you see it from above and this video will give you a great view from above!

The Anchor Hotel, Haydon Bridge, United Kingdom

2023-03-27T18:00:00.004-04:00

On a wander over to the United Kingdom to visit some of the ruins and former forts along Hadrian's Wall - a 79-mile long defensive fortification of the Roman province of Britannia built between AD 122 - AD 128 during the reign of the emperor Hadrian - research showed that most of the sites that we were going to want to see were located nearby the village of Haydon Bridge in Hexham. Deciding that would be the ideal spot to spend several nights, I looked for accommodations in the area and chose the Anchor Hotel which is an easy drive from the parts of the Roman Wall that we wanted to visit.

Situated on the bridge of Haydon Bridge which crosses the River South Tyne and originally dates back to the 1300's, the Anchor Hotel is a Grade 11-listed hotel, pub and restaurant that is steeped in its own history and has been a hotel in various guises for many years. Though its history dates back much further, in 1442 the Anchor served as a court house complete with hanging facilities outside in what is now the car park and garden.

According to the plaque below: "The first reference to an inn on the site was in 1422 when a certain John Parker was hanged for a felony in the courtyard. In a letter from the Earl of Northumberland to Cardinal Wolsey in 1528, there is a reference to the hanging of Jamys Noble - "He hadde commited dyverse and sundry, horrible and cruell crymes and was hanged up in cheynes upon a pair of gallows."

Makes you wonder what sort of "horrible and cruell crymes" Jamys may have committed, doesn't it? The rest of the plaque goes on to tell how the Anchor got its name and a few other things including the fact that the hotel was the original meeting place for the Haydon Hunt which is understood to be the oldest hunt in Northumberland. If you're interested and squint a wee bit, you might be able to read the rest of the plaque!

Confession time: As you can see, I took a lovely photo of the exterior of the hotel but I did an outright crap job of taking photos of the interior of the Anchor except for a few that I took of our room which was located on the 2nd floor - or is that the 1st floor in UK terms? Well, either way we were up a flight and a half of stairs!

Now there's a room key you aren't going to have trouble finding in your purse and/or backpack!
. . . Or are you, Claire?

Our twin room was nothing fancy but was comfortable and gets extra points for having a socket located between the beds! There was an electric kettle with tea (of course!) but I must have been way off of my game as I didn't take a photo of that or the bathroom either! Not that the bathroom was anything special though it did have an electric shower which was something new to me and took me a few minutes to figure out.

After checking in and dropping off our luggage, we had some time to kill before our reservation for Sunday Roast at the hotel so we took a drive up to Housesteads Roman Fort which was just a little over six miles away. While there we got to see some very interesting ruins dating back to AD 132 as well as some very cute lambs who posed nicely for me!

As Housesteads is located a half mile walk up a rather high escarpment on Hadrian's Wall, we had worked up a pretty good appetite and were looking forward to what I had heard was a very popular Sunday Roast at the Anchor. We had a choice of Roasted Chicken, Sirloin of Beef or Roasted Pork (all for less than £10 each!) so my son, Mike, got the beef while Claire and I opted for the pork. I figured I could get chicken at home so why not go with something I don't normally get?

Our meal came with two kinds of potatoes - mashed and roasted. They must have known I love potatoes!

In addition to the potatoes there was a bowl full of vegetables and another side of cauliflower with cheese. Yum!

My plate of Roasted Pork which wasn't just huge in portion size but also in taste! It rather dwarfs the Yorkshire Pudding next to it but I sure wasn't complaining!

Mike's plate of Sirloin of Beef looked awfully darned good, too. As a big fan of the stuff, I was a bit bummed that I couldn't order half beef and half pork roast! In retrospect I probably should have asked Mike if he wanted to swap half and half but I just wasn't that on the ball!

Did I mention that there was also dessert? Lord knows that none of us had room for it but we didn't want to disappoint our fantastic chef and insult him by not ordering anything so we decided that we'd split a Sticky Toffee Pudding between the three of us. Good thing, too, as it was huge also and came with two types of cream to top it with! Oh my!

Needless to say, no one went to bed hungry our first night at the Anchor Hotel especially after lingering in the dining room over a few pints after we had finished stuffing our faces!

Big meals weren't just a specialty of the Anchor Hotel during the evenings but also in the mornings as we found out the next day when Paul prepared our made-to-order Full English breakfasts for us. Clearly he subscribed to my father's theory that "breakfast is the most important meal of the day" as there was no way that we were venturing out hungry with the bounty that he fed us!

Paul took great pride in the Northumberland Sausages that he served and well he should have as they were massive! He told us that he ordered the sausages in a roll and then cut them down to size himself so that he would be serving a proper sausage and not some sorry excuse for one. I'm pretty sure I have never had a breakfast sausage that big before or since our breakfasts at the Anchor Hotel. They were indeed sausages to remember!

Even though we had some lovely Full English breakfasts during our week exploring the northwest of England, I have to give the award for "Best Breakfast" to the Anchor Hotel! We had more than we could possibly eat (as my grandmother liked to say) as well as an endless supply of coffee or tea. Included with the cost of your room, you can't beat that deal with a stick!

On our second night in Haydon Bridge we took a walk across the River South Tyne to check out the other side of town as well as take some photos of the bridge. The original medieval bridge at Haydon Bridge was built around 1309 but had to be rebuilt following the Great Flood of 1771 which destroyed or badly damaged all of the bridges in the Tyne Valley with the exception of the bridge in Corbridge.

A new bridge was built and opened in 1776 but one of the arches collapsed in 1806 then eventually three of the bridge's six arches needed to be repaired. Following structural surveys it ceased to be used by cars and in 1970 was converted to pedestrian use only. Still very picturesque, the 18th-century bridge is one of the most iconic sights in Haydon Bridge.

Being a history nut, I love places that have interpretive signs so I know what I'm looking at!

Above, a view of the Anchor Hotel from the middle of the bridge and below, a local resident poses for a photo!

Following our walk we sat down for a nice hot cup of coffee and enjoyed the view of the bridge from inside the hotel.

In summation, the Anchor Hotel was a great place to stay for the first two nights of our wanderings to northern England and I would highly recommend it to anyone heading in that direction to explore Hadrian's Wall, the Sycamore Gap tree, Vindolanda or any of the other great places in that part of the country. The price was a great value as the food was excellent, the accommodations were comfortable and the staff was friendly, helpful and efficient. What more could a wanderer ask for?

The Ugly Mug Diner in Salem, Massachusetts

2021-09-19T16:26:00.000-04:00

Salem, Massachusetts may be known as "Witch City" due to its horrific historic past as the site of the worst case of mass hysteria ever in Colonial America which led to the deaths of over 20 people, but there's a lot more to this Massachusetts North Shore destination than the Salem Witch Trials including a lot of great places to eat. As many times as I've eaten in Salem - and it's been a lot! - I have never once had a bad meal in a wide variety of restaurants. Not. Even. Once.

During one of my many wanderings to Salem, my Distracted Sidekick and I decided to check out the Ugly Mug Diner as even though I am an admitted classic diner snob, I'm never adverse to trying out a diner that isn't housed in a historic dining car made by the Worcester Lunch Car Company or Fodero or Jerry O'Mahony or Kullman or … well, you get the picture! Out of all the possibilities laid before us in Salem, the Ugly Mug Diner had two things going for it that made me decide it was the perfect spot for a late breakfast - 1) it was a very short walk from The Merchant where we were staying and 2) they had something on the menu that's a particular favorite of mine and darned hard to find in too many other diners.

Located at 122 Washington Street, the self-proclaimed "sassy and irreverent diner" has been a Salem foodie favorite ever since it first opened back in April of 2014. Inside you'll not just find quite the collection of ugly mugs from which to sip your drink but also a whole lotta "Peace, Love & Waffles" served up from 8 am to 2 pm, 7 days a week.

If you're a fan of waffles, you might want to sink your teeth into an order of This Ain't No Chicken & Waffles featuring duck confit and candied pecans atop a waffle served with a bourbon maple syrup reduction or maybe the Elvis Waffles with chunks of peanut butter cups and topped with bacon, banana and whipped cream. If you totally enjoy peace & love but waffles just aren't your thing, there's an impressive array of other breakfast and brunch offerings ranging from egg breakfasts to pancakes with all sorts of good stuff in between.

Along with their really good food, the Ugly Mug Diner has a very impressive drink selection to wash it all down with. Choose from their special espresso drinks, chai, tea, regular coffee, hot cocoa, house-made classic sodas, New York egg creams, beer cocktails, mimosas and more!

Not the best photo in the world but I chose a Salted Caramel Mocha made with mocha & caramel syrup topped with a drizzle of caramel & a dust of salt. Good stuff! As for the mug it came in, not incredibly ugly but definitely not posh either!

Speaking of coffee (which we were!), take a look at those lights above the counter. Pretty cool, huh? Best adaptive reuse of old coffeepots ever!

So … what was on the menu that made me want to stop in? Scotch Eggs! I first tried this dish when I was visiting my friend Claire over in the UK and had yet to master making them myself when I saw that the Ugly Mug Diner had them. For those not familiar with the dish, it's a boiled egg wrapped around into the shape of a ball by sausage (the Ugly Mug makes their own sausage just FYI) then breaded and fried. At the Ugly Mug they top theirs with their house-recipe Dijonnaise sauce and they are oh so good! Just like being back in the UK minus the lousy dollars to pounds conversion rate!

As I had promised to share my Scotch Egg with my Distracted Sidekick, I also ordered an omelet which came with home fries and toast though I chose a fresh-baked biscuit instead because toast is just toast but a fresh-baked biscuit is awesome! As you can see by the edges dangling over the side of the plate, the omelet was huge! I certainly wasn't going to be leaving hungry!

The breakfast order for my Distracted Sidekick came from the Benedict Batch section of the menu which appeals to not just lovers of Eggs Benedict but to fans of actor Benedict Cumberbatch also!

This is the Lox Benedict but it's missing the pink pickled onions on top as the DS is totally not a fan of onions no matter how cute they may look! They do, however, like sweet potatoes so they chose that particular Home Fries option. Somewhere under that mass of lox, poached eggs, house-recipe Hollandaise sauce and capers is an English Muffin serving as the stage for this particular production but you'd never know it until you dug in!

In addition to all of the great options that they have on their menu, the Ugly Mug Diner offers daily specials which you can find written on the wall to the side of the counter. Unless things have changed since I've been there, I'm pretty sure that you can also buy yourself an Ugly Mug Diner t-shirt should you wish to proclaim your solidarity with their "Peace, Love & Waffles" philosophy of life!

All in all, the Ugly Mug Diner is a great little diner in a city that has more than its fair share of places to eat so the next time you find yourself in Salem, Massachusetts - whether it be for their annual Haunted Happenings celebration or a visit to the absolutely phenomenal Peabody Essex Museum - be sure to wander in and order something delicious like their Scotch Eggs as trust me, they are most definitely delicious and hard to find elsewhere!

Greetings from Rockland Maine!

2021-08-11T14:17:00.001-04:00

When the Center for Maine Contemporary Art (CMCA) made its move from the small town of Rockport to a bright and shiny new facility in nearby downtown Rockland, the once gritty fishing town found itself to be the new hub of MidCoast Maine’s growing art scene, unseating Portland for the title of the “Arts Capital of Maine.” Making it even more of a we-should-go-there destination, downtown Rockland is also home to the venerable Farnsworth Art Museum, considered to be one of the finest small museums in the country; the restored historic Strand Theatre; over two dozen commercial art galleries; numerous specialty shops; and a flourishing culinary scene.

Rockland Ferry Terminal

Rockland is situated alongside Penobscot Bay putting it in the only region of the East Coast where the coastal mountains meet the sea. Known for its scenic beauty and dotted with a wealth of islands and small harbors, Penobscot Bay is roughly 40 miles long by 30 miles wide. Three of the major islands - Vinalhaven, North Haven and Matinicus - can be reached via the Maine State Ferry Service which departs regularly from the Rockland Ferry Terminal.

With its deep, protected harbor, Rockland was once a major shipbuilding port as well as a center for granite quarrying, lime kilns, commercial fishing and lobstering. The town became a popular seaside tourist destination in the early 1900s for those arriving via train or boat but tourism began tapering off following the devastating effects of the Great Depression and he advent of the automobile as a more popular means of travel. A resurgence in tourism began in the early 1990s following the transformation of Rockland’s downtown area but one of the most popular reasons visitors flock to the area comes in the form of a red-shelled crustacean that tastes best with drawn butter!

Rockland was proclaimed "The Lobster Capital of the World" not just due to the fact that more lobsters were shipped by rail from Rockland than from any other city in the country in the 1920s but because the lobster roll was invented at Sim's Lunch on Park Street in 1927. It only makes sense then that the annual Maine Lobster Festival which began in nearby Camden in 1947, was moved to Rockland in 1948. Celebrating 70+ years, the festival draws thousands of visitors from all over the world to the Rockland Public Landing to enjoy fresh-caught local lobster dinners, nationally-renowned entertainers, cooking contests, carnival rides and Maine craftsmen during the first weekend in August.

Of course if you don't wait to wait until August to enjoy some lobster, there are numerous places in town where you can sit down and feast on the sweet, tender meat served in a variety of ways but more on that later!

So, you may ask, what's there to do in Rockland to help build up an appetite to eat lobster? Lots!

Officially opening in August of 1948 in the former general store of William A. Farnsworth, the Farnsworth Art Museum has over 20,000 square feet of gallery space to showcase the 15,000 works in its collection. When Farnsworth’s daughter Lucy died, she left her entire estate to Rockland to establish a library and museum in memory of her father. Focusing on the art of Maine, the museum's collection includes art of local artists and summer artists from the islands: Fitz Hugh Lane, Robert Henri, John Sloan, Edward Hopper, Rockwell Kent, Robert Indiana, and, of course, the Wyeths: N.C., Andrew, and Jamie. In addition to the Wyeth Center, which boasts one of the nation’s largest collections of art by the three generations of the Wyeth family, the museum is the steward of the Olson House, a late 19th-century saltwater farm and National Historic Landmark in nearby Cushing. The house was the inspiration for over 300 works by Andrew Wyeth, including his 1948 painting Christina’s World.

LOVE, Blue Outside Red Inside by Robert Indiana, 1996

Sea Running by Andrew Wyeth, 1978

Waveform, Johanna Moore and Tim Finefrock, 2018

The Olson House in Cushing, about 14 miles from the museum

The Wyeth Center located behind the Farnsworth Museum

Originally established as an artists’ cooperative in Rockport known as Maine Coast Artists, the Center for Maine Contemporary Art was founded in 1952 with a year-round program of changing exhibitions featuring the work of artists with ties to Maine. Moving to downtown Rockland in 2016, CMCA has become a vibrant part of the community offering exhibitions, educational programs and professional development workshops. CMCA is a participant in Rockland’s “First Friday Art Walks” offering free admission throughout the day. The art walks are a collaborative effort between multiple organizations including the Farnsworth, the Center for Maine Contemporary Art, the Strand Theater, multiple independent art galleries and the downtown group Rockland Main Street, Inc.

Hubris Atë Nemesis, Wade Kavamaugh + Stephen B. Nguyen, 2018. Former exhibition.

Hoax, Heroic: Egocentric Magics Creepin’ On Your Socials in Blue (Frozen Networks)
or How a Place Thinks about Another Place, Justin Levesque, 2019. Former exhibition.

Coal Landscape, Five Panel Mural Installation, Shoshannah White, 2019. Former exhibition.

Not an art museum but certainly a museum worth visiting if you’re a lighthouse enthusiast like so many of us in New England are happy to be called, the Maine Lighthouse Museum was founded by Ken Black - aka “Mr. Lighthouse” - a decorated Coast Guard Officer and, later, one of the leading lighthouse preservationists in the country. The museum exhibits the largest collection of Coast Guard and lighthouse artifacts in the country including a spectacular, one-of-a-kind assemblage of radiating lighthouse lenses.

Oversized map of the lighthouses of Maine includes a photo of each lighthouse.

2nd Order Fixed Flashing Fresnel Lens, installed in the Petit Manan Lighthouse in 1855
and removed when automated in 1972.

An assortment of fixed and flashing lenses

Riddle me this: What do you get when you combine an eclectic lifetime collection of marine artifacts, boats, engines, and sails then add interesting and historical pieces from other collections? The Sail, Power and Steam Museum!

A "must-see" for sailors or anyone who has an interest in the seafaring history of New England, visitors can take a self-guided tour of the museum, narrated by founder Captain Jim Sharp, through the museum's extensive collection of early engines, tools, ship models, a working kiln and so much more! If by chance Captain Sharp is on the property, he'll be more than happy to answer any questions!

There are lots of lighthouse in the MidCoast Maine area but one of the coolest is the Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse which sits almost a mile out in Rockland Harbor. From 1881 to 1899 the federal government built the breakwater in order to keep Rockland Harbor - the fourth busiest port along the East Coast at the turn of the 20th century - safe from nor'easters. Upon completion of the breakwater, construction began on a lighthouse in order to keep ships from running into the breakwater.

The lighthouse with its 25-foot tower was completed in 1902 and originally lit with a Fourth Order Fresnel Lens. Automated in 1965 and still an active aid to navigation maintained by the US Coast Guard, the original lens has been replaced by a modern optic. The Friends of Rockland Harbor Lights, a chapter of the American Lighthouse Foundation (ALF), care for the preservation of the lighthouse through a lease agreement between the City of Rockland and ALF.

If you're up for it, I highly recommend a walk out to the lighthouse if the weather is good. Just remember to wear a good pair of shoes and use caution while being sure to keep an eye on your feet as there are gaps between the blocks and some are uneven. Out on the breakwater is NOT the place you want to twist an ankle or worse!

Back on the mainland, a sweet place to visit is Bixby & Co. - Maine's first bean to bar factory. Located on Rockland's working waterfront in a 125-year old former ice plant, this craft chocolate confectionery company produces non-gmo, organic, gluten-free and vegan chocolate candy products using chocolate that's made directly from traded cacao beans. As of this writing, Bixby & Co. is currently operating as curbside only due to Covid restrictions, so visitors don't get the chance to see the chocolate making process or try out some free samples, but orders can be placed on-line and they'll email you when your chocolate is ready for contactless pickup outside.

A historic performing arts venue on Main Street in downtown Rockland, The Strand was built in 1923 in the wake of a fire on June 16, 1922 that destroyed four entire business blocks of the downtown. A rare example of Egyptian Revival architecture, it is the only one of three theaters built in Rockland in that period to survive.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, The Strand Theatre is a multi-use venue offering the best of current first-run and independent films, live musical concerts and comedy, simulcasts, educational programs, conferences, and other special events on their stage and screen. It also has an awesome concession stand!

In the mood for a little shopping? Downtown Rockland has an array of stores to browse through so that you can bring something special home from your vacation.

Archipelago is the retail component of the Island Institute, Rockland's 38-year-old nonprofit organization that works to sustain Maine’s island and coastal communities. The store showcases Maine artists and craftspeople whose work reflects the beauty and endurance of Maine's islands and coast. Since opening in 2000, Archipelago has advanced the careers of more than 1,500 Maine residents through their store exhibits and gallery - both online and in person.

The photos below show a a few of the wonderful array of gifts that you can buy for yourself, your family and your friends from downtown Rockland's many eclectic shops and art galleries. There's a lot more where this came from as you'll see when you visit for yourself!

Okay, then who's hungry? Running the gamut from hot dogs to sushi, downtown Rockland has more options for dining than you might believe for a town with a population of less than 8,000. Along with plenty of traditional boiled and fried seafood, you can also find artisanal farm-to-table cooking, gastropub fare, handmade pasta and lots more. Included here are just a few of Rockland’s edible offerings - trust me, there are lots more!

Located on the northern end of Main Street, Wasses is a local landmark that's a must-do in Rockland if you're a fan of the simple hot dog. The prices are very reasonable but keep in mind, they're a cash-only operation so you'll need to have some folding money on you!

Further north of downtown along Main Street aka Route One which originates in Key West, Florida and follows the coastline all the way into Canada, is a quintessential-looking roadside seafood shack called Claws. Decked out in kitchy nautical décor and offering a panoramic view of the working Rockland waterfront from their casual outdoor seating area, Claws serves only the freshest seafood available sourced from the area's local fishermen.

Fried scallops and shrimp baskets ready for take-out from Claws.

Back in the downtown area, you'll find the Rockland Cafe which has been owned and operated by Wayne and Carlene Steeves since 1992. Boasting the "Best You'll Ever Eat" Seafood Chowder, the café menu is filled with some of Maine’s classic entrees and offers guests the quintessential Maine diner experience.

For really awesome sushi and Japanese rice and noodle dishes, be sure to visit Suzuki's Sushi Bar. The restaurant is tiny but the flavors are huge! Due to Covid, as of this writing they are currently only offering take-out.

If you're craving Italian then be sure to visit Ada's Kitchen where they also have some pretty cool artwork like the whale sculpture above! The menu is all about homey classic Italian dishes and though you can chose from a variety of delicious thin-crust pizzas, you're really going to want to try the fresh pasta! At the bar in the lounge beneath a mirrored disco ball, they have on-tap prosecco, Campari spritzes, negronis and a lineup of Maine craft beers. For the late-night crowd, Ada's hosts frequent live music and monthly dance parties that are deejayed by Siddharta Rumma - Ada's very talented chef!

Squid Ink Pasta with Shrimp and Speck. Delicious!

The Brass Compass Café is owned and operated by Lynn Archer who beat chef Bobby Flay in September of 2009 with her "King of Clubs" triple-decker lobster sandwich. Made simply with fresh Maine lobster, crisp slab bacon, lettuce and tomato on thick slabs of toasted white bread, this ginormous sandwich is definitely more than enough for two to share! I had my half with a side of delicious potato salad and could definitely taste why this sandwich threw Bobby Flay down! The café is only open from 7 am to 2 pm Wednesday through Sunday so come early and come hungry as there are lots of great choices on the menu for both breakfast and lunch.

For a meal with a view of Rockland Harbor, Archer's on the Pier is owned and operated by the same Lynn Archer of The Brass Compass Café. Here you can dine on some of the freshest seafood in town taken straight from the very waters that you're looking at! An added bonus is if you missed the "King of Clubs" at the café, you can also get it here!

Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail and Bacon-Wrapped Diver Sea Scallops

The star of a Boiled Lobster Dinner fresh from the "Lobster Capital of the World!"

Lobster Roll on a toasted bun with hand-cut fries and coleslaw

Finally, to finish things off, how about enjoying a beer flight or pint or two at the Rock Harbor Brewing Co.? They have 16 craft beers on tap with generally 5-7 on them brewed in-house. If beer isn't your thing, they also have a selection of wines and make a mean margarita! The perfect way to end your perfect trip to Rockland! Cheers!

Rockland Harbor Hotel in the Heart of MidCoast Maine

2021-08-07T18:30:00.003-04:00

Recently I had the opportunity to wander up to the beautiful MidCoast region of Maine, my favorite area in The Pine Tree State aka Vacationland - take your pick on the nickname! Located about 26 miles north of Portland, the region stretches along the coast from Brunswick northeast to Searsport on Penobscot Bay and includes the classic New England villages of Belfast, Camden, Rockland, Wiscasset, Bath, Boothbay Harbor and Damariscotta. The region is loaded with world-renowned coastlines and beaches, art galleries and museums, lots of lighthouses and many a vibrant working waterfront where a delicious lobster dinner couldn't be much fresher if you had gone out and hauled it in yourself. Yes please!

For this visit to a state that I had really come to love but had avoided for way too many years because I had read way too many Stephen King novels, my Distracted Sidekick and I were going to be hanging our hats at the Rockland Harbor Hotel for several nights. Presiding over the northern end of Main Street in Rockland, a coastal town smack in the middle of MidCoast Maine, it's the ideal spot to stay as it's conveniently located to just about everything. Not only can you take some awesome day trips while making the Rockland Harbor Hotel your base, but you can also easily walk to all of the great shops, restaurants and museums that downtown Rockland has to offer. As parking in downtown can be tricky during tourist season, having a hotel where you can safely park your car and easily walk to where you want to go is a huge plus! If you aren't quite sure where you want to go while you're in Rockland, be sure to check out my companion post here!

The day we arrived for my long-awaited vacation to Maine was an overcast and rainy one but that didn't dampen our enthusiasm for what was sure to be a great couple of days. Arriving at the hotel around 4:00 pm, we dodged the raindrops and arrived in the hotel's lobby just a bit damp. After a quick and easy check-in process at the hotel's front desk, where we were warmly greeted by the staff, we were soon in the elevator to check out our room on the fifth floor.

Upon opening the door, I was blown away with how HUGE the room was! And yes, that's huge with all capital letters as this room was almost as big as the small house I live in if you were to stretch it out! The room was so big that one of the nights when we were there, I was trying to get my step-counter up to an even number so I walked back and forth from the hall door to the balcony door a few times and easily reached my goal! Yep, we are talking very large here!

Our room was a Harbor View Queen-Queen with a couch that could have accommodated another person had we had anyone else along with us. Heck, we could have had 3 more people along with us and there still would have been plenty of room for everyone! Families take note!

There was a friendly welcome note from the housekeeping staff along with a friendly reminder that there was no smoking of any kind regardless of the fact that Maine is a "Green State" having legalized the recreational use of marijuana in 2016.

Not only was the room itself ~~big~~ HUGE but the bathroom was equally so! Bonus points for an exhaust fan, too! I have just never understood why all hotel bathrooms don't have them!

The shower had very good water pressure and there were lots of fluffy white towels, a hairdryer and some very lovely bath amenities from the Gilchrist & Soames Olive Branch Botanicals collection. The White Tea & Ginger cleansing bar was quite nice indeed!

Back out in the room, there was a microwave, refrigerator and Keurig coffee maker for our use that came with a small assortment of coffees and teas. During our stay we made a trip to the local Shaw's and picked up some extra coffee (as we were in Maine, it had to be blueberry!) along with a pint of half and half and an assortment of drinks to go in the fridge. A nearby closet had an iron and ironing board (not that I was planning on using either!) and an extra pillow and blanket that would have come in handy had we found anyone to sleep on the couch!

Admittedly my favorite part of the room - and one that I used a lot during our stay - was the balcony which gave us a bird's eye view of the comings and goings at the Rockland Ferry Terminal across the street and the boats in the harbor.

While I'm out here, now's a good time to show you some of the views from the balcony! Like I said, I spent a lot of time out there whenever we weren't out wandering around somewhere outside of the hotel as I just couldn't seem to help myself. Seems like as soon as we walked back into the room, I made a beeline for the balcony!

The view to the southeast from the balcony.

The Rockland Ferry Terminal where both vehicles and passengers on foot or bicyle can be transported to and from the islands of Matinicus, North Haven and Vinalhaven.

Boats moored in Rockland Harbor just beyond the ferry terminal.

The view straight down from the balcony to the patio and fire pit area just off of the hotel lobby.

View to the northeast from our balcony.

A little hard to see but way out in Rockland Harbor at the end of a 7/8-mile long breakwater, is the Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse and though I could see it from our balcony, it was a pretty distant view as - let's face it - it was pretty darned far away! Luckily I had brought my best telephoto lens and a tripod on the trip so I was able to get a couple of not-award-winning but decent shots of the lighthouse which was established in 1902, about two years after completion of the breakwater.

Back in 2013, during my first trip to MidCoast Maine, my friend Paula and I walked all the way out on the breakwater to visit the lighthouse during the MidCoast Maine Lighthouse Challenge which is hosted by the American Lighthouse Foundation and which was a lot of fun! If you're interested in lighthouses like I am, ALF is planning on restarting the challenge again in June of 2022. It definitely is a challenge but we had such a good time doing it, I really wouldn't mind giving it another go sometime!

Meanwhile, back at the hotel ... !

Standing outside and looking up at the balcony that I was spending a lot of time sitting out on, I realized that our room was the only one that had a balcony on this particular part of the hotel! I couldn't decide if that made us really special or really lucky so I went with both! If you're going to stay at the Rockland Harbor Hotel, I highly recommend a room with a balcony as it's the perfect place to sit back and relax with a morning cup of coffee!

Or maybe you'd like to sit outside and watch the light change as the sun sets behind the hotel for the night like I did with the time-lapse video below. Either way - and I know you're going to find this hard to believe! - I highly recommend a room with a balcony!

During our stay there were still a few Covid restrictions in place which meant that daily housekeeping was not a thing. If we had wanted to have our room freshened up though, we could put in a request by 11:00 pm the night before and housekeeping would take care of it while we were out the next day. If there was anything that we needed - like extra or fresh towels - we could either call or walk down and talk to the friendly folks at the 24-hour front desk and they would be happy to take care of our request.

On our second morning there, I decided to brush off my former chambermaid skills that I had acquired back in high school when I worked at the Sheraton in Portsmouth, New Hampshire and made the beds myself. Not perfect but not bad!

An amenity that has been restored following a cessation during the worst of the pandemic, is the hotel's complimentary morning breakfast which is served from 6:30 to 9:30 am in a spacious room with lots of seating right off of the lobby.

For those that believe that "breakfast is the most important meal of the day," there's a lot of variety from which to choose including fresh fruit, yogurt, hard-boiled eggs, cereal, toast, blueberry muffins, donuts, bagels and English muffins along with a hot option that changed a little bit everyday. During the three breakfasts we had while guests of the hotel, we had sausage, bacon, veggie patties, scrambled eggs, cheese omelets and egg patties from which to choose. Everything was kept nice and hot or cold as needed, and the attentive and friendly staff not only kept the food well-stocked but also made sure there was plenty of coffee (for there or to-go) and a variety of juices. Honestly, if anyone left the hotel hungry in the morning, it was their own darned fault!

Lest I forget, one of the coolest things in the Breakfast Room that wasn't edible were these really awesome light fixtures with a nautical twist that were hanging over some of the tables!

For guests that find themselves hungry for a little something-something when it isn't breakfast time but don't want to leave the property, Rockland Harbor Hotel has a nice little on-site market located behind the front desk where they can pick up a small microwaveable meal, an assortment of beverages, chips, snacks and other provisions. They even have ice cream should there be a craving for some like my Distracted Sidekick had one evening!

Accredited as a 3-Diamond property by the folks at AAA and located between Freeport (home of that LL Bean place!) and Bar Harbor (home of the beautiful Acadia National Park), the Rockland Harbor Hotel is a great choice for any sort of wanderings you may have planned for the MidCoast region of Maine. It's very clean, definitely comfortable, conveniently located to lots of wonderful things and come on - just look at those balconies where you can get awesome views like the one that ends this post!

There's a Very Good Reason It's Named The View Hotel!

2021-07-01T16:27:00.003-04:00

Earlier this year, when I took a much-needed two-week vacation to America's beautiful Southwest, one of the sights I really wanted to see during my wanderings was Monument Valley on the Arizona-Utah border. A frequent filming location for television commercials and movies (particularly back in the time when the western genre was in its heyday), the area's towering sandstone buttes are as iconic a symbol of the American West as one can get.

Not a valley in the conventional sense of the word, Monument Valley is a wide, flat, and sometimes desolate landscape interspersed with crumbling sandstone formations that rise hundreds of feet into the air, the last remnants of the sandstone layers that once covered the entire region.

One of the grandest landmarks in the United States, Monument Valley (Tse’Bii’Ndzisgaii meaning 'Valley of Rocks') is located within the Navajo Nation - a land base of 27,000 square miles which extends into Arizona, New Mexico, & Utah. Home to the Navajo people, Naabeehó Bináhásdzo, is the largest land area retained by an indigenous tribe in the United States and one of only a few indigenous nations whose reservation lands overlap its traditional homelands. The Nation is home to an array of more than a dozen national monuments, historical sites and tribal parks including Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park.

Standing at 5,564 feet above sea level and covering close to 92,000 acres, Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park is one of the Navajo Nation's centerpieces of beauty as well as one of the world's most recognized landscapes. Though the park entrance is in Utah, the more familiar rock formations are located in Arizona. The state line passes through the most famous landmarks which are concentrated near the small settlement of Goulding which is named for Colorado native Harry Goulding - the man responsible for persuading Hollywood director John Ford to film so many movies there. With a history dating back to 1925 when Goulding bought 460 acres of land and set up a trading post, the settlement is home to Goulding's Lodge which includes a 73-room hotel, campground, gift shops, a museum in the old trading post, a restaurant and a small cinema that shows John Wayne films in the evenings.

Though lots of folks choose to stay at Goulding's, knowing ahead of time that Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park was still closed due to Covid-19 restrictions, for my trip I wanted to get as close to the scenery of this unique land as possible which meant a stay at The View Hotel which is owned and operated by Armanda Ortega of the Kiy'anníí (Towering House) Clan. Adjoining the Tribal Park Visitors Center which has been on the site for over 40 years, The View Hotel was designed with respect to be in harmony with the sacred setting in which it is located.

Constructed by a workforce that was made up of 90% local Native Americans, The View Hotel opened in December 2008 as the first and currently only hotel located inside Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park. A simple three-story structure built atop a plateau, the building blends nicely into its environment with an exterior color that exudes the same color of the red earth that surrounds it. The chosen hue and design ensures that the building becomes one with the earth as it blends in with the natural rock formations and the contours of the land.

Inside, the lobby of the hotel is centered around a beautiful circular stone fireplace which dominates the room and is adorned with handmade kachina dolls crafted by local Native Americans.

Decorated with Southwestern artwork, paintings and several spiny cactus residing in beautiful handcrafted Native American pottery, the lobby boasts huge picture windows offering phenomenal views that guests can enjoy while relaxing in lots of comfortable seating. It might look like the perfect place to sit and sip a glass of wine or a cocktail but it should be noted that the hotel does not sell or serve alcohol which is formally banned on the Navajo reservation. There is no rule, however, that you can't bring your own and drink it in your room, just be polite and take your empties with you when you leave.

Above is a view of the Mittens and Merrick butte from the lobby. The road that runs through the middle of the photo is part of the 17-mile scenic drive through Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park. To drive on the scenic road, there's a nominal fee of $20 per vehicle with up to 4 passengers, additional passengers are $5 each. Though the loop drive covers a lot of ground taking approximately 2-3 hours to complete, tours offered by local Navajo guides take guests deeper into the park for sites that can't be seen from the scenic loop. I was pretty bummed that it wasn't open when I was there in late April but as Covid-19 had hit the Navajo Nation very hard, I fully understood why it wasn't. As of this writing, it's hoped that the park will re-open to visitors in mid-July.

As the scenery is the number one reason that visitors stay at The View, there's also a great view of the valley from the elevator if you're heading up to the second or third floors!

This beautiful handcrafted bench was in the hallway just outside of the elevator on the third floor.

We stayed in Room 305 which is listed as a 'Starview Room' as the private balcony has a cut-back roof so that you can also look up at the stars from the comfort of your room. Each of the 95 rooms at The View has a flat screen cable television, mini-refrigerator, and a coffee maker equipped with organic coffee. Taking the scenic aesthetics from the outside and bringing them inside, the room had a a small Navajo rug and other Southwestern artwork adorning the walls as well as bed linens that have themes taken from ancient saddle blanket designs.

The large bathroom features thick, organic towels which compliment the organic soaps, bath gels and shampoos. There was a beautiful Native-made sandpainting on the wall and in keeping with their efforts to preserve and protect the environment, the bathrooms feature low-flow showers and toilets.

Almost all of The View's guestrooms (with the exception of the Full-Driver rooms) have floor-to-ceiling windows offering a view facing the red rock formations of the East and West Mittens and Merrick butte. Our room had a slightly obstructed view of the valley due to the location of the hotel's outdoor patio to the left but honestly, unless you want to spend another $40 for a completely unobstructed view, this view was pretty darned good! You might actually say that it was a real butte!

You can't quite see it but the photo on our keycard looked very much like the photo outside of our room!

The view from our room with the hotel's outside terrace to the left.

The view to the right from our room with the building included above and not included below.

Below are more photos taken from our room during our stay. Our stay coincided with April's full moon so it didn't get as dark as it normally would during the nighttime. That said, I am horrible at night photography even though I gave it a try from the balcony. Sunrise was a lot easier for me to capture and was well worth getting up way too darned early for!

Unfortunately after the sun came out, it immediately disappeared into the clouds for the rest of the day but it was still glorious to watch it rise even for a short while. It was definitely one of the highlights of my trip and well worth the stop even though so many things weren't able to be seen because of the Covid restrictions.

Before checking out, I walked around the property a little bit to take it all in and I have to say that the view at The View certainly didn't disappoint! Unfortunately the trading post with its wide selection of Native Indian Art was closed, as was the on-site restaurant, but we were given a bagged breakfast and coffee along with bottled water before we set out for the day.

In addition to the hotel rooms, The View also offers fully-furnished valley rim premium cabins decorated in an Old West motif complete with a modern-day microwave, refrigerator and full bathroom with shower. Each cabin has its own private porch overlooking Monument Valley with what some say is an even better view than the one you get at the hotel. There's also a campground with full restroom and shower facilities offering both wilderness and dry RV (no hook-ups) sites, each with their own unique view of "The World's Greatest Outdoor Museum."

The View Hotel is located approximately 300 miles from Phoenix a short drive off of SR 163 on Indian Route 42. Reservations can be made online here or by calling 435-727-5555 in the US or 00-1-435-727-5555 internationally.

When You Can't Travel, Bring a Taste of Travel to You!

2021-02-15T12:00:00.002-05:00

As most of my wandering has pretty much come to a screeching halt ever since this wretched pandemic started, I decided that if I couldn't go to the UK again until WHO knows when, I would try to bring some of the UK to me. To that end I have tried baking numerous batches of scones and even attempted Cornish pasties, all while drinking more cups of tea than the Queen could crook her pinky at!

On my latest international trip to the kitchen, I decided to try my hand at Leek & Tattie Soup, a dish that I originally had at Edinburgh's Old Bell Inn on my first visit to Scotland in 2015. Located just around the corner from the Sherwood Guest House - our accommodations during our time in Edinburgh - the Old Bell was my first real UK dining experience. Well ... that's if you don't count the late-night sandwiches, salads and can of Irn-Bru from the nearby Tesco we'd had the night before after climbing Arthur's Seat!

A friendly, cozy, traditional Scottish pub located in the heart of Edinburgh’s Southside, the Old Bell Inn was the perfect introduction to pub food for me and where I got to try haggis with tatties and neeps - or potatoes and turnip as it were. For those of you pulling a face - stop it! I actually found haggis to be quite tasty but I'm definitely not ready to try making it at home so more haggis is going to have to wait until I can someday get back over to Scotland!

Alas, my house doesn't have that classic pub look you find in the UK but the recipe that I found for Leek & Potato Soup on Recipe Tin Eats definitely had that classic soup taste that I remember so well from my travels. Turns out that it was surprisingly easy to make, too!

One of the best parts of this recipe is that it doesn't require a lot of ingredients: leeks, potatoes (or tatties as they call 'em in Scotland!), chicken or vegetable broth, butter, heavy cream, garlic and salt & pepper are all you need to make a delicious taste of Scotland and France, too, though I couldn't vouch for that as my trip to France I'd had planned for last year got canceled because of Covid - ugh! I'm still mourning that one.

Anyway, all canceled travel plans aside, leeks are somewhat on the expensive side (I paid $3.99 for two) but they are well worth the cost - at least in my own humble opinion! If you aren't familiar with leeks they are a member of the allium family which means they're related to garlic, chives, shallots and onions. They have a sweet, oniony flavor and smell absolutely amazing when they're cooking!

An important step in making this soup - or anything else that you might use them in - is to make sure you clean the leeks before tossing them in the pot to sauté as they're often filled with dirt and sand. I found the easiest way to clean them was to split them in half, cut them into half moon shapes and then put them in a colander. I stirred them with my hand while running lots of cold water over them to get the dirt out then made sure to shake out the water before tossing them in a pot with melted butter and minced garlic where I slowly sautéed them until they became soft and sweet.

After about 7 minutes, in went two pounds of peeled and cubed potatoes (I used regular old russet taters) and the low sodium chicken or vegetable stock. Turn the heat up, bring it to a simmer then cover it, lower the heat and let it go for about 25 minutes or until the potatoes are good and tender.

Pretty easy so far, right? The next step is to remove the pan from the heat and break out your handy-dandy immersion blender so that you can blitz the mixture just until it's smooth. If you don't have an immersion or stick blender, you can use a regular blender but use a potato masher first then only pulse the mixture in the blender until just smooth.

Be careful not to over-puree your soup as you don't want to end up with a gluey mess which is what happens when the power from the immersion blender activates the starch in the potatoes. It would be way too easy to turn this into something you would probably want to use to hang wallpaper with rather than eat!

I blended my soup until there were miniscule chunks of potato left (though they were obviously hard to see in this photo) and it was a nice smooth texture. I gotta tell ya, the smell at this point was really starting to make my mouth water!

After sprinkling in some salt and pepper, you have the option of adding a cup of heavy cream to the soup to make it even tastier! The soup would be just fine without it but go ahead and spoil yourself and stir some in there for a really creamy soup!

At this point, it was time to ladle some of the steamy hot soup into one of my favorite bowls so that I could finally enjoy the fruits (vegetables!) of my labor though if I'm being honest, this really wasn't all that labor intensive!

The soup can be topped with fresh chives, crispy croutons, crumbled bacon or whatever else you have on hand that sounds good. I merely sprinkled a little bit of parsley on mine as I wasn't smart enough to have any of the other goodies I just mentioned on hand but it was still good! Had I been thinking I would have baked up a loaf of No Knead Bread using my go-to recipe from Merry Boosters to dip in my soup but alas, that's going to have to wait until my next batch!

The soup was so good that soon it was so gone! Until the next bowl!

In looking through various other recipes before making my batch of Leek & Tattie soup, I noticed that a good number of them called for quite a few other ingredients including fresh thyme, a bay leaf or two, carrots, etc. I'm sure that you could jazz this up anyway that you want but I really like the basic recipe that Nagi of Recipe Tin Eats has. It doesn't call for an overabundance of ingredients, it was easy, it was quick and in the end it was really, really good!

So, even though I can't wander over to Scotland or France or really much of anywhere else until this pandemic comes to an end and we get the all-clear to travel again, I can certainly wander into my kitchen and whip up a batch of memories in the form of a flavorful bowl of soup!

Eagle Mountain House & Golf Club - One of New Hampshire's Last Grand Dames

2020-11-21T22:29:00.001-05:00

I recently had occasion to vacate my humble abode while some renovations were being done so decided that was the perfect excuse to finally wander north to New Hampshire to stay at a historic hotel that had long been on my 'Bucket List of Places I Want to Stay' - which, when you get right down to it, is actually more like a book than a list!

Eagle Mountain House & Golf Club is nestled in the White Mountains of New Hampshire in bucolic Jackson Village just up Carter Notch Road from the beautiful Jackson Falls. Pictured below, the photo of the Wildcat River tumbling along part of the falls is from an earlier wandering to Jackson which you can find here if you're interested in learning more about the area which includes the beautiful circa 1876 Honeymoon Covered Bridge that crosses the Ellis River. Waterfalls, covered bridges, beautiful mountains ... is it any wonder I wanted to wander back up to Jackson? Definitely not but, anyway, back to the Eagle Mountain House & Golf Resort which had caught my wandering eye long ago.

Eagle Mountain House's current building is one of the few remaining Grand Hotels of the White Mountains - expansive properties that drew in families from crowded urban centers in order to escape the summer heat - but at its beginning, it was simply a working farm. In 1879 when the idyllic artists’ colony of Jackson Village became a popular tourist destination, Cyrus and Marcia Gale of Eagle Mountain Farm opened their circa 1790 farmhouse as an inn offering accommodations for up to 12 people while also feeding them with food produced on the farm. In the late 1880s they added a few holes of golf, which was the latest fad from Scotland, and by 1890, the whole thing had turned out to be such a successful venture that the property expanded to become Eagle Hall and Eagle Mountain House with lodging for 125 guests.

The lodging business was going great until disaster struck in May 1915 when the hall and house were both destroyed by fire - a fate that befell many of the White Mountains' Grand Hotels - leaving Cyrus devastated. With his health declining and feeling that he couldn't face starting over, Cyrus sold the property to his son Arthur who designed the new hotel in the Colonial Revival style while also adding what would be the very first fire suppression system in a New Hampshire resort. The new Eagle Mountain House opened on July 4th, 1916 boasting 75 guest rooms and a veranda that wrapped around three sides of the building.

In 1926, an elevator - which remains operational to this day - was added to the premises and by 1928-29, Eagle Mountain House had doubled in size with the addition of another 60 new guest rooms, a new private dining room tucked behind the main dining room and an extended veranda on two levels. With the increasing popularity of golf in the country, in 1931 Arthur converted a portion of the property's farmland and pasture into a 9-hole golf course. As part of Carroll P. Reed's Eastern Slope Ski School which was founded in 1936 following a 1934 accident which inspired Reed to open a ski school so others might avoid his fate, the golf course secured a spot in Mount Washington Valley’s downhill skiing history when the first organized group ski was held on the course’s ninth fairway under the direction of Benno Rybizka of the famous Hannes Schneider Ski School in Austria.

Upon Arthur's death in 1957, ownership passed to his sister Marcia and her husband Orin Chadbourne who had both worked at Eagle Mountain House for decades. During their tenure as owners, they renovated the original hotel rooms to include private baths and in 1959, added a swimming pool. The Chadbournes retired in 1973 and sold the property making it the first time the resort had left Gale family ownership in over 90 years.

Following its sale, the hotel struggled under a series of owners until 1985 when Portland developers Barton A. Forbes and Michael Marino purchased it. Under their knowledgeable direction, the century-old hotel underwent a multi-million dollar restoration which returned it to the appearance and operation at the height of its popularity. In 1986, the hotel was restored as an “Historic Country Inn” by the Eagle Mountain Owners’ Association, featuring 96 privately owned rooms and suites.

Efforts to preserve the historic heritage of the Eagle Mountain House began around 1990 when the United States Secretary of the Interior nominated the hotel for inclusion on the National Registry of Historic Places, which was later approved by Congress. In 1995, the hotel was listed on the National Trust for Historic Preservation and awarded membership in Historic Hotels of America.

In 2012, ownership changed again when the Heaton Companies of Palm Beach, Florida, purchased the hotel from the owners’ association trust. The purchase ended the private ownership of rooms and suites making the property a hotel once again. Ensuring Eagle Mountain House will be welcoming guests for generations to come, since taking ownership, the Heaton Companies have restored and renovated the property while preserving and maintaining its historic character. For more information on the history of Eagle Mountain House, you can click over to Historic Structures which also speaks to the popularity of the White Mountains as a destination for the wealthy beginning shortly before the Civil War.

So, having told you about some of the history of this great property, how about we take a walk around starting in the lobby at the front desk. Obviously the advent of the Coronavirus pandemic has required some changes but thankfully the charm of the building hasn't been totally covered in Plexiglas!

From the front desk you can see the stairs leading up should you not want to take a ride in the antique elevator which is located just in front of the entrance to Highfields, the hotel's restaurant.

We were on the second floor and decided to try out the elevator which worked perfectly fine! You just have to make sure that you close both doors otherwise you're going nowhere!

Not that I've been there, but the hotel's hallways made me think of the Stanley Hotel in Colorado which was the inspiration for Stephen King's novel "The Shining" which later became a rather popular movie starring Jack Nicholson. Perhaps they weren't quite as wide as those in the Stanley but I bet a youngster could definitely take a nice spin on a Big Wheel down the hallways here!

No electronic key cards at Eagle Mountain House! Nope, you get a bonafide key on a brass key ring!

We stayed in Room 219 which is a standard double room on the second floor which was quite roomy and very comfortable. As you can see, the bedding has all been upgraded and the room features traditional New England decor. The room featured a very nice flat-screen TV and complimentary WiFi which is always a plus. Thankfully the windows open and there was a box fan in the closet as we were there on an abnormally warm November weekend and it would have been quite stuffy without that. If you look close above the bed, you can see part of the fire suppression system that Arthur had installed over 100 years ago.

I really liked the artwork on the walls over the beds! Very New England and quite perfect!

The bathroom was pretty spacious and very clean. Bonus points for having a fan - something that seems to be missing from a lot of hotel bathrooms!

Something different when checking out the bath amenities these days is that you'll find the addition of hand sanitizer.

Below is a sunrise view from the window in our room. Mountain view rooms are available but this view from the side of the building had some very nice mountains in it without the extra cost! This is looking down Carter Notch Road towards Jackson Falls which is an easy walk from the inn.

This is a shot from the window located at the front of the hallway looking out across part of the golf course towards the swimming pool which you can see on the left. During the warmer season when it's open, towels are provided poolside for guests' convenience and I bet it's a great place to sit back and enjoy the views!

Back down in the lobby of course there was no one enjoying any of the comfy seating as that would have been against the Governor's Executive Order. I did my best not to loiter while getting a few photos to share!

I bet this fireplace is great on cold winter nights!

The lobby seating looked very comfortable, exactly what you would expect from a New England inn!

I really liked the phone booth in the lobby complete with an old-fashioned phone!

In the mornings, there is a self-service coffee bar in the lobby where guests can get a cup of coffee or two to take out and enjoy on the veranda or back up to the room. There were sanitary wipes and hand sanitizer nearby along with a sign asking guests to please wipe down things after getting their beverage.

To the right of the front desk, there's a small gift shop that uses this old wringer washer as a display for laundry supplies. You can also purchase travel sundries, snacks, sodas, resort wear and other specialty items. Additionally there are some historic photos and a bit of history you can read - just don't loiter!

Downstairs you'll find Jackson Hole - Eagle Mountain House's game room where there's a pool table, ping pong, and several vintage video games.

My favorite was the Avengers pinball machine! Again, there were plenty of sanitizing wipes and hand sanitizer to keep guests safe and there was a change machine also just in case you ran out of quarters!

Back up in the lobby is Eagle Landing Tavern where you can have a cocktail or two and also order off the tavern menu if you've found you're hungry and are looking for something to eat.

Most folks take their beverages out to the wonderful veranda which was virtually empty on Sunday morning when I took this photo while enjoying a second cup of coffee after breakfast. The night before there had been barely an empty rocking chair while everyone sat outside enjoying the lovely weather.

Looking to the left while sitting on the veranda, you'll see golf carts lined up just waiting for eager golfers to climb in and take to the course's 9 holes that wind along the Wildcat River.

The Eagle Mountain House Golf Club leases the course from local ownership and is responsible for maintenance and operation during the golf season. The USGA-rated, par 32 golf course wends its way along the Wildcat River and is framed by spectacular mountain views from every tee. In the winter, the course serves as a vital section of the nationally acclaimed Jackson Ski Touring Foundation’s extensive cross-country trail network.

To the right as you're enjoying a nice respite on the veranda, you'll see more lovely mountain views.

A look up Carter Notch Road heading north.

While we there on Saturday evening, there was a wedding down near the Wildcat River just across from the veranda. When the happy couple came up to pose for a few photos on the front lawn, everyone on the veranda applauded and congratulated them. I believe that they were holding their reception in The Carriage House located to the rear of the property which is a very popular wedding venue.

Another view from the veranda as well as an evening photo which actually included a couple of empty rocking chairs - but only because they had just been recently vacated and I figured I had best snap a photo while I could!

I had booked the Eagle Escape Package which included a three-course dinner in either Highfields or the Eagle Tavern along with breakfast - a very good deal as that meant we only had to pay for whatever beverages we had on Saturday evening. Reservations were required so I had booked a table for 6:30 on Saturday evening in Highfields Restaurant which offers classic comfort-food in its dining room with large windows that provide lovely views of the surrounding countryside.

To start, I ordered the Carter Notch which was a very tasty blend of apple jack brandy, apple cider, bitters and orange. My Distracted Sidekick had a Blackberry Lemonade Fizz which was made with blackberry puree, lemonade and sparking soda. Unfortunately I didn't take a photo of it but it was quite pretty!

After our starters of a cup of New England Clam Chowder for me and a salad for them, my Distracted Sidekick ordered the Gulf of Maine Salmon which featured a New Hampshire maple walnut crust, citrus beurre blanc, ginger basmati pilaf and haricot verts (i.e., green beans). It was pronounced to be very, very good.

I opted for the Saturday Night Special which was a very nice slice of prime rib served with whipped potatoes and haricot verts. It, too, was pronounced to be very, very good!

As dessert was part of the package, I opted for Maple Bread Pudding served with a side of Gifford's Maple Walnut ice cream. Yum! The DS had an ice cream sandwich made with fresh-baked cookies and a choice of Giffords ice cream. Pretty sure there wasn't any left over!

Breakfast the next morning was also very good and very filling. I enjoyed an omelette with bacon, tomato and cheddar cheese served with a side of home fries along with a fruit bowl, cranberry juice and coffee while the DS had what was said to be a very, very good breakfast sandwich filled with a fried egg, bacon and Cabot cheddar cheese also with home fries, juice and coffee.

A view out of one of the dining room windows above and an old sign on the wall in the dining room below.

Before we packed up the car and left, I took a bit of a walk around the property to get some outside views.

Carter Notch in the distance.

Even though almost all of the famed New Hampshire foliage had gone by, it was still very pretty.

A last look at the back of Eagle Mountain House from the parking lot.

All in all, though it was short, we had a wonderful stay and I wouldn't hesitate to go back up again someday for another visit in spite of the fact that I've been able to tick it off in my Bucket Book! My Dad always said that he didn't like to chew his cabbage twice but I have no trouble chewing it multiple times if I find it to be particularly pleasing cabbage and such would be the case with Eagle Mountain House & Golf Club - a historically wonderful destination in New Hampshire's beautiful White Mountains!

A Visit to Salem, Massachusetts During a Pandemic October

2020-10-18T18:30:00.007-04:00

I recently took a mid-week wander up to Salem, Massachusetts as I was not only having a major case of wanderlust but because the Peabody Essex Museum was having an exhibition on the 1692 Salem Witch Trials that I really wanted to see. Normally, I wouldn't go anywhere near Salem in October having witnessed firsthand the kinds of crowds the city attracts during the entire month when my friend Juli lived there, but with the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic having canceled all of the city's annual "Haunted Happenings", I thought it might be worth making the trip.

Knowing that things have been scaled way down from what you would normally find in Salem in October, there wasn't going to be any distracted wandering going on during this trip though. Nope, it was was going to be a very carefully planned out trip with a pretty solid agenda in place. As I wanted to make sure that the things that I wanted to see and do were going to be possible, I purchased tickets online for the activities that I knew I wanted to do well in advance: tickets for a timed entry to the Peabody Essex Museum, a timed ticket for entry to The Witch House and a reserved spot for a historic 1692 Salem Witch Trials walking tour. I also made sure to download the new Destination Salem app - more of which you can read about here should you be so inclined!

Once all plans were in place - which included scoring a sweet deal on Booking.com for a room at Salem's newest hotel, the Hampton Inn Salem - we made our way to the North Shore where, first things first, I needed to drop off my distracted feline at the SoHo Luxury Cat Hotel in nearby Beverly. I know a lot of people think nothing of leaving their cat home with plenty of food and water but Kumori has never spent a night alone at home and I didn't really want to have that on my mind this trip so I made reservations for her to stay at her own hotel. Owned by Sharon and Alissa who, together, have over 35 years of working in a feline-only veterinary clinic, SoHoCats is the "hot spot for kitties looking for a hip place to play and a cool place to stay." Purrfect!

After Kumori was settled down at her accommodations for the next two nights, it was time to get something to eat before we did anything else and for that we stopped at Kelly's Roast Beef in Danvers. Kelly's has been making some of the best roast beef sandwiches on the North Shore since 1951 when they came up with their famous Original Roast Beef Sandwich - something that was completely unheard of until then. After trying one, it's easy to understand how they sell approximately one million of the delicious sandwiches per year at their four North Shore locations!

As this trip was planned so that I could learn more about the 1692 Salem Witch Trials - a subject that has fascinated me since I was in 7th grade - we then took a drive by the Rebecca Nurse Homestead which is located on 149 Pine Street in Danvers. Even though I knew I wouldn't be able to actually visit as it wasn't open, I wanted to at least get a glimpse of the house that is owned and operated by the Danvers Alarm List Company, a volunteer non-profit organization. The house was the home of 71-year old Rebecca Nurse, one of the first victims of the Salem Witch Trials. This is the only home of a person executed during the trials open to the public and is someplace I would definitely like to wander back by and explore someday.

The homestead, which sits on 25+ acres of an original 300 acres that was occupied by Rebecca Nurse and her family from 1678-1798, is located in what was then known as Salem Village. In addition to the traditional saltbox home lived in by the Nurse family, the property also holds the Nurse Family Cemetery where it is believed Rebecca was laid in an unmarked grave following her hanging. The cemetery is also the final resting place of George Jacobs, Sr. who was also killed during the Witchcraft Hysteria and whose remains were reinterred during a ceremony in 1992 marking the 300-year anniversary of the Salem Witch Trials.

Not too far from the Nurse Homestead is the Salem Village Witchcraft Victims' Memorial which was dedicated in front of a crowd of approximately 3,000 people on May 9, 1992 as part of the 300th anniversary remembrance. It was the first such memorial to honor all of the 1692 witchcraft victims - nineteen who were hanged, one who was pressed to death and five who perished while in jail.

The memorial, which is located at 176 Hobart Street in Danvers, stands across the street from the site of the original Salem Village Meeting House where many of the witch examinations took place. The memorial serves as a reminder that each generation must confront intolerance and "witch hunts" with integrity, clear vision and courage.

The memorial features a Canadian pink granite Bible box and a book inscribed with the words "The Book of Life". Those who were accused of witchcraft refused to confess as they wanted their names to be inscribed in "The Book of Life" which, to the Puritans, represented the record of those would reach eternal life. To the sides of the Bible box is a pair of large scale reproduction metal shackles that were hand-forged by blacksmith Curtis M. White, a staff member of the Saugus Ironworks National Park and resident overseer of the Rebecca Nurse Homestead in 1992 when the memorial was dedicated.

Behind the Bible box is a three-panel granite wall on which are inscribed the names of those who died, along with the date and circumstance of each death and the town of each victim’s origin. Also inscribed on the walls on each side are quotations from eight of the accused such as this one from George Jacobs, Sr. on May 10, 1692 taken from the Reverend Parris' account of the examination at Salem: "Well! burn me, or hang me, I will stand in the truth of Christ ..."

For more information on the memorial's design and symbolism, visit this page about the Salem Village Witchcraft Victims' Memorial at Danvers, part of the Salem Witch Trials Documentary Archive and Transcription Project.

Leaving Danvers behind, my distracted sidekick and I made our way over to Salem to see how things were faring with the potential crowds. First order of business was to check into our accommodations for the next several nights: the recently-opened Hampton Inn Salem on Dodge Street.

The newest addition to Salem's downtown hotels, the Hampton Inn is located just off of Washington Street across from the Salem Post Office making it convenient to park your car in their secure valet parking and walk to anywhere you might wish to go. To read more about the hotel and see a few photos, check out my blog post here.

Heading out from the hotel for a bit of a walk around, I immediately saw this sign. Erring on the side of caution, all of downtown Salem has been designated a Mandatory Mask Zone that includes fines for those found not wearing their masks which range from $50 for a first offense, $150 for a second offense and $300 for a third offense. The emergency order, which was signed by Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll and the local board of health, was made in the interest of public health with the intent of reducing the spread of the COVID-19 virus in the community so, if you're going to go to Salem, mask up and stay that way!

Pandemic or not, it wouldn't be October in Salem without a little Halloween fun like this ghostly trio in front of The Derby Restaurant & Bar which is located a very short walk from the Hampton Inn and offers a large outdoor seating area for those who are more comfortable dining outside.

This was the number of people on the Washington Street end of Essex Street at about 4:00 pm on the Wednesday that we were there. Not many people at all compared to the throngs of tourists that one usually sees on the pedestrian mall in October!

Before heading down the pedestrian mall, I turned the opposite way on Essex Street as I wanted to stop by the Caramel Patisserie and pick up some French pastries and macarons being that the trip to Paris I was supposed to go on earlier this year got Covid-cancelled.

Caramel's Master Chef, Dimitri Vallier, was raised in South Central France and taught under world-renowned chefs including Paul Bocuse, Gaston Lenôtre and Daniel Boulud. In October of 2015, Dimitri joined forces with his sister Sophie and opened their shop bringing opulent and delicious desserts to Salem.

Trust me, this photo doesn't do this fruit tart justice! It was tout à fait magnifique!

With my bag of French goodies in hand, I turned around and headed back to the pedestrian mall as there was another stop I wanted to make at a store that I go to every time I'm in Salem. It was nice to see that there still weren't many people around and those that were all had on their masks.

Pamplemousse has two locations in Massachusetts and the one in Salem is always a must-stop for me as not only do they have a great stock of interesting beer & ale, cider and wine but they carry some international candies that are hard to find like Flake bars, Aero bars and Kinder Happy Hippos which always make me happy! The store also has a terrific assortment of kitchen goodies, coffee, jams & jellies and more.

From Pamplemousse I continued down the pedestrian mall towards the Peabody Essex Museum which is located across from the Salem Visitors Center where the Salem Trolley departs on their 8-mile tour around Salem.

Salem Trolley also offers a "Tales & Tombstones Tour" in the evenings which takes riders past the sights of Salem's grisly murders and ghastly executions while they hear tales of ghosts - both mischievous and malevolent - who occupy some of Salem's haunted hotels and restaurants along with legends of ghost ships and haunted islands. Regardless of when you want to visit Salem, this is something you really have to reserve in advance as it's very popular with both young and old alike.

Another look down the Essex Street pedestrian mall didn't show too many more people out and about so I have to say that this was probably one of the best times to visit Salem this October, It was certainly very, very different from previous Octobers I had been there when it looked more like the photo below!

My next stop was another that I have been to numerous times in the past but as this was a Salem Witch Trials visit, I wanted to stop by again. The Salem Witch Trials Memorial on Liberty Street is dedicated to the 20 people who were put to death during the hysteria and was dedicated on May 5, 1992.

The memorial has four-foot high granite walls on three sides with 20 granite benches representing each victim cantilevered inward from the walls. Arranged by date of execution, each bench is etched with a name, means of execution, and execution date. A dirt path runs beside the benches for visitors to walk on and in the center of the memorial is a simple patch of grass and locust trees which are thought to be the type of tree that may have been used for the hangings on Proctor's Ledge which is located about a mile from the memorial.

The Witch Trials Memorial was dedicated by Nobel Laureate, Holocaust survivor, and author Elie Wiesel, whose dedication speech you can read here. In it, he notably said, "... my good friends, what we have seen here today is a lesson not about the past only, but also about the present. That whenever a person or a group of persons come and say that they are superior to another group because of their color, race or religion, they will create upheavals with bloodshed accompanying them. With innocence becoming the first victim."

Below are just five of the twenty benches found in the memorial which was designed by artist Maggie Smith and architect James Cutler of Bainbridge Island, Washington whose entry was chosen out of 246 submissions. The design was based on that of the Vietnam Wall Memorial in Washington DC.

The memorial sits on a 5,400 square-foot plot of land located next to the Old Burying Point cemetery where notorious Salem Witch Trial Magistrates John Hathorne and Bartholomew Gedney are buried as well as many other Salem residents from 1692. The Old Burying Point - which is also known as the Charter Street Cemetery - is the oldest cemetery in Salem as well as one of the oldest in the country.

The gravestones and tomb markers of early settlers include that of Captain Richard More who died in 1692 in Salem at the age of 84. One of the passengers on the Mayflower, More came over at the age of 9 (or 11) as an indentured servant and rose through the ranks eventually becoming a sea captain who lived in Salem. It is believed that More's gravestone is the only known one of a Mayflower passenger.

The entrance to the cemetery is behind the Peabody Essex Museum on Charter Street (FYI, the cemetery was closed for repairs while I was in town.) The red line on the sidewalk to the right is part of the Salem Heritage Trail which connects all of Salem's main sites; to learn more about it, click on the link to Salem.org.

Upon returning to the hotel it was time to think about getting something to eat but as my distracted sidekick didn't really want to go out somewhere where there might be a lot of people, we opted to order delivery from the Flying Saucer Pizza Company which offers quite the interesting array of pizzas in addition to the traditional choices like pizza and pepperoni.

We did get traditional pizza but also ordered a Pickle Rick Pizza which features olive oil, cheese, bacon, dill pickles and a swirl of ranch dressing. I personally don't watch "Rick & Morty" but I would eat the pizza again as it was surprisingly good!

Following a good night's sleep and after enjoying a nice Continental Breakfast at the hotel, I set off on Thursday morning to learn more about the 1692 Witch Trials with my first stop being the Jonathan Corwin House aka The Witch House.

I had purchased my ticket online on EventBrite as tickets must be purchased in advance or you are totally not getting through the door. There are only four tickets for each time slot for the self-guided tour as the interior of the house is small and they are doing all they can to enforce social distancing guidelines.

The house was the home of one of the most notorious Salem Witch Trial judges - Jonathan Corwin. The house is the only structure that you can visit in Salem that has direct ties to the 1692 Witchcraft Trials and though I had walked by it more times than I can count, I had never actually been inside!

Heir to one of the largest Puritan fortunes in New England, Corwin purchased the house in 1675 when he was 35 then continued to live there for the next 40 years. The house remained in the Corwin Family until the mid-19th century.

An excellent example of 17th-century New England architecture, historians are unsure of the date when it was built. Corwin family lore maintains that it was built in 1642, but some scholars claim that it was built in the 1620s or 1630s and that Roger Williams lived in it before he founded Providence Plantations. There's no actual proof of that though so the house's construction date remains a mystery.

In the mid-1940s the house was moved back approximately 35 feet from its original location and placed on a foundation to stabilize it. This historic preservation was the beginning of Historic Salem, Inc. which was founded in 1944 and is still going strong today. The Witch House opened as a museum in 1948. For those who like that sort of thing, in 2011, Travel Channel's Ghost Adventures crew featured the house during their 4th season visit to Salem.

After my self-guided tour through The Witch House which had some very interesting displays on early Colonial healing methods which used all sorts of things that we would never consider using today - or would we? - it was on to Salem Historical Tours for a 1692 Witchcraft Walk.

On this 90-minute walk around Salem, tour participants visit places that are full of 1692 Witch Hysteria history including The Witch House that I had just left! Normally the tours take approximately 50 people plus the tour guide but with Covid regulations in effect, the tour was limited to 9 people plus the guide. All guests are required to wear face coverings for the duration of the tour and we all stayed 6 feet or more away from each other - unless we came together, that is!

If I am remembering correctly, our guide's name was Giovanni and he did a great job of providing us with a lot of information that I hadn't heard before in regards to the Witch Trials. We didn't walk anywhere that I hadn't already been before but I definitely learned a lot and really enjoyed the tour. Like Giovanni said, a lot of the information is depressing but then again, it should be - there was nothing good about the hysteria that permeated the North Shore of Massachusetts during those dark, dark times.

After the historic walk, I made my way back over to the Hampton Inn by way of the Artists' Row which is located in an area that was originally designed as a marketplace and now serves as home to many of Salem's creative artists who offer pottery, fabric arts, glass artwork and more. The photo above is part of the Unity Path which was created by lead artist Liz LaManche and a team of community members to celebrate the 2020 reopening of the Artists' Row for the summer season.

This map at the entrance on the Lafayette Street end of Artists' Row indicates the areas of Salem that are a mandatory mask zone. Take a look at it if you aren't sure of where the mandatory areas are and don't want to wear a mask everywhere - though you really should as a courtesy to other visitors and the residents of the city!

My wanderings for the day had worked up quite an appetite so while my distracted sidekick went to visit friends in Beverly, I took myself to a lovely dinner at the Ledger Restaurant & Bar which was just a short walk away from the hotel on Washington Street. For the record, I made a reservation through OpenTable before I went just to be safe. Though I could have sat outside, it was pretty chilly at that point and I opted for indoor dining.

I started my evening with a mug of Ledger's Infamous Hot Todd (which really warmed me up) and an order of their ginormous popovers! They weren't just H-U-G-E but they were delicious served with a very tasty garlic butter. I was only going to eat one and take the other back to the hotel with me but I caved and ate both of them because they were just soooooo good! Don't judge me.

As you can see from the photo below, there was plenty of social distancing space between myself and the next table so I wasn't at all worried about anyone being too close in an enclosed space.

The restaurant is located in the former Salem Savings Bank building (circa 1818) and has a very interesting decor including a mural of a police officer chasing someone who seems to be trying to run off with a ledger. Imagine that!

Just for those who might be curious, I ordered one of the specials of the evening which was a 12-oz boneless prime rib served with smashed Yukon Gold potatoes and garlic broccolini. It was very, very good but, as my old Gram B used to say, "more than I could possibly eat!" so some of it went back to my hotel with me. Thankfully we had a nice refrigerator and microwave in our room so my distracted sidekick could enjoy the leftovers later!

After another tasty Continental breakfast and a quick and easy checkout from the Hampton Inn on Friday morning, we moved the car to the Museum Place Garage (which still had a good number of spaces available at 9:45 in the morning but looked like it was going to be filling up fast) and arrived at the Peabody Essex Museum for its 10:00 a.m. opening. Again, I had booked our General Admission time slot online ahead of time as I knew that the timed tickets for the 1692 Salem Witch Trials exhibition would probably go fast once the museum opened. As you can't see the exhibition without a timed ticket and it was one of the main reasons I was going to Salem in October, there was no way I was going to be left out!

Thankfully we got tickets for 10:15 a.m. which meant we could get in and out before the crowds. You're limited to 30 minutes in the exhibit so I wasn't going to be able to linger over everything I wanted to but I was able to read and see a good deal of the exhibition. A small part of the problem while we were there was that there was a family with younger children there at the same time that we were and the kids were bouncing around back and forth between objects while the parents weren't paying a whole lot of attention. Folks - this is NOT the time to not be paying attention to your kids! Also, this isn't exactly what I would call a kid-friendly exhibition as it's a lot of historic documents and such and, if I'm being honest, I don't think it's very respectful of those people who were put to death as witches for one to be wearing pointed hats and capes while reading the orders to have them executed. That's probably just me being an old fuddy-duddy but that's just how I see it.

The above is the original warrant of apprehension for nine people who were accused and arrested for practicing witchcraft on April 21, 1692. To me, this sort of thing is totally fascinating and I really wish I'd had more time to read it in full but I fully understand why the museum needs to limit people's' time in the exhibition. Darned Covid virus!

This trunk, circa 1670, is made of sealskin, wood and iron and belonged to Witch Trials Judge Jonathan Corwin, It was gifted to the PEM in 1898 by George Rea Curwen who I believe was related to the Judge.

This painting is Tompkins Harrison Matteson's Trial of George Jacobs, Sr. for Witchcraft. The 1855 painting summarizes in one scene a number of dramatic incidents that occurred during the days of George Jacobs Sr.’s examination and trial. Most of the action focuses on the dramatic moment when his own granddaughter, Margaret, testified against him. Placed in the center of the painting, she kneels and points her finger directly at her grandfather, who responds by pleading his innocence with upraised arms.

The above are original documents for the examination of Martha Corey on March 21, 1692 as well as the Mittimus, which was the court order to commit someone to prison, dated May 25, 1692. Martha was hanged as a witch on September 22, 1692, roughly a month after her husband Giles was tortured and pressed to death for refusing to enter a plea. One of the many interesting things that I learned on my Salem Historical Tours Witchcraft Walk was that torture was not permitted under a Puritan court of law but during the Witchcraft Trials, the courts were operating under English law which did allow torture.

After a quick turn through the Salem Stories exhibition (you can read more about both exhibitions in this blog post I wrote) and a few other things I wanted to look at, we left the PEM at approximately 11:30 and walked outside to find a completely different scene then when we walked in as people seemed to have appeared out of nowhere and were beginning to crowd the streets. I didn't stop to take any photos of the increased number of visitors as I was walking quickly back to the garage so that we could get out of the downtown area before too many more people flooded in.

A three-day weekend was approaching and it seemed that in spite of the fact that "Haunted Happenings" had been canceled this year and you couldn't really do much of anything without reservations in hand, people were just wandering the pedestrian mall aimlessly looking for things to do. I was really surprised by the number of people with children as there really isn't anything for kids to do in Salem right now. Even the exhibitions at the PEM that are geared towards children are closed out of an abundance of caution so why anyone would bring children there during a pandemic is beyond me. There's no carnival, no street vendors, nothing on the Common like there usually is - not a thing that a young child could possibly find interesting or fun.

Anyway ... stepping off my soapbox for now, we had one more last stop to make in Salem in connection with the 1692 Witch Trials before heading back over to pick up the distracted feline at the cat hotel and then head back to Connecticut.

Proctor's Ledge Memorial, located on Pope Street, was dedicated on July 19, 2017 at the spot where it is believed that the hangings of 1692 occured. The dedication date coincided with the first of the three mass executions that were held on the spot when, on July 19, 1692, five condemned women - Sarah Good, Elizabeth Howe, Susannah Martin, Rebecca Nurse, and Sarah Wildes - were hanged from a tree on the ledge before their bodies were tossed into a crevice where the memorial now marks their names.

For many years it was believed that the nineteen innocent people who were executed in Salem in 1692 were hanged at the summit of Gallows Hill which is to the west on the edge of town but as no one had ever memorialized the actual site, that was a best guess. In 1921, local historian Sidney Perley believed he had located the spot of the executions near the base of the hill on Proctor’s Ledge, a piece of property that had been purchased by the family of one of the victims. Wealthy landowner John Proctor, who had publicly condemned the witch trials and had punished his female servants for claiming to be possessed by witches’ spirits in the hysteria of the day, was hanged as a witch on August 19, 1692. Proctor’s Ledge is named for his grandson who bought the land fulling knowing its history.

Perley's conclusion led the City of Salem to purchase a small parcel of Proctor’s Ledge “to be held forever as a public park.” The city called it “Witch Memorial Land” but the site was never formally marked and was eventually forgotten over time. People still believed that the hangings had taken place on the summit of the hill until a team of researchers began to reconsider all of the evidence in 2010. To help in their investigation, the research team used court records, maps, ground-penetrating radar and aerial photographs along with 1692 eyewitness accounts of nearby neighbors who were able to see the hangings from their homes. To read more about the evidence that proved Proctor's Ledge was the sight of the hangings, The History of Massachusetts Blog has a very interesting piece on Proctor's Ledge Memorial which you can find here.

The execution spot was finally confirmed as Proctor’s Ledge in January of 2016 and in 2017 the memorial was built to mark the 325th anniversary of the Salem Witch Trials. The memorial, which was developed by landscape architect Martha Lyon, consists of a semi-circular granite wall with 19 stones engraved with the names and execution dates of the nineteen victims who were hanged at the location.

In the center of the memorial, stands a small oak tree which symbolizes endurance and dignity. At the dedication ceremony, one of the members of the research team, Salem State University professor Emerson "Tad" Baker told those gathered, "We became the 'Witch City' in 1892 on the bicentennial of the trials. While done largely for commercial reasons, I see the moniker as Salem’s self-imposed Scarlet Letter. After all, the term ‘witch hunt’ is synonymous with Salem and stands as a symbol of persecution, fanaticism, injustice and rushing to judgement. So from this time forward I hope that residents and visitors to Salem will treat the tragic events of 1692 with more of the respect they are due. We need less celebration in October and more commemoration and sober reflection throughout the year.”

Even though Salem has long been one of my favorite places to wander to for many, many reasons, I'm inclined to agree with Professor Baker - especially during a Global Pandemic. Salem can be a lot of fun but I don't think that fun should be built on the deaths of 25 innocent people.

In conclusion, if you're going to visit Salem for whatever reason - for the Witch Trials history, the maritime history, the great food, the terrific art, the eclectic shops, the awesome architecture, their world-class museum, whatever! - then plan ahead by visiting Destination Salem which has everything you need to plan a terrific visit to a terrific town. You just might not want to do it this October unless it's during the week and you have made lots of plans ahead of time.

The Hampton Inn of Salem, Massachusetts

2020-10-11T13:03:00.002-04:00

I recently wandered up to one of my favorite haunts in New England - Salem, Massachusetts - even though October is generally not a time I would go to Salem as normally it's THE big month for the Witch City and you can't find a hotel for less than an arm and a leg no matter what time of the month it is. This year, though, things are a lot different due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic as the city's annual Haunted Happenings has been canceled and everything else is scaled back. With all that, I figured it was actually the perfect time for me to head up and learn more about a subject that has interested me since 7th grade - the 1692 Salem Witch Trials - without the usual big crowds.

Turns out it was a most excellent time to go as I was able to score an amazing deal on Booking.Com for a two-night midweek stay at the brand-new, recently-opened Hampton Inn located on Dodge Street in downtown Salem.

The hotel is within easy walking distance of pretty much anything you're going to want to see/do in Salem so valet park the car ($18 a night) and enjoy being in a convenient location while you also enjoy the other amenities that the hotel offers like an indoor pool and fitness center - provided there's no pandemic and they're open!

The hotel's lobby offers plenty of seating (which has built-in plugs so you can charge those all-important electronics!) along with a nice fireplace and lots of great photos of Salem attractions. There's also a 24-hour coffee bar over there on the right in the photo below where you can get a nice cup of something hot to drink - coffee, tea or hot chocolate - whenever you feel the need.

Speaking of photos, I'm pretty sure I've taken some very similar to this one of Salem's Friendship docked down at the Salem Maritime National Historic Site!

During our stay we were in a non-smoking double room on the 4th floor. My distracted sidekick thought the room number was pretty funny as they immediately associated it with an internet error!

Breaking the seal on the door we went in and found that the room itself was great - very large with a mini-fridge, microwave and coffee maker in case you didn't want to go down to the lobby for your caffeine fix! There were USB plugs on the nightstand which is something that all hotels should have this day and age and a nice closet plus hooks on the wall to store your stuff.

The bathroom was also spacious and had a great walk-in shower along with lots of fluffy white towels, complimentary shampoo, conditioner, lotion and soap as well as a hairdryer for those of us who hate to drag theirs along with us.

The bathroom door was also the closet door which was actually kind of cool as it slid along quietly in its track.

Our room faced the back of the building with a view across the roof where it looked like there must have been some pretty flowers earlier in the year. We had a bit of a storm blow through while we were there so also had a nice view of a partial rainbow later in the day.

The Hampton Inn Salem offers a daily complimentary breakfast which - when there isn't a pandemic - should look like the photo below taken from their website.

As there is a pandemic going on as of this writing, what the complimentary breakfast actually looks like right now is this:

Even though it seems a little sparse at this point, it's better than no complimentary breakfast which is how some hotels have chosen to handle things. If you don't want to enjoy your packaged pastries, yogurt, fruit, juice, coffee, etc. in the hotel's very nice 3rd floor breakfast area, you can put everything into a provided paper bag and take it back to your room to nosh on instead.

While you're on the 3rd floor grabbing breakfast, be sure to take a look across the street at this great goldfish mural painted on the back of the nearby Walgreen's! Part of the Punto Urban Art Museum, this mural was created by @jeks_nc who had this to say about his mural on Instagram: “What if we traded places with some goldfish so we were actually the pets and they were looking in at us in 2020 like, “yooo my humans wtf is going on in there?!”

FYI, the Punto Urban Art Museum is a project of the North Shore Community Development Coalition (NSCDC) that aims to create neighborhood pride and increase economic opportunity for local businesses. Located in the “El Punto” Neighborhood (aka The Point) in Salem, the Open Air Museum features over 75 large scale murals by 30 world renowned and 25 local artists within a 3 block radius. Currently the Educational Tours the museum offers are on hold (damn this wretched virus) and as I didn't get a chance to walk around and check out more of the murals on my own this trip, it's definitely something to put on my list for next time!

Even though the pool was closed for Covid precautions and I didn't have time to check out the fitness center, I have to say that I was very impressed with not just the Hampton Inn Salem itself but also with the staff who were all very friendly and helpful from the valet parking attendant to the desk clerks to the housekeeping staff.

Currently housekeeping in the rooms is only as requested but as I was leaving one afternoon, I said 'hello' to one of the housekeepers who asked me if we needed anything in our room. I said that it might be nice to have the trash emptied but we didn't require anything else and sure enough, when I returned not only had the trash been removed but clean towels had also been replenished in the bathroom. It's those little touches that make a place special!

Before heading home, I took a moment to take a bit of a selfie with the awesome mural because how could I resist?

Next time you're going to be wandering around Salem and wondering where to stay, I highly recommend the Hampton Inn Salem which is a part of the Hilton family of hotels.

A New Mobile App from Destination Salem Helps Visitors Plan Their Visit to Salem, Massachusetts This Fall and Beyond

2020-09-20T20:06:00.004-04:00

Thinking about planning a trip to visit Salem, Massachusetts this fall and wondering how best to do it without having to spend too much time on the computer searching for things?

Looking for some fun things to do for the Halloween season but worried about what's open and what's not? Curious at to what restrictions there might be due to the on-going Covid-19 pandemic?

If you answered 'yes' to any of the above then you're going to love the new app from the wickedly clever folks of Destination Salem! The recently-released app will provide the latest updates on everything Salem including events, museums and attractions, shops, restaurants, parking, and much more.

Created by Aloompa, the new mobile app will provide visitors and residents with comprehensive information for exploring Salem by featuring news, business listings, educational content, maps, and location-based notifications.

The new app will provide updates on parking availability, restrooms, and public health guidelines throughout the fall. The app will also be available all year long for the latest information about Salem’s annual festivals to include Salem’s So Sweet, Salem Arts Festival, Salem Heritage Days, and much more.

So what can you use the app for? Well ...

You can use the app to help you find a great place to stay like the historic and comfortable Hawthorne Hotel located next to the Salem Common. In June of 1970, when the TV series "Bewitched" filmed their 8-part series 'The Salem Saga' in the area, the Hawthorne Hotel wasn't just part of the action but also where the cast and crew stayed!

Or perhaps you'd like to stay at one of Salem's newest hotels - The Hotel Salem located right in the heart of things on Essex Street on the town's Pedestrian Mall. Want to know more? There's an app for that!

Hungry? How about a tasty bowl of Steve's Seafood Chowder and a craft cocktail at the Tavern in the Hawthorne Hotel on the Common. Allison, the best bartender on the North Shore, will be happy to create a drink that's sure to hit the spot!

More of a teetotaler? Perhaps a nice Afternoon Tea at the Jolie Tea Company would be just the thing for you! You'll find them both on the new app!

Due to the ongoing pandemic, it's frighteningly sad that Salem's annual Haunted Happenings won't be the big event like it has been in the past when the streets were so crowded you could barely walk through sideways but with the new app, you'll still be able to find lots of things to do in Witch City!

The Friendship of Salem, a replica tall ship that it is owned and operated by the National Park Service, is located on Derby Wharf, a great place to learn about Salem's role as a center of global trade in post-Colonial America. As of this writing, the ship currently stands mast-less in the harbor while undergoing restoration work.

Located across from Derby Wharf, the Salem Custom House is part of the Salem Maritime National Historic Site. It's where Nathaniel Hawthorne worked as a customs inspector for three years inspiring his writing of 'The Scarlett Letter' and where you'll find this magnificent wooden eagle that was hand carved by local craftsman Joseph True and purchased by the Custom House in 1826 for $50. A fiberglass replica currently stands upon the Custom House today.

Unfortunately, interior access to all of the buildings is currently unavailable but the outdoor spaces including the grounds, gardens, and wharfs of Salem Maritime will continue to remain accessible 7 days a week and you can have a socially-distanced chat with Park Rangers who will be roving the grounds at Salem Maritime between 8:30AM and 5:00PM.

The House of the Seven Gables will be focusing on open-air experiences in their historic gardens and grounds this year with the price of admission including a link to a virtual tour of the 1668 Turner-Ingersoll Mansion. Their Visitor Center and Museum Shop will be open with restrictions in place.

On the new mobile app you'll find lots of other places of interest to visit including:

The Charter Street Cemetery/Old Burying Point which is a popular destination for visitors to Salem. Founded in 1637, it is Salem's oldest cemetery and final resting place for several of the city's notable residents ... though not this guy, this was just a cool stone!

The Witch Trials Memorial is located directly behind the cemetery and is open to the public from dawn to dusk. Here you'll find memorial benches for the 19 men and women who were executed during the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 including Giles Corey who was pressed to death for refusing to confess to witchcraft.

If you want to learn more about the Salem Witch Trials, the Salem Witch Museum now offers same-day online tickets that you can purchase once you arrive in Salem and eliminating the need to stand in line. Find more info in the app!

Just FYI, when you're walking past this foreboding looking statue near the Salem Witch Museum, it isn't a witch though many think he is! This 9-foot tall statue is actually of the Puritan Roger Conant who is credited with founding Salem, Danvers and Peabody.

Of course no visit to Salem would be complete without a stop at the Peabody Essex Museum which ranks among the top 20 art museums in America and which recently opened a new 40,000-square foot wing offering visitors the chance to see even more of their wonderful collection. Through April 4, 2021 they have a new exhibition "The Salem Witch Trials of 1692" which is sure to be of interest to anyone who would like to learn more about the tragic events of 1692 that have shaped so much of Salem's history.

With the new mobile app from Destination Salem, planning a trip to Salem need not be at all scary! You'll have everything you need at your fingertips, including a detailed map to help navigate the city and the most up-to-date list of events, shops, and restaurants that are open. You'll even be able to receive real-time messages via the app should anything change related to the city's COVID-19 guidelines.

The Destination Salem app is available for iOS and Android and can be found on the App Store as well as online at: http://onelink.to/kez9qm.

Visit Cornwall's Beautiful Lizard Peninsula & Stay at the Historic Lizard Lighthouse

2020-08-30T16:18:00.000-04:00

Anyone who has ever watched the British comedy series "Doc Martin" or historical drama series "Poldark" already knows how beautiful the county of Cornwall located in South West England is but I'm here to tell you that it's even more amazing when you're wandering the picture-perfect peninsula yourself! Want to make it even more amazing? Stay in a historic lighthouse like the Lizard Lighthouse located on the most southerly point of mainland Great Britain.

Lying within the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), Cornwall’s nationally protected landscape with the same status and protection as a National Park, the lighthouse is located on the tip of Lizard Point which is the most southerly point of Lizard Peninsula in the civil parish of Landewednack which is the most southerly parish in England.

Yes, there's a lot of "most southerly" going on here but in spite of its name, there aren't any lizards going along with that! Known for its geology and for its rare plants, the name Lizard is most probably a corruption of the Cornish name Lys Ardh, meaning "high court". It's purely coincidental that much of the peninsula is composed of serpentinite-bearing rock which is as close to a lizard as it's going to get!

As the Lizard's coast is particularly hazardous to shipping, it has historically been known as the"Graveyard of Ships" due to the large number of maritime disasters that have occurred in the area. Naturally this made it the ideal place for a lighthouse with the first one being erected in 1619 by Sir John Killigrew - an accused pirate who was known to store stolen goods at his home. Killigrew applied for and was granted a patent on the understanding that the light would be extinguished on the approach of pirate or enemy vessels.

The original lighthouse was simply a single tower with an open fire atop which did the job but proved to be too costly for Killigrew to maintain. In an effort to help with the cost of the maintenance, King James I levied one halfpenny a ton on all vessels that passed the lighthouse however, the levy was very unpopular and caused such an uproar that it was withdrawn and the light tower was demolished.

In 1748, Thomas Fonnereau, landowner and entrepreneur, applied for a patent to build a second lighthouse on Lizard Point and was granted permission by Trinity House, the official authority for lighthouses in England, Wales, the Channel Islands and Gibraltar that was established by Royal Charter in 1514. Completed in 1752, the new lighthouse consisted of both an east and west tower which were topped with open coal-fired braziers. A small cottage was built between the towers in which an over-looker sat and made sure that the lights didn't dim or go out. If they did, the over-looker would blow on a cow horn to remind the bellows-blowers of their duties.

Trinity House took over the responsibility for the lighthouse in 1771 and began making improvements such as changing the coal lights to oil lights in 1811 and adding more cottages which were used by the keepers and their families. On October 1, 1903 the western light tower was taken out of service and its lanterns removed when a large four-panel rotating optic, manufactured by leading glass manufacturer Chance Brothers, was installed in the eastern tower. It was announced that this 'new revolving light of very great power' would be visible at a distance of between 40 and 50 miles.

Image Source: @ILoveCornwallUK via Twitter

Claiming to be the home of the biggest lighthouse compound in the world, Lizard Light was automated in 1988 as Trinity House neared the end of their Lighthouse Automation Programme. The 117-year old light, which is illuminated by a one-million candlepower bulb with a lifespan of six-thousand hours, flashes once every three seconds and is visible at up to 26 nautical miles or 52 regular miles. As of January 23rd, 2012, the light is only displayed at night.

A view of the light at night.

Today the six cottages at Lizard Lighthouse have been converted to lovely holiday rentals operated by Rural Retreats in conjunction with Trinity House should you wish to spend time on the most southerly point of mainland Great Britain. Forget the crowds of tourists over at Land's End - the most southwesterly point of Great Britain - who queue up to pay £10 to have their photo taken with the landmark signpost and choose the Lizard instead. It's remote, yes, but if peace, beauty and magnificent coastal walks available from your front door are what you're looking for - this is the place to be!

National Trust signage for Lizard Point.

One of the many awesome views you can take in while walking the South West Coast Path in the Lizard National Nature Reserve.

In addition to the holiday cottages, the Lizard Lighthouse Heritage Centre is located in the former lighthouse engine room which still features some of the original engines. Interactive exhibits and displays focus on the history of the lighthouse, the life of a lighthouse keeper, and the role of lighthouses in sea safety. The main exhibit now features Trinity House artifacts previously on display at the National Maritime Museum Cornwall and include a magnificent pair of 12-foot light-vessel optics as well as the solid bronze entrance doors from the Bishop Rock Lighthouse that were smashed through by storm waves.

Made possible by a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Lizard Lighthouse Heritage Centre was officially opened by HRH The Princess Royal - or Princess Ann for those of us not in the know when it comes to British Royalty! - on July 13, 2009.

For the true lighthouse enthusiasts among us, Lizard Lighthouse is the only Trinity House lighthouse in Cornwall where you can climb up the spiral staircase in the tower to view the 2nd order Catadioptric four-panel rotating lens that was installed in 1903 as it continues to float smoothly in its bath of mercury.

This amazing piece of early technology is definitely worth the short climb to see!

Now as to the holiday cottages, while on an extended visit to the United Kingdom to celebrate a landmark birthday, I decided that the best way to usher in another decade was to spend it at Lizard Light. To that end, I booked Bishop Rock - the cottage that was once upon a time the home of the head lightkeeper and his family. Located right next to the operating light tower, it was ideal for this lighthouse-lovin' wanderer!

Each cottage comes with one designated parking spot which offers a great view of the tower and it's light. Isn't it pretty?

Entrance to the enclosed courtyard of Bishop Rock with the light tower next to it.

Inside the cottage, the kitchen has everything you could possibly need: an electric oven and hob, dishwasher, fridge/freezer, electric kettle, microwave and a washer/dryer.

The kitchen also has fantastic views from the window!

We were welcomed with a vase of beautiful flowers.

There was also a welcome hamper full of all sorts of goodies!

The sitting room had lots of comfortable seating and awesome sea views from the windows.

There's an electric fireplace if it gets chilly and a television and DVD player for entertainment though keep in mind, you don't get any channels on the TV so enjoy the DVDs or bring some reading material. A few games can be found to play also.

Upstairs the second floor has two bedrooms. This room has a king-size bed, a vanity and plenty of room to spread out your belongings.

There are terrific sea views from the room also.

This was a great view to wake up to in the morning!

The second bedroom has two twin beds. The bathroom with a tub and shower is located on the ground floor at the bottom of the stairs.

When the fog rolls in on the Lizard, the beautiful sea views become shrouded and the light's mournful foghorn starts up. Earplugs are provided for guests' use though we never used them ourselves as we didn't find the foghorn to be that loud when it was going off on our third day there due to the fog. Well, either that or we're just very sound sleepers!

Not to worry, these are not the foghorns that you'll be hearing! These large black foghorns were installed at the Lizard in 1908 and remained in service until 1998 when the lighthouse was automated and de-manned. At that time these behemoths were replaced with an automatic fog signal but as the last compressed-air fog signal to be discontinued in Britain, the old horns are still intact and are occasionally used to mark special occasions - like to welcome in the New Year.

This view shows Bishop Rock cottage to the left of the tower and light. The small window at the top is the king-size bedroom while the one below is the sitting room. I should probably take the time to mention that when you're this far out on the coast, there is no cell service and no WiFi either so unless you bring your own hot spot - which we did - you're going to be off the grid during your stay. These days, that's not necessarily a bad thing!

View of Lizard Light from the South West Coast Path.

While you're out walking about, be sure to take a peek at the old Lizard Lifeboat Station located in Polpeor Cove below the lighthouse. The first station was built above Polpeor Cove in 1859 by the Royal National Lifeboat Insitution (RNLI) but its location proved to be not ideal as it made launches a long and precarious operation in rough seas and weather

The second Lifeboat Station was built in 1885 above the high-water mark in the cove (the square, flat-topped building in the photo) and then was built for the third and final time in 1914 (the concrete building with the peaked roof.) The Lifeboat Station had an integrated slipway which meant the lifeboat was able to launch directly into the sea however, this could prove hazardous in rough conditions because of the number of rocks in the cove.

With the need to employ larger and faster lifeboats due to the growth in maritime commerce, the RNLI decided to close the station at Polpeor Cove due to its operating limitations and seek out a new location for the Lizard Lifeboat Station. In 1958, a new station was built in Kilcobben Cove as the cove is sufficiently protected to allow safe launches in all sea and weather conditions. Polpeor Cove's Lifeboat Station closed in 1961 and in 2010 the original Kilcobben Cove station was demolished as it could not accommodate the latest Tamar-class lifeboats. On May 5, 2012, the new station (pictured above) was officially opened by Admiral the Lord Boyce, Chairman of the RNLI.

There's a lot more to the Lizard Peninsula then the lighthouse and the few things I've mentioned here but I have to admit that most of my time there was spent walking the coastal path and taking in the beautiful views from all angles but honestly with views like the one below, can you blame me? I didn't think so!

For more information on other places to stay, things to do and lots more on not just the Lizard Peninsula but all of Cornwall, go to VisitCornwall where you can "Think, Plan, Book & Enjoy"! Oh ... and may I suggest you watch of a bit of Poldark before you go just to whet your whistle? The scenery is simply to die for but not so much that you need to walk too close to the edge of the cliffs!

Royal Afternoon Tea at The Rubens at the Palace

2020-08-29T15:47:00.006-04:00

I feel I should begin by saying that I absolutely adore the tradition of Afternoon Tea. I could say it's because I am English on both my mother and father's side of the family (with a bit of German and Swamp Yankee thrown in) but I'm pretty sure that I would adore it regardless of my heritage. There's just something about taking time out of your day to sit back and enjoy an array of finger sandwiches, scones and assorted pastries coupled with a pot or two of tea that seems so civilized and refined - and Lord knows we could all do with a good dose of civility and refinement these days!

Though Afternoon Tea here in America can be nice, it's not quite as nice as those you can sit down to in Great Britain and one of the nicest that I've been to was at The Rubens at the Palace in London. Located within easy walking distance of Buckingham Palace and directly across from the Royal Mews - home of Her Majesty's royal horses, livery and coaches - their Royal Afternoon Tea is a quintessentially English experience.

Served in the Palace Lounge with its rich interior and large windows overlooking the gates at the Royal Mews, guests are made to feel like royalty themselves as they are treated to incomparable 5-star service. Upon my arrival, I was led to a comfy couch overlooking the street where I was able to watch people come, go and stare in the window as I enjoyed what was certainly one of the best Afternoon Teas I have ever lifted my pinky for!

Recently commended in the 2019 Afternoon Tea Awards, the Rubens Royal Afternoon Tea can be accompanied by a fully serviced bar offering Champagne or cocktails so I added a little sparkle to my tea and treated myself to a Martini Royale made with Martini Bianco, Martini Procescco, freshly squeezed lime juice and fresh mint leaves. Not only was it very tasty but it was also very pretty!

As for the tea itself, I chose The Royal Jubilee Blend which was a bespoke blend using two of the most famous varieties of black tea - Yunnan and Assam. The tea was created in celebration of the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II and as I was having tea basically in Her backyard, it seemed appropriate to lift a cup in Her Majesty's honor!

My Afternoon Tea began with a variety of sandwiches: Smoked Scottish Salmon and Horseradish Cream Cheese on a Beetroot Bread, Coronation Chicken and Toasted Almonds on White Bread, Egg and Watercress on Basil Bread, Cucumber and Cream Cheese on Caraway-seeded Bread, and Ham, Cheese and Tomato Chutney on Onion Bread.

They were all quite delicious and though my server offered me more - which was tempting! - I demurred in order to save room for the other deliciousness that I knew was coming!

Next up were these traditional plain and chocolate chip scones served with strawberry jam and clotted cream. Aren't they gorgeous? Though I have tried mightily, I have not been able to bake a scone that looks - or tastes! - anything like these!

Though there are two ways to eat scones, I opted for the Cornish style which is to split your scone in half and then top each half with jam before adding the clotted cream. Others prefer the Devonshire method which is to spread on the clotted cream first and then top it with the jam but as it's been said that the Queen eats her scones with the jam on first, who am I to argue with Royalty? Cheers!

Once my sandwiches and scones were devoured (politely of course!) it was on to the Pièce de résistance of my Royal Afternoon Tea - the pastries! It's okay if your mouth just watered, mine did too when these beauties were set before me! Paying respect to the tradition of Afternoon Tea whilst incorporating fresh twists along the way, the menu at The Ruben features mouth-watering pastries that are influenced by Royal events and dining trends throughout the centuries. Yes please!

The pastry kitchen at The Rubens is led by the talented pastry chef Sarah Houghting who produces the freshest pastries and cakes for guests to enjoy. Some of those are what you're looking at here on this plate of pastry perfections. From left to right there is: an English Rose Macaroon, White Chocolate and Peach Mousse, Queens Jammy Dodger Biscuit, Rubens Royal Chocolate Biscuit Cake, Lemon Meringue Slice and Gin and Tonic Cheesecake. Oh my indeed!

What you're looking at here is the remnants of my pastry feast! Even though I've read that there isn't a use for a fork during an Afternoon Tea (it's a spoon and knife affair), I'd been given one and so made use of it with my desserts. With the exception of the Lemon Meringue Slice (I love Lemon Meringue!), I left a little bit of all the others. It pained me to do so but it would have pained me more to have finished them off! My server was kind enough to offer some to take back to my hotel with me but I resisted the urge to say, "YES! Oh please yes!" Sometimes my willpower just amazes me!

With one last view of the gates at the Royal Mews across the street from me, I sipped the last of my tea and reflected on what a remarkably wonderful experience it had been. Even though it can be awkward at times to be dining solo, I never felt rushed or like I needed to get the heck out of there as people were looking at me with sympathy. Instead, I think they were looking at me with envy and they rightly should have! Solo or in the company of others, the Royal Afternoon Tea at The Rubens at the Palace is an experience to be savoured and enjoyed to the fullest.

The Rubens at the Palace is located at 39 Buckingham Palace Road in the Westminster section of London with the nearest Tube station being Victoria as well as the larger Victoria Train Station just a short walk away. It's an ideal location if you're planning on doing any sightseeing at Buckingham Palace, Westminster Cathedral, St James's Park and more. If you're there with the family, The Rubens welcomes children under 12 to enjoy a 'Little Prince and Princess Royal Tea' with a kid-sized selction of sandwiches, scones and pastries. Bookings are highly recommended and can be done on their website.

For those with dietary restrictions, the Royal Afternoon Tea experience can be adapted to meet vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free menu requirements. Menus are available to peruse online and their team would be delighted to discuss any additional requirements prior to your booking. Please note that bookings for Vegetarian, Vegan and Gluten-Free Afternoon Tea must be made at least 24 hours in advance otherwise The Rubens is unable to accommodate reservations.

"The Salem Witch Trials 1692" and "Salem Stories" Premiere at the PEM this September

2020-08-24T13:54:00.002-04:00

I have to admit to getting pretty excited when I recently learned about two new exhibitions that will be opening at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts this fall. Beginning on September 26 and focused on Salem’s rich and storied history, The Salem Witch Trials 1692 and Salem Stories will be brimming with the stories, people, and objects that can only be found in Salem, Massachusetts - a unique city with a fascinating past and a promising future.

For the first time in three decades, the world’s largest collection of authentic materials and documents will be on view in The Salem Witch Trials 1692 giving visitors the chance to explore rarely-exhibited documents from PEM's Phillips Library alongside objects from the museum's vast collection to learn the true stories of the tragedy as told through the voices of those directly involved. Presented in 26 vignettes that show why Salem, Massachusetts is so extraordinary, Salem Stories will feature more than 100 of the museum's works including paintings, sculpture, textiles, decorative arts, photographs, natural history specimens, manuscripts, posters, books, eyewitness accounts, and even a murder weapon.

The Salem Witch Trials 1692

Tompkins Harrison Matteson's, Examination of a Witch, 1853. Photo Credit: Courtesy of the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA. Photography by Mark Sexton and Jeffrey R. Dykes.

Like so many others, I have always been fascinated by the hysteria that swept through the North Shore of Massachusetts which resulted in the jailing of close to 200 people and the deaths of over 25 innocent men, women and children. The deadliest witch hunt in the history of colonial North America, the Salem Witch Trials began in the spring of 1692 in Salem Village (now Danvers) when a group of young girls claimed to be possessed by the devil and accused several of the local women of practicing witchcraft.

When the accusations first began to circulate, local magistrates John Hathorne and Jonathan Corwin were called upon to question both accusers and accused to determine if there was cause for a trial. They were eventually joined in this task by officials from Boston, including Deputy Governor Thomas Danforth, but as the hysteria grew and spread following the confessions of several accused witches, the naming of more and more witches began to overwhelm the jail and court system. On May 27, 1692, Massachusetts Governor William Phips created a court of Oyer and Terminer (meaning “to hear” and to “decide”) and tasked it with presiding over the witchcraft cases for Suffolk, Essex and Middlesex counties as arrests were made in numerous towns beyond Salem Town and Salem Village. Most notably, the town of Andover was home to more accused witches than any other in the area as fingers were pointed at more than 40 residents.

On June 2, 1692, the newly-appointed court convened in Salem Town with William Stoughton, Massachusetts' new Lieutenant Governor as Chief Magistrate, Thomas Newton as the Crown’s Attorney prosecuting the cases, and Stephen Sewell as clerk along with a number of other prominent men from the area. On the court's first day in session, it handed down it's very first guilty conviction against Bridget Bishop, a local widow known for her gossipy ways and promiscuity. A mere eight days later, Bridget was hanged on Proctor’s Ledge - later to become known as Gallows Hill - in Salem Town.

Portrait of Judge Samuel Sewall, John Smibert, 1733. Sewall, brother of Court Clerk Stephen Sewall, was one of the 9 judges who sentenced people to death in the Witch Trials. Photo Credit: Courtesy of the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA. Photography by John Koza.

Following Bishop's death, five more people were hanged in July, another five in August and eight more went to the gallows in September. Additionally, the elderly Giles Corey was pressed to death by stones after he refused to enter a plea at his arraignment. The penalty for standing mute was torture so a judge ordered “peine forte et dure”, a method of torture by which heavier and heavier stones are stacked upon the chest of the accused until they either plea or die. Though the torture took several days, Giles refused to plead ensuring that his two sons-in-law would inherit his land rather than it being ceded to the government upon his conviction. Following his death, Giles' wife Martha was hanged on September 22, 1692 and another seven accused witches died in the Salem Jail before the madness ended.

Giles Corey Memorial Bench at the Salem Witch Trial Memorial on Charter Street. Photo credit: Linda Orlomoski

In 1693, after his own wife had been accused of practicing witchcraft, Governor Phips finally prohibited further arrests, dissolved the Court of Oyer and Terminer and moved the trials to a higher court that did not permit the use of spectral evidence. In May of 1693, Governor Phips pardoned all accused witches that were still in custody and the Salem Witch Trials effectively ended.

Many colonists had begun to express misgivings during the trials and officially began to express some guilt almost immediately in the aftermath. In 1702, barely a decade after the last victim was accused, the trials were declared “unlawful” and in 1711, Massachusetts passed a bill that officially cleared the names of all of the named witches. Surviving victims and their families received financial restitution in 1712, although the state did not issue a formal apology until 1957. To this day - over 325 years later - the complex drama of the Salem Witch Trials and its themes of injustice and the frailties of human nature continue to fascinate us.

Records during the trial were meticulously kept and preserved and many of them are part of the PEM's Phillips Library Collection. In The Salem Witch Trials 1692 visitors will have the chance to see some of those rarely-exhibited, light-sensitive materials including the original 1692 death warrant for the execution of Bridget Bishop as well as petitions from the accused, invoices from the jail keeper, direct testimony from accusers and the physical examinations of the accused.

Among the items on view is the powerful petition of Mary Easty (also spelled Esty), who was hung in the last group on September 22, 1692. Written in a careful script, the petition conveys her last words to those who accused her right before she was sent to the gallows. “I petition to your honors, not for my own life, for I know I must die. And my appointed time is set. But the Lord, he knows it is, that if it be possible, no more innocent blood may be shed.” Easty was the sister of Rebecca Nurse who was hanged on July 19, 1692.

Mary Easty's Memorial Marker at Proctor's Ledge Memorial. Photo credit: Rebecca Brooks

“I hope that people can look at the documents and the objects and realize that these were real people, people like you and me,” said Dan Lipcan, Head Librarian at PEM’s Phillips Library. “These people had emotions and fears just like we do. They were innocent and they knew it and there was nothing they could do about it.”

The exhibition also includes books to add context to the documents, including a copy of the Malleus Maleficarum. Usually translated as The Hammer of the Witches, the book is the best known treatise on witchcraft that was written by the Catholic clergyman Heinrich Kramer (under his Latinized name Henricus Institoris) and first published in the German city of Speyer in 1486. On the other end of the spectrum, The Displaying of Supposed Witchcraft - a critical and skeptical review of evidence for witchcraft - was written in 1677 by John Webster, an English minister, physician and chemist who was known for his controversial works and skepticism of witchcraft.

Tompkins Harrison Matteson's, Trial of George Jacobs, Sr. for Witchcraft, 1855. Photo Credit: Courtesy of the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA. Photography by Mark Sexton and Jeffrey R. Dykes.

Paired with the documents are personal possessions relating to those involved, such as a wood and sealskin trunk dating to 1670 that once belonged to Jonathan Corwin, the judge who resided at the 17th-century building now known as The Witch House. There are also two original beams from the Salem Jail and an 1855 painting from PEM’s collection, Trial of George Jacobs, Sr. for Witchcraft by Tompkins Harrison Matteson. The painting summarizes in one scene a number of dramatic incidents that occurred during the days of George Jacobs Sr.’s examination and trial. Most of the action focuses on the dramatic moment when his own granddaughter, Margaret, testified against him. Placed in the center of the painting, she kneels and points her finger directly at her grandfather, who responds by pleading his innocence with upraised arms. Also included in the exhibition are two 17th century oak walking sticks that were used by George Jacobs, Sr. prior to his death.

“These objects emphasize the human scale of this tragedy,” said Dean Lahikainen, The Carolyn and Peter Lynch Curator of American Decorative Art. “At the same time, they shine a light on Salem’s rare 17th-century furnishings and material culture.”

1679 Valuables cabinet owned by Joshua and Bathsheba Pope, accusers during the Witch Trials. Photo Credit: Photo by Dennis Helmar

A team of curators and outside experts collaborated on the exhibition, which includes the background of key players in history, as well as a memorial wall dedicated to the victims where visitors will be asked to reflect on the loss as well as the ignorance, intolerance and fear that led to the tragedy of the Salem Witch Trials in 1692.

Salem Stories

Though the first things that probably come to mind when someone mentions Salem, Massachusetts might be Halloween, witches and everything spooky, the city can claim many other remarkable national and international achievements which have been overshadowed by the tragic events of 1692-93. It was at Lyceum Hall that Alexander Graham Bell completed the first successful long-distance telephone call in 1877; Parker Brothers produced Monopoly and thousands of other well-loved board games there; and in 2013, President Obama signed legislation recognizing the city as the birthplace of the United States National Guard. In Salem Stories, the A–Z structure creates an accessible and entertaining way to engage with Salem’s history - from past to present day - by highlighting many of Salem's remarkable achievements.

Native American Deerskin Pouch, late 17th-mid-18th century. Photo Credit: ©Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA. Photograph by Mark Sexton.

Salem Stories starts with “A is for Always Indigenous” to acknowledge the Native communities who have lived for millennia on the land where the museum now sits. It ends with "Z is for Zoology" coinciding with the return to the galleries of a leatherback turtle specimen captured in 1885, a favorite of longtime visitors.

“Salem is truly a fascinating city filled with many stories of local, national and international significance,” says Karina Corrigan, The H.A. Crosby Forbes Curator of Asian Export Art. “This is a local story told by locals.”

Salem has long been a place of opportunity for immigrants, with every wave of arrivals bringing new ideas, culinary traditions, and values, expanding the city’s cultural richness, and bolstering its economy. “I is for Immigrants” celebrates that long history, from the Polish, Irish and French-speaking Canadian immigrants in the 19th century to the more recent arrivals from the Dominican Republic and other Caribbean nations who now call the city home.

“R” is for Remond Family” introduces visitors to the story of John Remond, who came to Salem in 1798 as a young boy from the Caribbean island of Curaçao aboard the Salem ship Six Brothers. Remond would become the patriarch of one of the most influential free Black families in early 19th century New England. All members of his family belonged to local and national anti-slavery societies, and his children Sarah Parker Remond and Charles Lenox Remond became renowned international abolitionist orators.

Corner of Derby and Herbert Streets in the Aftermath of the Great Salem Fire of 1914. Photo Credit: PEM

The exhibition also includes some creative surprises. “C is for Caring for our Community” chronicles how the city has come together in times of crisis, from the outpouring of support after the Great Salem Fire of 1914, to the more recent COVID-19 pandemic. The exhibition will continue to evolve, just like the city itself, and new Salem stories will be added along the way. In fact, “Y is for You” invites the community to share their own unique stories of the city.

King Penquin captured live off the Falkland Islands, about 1820. Gift of Captain George Hodges, 1821. Photo Credit:PEM

The large team of curators who collaborated to create the exhibition have more than 150 years of experience working at PEM and have called the city home for many years. “But even we learned new things about our city,” says Corrigan. “Whether you are from Essex Street or Estonia, I think you are going to discover something new about Salem.”

The Salem Witch Trials 1692 will be on view through April 4, 2021 while Salem Stories will be on view through October 3, 2021. If you have the chance to visit, share your impressions of this experience using: #SalemStories and #1692WitchTrial on your favorite social media outlet.

Lastly, it shouldn't go without saying that one of the biggest achievements in Salem that has made it the outstanding destination that it is, was the founding of the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) in 1799, a museum that - over the last 20 years - has distinguished itself as one of the fastest-growing art museums in North America. With the distinction of being the country’s oldest continuously operating museum, at its heart PEM has a mission to enrich and transform people's lives by broadening their perspectives, attitudes and knowledge of themselves and the wider world. Case in point are these two terrific upcoming exhibitionss that will give visitors a closer look at the 1692 witch trials that made Salem infamous as well as other many remarkable achievements that elevate Salem to more than just "The Witch City".

For more information on hours, admission costs, more exhibitions and public safety protocols, call 866-745-1876 or visit pem.org.

Wandering Through the 6ix aka Toronto, Canada

2019-09-01T20:06:00.000-04:00

Earlier this summer, I had the chance to wander up to Toronto, Canada and spend some time exploring a city that I'd had the chance to visit once back in 2011 but only as a one-night stop on my way to Niagara Falls, and only because Hugh Jackman was there performing at the Princess of Wales Theatre! Well, that and my youngest child was catching a bus from there to visit a friend who lived in Winnipeg, Canada. I didn't see much of the city then and had always wanted to go back to spend more time there so when the opportunity presented itself, off I went.

If you’ve never traveled internationally yourself but feel like it’s time to give it a whirl, you should really consider wandering to the very international city of Toronto yourself. Not only is it fairly easy to get to - especially for those of us who live on the East Coast of the US - but Canada currently offers a very favorable exchange rate on the US dollar - unlike when I was there in 2011 and the USD was really hurting. Getting more bang for your buck, in addition to the fact that Canadians are genuinely friendly people who are happy to welcome you to their country, definitely makes Toronto the perfect place to stretch your wings as a 'world traveler' as you let the travel bug nibble on you on a bit!

Though you certainly can’t experience everything in Toronto in just one trip - heck, I've been twice now and feel like I've barely scratched the surface! - a few days will definitely give you a good feel for what North America’s 4th largest city has to offer. Located along Lake Ontario’s northwestern shore, Toronto - nicknamed “The 6ix” by hometown hero and rapper Drake for its 416 area code - is composed of a number of hugely diverse neighborhoods making it a vibrant, multicultural city and a great place to visit whether you’re into sports, museums, history, shopping, architecture or food.

Of course the most iconic building dominating the Toronto skyline is the CN Tower, one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World and the tallest freestanding structure in the western hemisphere. Topping out at 1,815 feet, the CN refers to the Canadian National Railway company which built the structure as a radio tower. Opening to the public in 1976, the Tower annually attracts more than 2 million international visitors who have the option of enjoying the views from several different levels, or from a table in the Tower’s aptly-named “360” revolving restaurant. Additionally, visitors to the CN Tower, can now take their experience to the edge - literally - by stepping outside the top of the Tower’s main pod onto a 5-foot wide ledge and going for a stroll. EdgeWalk - in which 6 participants at a time are attached to an overhead safety rail in a harness system - is the first of its kind in North America offering a full-circle hands-free walk 116 stories above the ground and the ultimate in bragging rights when it comes to a visit to Toronto. Let me just say that I do NOT have those particular bragging rights though I have to admit, it would be pretty darned cool if I did!

Photo Courtesy CN Tower

Back down on terra firma, one of the best ways to get a real feel for just how eclectic Toronto is, is by paying a visit to Kensington Market - a proudly multicultural, funky neighborhood encompassing 10 or so blocks of diverse independent shops, restaurants and cafes, colorful produce markets, spice markets, bars and more. If you're wondering where a good number of the draft dodgers from the United States went to when they moved to Canada back in the 60s, chances are good that Kensington Market was it as it's the type of neighborhood that has embraced all sorts of folks for generations.

Located in the heart of Toronto, the designated National Historic site area also gives you the chance to experience a true taste of Canada via the Great Canadian Food Tour offered by Chopsticks+Forks. The brainchild of company founder and chronic foodie, Jusep Sim, who has been hosting popular international food tours in Kensington Market for more than three years, the recently-launched 2½-hour Canadian food tour has stops at six family-run locations where you’ll sample the most iconic tastes born in Canada. Beginning with an exclusive stop at the Pow Wow Café, an Indigenous Canadian-owned restaurant, not only will you eat your fill of the most iconic tastes born in Canada — like an Ojibway Taco on bannock bread, Montreal-style bagels and Canada’s most popular dessert that dates back to the 1600s — you’ll also learn some of the history of Kensington Market from your knowledgeable and friendly guide. For more about the tour, check out my blog post here.

After enjoying all that good food, walk some of it off by heading to Graffiti Alley, a must-see if you like street art which, in Toronto, has evolved from its illicit origins to become a source of civic pride. Though you’ll see colorful artwork all over the city, the most concentrated display starts at 1 Rush Lane and runs west from Spadina Avenue to Portland Street. In between you’ll find everything from amateur graffiti tags to intricate murals as well as an undersea world that covers almost an entire building. Definitely one of the most Instagrammable and unique parts of the city, chances are good you’ll even see an artist working on a new piece while you’re there as the art is ever-changing.

For art of a more traditional nature, Toronto is home to several world-class museums including the Art Gallery of Ontario, which, at 480,000 square feet, is one of the largest galleries in North America. With a collection of close to 95,000 works spanning the first century to present day, the AGO has plenty to see including the Henry Moore Sculpture Centre which comprises the world’s largest collection of the semi-abstract sculptor’s work, a terrific collection of ship models which contains exquisite examples of workmanship and the light-filled Galleria Italia overlooking Dundas Street which offers a variety of handcrafted beverages and light snacks to go with the artwork and view.

Across town in the University of Toronto district, the Royal Ontario Museum is the largest and most-visited museum in Canada with notable collections of dinosaurs, the world’s largest collection of fossils, minerals and meteorites and many more spectacular displays of art and culture. For those who missed the horrifyingly terrific exhibition: “It’s Alive! Classic Horror and Sci-Fi Art from the Kirk Hammett Collection,” when it was in Salem, Massachusetts, the Canadian-exclusive presentation of extraordinary art owned by the lead guitarist of Metallica, will be on display at the ROM through January 5, 2020. Yet another great reason to visit Toronto soon!

If you're dying to embrace your inner Imelda Marcos (who at one time owned over 1,000 pair of shoes) or just like shoes in general, just down the road from the ROM, the Bata Shoe Museum celebrates the style, development and function of footwear spanning 4,500 years of history with footwear ranging from ancient Egyptian sandals to contemporary gleaming gold sneakers. With an unrivaled collection of over 13,000 shoes and related objects, the BSM is a definite go-to for anyone who loves shoes. Believe it or not, it started with one woman's collection of shoes - and she wasn't Imelda Marcos!

While you’re in the neighborhood, be sure to visit Casa Loma, a 64,700-square foot Gothic Revival-style castle that was completed in 1914 for Toronto financier Sir Henry Mill Pellatt and his wife Lady Mary at the cost of $3.5 million. After Sir Pellatt could no longer afford to keep the castle, it became the Casa Loma Hotel, a luxury hotel that operated from 1926-29. In 1933 the city of Toronto took ownership of the property and in 1937 it began operating as a historic house museum that boasts awesome views of Toronto while self-guided audio tours offer glimpses into many of the castle’s 98 rooms, underground passages and garage with its collection of vintage cars. If it looks a bit familiar while you’re there, that may be because Casa Loma - which means 'House on the Hill' - is a popular location for use in film and television including “X-Men,” “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” and Fox’s 2016 reboot of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let’s Do the Time Warp Again” - just to name a few.

If you're looking for a special dining experience while in Toronto, consider making reservations at BlueBlood Steakhouse which is located inside Casa Loma. Offering a refined dining experience in an upscale environment with a modern and edgy feel, the restaurant has classic heritage architecture, unique heirloom antiques and modern art pieces by Andy Warhol and Salvador Dali. Honestly, when you work out the conversion rate, being able to enjoy a 12-oz Centre Cut Striploin that has been dry-aged 35 days for $60 CAD, while sitting in a castle and being waited on like royalty, is really not bad at all! Definitely something I'd like to try the next time I'm in Toronto and can afford to splurge a bit!

For the sports enthusiasts out there, the home of the newly-crowned NBA champion Toronto Raptors offers numerous sports venues where you can see a game being played as well as the opportunity to learn more about the country’s favorite sport at the Hockey Hall of Fame, or -- in French -- Temple de la Renommée du Hockey. In addition to getting up close and personal with the Stanley Cup, the hall includes exhibits about players, teams, NHL records and other trophies culled from the largest collection of hockey memorabilia in the world. For fans of the former Hartford Whalers, “9 & 99: The Howe-Gretzky Exhibition” pays homage to the most prolific scorers in the league and includes milestone artifacts and rare personal memorabilia from Gordie Howe, who finished his long and distinguished career with the Whalers in 1980. Running through March of 2020, it’s a must for any hockey fan.Oh, and if you're a Wayne Gretzky fan, some of his stuff is in the exhibition too!

Should baseball be more your thing, a visit to the Rogers Centre is a must. Originally named the SkyDome and the previous home to the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League, as well as the above-mentioned NBA champion Raptors, since 1989 the multi-purpose stadium has been the home of the Toronto Blue Jays - the only MLB team outside of the US to appear in and win a World Series. The first stadium in the world to have a fully retractable motorized roof, the Rogers Centre has a seating capacity of 49,282, so your chances of getting a really good seat at a really good price even on game day, are really good. If you just want to get your foot in the door and don’t care where you sit, tickets prices start at $15 CAD. Try getting into Fenway Park or Yankee Stadium for even close to that. Heck, try to even buy a beer and a hot dog at any ballpark in America for that!

Other “must see” places that you should put on your list include Old Town Toronto’s St. Lawrence Market, on the site where Ontario farmers have been selling produce since 1803. Incorporating the 1845 Toronto City Hall building into the structure, the current building opened in 1902 and was named one of the “Top Ten Food Markets in the World,” by National Geographic in 2012. On the market’s two floors, more than 120 retailers sell things from cheese to seafood to vegetables in this foodie paradise. Here, you’ll find the local legendary Carousel Bakery with its renowned peameal sandwich, which has caught the attention of legendary culinary celebrities Emeril Lagasse and the late Anthony Bourdain among others. It’s good but to be honest, the peameal sandwich at Bacon Nation in Kensington Market -- a stop on the Great Canadian Food Tour -- is better.

From St. Lawrence Market, take a walk to the pedestrian-only Distillery Historic District, comprised of 46 buildings that once housed a large whiskey distillery. Billed as the largest collection of Victorian industrial architecture in North America, the cobbled lanes of the former Gooderham & Worts Distillery are lined with an array of boutiques and galleries as well as dining options including the Mill Street Brewery, where you can sample two of the brewery’s beers (or root beer if you're not a beer drinker!) while waiting for your table to be ready in the brewpub. East Toronto’s first commercial microbrewery to open in more than 100 years, you can also take one of their daily tours.

Speaking of beer, located near the CN Tower and Rogers Centre in the historic John Street Roundhouse, Steam Whistle Brewing is one of Canada’s largest and most beloved independent breweries producing one of the only remaining Pilsners in the world that adheres to the strict standards of the Bavarian Purity Act of 1516. Using only pure spring water, barley, hops and yeast, the brewery’s Czech-born Brewmaster, Marek Mikunda, oversees the production of one of the most challenging styles of beer to perfect. Take a half-hour tour of the brewery where you’ll also learn about the history of the roundhouse then sit back and enjoy a freshly poured pint or two at the bar as you toast your terrific trip to Toronto!

Steam Whistle is located in Roundhouse Park which is situated on the former Railway Lands and home to the Toronto Railway Museum. Dedicated to preserving the physical legacy, history and experience of rail transportation in Toronto and Ontario, the Toronto Railway Museum encompasses Roundhouse Park and features interpretive plaques in addition to a railway simulator which gives visitors the chance to be an engineer by setting the speed, using the brakes, and blowing the horn all with actual levers! Take a turn on the restored turntable or hop aboard the miniature train ride which is popular with both young and old alike!

Be sure to take a walk past the Gooderham Building (a.k.a. the Flat Iron) and then on to Berzcy Park located right behind it where you'll find a whimsical dog fountain that features a menagerie of 27 cast iron dogs, one cat who looks like he definitely took the wrong turn in Albuquerque, and a lone bone topping it all off! It's just too doggone cute for words!

Other great places to visit in the city include Nathan Phillips Square to pose at the Toronto sign and the Eaton Centre which is home to over 250+ best-in-class retailers, restaurants and services located in the heart of downtown. A shopper's dream come true, the centre comes complete with a striking glass galleria and iconic "Flight Stop" geese overhead.

Obviously in a city the size of Toronto, there are many, many lodging options from pretty much all price-points both in and outside of the downtown area. You may choose to stay in one of the outlying areas to save some money and utilize the area's great public transportation system or, should you chose to stay further afield, it's also easy enough to drive into the city and find somewhere quite reasonably priced to park ahead of time by using an app like Parking Panda. When I wandered up to Canada, we did just that though we did opt to spend one night closer to the action at the Kimpton Saint George in the University section of the city.

Located on Bloor Street across from the Bata Shoe Museum and just down the road from the Royal Ontario Museum, the Saint George makes its home in a great neighborhood and is within easy walking distance of public transportation. The hotel offers 188 guest rooms and suites that are modern and roomy, a nightly hosted evening wine hour from 5-6 pm, a hi-tech 24-hour fitness center as well as complimentary PUBLIC bikes for guests' use, terrific staff and on-site dining at The Fortunate Fox, a hip gastropub where everything's made from scratch and delicious! To be honest, I've not met a Kimpton hotel that I haven't liked and the Saint George was certainly no exception, I highly recommend it as the place to call 'home' while wandering through Toronto!

There's definitely a lot more to Toronto than I've touched on here and though I spent a lot of my time preparing for my trip by binge-watching the filmed-in-Toronto series "Flashpoint", if you'd like a different method of obtaining more information on where to stay, what else to visit, and how to get around the city, be sure to visit Tourism Toronto where you can also book a money-saving package deal offering discounts on both lodging and activities.

Wandering Through the Whisky at Edradour Distillery, Scotland

2019-08-27T15:17:00.001-04:00

When visiting Scotland, one really should wander by at least one or two of their many, many whisky distilleries (even if you're not much of a whisky drinker) as they are a major part of the country's heritage. Dating back to 1494 as documented in the Exchequer Rolls (records of royal income and expenditure), Scottish whisky evolved from a drink called 'uisge-beatha na h-Alba' which means "water of life" in Scots Gaelic. It's believed whisky-making began in Scotland when wine-making methods spread from monasteries in Europe but with no access to grapes, monks used grain mash instead to produce an early form of the popular spirit. Pretty ingenious, huh?

With over 120 active distilleries spread across Scotland split into five whisky-producing regions - Campbeltown, Highland, Islay, Lowland and Speyside - there are certainly plenty of distilleries to choose from no matter which direction you're wandering in. If you're a whisky drinker already then it's probably much easier to choose which distilleries to put on your list but for those of us who don't regularly imbibe, it's a bit tougher to decide which distilleries to see, but I believe there are some definite 'must sees' including the distillery that is renowned as one of the smallest and most picturesque in Scotland - Edradour Distillery.

Nestled in a pocket glen in the scenic hills above Pitlochry in the Perthshire area of the Southern Highlands, "Scotland's Little Gem" is found in a cluster of whitewashed buildings with red doors looking for all the world like something out of "Brigadoon" - a mythical Scottish town from Lerner & Lowe's 1947 Broadway play.

Originally called Glenforres when it was established as a farmers’ cooperative by Alexander Forbes in 1825, the first mention of Edradour – whose name derives from the Gaelic phrase: “Eodar Dhá Dhobhar” meaning “between two rivers” – was in 1837 when James Scott and Duncan Stewart became the official tenants of the distillery.

In 1839, the Statistical Account of Scotland shows Edradour – one of seven distilleries in the local parish – producing 90,00 gallons of whisky a year. In 1853, a local farmer by the name of James Reid took over the distillery as James Reid and Company but it wasn’t until 1884, when the ownership transferred to John McIntosh, son of one of the original founders, that the distillery became a thriving commercial venture.

The last original ‘farm’ distillery in Perthshire, Edradour is one of the smallest commercial distilleries in Scotland with production overseen by just three men who employ skills that have been handed down through the generations. Using no automation and the same process since the day the distillery opened, John Reid and his two fellow distillers, David Ramsbottom and James Kennedy, out-put just four weekly mashes producing 480 gallons of wort which will yield only 150 gallons of spirit. At a weekly output of a mere 600 gallons – enough to fill twelve casks – what they make in a whole year is equivalent to what a typical Speyside distillery would produce in just one week.

Guided tours of the distillery are available for £12.00 for adults, £6.00 for children 12-17 years. The tour takes approximately one hour and while you're waiting for your tour to start, you can enjoy a wee dram at the Tasting Bar which has been acclaimed as one of the finest stocked bars in any distillery! Open to distillery tour visitors only, should you like, you can return to the Tasting Bar after your tour and spend as much time as you'd like.

If by chance it's a chilly day, a dram of whisky in a cup of coffee is a great way to warm things up a bit while waiting for the tour to start - or at least that's what my distracted sidekick told me. I was the designated driver so had to behave myself and take a photo of the water pitcher instead as I did plan on enjoying the whisky offered in the tasting and couldn't overdo it, especially as drunk driving laws in Scotland are very, very strict! Oh - and if you get a cup of coffee for £2.50, you can keep the coffee mug as a souvenir - win-win!

When your tour is ready to start, you'll make your way up to the old Malt Barn where you'll watch a video and be welcomed with two drams of whisky by a friendly and knowledgeable tour guide who explains the distinctive characters and flavours of the distillery's whiskies.

You can chose between either the popular Edradour 10 single malt whisky or Ballechin 10 which is Edradour's heavily peated distillation named for the silent Ballechin distillery located nearby. I tried the peated whisky which has a nose that is herbal and grassy with sweetened smoke giving the palate a spicy and earthy smokiness that definitely lingers on the tongue. Having never tasted a peated whiskey before, I found it to be quite interesting, rather like the smokiness of a Lapsang Souchong tea - but definitely with a kick!

For my other tasting I chose Edradour's Cream Liqueur which even to a non-whisky drinker like myself was very, very tasty! Our tour guide said that it was great introduction for those who aren't familiar with malt whiskies as it's smooth, soft and velvety with a wonderful aroma . The palate definitely has notes of butterscotch and maybe a tiny bit of chocolate. Personally I thought it was even better than Bailey's and I wished there was more in the glass - which is hidden behind my hand in this photo! Speaking of the glass in my hand, you get to keep it!

While you're in the old Malt Barn, be sure to take a look over the fireplace above of which hangs the bottom of the distillery's original still. It makes the perfect decoration for the room!

Following the video and tastings, the tour sets off on foot around the grounds of the distillery including the aging warehouse where the casks are stored while the whisky matures and the angels enjoy their share. For those not familiar with the process of aging whisky - the "angels' share" is the amount of alcohol lost to evaporation as the whisky is aged in porous oak barrels. The angels' share ends up being about 2% of the total liquid in the barrel so if there are any angels dancing on the head of a pin anywhere inside the warehouse, I bet they're having one heck of a good time!

Edradour uses a combination of carefully selected sherry or bourbon oak casks of different ages for the maturation of their spirits including barrels from other distilleries. As American law dictates that casks may only be used once for bourbon maturation (and it's felt that previously-used casks help add more character to the whisky), it's not at all uncommon to find them in a Scottish warehouse as they are regularly dismantled and shipped to Scotland after that single use.

At Edradour, they age their whisky in a traditional dunnage warehouse which has an earthen floor and thick walls made of brick, both of which allow for more moisture and a higher humidity. As whisky develops 70% of its flavor while in the barrel, the warehouse is designed to provide top-notch circulation with the barrels stacked no more than three high in the same dark, damp conditions as they would have more than a century ago.

From the warehouse you head back across the distillery's pretty grounds towards the heart of the operation - the Still House.

Inside the Still House, the distillery uses a traditional, open cast-iron Mash Tun for mixing the malted barley and hot spring water. In use almost daily, Edradour's 110+ year-old Mash Tun produces roughly 2,300 pounds of wort - a liquid rich in fermentable sugars which will later produce alcohol.

Once the wort comes out of the Mash Tun, it goes into the Morton Refrigerator to be cooled. When the distillery's 1934 cast iron Morton Refrigerator reached the end of its life in 2009, Edradour held on to tradition and commissioned a stainless steel replica of it. Essentially an open trough set on a slight angle, the pipes which carry cold water in the trough are oriented perpendicular to the flow of the wort allowing the heat from the wort to be transferred to the water.

From the Morton Refrigerator, the cooled wort is transferred to the wooden Washback; Edradour has two that are about 50 years old and made from Oregon Pine. The Washback is where all of the alcohol that finds its way into the whisky is produced after yeast is added to the cooled wort and it's allowed to ferment for roughly four days.

From the Washback, it's on to the Pot Stills - the Wash Still and the Spirit Still. Edradour's Spirit Still is the smallest whisky still endorsed by Customs and Excise but it isn't small because it's a small distillery, it's small because at Edradour they feel that the smaller the still, the finer and more distinctive the taste of the whisky. The shape of the still defines the overall character of the resulting whisky: shorter ones create heavier, more full-bodied whiskies while a tall, narrow still creates a lighter, more floral or aromatic whisky.

Behind the Still House is Edradour's 100-year-old Worm Tub - a large pool of cold water with a spiral copper pipe called a 'worm' running through it. Filled by water from the Edradour Burn and part of the condensing system, Edradour is one of only a handful of distilleries in Scotland that continues to use a traditional Worm Tub which cools vapor back to a liquid state helping the spirit maintain a rich and meaty profile that will be the backbone of its flavor.

After visiting the Still House, your tour guide will lead you over to the Distillery Shop and introduce you to over 25 expressions of Edradour Single malt whisky along with a number of single malts from other distinctive Scottish distilleries - many of which are now closed or lost. In addition to the wide range of whiskies, you can also find keepsakes and gifts including engraved tasting glasses, books, clothing, whisky fudge, honey, jam, marmalade, mustard, tea towels and lots more. I guess it is true that all tours end at the gift shop!

Edradour Distillery

Pitlochry

Perthshire

Scotland

PH16 5JP

For more information on visiting the Pitlochry region where Edradour is located, be sure to check out My Scotland Voyage written by Graham Grieve who, over the past 25+ years, has traveled the length and breadth of Scotland on camping over-nighters, hill-walking adventures, road trips and random getaways. Graham has accumulated an intimate knowledge of Scotland that he shares on his website which brings hyper-localized information to help visitors cut through the noise and get to the heart of what truly makes Scotland a magic place. It's a great resource that I highly recommend when planning your trip to Scotland!

Blervie House, Scotland - A Historically Beautiful Place to Stay

2019-08-18T20:13:00.000-04:00

Should you be planning a trip to Scotland and are thinking of heading to the Speyside area with the intent of wandering through some of the country's best whisky distilleries, make your trip even more special with a stay at the beautiful Blervie House located smack in the middle of the world-famous Malt Whisky Trail. The third-sunniest region of the UK (named for the River Spey that runs through it), the Speyside region is home to over half of Scotland's distilleries - 50 in total! This breathtaking area sits in a fertile valley of crystal clear rivers and pastoral, secluded glens - ideally sandwiched between the rugged Highlands to the west, the lush farmlands of Aberdeenshire to the east and north of Cairngorms National Park, the largest of the UK's National Parks.

Located approximately about 40 minutes from Inverness Airport down a very long driveway (!) three miles south of Forres, Blervie House is a Historic Scotland listed Country House Estate set in 272 acres which includes plenty of woodland walking and riding trails and extensive views over the Moray Firth - the largest firth (inlet) in Scotland.

Once part of the Delgatie Castle estate until it was passed down through a family member, the property was sold in 1906 to Captain Harold Bessemer Galloway who had an Edwardian mansion built on the property. Designed by the prominent Scottish architect John More Dick Peddie, stone from the nearby ruin of Blervie Castle was used to build the house which was completed in 1911.

On September 25, 1915, then-Major HB Galloway of the Seaforth Highlanders was killed in action on the first day of the Battle of Loos in France which - for the history buffs out there - was, at the time, the largest British offensive of the First World War and the Army's first use of poison gas. The battle lasted from September 25th to October 8th and resulted in close to 60,000 British casualties. Along with the names of 20,609 other British and Commonwealth soldiers with no known grave who were killed in the area during and after the Battle of Loos, Major Galloway is memorialized on the Loos Memorial which forms the sides and rear of Dud Corner Cemetery in Loos-en-Gohelle, France.

Following a succession of owners over the years, in 1985 Blervie House was bought by Allan Shiach, a top Hollywood screenwriter (who writes under the name Allan Scott) and his actress wife, Kathleen Breck. At that time, the house was gutted and restored by Scottish architect Michael Laird. As an aside, Mr. Shiach, who was born in nearby Elgin, Moray and trained in the Scotch whisky industry, served as the chairman and chief executive officer of Macallan-Glenlivet from the late 1970s to 1996, turning its malt whisky into a highly successful international brand.

Put on the market in May of 2012 when the Shiach family decided to buy a house in the south of France, Blervie House once again changed hands when it was bought by Graham and Sheena Thompson in 2014. The couple spent the next several years renovating the house during which time, they discovered significant memorabilia which indicated that the estate had been used as a training facility by the Army during World War II.

Once the house was fully renovated, the Thompsons decided to share it with the public by opening it as an elegant bed & breakfast accommodation. Shortly afterward, in March of 2018, Blervie House went through its very first grading under VisitScotland's Quality Assurance scheme and came away with national five-star status - the highest rating awarded. Said Mr. Thompson at the time of the award, "We purchased Blervie House just over three years ago and fell in love with it but soon realised that such a beautiful house needed to be lived in and shared with our guests.”

Combining the best of period charm and 21st century modern conveniences in an elegant and stately country home, Blervie House offers travelers a luxurious and relaxing experience in comfortable surroundings at very affordable rates. For those of us who love history, it's a wonderful place to stay!

Accommodations include 9 bedrooms including a two-bedroom suite, four lounges for use by guests, a billiard room, outdoor terrace and 45 acres of private gardens. Breakfast is included in all rates and evening meals can be arranged with prior notice. There's a small cellar where guests are invited to help themselves then record their purchase in an honesty book, the charge will appear on the bill at the end of the stay. Guests are also invited to bring their own beverage to enjoy - no corkage fee is charged and glasses are happily provided! After all, Blervie House is surrounded by awesome distilleries!

Though it's a historic house, guests don't worry about having to lug their cases up the staircase as there's a 6-person lift for guests' use that stops at each floor. Graham will be happy to give a quick lesson on how it works!

During my stay, our room was located on the second floor which is the top floor of the house and which would actually be the third floor for those of us in the States! Munro is a double-standard room with a super king size bed that had the biggest headboard I think I have ever seen!

The room - which is air-conditioned should it be a rare warm day in Scotland! - had several chairs as well as a large dresser and in-room Pod-style coffee maker should one wish to have a cup of tea, coffee or hot chocolate. The bed was very comfortable with luxuriant high-thread count linens, duck down pillows and Hungarian Goose down duvets. As an alternative to the duvet, guests can request Merino wool blankets instead.

There was an absolutely gorgeous view across the estate from our window and though it wasn't quite clear, we could still make out some of the Moray Firth and the Black Isle which is located about 25 miles away.

Another look at the big beautiful bed that was insanely comfortable and below - just for size comparison - a bit of my head to show how incredibly massive the headboard was!

Munro - like Cameron and Fraser which are the other two rooms on the second floor - doesn't have an a bathroom en suite but instead, it was located a little way down the corridor. Equipped with heated towel racks, soft and fluffy towels and twin bathrobes, there's also a hairdryer and a selection of Scottish soaps and shampoo. Best part is that it was huge! Generally when you're staying someplace historic, there's a good chance that you're going to have a bathroom that's about the size of a phone booth but that's definitely not the case at Blervie House! I poked my head into another bathroom down the hall and though it wasn't quite as big, it was definitely roomy and had a very nice shower!

Also down the hall from our room was a small lounge area that's for the exclusive use of guests staying on this floor. There was also a small kitchenette containing a sink and fridge with glasses, mugs, china, and cutlery. All the comforts of home but in a much fancier home - at least for me!

Back downstairs, visitors can see many original features around the property including a dumb waiter, the original safe which is the same make that set sail on the Titanic, the house's original ovens and the servant’s bells which every good country house should have!

Breakfast - either Continental or a full Scottish - is served in the beautiful dining room which has lovely views across the estate.

Should you choose the full Scottish breakfast, don't forget to ask for some haggis and make it a true Scottish breakfast!

A stay at Blervie House is designed to be relaxing and comfortable so be sure to make yourself at home and if there's anything that you need, don't hesitate to ask either Graham or Sheena. They want you to arrive as guests and leave as friends - definitely not something that a regular old hotel strives for!

By the way, there are two resident peacocks at the estate along with a good number of red squirrels and roe deer. I was lucky enough to get Charlie to stand still for a photo though he wasn't up for showing off his beautiful plumage! I can't say that I blame him though, it was raining a bit but then again, it was Scotland!

For more information on Blervie House, be sure to visit their website where you'll find a lot of great information on the estate and the area. If you'd like you can also shoot them an [email protected]" target="_blank">email and ask any questions you may have. A stay at this wonderfully historic yet modern country house will definitely be one of the highlights of your Scottish vacation!

A Canterbury Tale - Wandering Around England's Medieval City

2019-08-04T20:40:00.000-04:00

Last year I took myself on an epic wander around parts of the UK to celebrate a milestone birthday (which milestone you ask? I'll just let you guess on that one!) and while planning my trip, decided that since I lived in the small town of Canterbury, Connecticut, it would only be right to visit the not-so-small Canterbury, England for which my Canterbury was named. After all, I was spending a few days in London and it was an easy train ride to Canterbury via Southeastern Railway so why not?

After a lovely one hour ride from London's Victoria Station through the Kent countryside to Canterbury West Station, I disembarked the train and began the 1/2-mile walk to the Cathedral Gate Hotel which would be my lodging for the next 2 nights. My walk took me towards and through England's oldest still-standing city gate, the monumental 14th-century Westgate, and then down the pedestrian-only St. Peter's Street past the Black Griffin Pub which is the first pub past the city's walls. As I made my way along with the crowds, it was rather hard to believe that my small-town of Canterbury was named after this Canterbury as they were nothing alike at all! Thankfully though, I had watched enough Rick Steeves' videos to know that Canterbury is a popular tourist destination and one of the most visited cities in England so I wasn't expecting to have the place to myself!

Dragging my suitcase behind me down Mercery Lane, I finally arrived at Burgate and entered the Buttermarket - which my hotel stood across from - where I immediately spotted Canterbury Pottery. Knowing I'd find the perfect gift for my sister-in-law who has a most impressive collection of pottery, after stashing my luggage at the hotel, I made a bee-line for the shop which is run by Richard and Jan Chapman who have been producing their beautiful pottery in the back of the shop since 1963. As I explored the shop, it was hard to choose from the great offerings in front of me trying to keep in mind the limits of my suitcase and the cost of shipping things home. Even though I almost succumbed to the call of yet-another coffee mug to add to my collection, I finally settled on a cute little mouse-shaped chutney pot for Ann which I knew would fit perfectly in my suitcase. Happy with my purchase but debating on whether to come back and buy that coffee mug after all, I left the shop to explore more of the city.

I have to say that I really liked walking down the narrow streets of this most historic city with the tops of the buildings hanging closely overhead. The hard part was not stopping every few feet to take another photo - especially if it was a street like Butchery Lane that had the cathedral standing tall in the background!

At the small-in-size-but-big-in-history Canterbury Roman Museum, located on the remains of a very large Roman Town House that was unearthed during excavations following the bombings of World War II, folks can learn all about Durovernum Cantiacorum aka Roman-era Canterbury. Kent’s only Roman Museum, visitors can explore Canterbury’s history, wander through the marketplace and discover hidden treasures as they step back, and down, to the streets of Roman Canterbury.

Above: A view of the Canterbury War Memorial honoring the men of Canterbury who fought in the Great War at the Old Buttermarket. Below: My dinner for my first evening in Canterbury picked up at the local Tesco. Even though there were lots and lots of great places to get a meal, I decided that an early night with dinner in my room wasn't such a bad idea as I had a full day ahead of me bright & early the next morning. Besides, I really like the pre-made sandwiches from Tesco! Don't judge me!

The next morning after breakfast in my room - not from Tesco but from the hotel! - I took off for a full day of exploring the medieval city that pilgrims have been making tracks to for years and years and years. You won't find it in this post but I definitely visited Canterbury Cathedral - twice - where I happily spent several hours exploring all of the history found there. Hopefully the post on my pilgrimage to the 'Mother Church' will be done soon and I can share some of the beauty of one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England but for now, it's just Canterbury in general!

Above: Part of the Canterbury city walls that were built by the Romans probably between 270 and 280 AD. Below: Of the original 24 medieval towers along the walls, 17 remain intact, including Queningate which pretty much just guards a car park these days but is still pretty cool - especially from an American point of view as we have no walled cities over here!

You might think that this wrought iron sign will lead you to the loo and though once upon a time it did just that, it now marks the entrance to an art deco-inspired cocktail bar located in what was once underground public toilets. Privy opened in July of 2018 with a 1920s speakeasy theme. How cool is that?

Another part of the city's walls near the end of Burgate.

This tower, which dates to 1503, is all that's left of Canterbury's St. Mary Magdalene Church built during the Norman period. The church, which once stood on the site where the St. Thomas of Canterbury Church stands now, was demolished in 1871 as the structure had become dangerous.

The only Roman Catholic church in Canterbury, St. Thomas of Canterbury was built from 1874 to 1875 in the Gothic Revival Style. The church contains the relics of Thomas Beckett who was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his murder in 1170 by followers of Henry II, King of England.

A look at Burgate heading back towards the Old Buttermarket which has lots of great little shops to pop into if you're in the mood for some shopping. The road is pedestrian only though cars are allowed to briefly drive to the hotel to drop off and/or pick up luggage. By the way, the square was christened Buttermarket a mere two centuries ago to replace the not-so-nice name of Bullstake, which came from the use of dogs to bait bulls in order to make their meat more tender.

Meanwhile, back on the other side of the walled city, I took another walk past the Westgate which was built around 1379 of Kentish ragstone to replace a crumbling circa 1023 structure. Westgate, the last survivor of Canterbury's seven medieval gates, is still well-preserved and is one of the city's most distinctive landmarks.

Now part of the Westgate Tower Museum, structural highlights of the medieval gatehouse include gaps designed for aiming guns (rather than arrows) and 'murder holes' which were used for dropping hot sand, boiling liquids and the like onto invading marauders.

Providing hospitality for over 600 years just a short walk outside of the Westgate, the Falstaff Hotel is a historic coaching inn that dates back to the 16th century and originally called the White Hart until its name was changed in 1783. With 46 en-suite bedrooms and a popular bar, it's probably a great place to stay but my goal in going there wasn't to book a room but to enjoy Afternoon Tea. I do love the tradition of Afternoon Tea and at only £15.00 - or £22.50 if you toss in a glass of champagne - the Falstaff was the place to go!

Following my very enjoyable respite at the Falstaff, I took a walk through Westgate Gardens which has been a public open space since the Middle Ages, making it one of England’s oldest parks. Part of the gardens is an official ancient monument site because it covers the remains of the old Roman wall and London road gate. The 200-year old Tower House was once the home of the Williamson Family who created the picturesque gardens and riverside walk.

The River Stour (or Great Stour if you'd like!) runs through the park making it a great place to go punting or - in my case - take photos of other people punting! Not sure what "punting" is? It means riding in a punt - a flat-bottomed boat with a square-shaped bow that is propelled by a pole pushing against the river bottom. There are two punting companies in Canterbury if you'd like to take a float down the very pretty, very clear river - Westgate Punts and Canterbury Punting Company.

Located in the gardens is a 200-year-old Oriental plane tree – with a huge trunk – which is believed to be the oldest specimen in the country. It's rumored that the trunk has actually engulfed a metal seat which once encircled it! There are six of these trees in Canterbury which are quite distinctive with their bulbous, knobbly trunks that would certainly give any tree hugger pause before trying to wrap their arms around them!

After the gardens, I headed back into the city proper passing some rather interesting shops and pubs and such along the way.

A larger than life statue of Geoffrey Chaucer, dressed as a Canterbury pilgrim, stands on the corner of Best Lane and the High Street holding the opening text of The Canterbury Tales and wearing an astrolabe (early navigational instrument) around his neck - Chaucer wrote a guide to how they should be used. Thought to be the only Chaucer statue in England, the statue was unveiled in October of 2016 - the result of a ten-year project led by the Canterbury Commemoration Society.

Speaking of Canterbury Tales, the medieval St Margaret's Church now houses The Canterbury Tales, a popular tourist attraction in which costumed guides and life-sized character models reconstruct five of Geoffrey Chaucer's stories of love, infidelity, intrigue, courtship and death. The pilgrimage appeals to visitors of all ages.

Next door, if you haven't already had Afternoon Tea elsewhere, you can amend that horrible mistake by popping down the rabbit hole and visiting Alice and The Hatter - a themed tearoom featuring a décor of themed wall art, chequered floor, throne chairs, tea cup stools, grassy nooks and love seats. At £22.95 it's a bit more pricey than the Afternoon Tea at Falstaff's but it's worth it if you like your tea served with a side of whimsy! Definitely made me wish I had time for TWO Afternoon Teas!

Heading to other parts of town on what was a beautiful 1st of September evening, I walked back down Mercery Street towards the Cathedral Gate before taking a left onto Sun Street and seeing what lay in that direction.

Located on Palace Street in the King’s Mile section of Canterbury, Conquest House is a Grade II listed building wherein four knights sent by Henry II plotted the murder of Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, back in the 14th century. It’s now the headquarters of an organisation called Art In Cambridge which advertises life drawing and portrait classes.

The Sir John Boys House aka The Crooked House, King's Gallery or Old Kings Shop, is a skewed 17th-century building that is probably - with good reason - the most photographed house in Canterbury! The house reputedly gained its markedly skewed look after alterations to an internal chimney caused the structure to slip sideways. Attempts to rectify the slippage actually caused the whole structure to skew further sideways. Once used as a school, the house is now used as a charity bookshop for the local independent homeless charity Catching Lives. Wish it had been open when I walked past, I would love to have gone through that crooked door!

Behind the closed gate above lies St. Augustine's Abbey which was founded in AD 598 after St Augustine - who went on to become the first Archbishop of Canterbury - arrived in Kent on a mission to convert the pagan Anglo-Saxons to Christianity. Part of the Canterbury World Heritage Site which includes the Canterbury Cathedral, not much remains of the abbey today but at its height, it was one of the most significant religious sites in medieval England. It's even rumored that the site may be the birthplace of the famous Bayeux Tapestry which tells the story of the Norman Conquest. As it's outside of the city walls, it often gets missed by tourists - including myself which I am totally bummed about as I would have loved to explore the ruins.

Lastly, for those who might be wondering what I had for dinner on my second night in Canterbury what with all of the wonderful pubs that I had walked by ... well, I ate back in my room again but this time I skipped the sandwiches at Tesco and got myself a proper hamburger at Byron located a hop, skip and a jump from my hotel.

Yes, it's an American-style burger joint and and yes, I could have found somewhere more regional to dine but to be honest, it was a pretty darned good burger and was the perfect way to end a day full of exploring a very cool city when what I really just wanted was to head back to my room, kick off my shoes and see what might be on the telly! Sometimes wandering just wears a body out!

A Canterbury Tale - The Cathedral Gate Hotel

2019-07-30T14:44:00.001-04:00

Should you find yourself wandering around the cathedral city of Canterbury in southeast England and in need of lodging, I highly recommend a stay at the Cathedral Gate Hotel which - you guessed it - is located right next to the Cathedral Gate! Also known as the Christ Gate, the historic gateway to the cathedral was originally built to celebrate the marriage of Arthur, Prince of Wales and elder brother of Henry VIII, to Catherine of Aragon in 1501. Arthur, unfortunately, died a few months later which gave Henry the chance to become king and marry Catherine himself in 1509. The gate, which is highly embellished and decorated with heraldic motifs including coats of arms. mythical beasts and a large figure of Christ sitting in the center, wasn't finished for another 20 years following Arthur's death ... but enough about the gate ... this post is about the hotel which pre-dates the gate and has long been a spot where weary pilgrims to the medieval city have laid their heads.

Dating back to 1438 and offering spectacular views of the Canterbury Cathedral from the rear of the building, the hotel fronts the old Butter Market which, up until a mere two centuries ago, was named Bull Stake - a name which came from the practice of bulls being tied overnight against a stake to be 'baited' by dogs with the expectation that this would produce more tender meat. Uhm ... okay ... frankly, I definitely like the name Butter Market better!

In addition to some lovely little shops and places to enjoy a meal, the Butter Market is also home to the Canterbury War Memorial which was erected in 1919 to commemorate the men of Canterbury who fell in the Great War.

The historic Cathedral Gate Hotel has retained its historic features including beamed ceilings, sloping floors and historic doors while also offering all of the modern amenities and features that today's travelers have come to expect like daily housekeeping, complimentary Wi-Fi, in-room coffee & tea-makers with free bottled water, telephones, hairdryers and flat-screen cable television for those who might want to catch up on the latest from the BBC after a day of sightseeing.

In addition to a small library where guests can relax with a book and several other seating areas, there's a cozy lounge and bar where one can enjoy an adult beverage or two or, should you prefer, complimentary tea and coffee are served at the hotel throughout the day.

A lovely Continental Breakfast is included in the room rate but if you'd like something heartier, you can have an English Breakfast for an extra £7.50. Available between 7:30 and 9:30 a.m., you can either head down to the dining room that overlooks Burgate or breakfast can be delivered to your room to eat while still in the comfort of your jammies! I tried both options myself and both were equally delicious! Oh, and may I just say - best croissants ever!

The hotel has 25 rooms - some are en-suite while others have a shared bath. I chose the Nightingale room, a double en-suite located near the back of the hotel with lovely partial views of the cathedral across the rooftops. I took the photo below at sunrise on my first morning in Canterbury.

Nightingale is quite nicely appointed with a double-size four poster bed which was very comfortable. The room itself was quite spacious with a small cupboard for hanging clothes and several chairs. I should also mention that there were plenty of electrical outlets, something that travelers often don't think about until they need them!

The en-suite bath was actually in two separate areas - the sink was located in a small closet on its own while the shower was in another water closet along with the toilet. Even though the shower looked rather like a phone booth, it was plenty roomy enough and though it's an old building, the water pressure was spot-on and the hot water was plentiful!

It should be noted that if by chance you're traveling with a lot of luggage, you might find it a little tricky getting around the hotel as - again - this is a very historic building and there's no lift, plus you might have to wander a bit to get to your room. Reception is up a flight of stairs from the road and from there to my room it was down a few steps to a hallway, across a rooftop (there's a walkway!), through a common room and then up another small flight of stairs. For some it might prove bothersome but I had no problems negotiating the route myself with my medium-large suitcase and thought that it added to the whole experience of my stay!

To wrap it up, here's a short video of the bells ringing on Sunday morning at Canterbury Cathedral which I enjoyed listening to from the open windows of my room. What a great way to start a day!

For more information on booking a stay at the Cathedral Gate Hotel, be sure to visit their website where you can make an online booking or contact them with any questions you may have.

“Vermont Begins Here: Wandering Around the South Shire Town of Bennington

2019-07-28T17:51:00.000-04:00

Nestled between the Taconic and Green mountain ranges in the southwest corner of Vermont, Bennington County is enriched by the waters of the famous Batten Kill that runs through its valley and has the unusual distinction of having two shire towns (historically referred to as county seats). While Manchester presides as the county’s North Shire, the town of Bennington anchors the county as the South Shire and is encompassed by three areas – Old Bennington, North Bennington and downtown Bennington. With its rich history, warm hospitality, vibrant cultural scene of art galleries and museums, along with plenty of shops, restaurants, and sidewalk cafés, Bennington makes for the perfect destination no matter what time of year you visit. It’s no wonder the motto for the town is “Vermont Begins Here.”

Named for Colonial Governor Benning Wentworth of New Hampshire, the original settlement in the shire dates to 1761 when Congregational Separatists arrived from Litchfield County, Connecticut and Amherst, Massachusetts. Noted for its well-preserved American Revolutionary War-era homes and significant as one of the earliest settlements in Vermont, the Old Bennington Historic District is a great place to start your visit to the South Shire.

The Old First Church of Bennington was “gathered” on December 3, 1762, the first Protestant congregation in the New Hampshire Grants. The first meetinghouse was a plain pine structure built in the center of the village serving as a place to gather for public meetings, education and worship. The current sanctuary, completed in 1805 and restored in 1937, was the first church built in Vermont that reflected the separation of church and state - meaning that the state would have no role in the maintenance of the church’s building or ministry making the church free to support and direct its own work.

In addition to Sunday morning worship, the church welcomes individuals and tour groups to visit during their “Open Church” season on weekends from Memorial Day weekend to July 1, and daily from July 1 to mid-October (the end of “leaf season”). Volunteers are on hand to answer questions while postcards, note cards and other mementos are available for purchase.

The carving on this pew in the balcony is believed to be the work of one of the youths that sat there.

Located next to the Old First Church, the Old Bennington Cemetery is chock-full of history as well as some of the best maintained gravestones you'll find in New England. Designated as "Vermont's Sacred Acre" by the State Legislature in 1937, it's a final resting place with terrific views - at least for those who come to visit those who have come to stay!

Though he wasn't a member of the congregation, Robert Frost, his wife Elinor Miriam White Frost and their children are buried in the cemetery behind the Old First Church. Frost read his poem "The Black Cottage" at the re-dedication of the building in 1937 after its restoration to the original interior design. During his time there, Frost must have noticed the wonderful view as two years later he bought two lots for a family burial place.

Within walking distance of the Old First Church very close to what was once the site of the Catamount Tavern where Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys planned the capture of Fort Ticonderoga in 1775, the Bennington Battle Monument commemorates the battle in which Brigadier General John Stark and 1,400 New Hampshire men, aided by Colonels Warner and Herrick of Vermont, Colonel Benjamin Simonds of Massachusetts and Colonel Moses Nichols of New Hampshire, defeated two detachments of British General John Burgoyne's British army on August 16th, 1777. It should be noted that the actual fighting took place approximately 10 miles away in Walloomsac, New York at the Bennington Battlefield Historic Site just over the state line. Though no fighting occurred where the monument stands, it had been the goal of the British to capture a store of weapons and food maintained nearby which is why this spot was chosen for the battle monument.

Constructed of Sandy Hill Dolomite, a blue-gray magnesian limestone containing numerous fossils from present day Hudson Falls, New York, the monument's cornerstone was laid in 1887. Topping out at just over 306 feet tall, the monument was completed in November 1889 at a total cost of $112,000 including the cost of the site. Dedication ceremonies were delayed until 1891, when President Benjamin Harrison attended the ceremonies and held a reception at the nearby Walloomsac Inn.

Dedicated a Vermont Historic Site, at the base of the monument visitors can view a diorama of the battle’s second engagement along with information on how the monument was built. Before or after doing so, you can take the elevator 200 feet to the observatory level which boasts beautiful views of southern Vermont, New York and Massachusetts. Statues of General John Stark (“Live free or die!”), Colonel Seth Warner and other notables adorn the grounds while the gift shop offers a selection of products relating to the Battle of Bennington and the monument along with a wide variety of historical gifts, maple products and more.

Open daily May 1st through October 31st from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., admission to the monument is $5 for adults, $1 for children age 6 through 14. Tickets are available in the gift shop.

WANDERING AROUND TOWN

In the northwest corner of town, the North Bennington Historic District is home to Bennington College, as well as the Park-McCullough Historic House, a well-preserved, 35-room Victorian country house that was built in 1864-65. The house stands as one of the finest, most significant and best preserved Victorian mansions in New England. The grounds are open dawn to dusk year-round, while the mansion, which hosted President Rutherford B. Hayes when he came to dedicate the Bennington Battle Monument in 1891, is open Friday-Sunday only from late May to early October, as well as Memorial Day, Labor Day and Columbus Day.

Not located in Bennington but very close by, the Robert Frost Stone House Museum is located just minutes away in South Shaftsbury. The literary landmark was Frost’s home from 1920 to 1929 and is where he composed one of his most famous poems “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening,” which was included in his Pulitzer Prize-winning volume “New Hampshire.” From June to October 31st, the house is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily; admission is $10 for adults, $6 for Seniors & Students, $5 for under 18. Active duty military personnel and children under 10 are free.

Back down in Bennington proper, the Bennington Museum dates back to 1852 and contains the largest collection of notable works of art and historical artifacts in southern Vermont. The museum has more than 14 galleries to explore with exhibitions that include The Bennington Flag, one of the oldest preserved Stars and Stripes carried in battle; a 1924 Martin Wasp luxury touring car made in Bennington by Karl Martin; a defining collection of 19th century Bennington stoneware; and the largest public collection in the world of paintings by the great American folk artist Grandma Moses. The museum is open 7 days a week from 10 am to 5 pm from June to October; adults are $10 while seniors 62+ and students 18 and over are $9.

Titled "The Spirit of America," this bronze statue by sculptor Clyde DuVernet Hunt was displayed at the New York World's Fair in 1939 before arriving at the courtyard of the Bennington Museum. Hunt, who came from a prominent Vermont family, was born in Scotland in 1861 and spent many years in Paris. After his death in 1941 his heirs donated the statue in his memory explaining that Hunt "held the martyred President in great and beautiful reverence."

Across town at the Bennington Center for the Arts, visitors will find an extensive collection of fine representational art that focuses on natural history. There are two galleries of Native American artwork and artifacts, an impressive collection of wildlife art, a gallery devoted to the bird carvings of Master Carver Floyd Scholz and outside on the grounds, a collection of hand-crafted wind sculptures by Lyman Whitaker. The center is open every day but Tuesday from 10 am to 5 pm; adults - $9, Seniors & Students - $8, under 12 free.

Located on the property, the Vermont Covered Bridge Museum, the world's first museum dedicated to their preservation, looks like an actual covered bridge (it’s based on the local Henry Covered Bridge, doubled in size). Inside, visitors can explore the history and legends of covered bridges. Along with exhibits on engineering, construction, tools and bridge creators, there’s an illuminated map that can help with planning a tour of Vermont's remaining covered bridges — five of which are located nearby — as well as covered bridge paintings by American landscape painter Eric Sloane.

A not-to-miss stop in Bennington is the Hemmings Sunoco Filling Station & Car Lovers’ Store featuring a small café inside and an old-fashioned Sunoco gas station outside, where they’ll wash your windows and even check your oil. Inside the store you’ll find reproduction automotive signs, die-cast cars, artwork and other automotive items, but the real treat is located behind the store, where you can fill up on enough antique, authentic, American automotive memorabilia to make any car lover happy at the Hemmings Vehicle Display.

The collection includes more than two dozen classic cars and trucks including a 1931 Model Ford AA Ford Type 210-A panel truck and 1960 Cadillac Series 62 coupe. There’s even a 1924 American-LaFrance Type 38/39 triple combination pumper fire truck. Vintage signs and license plates, a sizable collection of vintage oil cans and more are included in the collection. The Car Lovers’ Store is open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily, while the vehicle display is open 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekends only in May, daily from June through October and by appointment only from November to April.

SHOPPING

For a quintessential New England downtown experience, Bennington is definitely the place to go with more than 40 locally-owned shops, restaurants, sidewalk cafés and Vermont’s largest downtown free Wi-Fi network.

The Village Chocolate Shoppe is home to Benny and Molly – a pair of chocolate moose that weigh 100 pounds each – and a most impressive candy counter from which wafts the most delicious chocolate aroma ever along with a large selection of "penny" candy favorites. While there, don't forget to pick up a Bridge Bar for your favorite covered bridge fan!

A few steps away, Bennington Bookshop is Vermont’s oldest independently-owned bookstore established in 1928. The shop features an extensive children’s section, a stock of high-quality gift cards for all occasions and a wide range of books from classics to the latest releases.

Located in the former Vermont Federal Bank building, Fiddlehead at Four Corners Gallery was named Best Craft Gallery in Vermont for 2017 by editors of Yankee Magazine. Offering carefully selected glassware, ceramics, jewelry, paintings and fiber works from throughout the country, Fiddlehead also offers unique ways to take a break from browsing. Tinkle the ivories of their 1936 baby grand piano, play a few free games on a vintage pinball machine, or let the kids create a few chalk masterpieces in the Graffiti Vault which once served as the bank’s walk-in safe.

Boasting some of greatest stoneware produced in 19th-century history, pottery-making has long been a part of Bennington’s economy, beginning in 1785 when Captain John Norton, a former Revolutionary War soldier, began producing "redware" glazed pottery. Years later, Bennington Potters continues the tradition still employing the same hands-on approach to the pottery-making process as it did back when it first opened in 1948. At its home-style store, located in a former 1922 feed mill and famous pottery works, visitors are invited to “come see it made” on a free behind-the-scenes tour. Techniques such as jiggering, jollying, pressing, casting, dipping, slushing, chumming and firing are demonstrated as the company’s dinnerware, bakeware and accessories — all in all, 65 individual pieces in 14 different glazes — go through the hands of the skilled potters who produce close to 8,000 pieces per month. Though the store is open, the potters are off on Sunday; however, the self-guided tour still allows visitors to come away with a clear understanding of how the pottery is made.

NOSHING

Located a short walk from Bennington Potters, the Blue Benn Diner also became a local fixture in 1948 when it was shipped up from New Jersey and assembled on site. A true classic diner, the long lunch counter (complete with a row of stools and dining booths) features small, wall-mounted jukeboxes that hearken back to a simpler time. Offering up delicious traditional diner fare and a few things you might be surprised to see on the menu (or taped to the wall above the counter), the wait to get a seat can sometimes be long, but it’s worth it. A word of warning, credit cards aren’t accepted so be sure you have extra cash — you’ll need some to tip your waitress, as those gals are awesome.

Back in the downtown area, the Madison Brewing Company is a popular place for lunch or dinner by visitors and locals alike. Converted from an old downtown storefront in the 1990s, Bennington’s first brewpub has a draft selection that includes traditional New England IPAs, Belgian Whites and more, along with delicious traditional pub fare (try the BLT on sourdough!) in a family-friendly atmosphere. There’s even a kids menu. By the way, the Mocha Milk Stout? Phenomenal!

For dinner with a view outside of town, The Publyk House on Historic Route 7A is the place to go. A Southern Vermont favorite for more than 40 years, the restaurant serves up traditional New England fare in a warm and inviting ambiance. The Publyk House also serves up gorgeous views of Mount Anthony and the Bennington Battle Monument from the dining room’s multiple windows. Open 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday and noon on weekends, during the warmer months diners can enjoy lunch on their dog-friendly deck with even better views to go along with their meal.

LODGING

Located nearby with almost the same million dollar view as The Publyk House, the Harwood Hill Motel was built in 1937 to serve the first wave of American vacationers traveling into the countryside by motorcar. Over the years the property has changed hands a few times; the current owners are a pair of artists who have updated the motel while maintaining its harmony with the beautiful surrounding landscape. Not your typical 60s-style old-but-clean-motel, guests will be quite impressed as soon as they open the door to their vibrantly painted room, which is decorated with local art that is even offered for purchase if, after sleeping with it for a night or two, you decide it will look great in your own bedroom back home. With charm, comfort and style at an affordable price in a peaceful country setting just minutes from downtown Bennington, it’s a great place to stay. For my complete blog post on Harwood Hill Motel, follow this link!

Closer to downtown the views may not be as spectacular as they are on Harwood Hill but at the Knotty Pine Motel they’ve been offering a warm welcome to guests for more than 45 years. A true motor inn of the past, the motel, which has been in the same family for 45+ years, features charming, spotless ground floor rooms with parking directly in front of your door; dog-friendly rooms for well-behaved four-footed guests; and a seasonal outdoor pool. Bonus: They’re located within walking distance of Billy T’s Northside Dairy Bar just across the street in front of the bowling alley; it is well worth the stop for a cone or traditional dairy bar burger.

Photo Courtesy of TripAdvisor

For more upscale lodging, The Four Chimneys Inn is a quintessential New England country inn tucked back in the woods of a garden estate in Old Bennington. Known for its fine food and high-end bed-and-breakfast lodgings, the inn, with its 11 rooms, offers privacy, luxury and relaxation. It even has a quiet, cozy lounge that is open only to guests, who can unwind with a cool martini or hot toddy after a day of exploring the local area.

Built across the street from the site of Vermont's first grist mill, Safford Mills Inn & Café is located in the oldest house in Bennington Village built circa 1774 by Samuel Safford, an officer with the Green Mountain Boys who fought in the Battle for Bennington in 1777. Combining the ambiance of the past with the modern amenities of today in their five guestrooms - all of which boast a fireplace - the inn is conveniently located within walking distance of downtown. Open to the public as well as guests, the inn’s dinner club and lounge, The Miller's Toll, is open 5-9:30 p.m. Thursdays and 5-10:30 pm on Fridays & Saturday offering up a variety of craft beverages, tapas, desserts and live entertainment.

COVERED BRIDGES

As it just wouldn't be right to write about all of the great things in Bennington and not mention some of the beautiful historic covered bridges you can find there, these three bridges are located in Bennington proper. There are two more in the area that are easily accessible and which you can read about here if you're as much of a fan as these wonderful pieces of history as I am.

The Henry Covered Bridge is a Town Lattice design bridge located on River Road.

Also a Town Lattice design, the Paper Mill Village Covered Bridge is located near the site of a ... wait for it ... former paper mill!

The Silk Road Covered Bridge is located just a short ways from the entrance to Bennington College, it's also of the Town Lattice Design which was obviously very popular in the area!

For more information on planning a get-away to Bennington, check out the official Vermont Tourism Website as well as The Shires of Vermont for lots of good information on everything from events to lodging and more.

Celebrating National Merry-Go-Round aka Carousel Day!

2019-07-25T20:53:00.001-04:00

Today, July 25th, is National Merry-Go-Round Day here in the good ole' US of A so what better time to share some of my favorites that can be found along the East Coast?

Beginning with a very non-traditional carousel, at Universal’s Islands of Adventure in Orlando, Florida, you can take a ride on the Caro-Seuss-El which is a traditional merry-go-round decked out with not-so-traditional Dr. Seuss characters like elephant birds, cowfish and more. In addition to the unique characters, riders have the power to make the character they’re riding on blink its eyes, wiggle its ears and even turn its head – the first carousel to ever do so!

Trimper’s Carousel is one of the oldest fixtures on the boardwalk in Ocean City, Maryland. Built in 1902 by the Herschell-Spellman Company in North Tonawanda, New York, it has been in continuous operation since its installation in 1912 making it the oldest continuously operating carousel in the nation. Featuring two tiers of elaborately carved and painted animals, riders can chose to ride on one of the carousel’s 45 animals which, in addition to the beautifully carved horses, include a cat, dog, frog, rooster, deer, goat, lion, tiger, ostrich, pig and dragon along with 3 chariots and even one rocking chair.

Originally built by the Allen Herschell Company in 1947 for the Gwynn Oak Amusement Park near Baltimore, the Carousel on the National Mall in Washington D.C. represents something of a technical achievement as it was the only carousel ever made with four horses abreast that all jumping. The carousel was moved to the National Mall in 1981 and placed in the vicinity of the Smithsonian Castle where, in addition to the 60 brightly-painted jumping horses, riders can chose from a few non-moving seats and one sea dragon which is the most popular seat on the ride.

Built by the Dentzel Carousel Company of Germantown, Pennsylvania in 1912, the ‘Gem of Glen Echo Park’ is a classic example of hand woodcarving that was popular during the early 1900s. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places and installed at Glen Echo Park in Washington DC, restoration of the 1912 Dentzel Carousel was undertaken from 1983 through 2003. Called a "menagerie carousel" as it is made up of many different animals, the carousel has 40 horses, 4 rabbits, 4 ostriches, a giraffe, deer, lion, and tiger. The carousel moves to the music of a Wurlitzer band organ of which only 12 of this style are still known to exist.

The Speedwell Foundation Conservation Carousel at the National Zoo in Washington DC is one of the only solar-powered carousels in the world making use of 162 solar panels which divert any excess energy back to Zoo’s electrical grid. The carousel features 58 hand-carved and hand-painted animals for visitors to ride; many represent endangered species that reflect some of the world’s great conservation success stories while other animals are still in a race to be saved. All proceeds from the carousel support animal care and conservation science initiatives at the National Zoo.

A highlight of New York’s Brooklyn Bridge Park, Jane’s Carousel was built by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company in 1922. Featuring a classic 3-row setup with 48 carved horses and two elaborate chariots, the carousel was formerly known as the Idora Park Merry-Go-Round until given new life after being saved at an auction by Jane Walentas in 1984. Open year-round, the carousel is located in a specially built glass house in sight of the Brooklyn Bridge.

The Empire State Carousel located at the Farmers’ Museum in Cooperstown, New York is built on a vintage 1947 36-foot Alan Herschell carousel mechanism and based entirely on the history and culture of New York State. Created over the course of two decades by over 1,000 volunteer carvers, quilters, painters and woodworkers from across the state, the carousel’s 23 riding animals represent animals indigenous to New York and, among others, include Bucky Beaver – the first animal carved for the carousel - and Percy Pig who carries a bag of full of pennies representing those donated by children and their families to bring him to life. The carousel’s Mighty & Magnificent Military Band Organ was custom-made in 1990 by the Stinson Organ Company of Ohio and features carvings of New York musicians George M. Cohen, John Philip Sousa and Irving Berlin.

Located in Greenport Village, Long Island in the town’s waterfront Mitchell Park, the Greenport Carousel is a portable classic wood carousel that was built in 1920 by the Herschell-Spillman Company in North Tonawanda, New York. One of only 13 in the United States, the carousel was donated to the town by the Northrop-Grumman Corporation in 1995 and opened to the public on June 29, 2001. Housed in a specially built glass pavilion, the antique carousel also features a recreated 1919 Wurlitzer 105 Military Band Organ and the chance for riders to grab the brass ring to win a free ride.

Hartford, Connecticut's Bushnell Park is home to a 1914 Stein and Goldstein carousel – one of only three left in existence. Solomon Stein and Harry Goldstein came to the United States in the late 1800s from Russia to carve carousel horses for Coney Island which, at the height of the carousel craze, boasted two dozen carousels. Stein and Goldstein horses are distinguished by their flamboyance, big teeth, bulging eyes and the huge and colorful cabbage roses which festoon their real horse hair tails and bodies.

The Slater Park Looff Carousel in Pawtucket, Rhode Island is the oldest Looff “stander carousel” in the world. The horses don’t move up and down so it really allows the carousel to fly! Built by German master carver Charles I.D. Looff who immigrated to the United States in 1870, the 1895 carousel was originally located in a carnival in upstate New York before being installed in Slater Park in 1910. Flying to the sounds of a functioning North Tonawanda Military band organ, riders can choose from 44 horses, 2 chariots or 6 menagerie animals including 1 lion, camel, giraffe or one of 3 dogs which are very rare on a carousel.

Another beautiful Charles I.D. Looff Carousel is the Crescent Park Carousel located in Riverside, Rhode Island. Built in 1895 and installed at Crescent Park Amusent Park, the ride’s 50-foot platform contains 61 horses, 2 single coaches, 2 double chariots, and one camel. Fifty-six of the horses are jumpers and it’s one of the few carousels left in the country where riders can earn a free ride by grabbing a brass ring. Music is provided by an Andreas Ruth und Sohn Style 38 band organ imported from Waldkirch, Germany. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the carousel is among the finest and least-altered of Looff’s surviving carousels of which there are less than a dozen.

Ending with another non-traditional carousel as far as the lack of horses go, the Greenway Carousel at the Tiffany & Co. Foundation Grove in Boston, Massachusetts opened to the public on August 31, 2013 and features 14 different characters native to the land, sea and sky of Massachusetts. Inspired by the imaginations and drawings of Boston public school children, ride choices include a sea turtle, a cod, a peregrine falcon, a grasshopper, a harbor seal, a fox, a skunk, a whale, three types of butterflies, a barn owl, and a sea serpent. There are a total of 36 seats on the Greenway Carousel, considered New England’s most accessible carousel for adults and youth with physical or auditory disabilities.

National Merry-Go-Round Day was founded in 2014 by Bette Largent, President of the National Carousel Association, and carousel historian, Ronald Hopkins to commemorate the first U.S. patent issued for the modern carousel on July 25, 1871 to William Schneider of Davenport, Iowa. Also called National Carousel Day, the idea was to create a day to shine a spotlight on these beautiful, historical creations which have technically been around since the days of the Byzantine Empire - though certainly not in the form that they took during the hey-day of carousel making in the United States and that so many of us still enjoy today!

Wandering Through Toronto's Kensington Market via Chopsticks + Forks' Great Canadian Food Tour

2019-05-25T18:54:00.001-04:00

If you're planning a trip to Toronto, definitely make some time to wander around Kensington Market, a vibrant and diverse bohemian neighborhood that's a bit like San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury District. Translated: it's a great place to let your inner hippie roam free! The market is full of vintage clothing boutiques, discount and surplus stores, bakeries, spice and dry goods stores, cheese shops, coffee shops, dive bars, upscale cafés, restaurants, clubs and more. Open 7 days a week (excluding Christmas and New Year's Day), the optimal time to visit if you want to hit up some of the shops is between 11:00 and 7:00 pm, however bars and restaurants stay open until later in the evening and the food and vegetable shops generally open earlier.

Located just to the west of downtown Toronto and bordered by Spadina Avenue, Dundas Street, Bathurst Street and College Street, the best way to get to Kensington Market is to not drive there as parking is very limited and negotiating the narrow, crowded streets is not the best way to enjoy the neighborhood. Instead, you can easily walk there from downtown or take one of the four streetcar lines that provide direct access to the neighborhood.

Designated a National Historic Site of Canada in November 2006, the area was first settled in 1815 by Captain George Taylor Denison, a Canadian soldier and community leader who, at the time of his death in 1853, was one of the wealthiest landowners in Upper Canada. Following Denison's death, his 156-acre estate was sub-divided making way for houses constructed on small plots for Irish and Scottish immigrant laborers coming to Toronto.

During the early twentieth century, Kensington became populated by eastern European Jewish immigrants and the area became known as "the Jewish Market" with Jewish merchants operating small shops as tailors, furriers and bakers. Around 60,000 Jews lived in and around Kensington Market during the 1920s and 1930s and at that time, the neighborhood was home to over 30 local synagogues. Today there are only two remaining synagogues - the Kiever Synagogue which was completed in 1927 and the Anshei Minsk Synagogue which is the last remaining downtown fully Orthodox shul in the area offering daily services. Founded in 1912 by poor Jewish immigrants from the part of the Russian Empire that is now Belarus, the congregation's Byzantine Revival-style building, pictured above, was built between 1922 and 1930.

Post-World War II, most of the Jewish population moved north to more prosperous uptown neighborhoods or to the suburbs, making room for the neighborhood's next wave of immigrants. During the 1950s, a large number of immigrants from the Azores, fleeing political conflict with the regime of António de Oliveira Salazar, moved into the area followed by waves of immigrants from the Caribbean and East Asia. The Vietnam War brought a number of American political refugees to the neighborhood while the 1980s and 1990s brought groups of immigrants from Central America, Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan, Iran, Vietnam, Chile and other global trouble spots to join the neighborhood's current largest ethnic group of Chinese peoples (Chinatown is located just east of Kensington.) Today the neighborhood is a noted tourist attraction and, as more artists and writers move into the area, a center of Toronto's cultural life.

Marking the main entryways to Kensington Market are four aluminum and steel sculptures created by David Hlynsky and Shirley Yanover in 1997 that aren't just a bit of whimsy, but also help to define the market. The globe with goods flying around it located at Baldwin and Spadina is called “To Market, To Market” with the orbiting images representing what we need to survive on this planet — all of which can be found in Kensington Market. "Home Again, Home Again" at St. Andrew and Spadina features a cat standing on a kitchen chair, the chair evokes the comforts of home while the cat represents its significant role in the lore of Kensington Market being that generations of felines have been constant residents of the community. "Jiggity Jig" at Dundas and Augusta again shows a cat, this time standing on a globe which symbolizes the fact that people come to Kensington from all over the world while “Piggity Big” at College and Augusta features a globe on a chair. The globe once again represents the immigrant population and the chair is again symbolic of home representing the fact that for years and years and to this day, immigrants have found a home-away-from-home in Kensington Market.

As you can see, the neighborhood is very eclectic and with so many great culinary choices in a relatively small area, it may be hard to decide where to eat while you're in Kensington Market but lucky for you - and for me! - there's a terrific way to let someone else make the decision while also giving you a chance to feast on delicious foods that are uniquely Canadian. No ... that doesn't mean you're going to be slurping down maple syrup with a Tim Horton's chaser (not that there's anything wrong with either of those things, mind you!) but if you book yourself a spot on the newly-launched Chopsticks+Forks Great Canadian Food Tour, you'll enjoy six dishes - four savory and two sweet - that are totally Canadian and totally delicious. How about that, eh?

The brainchild of Jusep Sim, Founder and CEO (Chief Epicurean Officer) of Chopsticks+Forks who began offering international food tours in Kensington Market approximately three years ago, the Great Canadian Food Tour, which made its debut this May, answers the questions of "what Canadian foods are there to eat and where the heck do I find them?"

Tours begin at 3:30 p.m. at the Pow Wow Café (213 Augusta Avenue) where you'll meet up with your guide and other tour participants before sitting down and digging into a Ojibway Taco, a dish that is older than Canada itself. Honoring the people who were in the country first, the tacos are built on Bannock bread - an Indigenous bread made in its most basic form using flour, lard, sugar, and eggs - then piled with meat chili, lettuce, cheddar cheese, tomatoes, cumin sour cream and edible flowers.

Made by owner and Chef Shawn Adler who traces his roots back to the Ojibway – a large Indigenous ethnic group spread out across much of the Ontario province - the Ojibway Taco combines both tradition and flavor and is a great start to the afternoon! Thankfully you don't get a full-size serving as there would be no room for any of the other great foods on the tour but the serving size is quite large giving your taste buds a chance to enjoy every nuance of the crunchy fry bread and the delicious ingredients that make up the rest of the taco.

A short walk later you'll be at Stop #2 on the tour - Moo Frites (178 Baldwin St) - a small take-out shop that specializes in Belgian-style frites. Based on the Belgian friteries that owner Ambrose Lee fell in love with when he was traveling through Brussels and Bruges, the shop serves up some of the best Poutine in Toronto. A dish that includes french fries and cheese curds topped with a brown gravy, Poutine originated in the late 1950s in the Centre-du-Québec area. If you've never had it, you're in for a real treat!

Made from high-starch russets that are hand-cut into thick strips, blanched, deep-fried and then frozen overnight before being deep-fried a second time, the frites that are the foundation of the Poutine are golden and crispy on the outside while light and fluffy on the inside which makes them the perfect base for the beef-fat gravy and melty cheese curds that complete this most delicious of Canadian dishes. Trust me, you're going to hate to see the bottom of the cup!

Bacon Nation - aka National Bacon Headquarters! - (249 Augusta Ave) is Stop #3 where you'll enjoy a Peameal Bacon Sandwich that is to die for! Peameal bacon is wet-cured pork loin from the back of the hog that has been trimmed of fat and rolled in cornmeal, creating a yellow crust. Both leaner and juicer than regular bacon, it was originally rolled in crushed yellow peas, hence the name peameal. Holding a spot in 1001 Foods You Must Taste Before You Die, peameal bacon is a uniquely Canadian product which is often confused with Canadian bacon, a smoked back bacon that’s popular in the U.S. and isn’t Canadian at all.

At Bacon Nation you'll sink your teeth into a delicious, flavor-filled classic Canadian sandwich that doesn't just feature a generous serving of peameal bacon but also includes provolone, fried egg, lettuce and tomato on a brioche bun. If by chance you've tried the Peameal Bacon Sandwich at the Carousel Bakery at Toronto's famed Saint Lawrence Market, you're going to find that it doesn't hold a candle to the one you'll try on the Great Canadian Food Tour. Oh, and just for the record, you get a whole sandwich to yourself as they don't skimp on the servings on this most awesome of food tours!

Getting full already? Don't be as there's lots more to come!

Next up, Stop #4 is NU Bügel (240 Agusta Avenue) where they create Montreal-style, handmade bagels in a 20,000-pound wood-burning oven right there on site. Whereas New York-style bagels are soft, chewy and doughy, Montreal-style bagels are smaller, thinner, denser and sweeter with a larger hole. Both are boiled before being baked but unlike New York-style, Montreal bagels are poached in water that has been sweetened with honey before being baked in a wood-burning oven which makes them crunchier with a deeper, richer crust flavor.

Montreal-style bagels aren't designed to be sliced, instead break them in half then break off pieces to dip in cream cheese or whatever spread you might want. They're apparently so popular that by the time we made it to NU Bügel on our tour, they were sold out but we were still able to enjoy the onion variety at the last stop on our tour as the owners were kind enough to send over a bagful along with lots of cream cheese for dipping. I'm glad they did as I really enjoyed them and - full disclosure - as a rule I don't like onion bagels!

Stop #5 - time for the sweets! Wanda's Pie in the Sky (287 Augusta Avenue) is owned by Wanda Beaver, a gal who baked her first pie at the age of 9 so definitely knows what she's doing! You can get lunch and reportedly some of the best coffee brewed in Toronto at Wanda's but we were there for a true taste of Canada in the form of a Butter Tart.

Considered one of Canada's quintessential treats, Butter Tarts were common in pioneer Canadian cooking and are highly regarded in Canadian cuisine. Though Butter Tarts date back to the 1600s, the earliest published recipe dates back to 1900 and can be found in The Women’s Auxiliary of the Royal Victoria Hospital Cookbook. The tarts consist of a filling of butter, sugar, syrup and egg baked in a pastry shell until the filling is semi-solid with a crunchy top. Recipes vary according to the families baking them; those at Wanda’s Pie in the Sky feature a rich butter filling with raisins and walnuts. They are oh, so good and nowhere near as sweet as one might think but that's probably because they're a smaller size and you don't get the chance to overindulge like we do with so many American desserts! That said, you could buy a batch of them and go town if you really like them!

Last stop after a bit of a walk around the neighborhood so that your guide can tell you some of the history of Kensington Market and you can make room for just one more sampling of Canadian cuisine, is the Moonbean Coffee Company (30 St. Andrew Street.) A micro-roaster of fabulous coffees where they also have a most impressive tea selection and other goodies, it was there we were presented with a plate of Nanaimo Bars. Granted, at this point I was so full I wasn't sure that I could eat anything else but how could I resist trying just one more thing, especially when it looked so good? I couldn't!

A bar dessert which requires no baking, this sweet Canadian treat is named after the city of Nanaimo located on the east coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia. It consists of three layers: a wafer and coconut crumb-base, a custard flavored butter icing in the middle and a layer of chocolate ganache on top. Unconfirmed references date the bar back to the 1930s while the earliest confirmed printed copy of the recipe using the name "Nanaimo Bars" appears in the Edith Adams' prize cookbook (14th edition) from 1953; a copy of the book is on view at the Nanaimo Museum in British Columbia should you ever find yourself on Canada's left coast. The dessert is so Canadian - and popular - that it was served at the 2016 US State Dinner in honor of Justin Trudeau! Again, the bars may look sweet but they really aren't and were the perfect ending to a food tour that offers one delicious food after another!

So there you have it ... a bit of Kensington Market - Toronto's most unique neighborhood - and a great way to spend some time exploring it with the good folks of Chopsticks+Forks and the Great Canadian Food Tour! It was one of the first things that we did on our visit to Toronto and it was great, setting the bar very high for the rest of the trip! Even though I had never been on a food tour before, I honestly can't think of a better way to get to know Toronto and Canada!

If you're interested in booking your own tour with Chopsticks+Forks - either their original Kensington Market Signature International Food Tour or the brand-new Great Canadian Food Tour - visit their website and use their easy on-line booking. If you have food allergies or special dietary needs, they're able to accommodate some of them (one of our party has a dairy intolerance but didn't miss out on a thing as their foods were specially prepared to avoid dairy.) Both tours take approximately 2-1/2 hours and are an easy walk around the neighborhood. Though I can't vouch for the International Food Tour, I can tell you that if go on the Great Canadian Food Tour and leave hungry, it's your own darned fault!

In conclusion, a big shout-out to our tour guide Fenny who for sure did a fabulous job and to tour originator Jusep Sim for sitting and talking with us afterward while we enjoyed our Nanaimo Bars! You both put Toronto high on the list of my Favorite Cities and I'm already trying to figure out when I can wander up again!