a new weekend adventure with good old friends

It's always good to be around friends especially friends you've known for  a while and have not seen for  quite some time. To have New York as our weekend getaway doubled the fun.  I always enjoy visiting the Big Apple but this time was a whole new experience for me.  It was my first time to watch the US Open Grand Slam Tennis championship. Watching the men's semi-finals was filled with fun and excitement.  We definitely got the value for our money.  As any trip to the Big Apple, we went sight-seeing around the city. Times Square at 2am in the morning was still packed with a big crowd.  Indeed, New York is the city that never sleeps.  A trip to New York is not complete without strolling around Central Park...and to complete the entire experience,  brunch at the central park boathouse and boating on the lake.  To satisfy our desire for a complete New York experience, we headed on to broadway for some award-winning broadway musical...and our pick..."La Cage Aux Folles" , winner of 3 Tony awards,  it did not disappoint us.  The play was both funny and heartwarming.  We left the Longacre Theatre with smiles on our faces. It was now time to leave the big city but the fun does not end here.

It was now time to experience some New England charm.  Off we went sight-seeing around Hartford and Farmington area.  A visit to the homes of the famous writers, Mark Twain and Harriet Beecher-Stowe and driving to see a real castle in East Haddam, Gillette's castle, the home of Sherlock Holmes,  were all part of our little adventure.  Our weekend culminated in a sumptuous dinner at a spanish restaurant, where we had our share of spanish cuisine with some sangria and to complete the entire dining experience, the most mouth-watering flan I've ever had.

All in all, it was absolutely a great weekend filled with laughter and new experiences.  Thanks to my dear friends Sheila and Jason for being our hosts and showing us around New York and Connecticut, to another wonderful friend, Daphne for getting us all together...I will surely go for another adventure with you guys.  Til our next trip my dear friends!

Mystic...

Recently, I happen to watch the movie "Mystic Pizza".  It's a 1988 American coming-of-age film directed by Donald Petrie and starring Annabeth Gish, Lili Taylor and one of my favorite actresses,  Julia Roberts.  The title of the film was based on a pizza shop named Mystic Pizza in Mystic, Connecticut.  So when my cousin mentioned that she was bringing me sight-seeing to Mystic, I hastily grabbed my camera, ready to experience the place where the movie was set.

Arriving in historic Mystic Village was just like entering any New England town, with it's quaint buildings and historic aura that comes with the place.  Mystic is a village, historically a leading seaport of the area, it being located on the Mystic River.

I enjoyed people-watching and sight-seeing by the mystic seaport.  People were strolling along the docks, some boys were fishing and seemed to be enjoying the thrill and excitement of finally getting their catch of the day.  Old folks were strolling along the Mystic River Draw Bridge,  their cameras in hand trying to capture the amazing view of the river with its beautiful boats anchored on the docks.   I was entertained just looking around and taking photos of course.  It was such a picturesque little village by the river that I could not stop having my camera work overtime to capture what i was seeing.

My nieces had a taste of some old-fashioned ice cream from one of the village's ice cream shop...and I finally had my personal encounter of the famous Mystic Pizza shop,  much to my excitement and delight.  It definitely was a slice of heaven back there.  Here are some of the photos of this quaint New England village  by a river that got me so excited and thrilled.  Enjoy the sights as I have!

A Taste of Old Wethersfield

A week ago, I went to visit my cousin and her family up in the east coast.  It's not my first time to visit her in her home in Wethersfield, Connecticut; but for some reason I have never explored this old historical town with its New England charm.  Therefore, I took it upon myself to demand a tour of this beautiful town.

Off we went to Old Wethersfield, Connecticut's first permanent settlement established in the 1600's, with its charming New England homes, some of which were old captains' houses, as the first settlers who founded Wethersfield in 1634 picked the site beacause of the Connecticut river.

Strolling along shade-covered lanes and by-ways, it was amazing to know that I was walking along hundred year-old footpaths tread by the very first inhabitants of this place.  Walking along Main Street, our first stop was at the Main Street Creamery & Cafe',  as my cute little nieces wanted me to have a taste of one of their favorite treats.  Main Street Creamery & Cafe' offers several flavors of ice cream, frozen yogurts and more...and they even have low-fat ice cream as my 10 year-old niece pointed out to me.  The building looked really quaint and fun with its purple paint and halloween decor.  I can't blame the kids for wanting to stop by,  especially after having a taste of their ice cream.