Portland, Maine
Ms. Hen recently went on a short trip to Portland, Maine.
She wanted to get away for a few days and she didn’t want to go far. Usually
when she goes on a trip, she travels to faraway places like Europe or
Washington D.C., somewhere she can get on a plane and not have to worry about
going in a car, since she is a bit driving impaired. She has her
license, but she prefers not to drive because she finds it stressful.
Ms. Hen took the Amtrak from North Station to Portland. She
has taken the train before, but most of the time, she has gone south to New York. She
found the train to Maine less crowded and more pleasant than going south. She
had two seats to herself the whole time back and forth. The trip takes about two and a
half hours.
Ms. Hen stayed at a bed and breakfast place called the Inn at St. John http://www.innatstjohn.com. She picked the place because it was inexpensive and it was
right near the train station. She walked in the door, and classical music was
playing and the place was lovely. It seemed to her to be the kind of hotel
where people go to have love affairs. She wasn’t having a love affair, and was
initially nervous that the strange atmosphere would bother her, but it didn’t.
Ms. Hen at the Inn at St. John |
The hotel is the oldest in Portland, and is a European
style hotel, and it didn’t have an elevator. Ms. Hen was on the top floor. She
didn’t realize how awkward the stairs were, or she would have taken the offer
someone made to help carry her bags. Some of the rooms at the hotel have
shared bathrooms, but Ms. Hen’s room had a private hall bath, which was the second
cheapest room in the hotel.
Ms. Hen thought her room was charming. It was perfect for
getting away for a few nights. It had a refrigerator, a coffee maker, a TV that
she didn’t watch, bathrobes, and the people at the hotel left a basket of
snacks. Of course free WIFI was available. There was coffee and tea
in the lobby all day, but Ms. Hen is a coffee snob and she always brings her
own, because hotel coffee is usually below par, and yes, the coffee at
this hotel was as expected.
Ms. Hen didn’t have any concrete plans as to what she was
going to do. She mostly explored the streets and looked at things, went out
to eat, took pictures, and went shopping. She thinks it’s wonderful to be in a different place. The hotel is near the downtown area where a myriad of used
bookstores and art galleries and restaurants are located. The first night Ms.
Hen ate at a fantastic vegetarian Thai place called The Green Elephant, and she
had Thai Basil fried rice with vegetarian meat and it was tasty.
It snowed the second day, and Ms. Hen decided she would walk
to the Old Port area, which was a long walk from the hotel. She got lost and
wandered farther than she should have. The day was cold. Ms. Hen had planned in
advance that she would go to a place called The Blue Rooster for lunch because she
liked the name of the place. She had a beet goat cheese sandwich and poutine
tater tots, and she ate quickly, since the tater tots were hot, and she needed the warmth. The place is a
café, and is very small, but the food was delicious.
Ms. Hen at the Blue Rooster waiting for her lunch |
Ms. Hen walked around the Old Port area, and some of the
streets were paved with cobblestones. There were lots of quaint shops, and it
seemed like it would be packed in the summer with tourists. Many of the seafood
places on the water were still closed for the season.
On her last full day, Ms. Hen went back to the Old Port
District to search out some seafood for lunch. She ate at Gritty McDuff’s, a
brewpub and restaurant where she enjoyed some baked stuffed haddock. The tables
at the place were not the most comfortable; they were picnic table style, with
seats that had no backs.
Old Port area |
Ms. Hen always feels rushed when she eats at a sit-down
restaurant when she travels alone. But she never feels rushed when she goes to
a coffee shop, because the employees don’t pay attention to how
long a person stays. Ms. Hen went to a few great independent coffee shops in
Portland. She went to Yordprom Coffee, where she had an almond croissant and a
soy latte; Tandem Coffee and Bakery, which is a converted garage, but Ms. Hen
though it was too drafty inside; and Bard Coffee, in the Old Port area, where
Ms. Hen went twice and loved the coffee and atmosphere.
Ms. Hen drinks coffee at Bard Coffee |
Ms. Hen thinks it’s great to get away for a few days, with
no grand plan and no expectations. She didn’t feel stressed or rushed, and she
didn’t feels like she had to do absolutely everything on her list. She did some
writing in her hotel room in the mornings before she went out. Portland Maine
is trendy and cool in its own way, with a Mainer edge to it.
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