Welcome to January 2014! Hard to believe the new year is upon us, but I’m so excited to see what it will bring. With my best friend’s wedding, my graduation, and my own wedding, I’d say it’s going to be a great twelve months. I hope everyone who celebrates Christmas had a lovely holiday; we spent a few days with my parents doing the usual: relaxing, eating good food, and watching movies.
Between Christmas and New Year’s, Brien and I took a little trip to the New Hampshire/ Vermont border for a weekend of complete winter coziness. We stayed at the Colony House, an historic house in Keene, New Hampshire.
Our hosts, Lisa and Joslin, were quite hospitable, putting out a lovely (and gluten free-friendly!) spread each morning.
The whole downstairs quarters of the bed & breakfast were for the guests, and included cozy nooks like this one where we could read by the fireplace. Having a fireplace of my own is a dream of mine, so I always take advantage when I find one.
The town of Keene is quaint, but has quite a bit to offer: several fabulous restaurants, great shops, nice people.
We even found a hiking trail right off the square!
When we traveled to California and Greece last year, we managed to hike at least once each time, and I hope to continue the tradition in our future travels.
Later in the day, we drove to New Walpole to climb Fall Mountain.
It was really icy, and though we slipped and slid a bit (and yours truly may have fallen on her bum) we had a lovely time.
From the side of the mountain, we could see over the Connecticut River to Vermont! The photo doesn’t do it justice; the view was breathtaking.
After our hike, we explored some of the nearby towns.
Looking to warm up, we found ourselves at L.A. Burdick’s, a sweet little chocolate house in Walpole.
Rich hot cocoa for two, please!
Brien and I are on the same page when we travel; we try to go to places that aren’t too touristy, that can be both active and relaxing, that are interesting and different, and that have good food! We ate really well on our trip. I was surprised by how gluten free-friendly everything was! Here were some of our favorite dishes:
African sweet potato soup with chili oil at Luca’s Mediterranean Cafe:
Gluten free pasta with mussels + tomato, also at Luca’s:
Seafood chowder with lobster, haddock, shrimp + clams; smoked salmon Caesar salad; gluten free focaccia at Fresh Salad Company (my favorite meal of the trip!):
Gluten free pizza with shrimp, arugula, tomato + mozzarella; sauteed broccoli rabe at Fireworks (some of the best gluten free pizza I’ve had):
Though Brien travels for work (a LOT), Vermont is the only state north of the Mississppi River he hasn’t been to, so we made it our mission to get to Brattleboro before we went back to New York.
It was a lively town, with everything we love: good coffee, a great food co-op, beautiful views, local food.
We went to Whetstone Station, a restaurant and brewery, for lunch. We must have picked the place to be, because it was so crowded! Luckily the bar was empty, so we ate there. It was quite a treat; the view was incredible. And as a veteran of the restaurant industry, it was fun for me to chat with the bartenders and hear more of the behind-the-scenes stuff. I love where my career is headed, but I do miss the industry sometimes since it was a big part of my life for so long.
We shared a giant salad with lemon + tahini, and vegan risotto with gluten free tempeh and roasted vegetables. Cold weather calls for hearty, delicious comfort food. Just like Keene, all of the menus we looked at in Brattleboro were clearly marked V, Veg, and GF for vegan, vegetarian and gluten free options. It was actually a lot easier to eat in New England than in New York City!
Before getting back in the car, we stopped for coffee and a (gluten free!) treat at Mocha Joe’s. It was a sweet end to a wonderful engagement/Christmas/winter fun trip.
My partner in crime and I are off to yet another cold weather place this weekend… it’s even chillier there! It’s a mad rush to get the laundry (read long underwear/leggings) dried before our plane takes off in a few hours. Have a great weekend, and stay safe with Winter Storm Hercules!