Purdy. Photo by Mike G.K. via flickr.
MamaDork arrived yesterday afternoon for a nice visit, so I won’t be around much for the next several days. Instead of enjoying the internet and air conditioning, I’ll be tromping around the city with Mumsy, showing her some of the places that I love in New York but rarely go to during my “normal” life.
The Dude always talks about how the pleasure of visitors is not just spending time with them, but using it as a chance to get out and see the cool stuff that you take for granted a lot of the time. Last night we spent hours playing Rock Band (everyone should have the chance to see her almost 65-year-old mom rocking a Beastie Boys song on a plastic guitar), but starting tomorrow, we’re off on adventures: the Brooklyn Botanical Garden, Coney Island, walking the High Line and the Brooklyn Bridge, taking in a show (TBD), and maybe going to MOMA or the Whitney. And shopping, and eating out a lot, and whatever else I come up with. Did I mention eating?
New York is obviously a great place to host visitors, but everywhere I’ve lived–even my tiny college cow-town–had cool stuff to see and do for visitors. So, today’s FFT is a chance for you to point out the can’t-miss things about where you live. You can be specific about your location and the attractions, or, if you wanna be all cloak-and-dagger to protect your online psuedonymity, you can just reference the great beaches, or the gorgeous old movie theatre, or the diner with The Best Granola Pancakes in the World. Whatevs.
Harpy tour guides: do your stuff!
This is timely for me, as my three years living in Charleston, SC are coming to an end at the end of the month. I fell in love with this town. It’s got gorgeous colonial beauty (visitors often remark that the colorful Charleston singles with all their wrought iron and shingles and shady porches with haint blue ceilings remind them of a cleaner New Orleans) and gnarled live oaks dripping with moss. It’s got some of the best food I’ve ever had (standouts: FIG, The Glass Onion, Slightly North of Broad, McCrady’s, Bowen’s Island). There are actually a lot of cool cultural happenings as it’s a big art town (Spoleto Festival, Fashion Week, Wine and Food Fest). And OMG, THE BEACHES! I grew up in Arkansas. No beaches. My two favorites here are Folly Beach and Sullivan’s Island. I’m so so so sad to leave the beach.
Ph.D. you shoot an arrow thru my heart every Fri. I’m traveling now for business, and I so miss home, which is not too far from yours.
When I host people, everyone is into seeing the Highline park these days. Also my folks love “La Montaña del Oso” for picnics and hiking, aka Bear Mountain.
Ooooh, me first, me first!
If you’ve been reading here for a while, you know that I’m a huge fan of my hometown, Pittsburgh. We have a manageable cost of living, affordable housing stock, good public schools, tons of green space and bike lanes, fabulous restaurants, and world-class roller coasters! Oh, and a few sports teams if you’re into that.
My favorite Pgh places:
-the city parks
-Phipps Conservatory-an indoor/outdoor botanical garden
-the Carnegie Library system
-Kennywood Park-if you love wooden coasters, this is the place for you
-the Strip District, for foodies
Come visit! Really, if you’re coming through town, please do get in touch-I’d love to meet a sister Harpy fan. Harpies, what’s the best way to let people know your email address?
mm Don’t repeat that too often b/c if there are roller coasters and you are hosting …
There is a high-end restaurant, just across the street from the tram station, that also runs a take-away joint which is open for longer in the evenings than anywhere else in this city with the exception of McDonald’s.
And this take-away joint grills the best sausages in the entire city.
Okay, not quite first…
@rodriguez: I do mean it!
http://www.kennywood.com/attractions/whatsnew.php
I actually just did this in New York too, as my girlfriend came to visit and I was on a campaign to show her how awesome it is. (It seemed to work, she’s moving out here in August.)
We walked in Central Park, which I don’t do a whole lot of, and we went to the Met, which is my favorite museum, but mostly we did my favorite thing about New York – walking through neighborhoods. Boerum Hill and Brooklyn Heights, SoHo, LES, Upper West Side, Upper East Side. We ate awesome hamburgers at the corner of 86th and Columbus, had cupcakes at Sugar Sweet Sunshine, ate bruschetta in Cobble Hill, had tiramisu in SoHo, and drank Jamba Juice in Bryant Park.
On her own (because I had to work all but two of the weekdays), she went to the American Museum of Natural History and visited Hunter College, where she’ll hopefully be going to complete her biology degree in 2011, and ate a lot of street food.
Wasn’t the most touristy tour of the city, but it was definitely a great way to show someone what it’s like to live in here.
Unfortunately, Philadelphia is mostly depressing. But! There are some good restaurants near the Penn campus, the art museum is lovely (as is the small but elegant Rodin museum), and Penn’s Landing, on the Delaware, is fun when the weather’s nice. South street is fun if you like novelty/sex toy shops. The Electric Factory is a great concert venue. And the city does have a relative profusion of interesting architecture. It’s just sad sometimes how much of the city needs major renovation. Alas. I am excited to be leaving to try out somewhere new!
So I’m from (and currently live in) metropolitan Detroit. There are tons of cool historical stuff inside the city of Detroit as well as thriving underground music scenes particularly electronic. I would recommend Greenfield Village/Henry Ford Museum for the best purely tourist activity. They have Thomas Edisons lab (Henry Ford had it disassembled, shipped and reassembled at the museum) and you can walk through it. Also the chair Lincoln was shot in, also countless original cars and trains. OMG the monster trains are amazing, standing next to them is practically a zen experience.
BUT! I would really recommend this flickr photo stream. The artist is my former neighbor and he is a legend in this particular strand of photography that has gained popularity in the city in recent years, which is going into abandoned buildings and taking pictures. They are so amazing and beautiful. Plus he’s the nicest guy. Check it out! You’ll see an amazing side of Detroit. Beauty in the ruins.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/billyvoo/collections/72157602539839797/
I live in Denton, Texas which is about an hour north of Dallas/Fort Worth. Denton has a feel like a college town and Star’s Hollow had a hippie-infused baby. There is always live music coming through, lots of good restaurants, and almost once a month there is some kind of festival, today and tomorrow are the Dog Days of Summer where everyone can dress up their dogs and take them to play together in the park.
Harpys it would be easier to show you, than tell you. Though the stand out things are:
1) the great coffee in my suburb made by one specific cafe
2) the Nicholson Museum at my university, Sydney University
3) living in the Italian area of Sydney means that football is always up for discussion. (As an aside, I can’t wait for the World Cup!)
4) great food located across the road from my place
5) The Botanic Gardens
So if there’s a fellow harpy who makes it to the Southern Hemisphere, Sydney to be more precise, get in contact with me. I’ll be more than happy to show you around and show you how the locals live
PHDork–as someone who just had a barrage of visitors (every single weekend!), I can attest to having the excuse to visit and see other things not part of your normal day. I’ve been able to cover so much of NYC in the last month as a result.
@baraquiel: If you haven’t done so already, make reservations to go to the Barnes Foundation while it’s still in its original spot: http://barnesfoundation.org/r_main.html
It is a splendid way to spend an afternoon as both the collection and the grounds are positively delightful, and two fantastic delis are just up the street from it.
I’m originally from the Philly area (born in immediate suburbs, then moved to the exurbs and then went to school in Philly), and I unabashedly love the city. Walnut Street has great restaurants and shops and is just a pleasure to wander up and down, and Old City is chock full of galleries and more restaurants. The Franklin Institute is also super-fun, no matter how old you are.
I live in Washington, DC and have loads of things to rave about. All the fabulous (and Free!) Smithsonian museums which are really a national treasure, the amazing restaurants that are popping up all over the place as DC is becoming a serious foody town, several really good concert venues for all sorts of great music, not to mention all the history – it seems like every corner has some statue or plaque commemorating a famous person or event. And of course the monuments on the National Mall as well, because even having lived here for years I still find them inspiring.
It will probably come as no surprise that some of my favorite spots in Minneapolis are lakes! You can’t drive more than 20 or 30 blocks in this city without running into a lake. So many lovely spots can be found where you don’t even feel like you’re in the middle of a big city anymore. Along with lakes come extensive walking and biking paths, which Minneapolis is pretty famous for.
Other than that, I’m a big fan of all the unique little coffee shops and restaurants that can be found in every neighborhood. And in the summer, it’s the neighborhood art fairs and farmer’s markets that get me out of the air conditioning and into the world.
I’ve lived in DC/VA for 5 years, and unfortunately my personal experiences here have made me really dislike the place. Not that I’m sure I ever gave it a fair shot. When people come visit I do love to take them to my favorite frozen custard place in Del Ray. Makes you scoff at all other ice cream and frozen yogurt places. (Suck it, Tangy Sweet!) I’ve found some good restaurants but I do think it isn’t as hot as the restaurant community seems to think. Exceptions include Busboys and Poets! Props to restaurant week for letting me eat good food without breaking the bank. I can’t get enough of seeing monuments and memorials while I’m out running. My favorite place to just be by myself and walk around is Theodore Roosevelt Island. The Torpedo Factory in Alexandria is an awesome place to check out, and there are tons of shops and restaurants around it as well. For the best milkshakes ever, Elevation Burger in Falls Church.
@ratinski: you are so right. NYC is the walking capital of the world. Every turn brings you something new, strange, cool or beloved to savor!
@baraqiel: I’d include Longwood Gardens, which are outside Philly proper but are stunningly beautiful and feature a friendly garden cat who loves belly rubs.
Favorite New Orleans sites/stuff to do (just for starters):
French Quarter
Jackson Square / St. Louis Cathedral
Trolley uptown and to the park
Sunset at the Fly (riverside park)
Preservation Hall
But of course, being NOLA, the *real* highlights are the food and music. A few must-sees and must-eats:
Food – Mahoney’s for po-boys; one of the old-school high-class restaurants (Antoine’s or Brennan’s, Commander’s Palace if you’re really feeling flush); Acme Oyster House; La Crepe Nanou; Fiorelli’s or Willie Mae’s for fried chicken; Mandina’s for old-school food at a neighborhood joint…the list could go on and on.
Music – no trip to NOLA is complete without hitting Frenchmen Street one night. Tipitina’s Uptown is another fave. My personal fave bands & bars to see and/or take visitors to see: John Boutte at d.b.a.; Rebirth Brass Band at the Maple Leaf; Otra at d.b.a.; Los Poboy-citos at Maison; New Orleans Jazz Vipers at the Spotted Cat; Irvin Mayfield and/or Bob French at Irvin’s Jazz Playhouse; Soul Rebels at Le Bon Temps or Tipitina’s; DJ Soul Sister at Mimi’s in the Marigny…again the list goes on and on.
I grew up in the flat, brown midwest, so moving to western Oregon was a revelation to me. I talk about how much I love that I live an hour from both the mountains and the ocean, but the truth is, I never actually take that drive unless we have out of town guests. Now that my son is old enough to start hiking, we’re going to try to get out of the city more often, but I totally take the nature for granted.
We also have a fabulous farmers market, surprisingly great restaurants for a city this size, and a brand new Voodoo Donuts.
I haven’t lived there for over a decade, but I grew up in Indianapolis, and I can’t talk up their Children’s Museum enough. Everyone should visit.
Having lived in Holland for all of 5 weeks now, I still have to google to find things. Just try asking a room full of science PhD’s where to find a yarn shop! However, I can tell you that if the tulips are in bloom, Keukenhof and the surrounding fields are amazing.
In my previous town of Wichita, KS, however, hit Bella Luna Cafe for hummus/martinis/dinner, and Caffe Moderne for amazing gelato and coffee. And the Saturday west side farmer’s market was great, with everything there produced locally. Also, there are tons of reasonably good and very cheap local theatre productions.
I am from the teeming crowded stinky metropolis known as London aka the Great Wen (always my favourite description of the city)
Anyway the things i always do when I’m back home:
1. walk along the Hammersmith bankside and eat at the Dove pub (one of London’s smallest)
2. Meander round one of our many markets – Columbia Market for flowers, Camden for teen nostalgia, Dulwich for actual bargains, Portobello because it’s near.
3, If i’m at Portobello market, go to the Electric Cinema either to eat or to see a film in their love seats
4. Go to Murder One bookshop, although sadly this just closed down so now I’ll replace it with go to Daunts bookshop in Marlebone High St or Hachards Bookshop in Piccadilly.
5. Go to St Pauls because it’s touristy but I love it and then you can walk across to the Tate Modern
6. Talking of museums everyone should go to my two favourites: The Hunterian (a collection of goulish body parts, babies in jars and the world’s tallest man) and John Soame’s Museum, which is basically the contents of a man’s head in museum form.
7. Eat lunch at Limehouse on Narrow St, where Dickens set the beginning of our mutual friend
8. Hang out in Shoreditch and Clerkenwell to laugh at posey people in the pubs plus to check out good music at Blue Note and the 666 Club and to go to the Bricklayer’s Arms, a personal favourite. Plus its an interesting historical area and you can see John Dee’s house.
9. Ponce around Hampstead Heath feeling like Keats. Or alternatively just grab a drink at Jack Straws Castle, Spaniards Inn or The Flask (hmm there’s a lot of drinking going on in my tips)
10. Eat at one of the following: Lindsay House in Soho, St John’s in Clerkenwell, Moro in Clerkenwell, Racine in Kensington or Galvins in Baker St.
11. Have a curry in East London
12. Hang out in one of our many great parks – I love Holland park because I grew up there but Hyde, St James, Kensington Palace, Wandsworth and Brockwell are all great.
And that’s enough, although I could meander on for ever really. Sigh, it’s really only this time of year that I miss the city.
viajera:
I lived in New Orleans for a while, a bit ago, and love-love-loved Magazine St. for food and shops. And going to see the Zephyrs play baseball with their awesome giant nutria mascot.
Man, I’m moving away from Buffalo, NY this summer, and am totally gutted. It’s the best place I’ve ever lived in (I mean I grew up in a suburb, but the city itself is great). My partner, from Atlanta, loves it here and wants to move back as soon as possible.
We have a great arts scene–Shakespeare in Delaware Park is delightful, and you don’t need reservations or anything. Just show up with a blanket or some lawn chairs, and nobody minds if you ignore open container laws in that particular section of the park, so people bring wine, beer, and picnics to watch good theater. In the winter, Irish Classical Theater Company is a great theater as well.
The Albright-Knox art museum is a ridiculously good museum for such a small town.
Bistro Europa is the best restaurant I’ve ever been to, hands down, in any city, country, or continent. Two really laid back, creative, and nice people own it, and they work hard to make every dish amazing. Including making their own butter and their own ice cream. It’s on Elmwood Avenue and is tiny, but seriously–I literally get teary-eyed at the thought of leaving this restaurant.
Kuni’s, on Lexington in Elmwood Vilage, is the best sushi in the city, and if you’re from a bigger city you’ll be shocked at how cheap it is, considering the high quality. Friends from NYC are always shocked when the bill comes.
Elmwood Avenue/Elmwood Village is the enjoyable part of town, with little coffee shops (Spot and Cafe Aroma are the best) and shops, and Allentown is the place to go for bars. I recommend Hardware–good wine and beer list.
And of course, we’re very close to Niagara Falls, so whenever someone’s here for the first time it’s pretty much necessary to go there. If you go in the right frame of mind, and go on the Maid of the Mist and perhaps even Cave of the Winds (either Canadian or American, they are basically trails where you get really close to the falls, on the rocks below or in the caves behind), it’s breathtaking. Beware the Canadian side, though, as the little strip of bars is cheesy and depressing for someone like me–but when I was 19 and could legally drink in Ontario, it was awesome in that specifically drunk 19-year-old way.
Finally, the Botanical Gardens, which are actually in Lackawanna (where I grew up) but about a minute away from South Buffalo, are great. It’s one of the oldest botanical gardens in the country, and they have an orchid show every year which totally makes the fact that people all over the world thought there were fairies or tiny people who were magic make perfect sense. And they have spring bulb shows, and it’s just wonderful.
The farmer’s market on Bidwell (Saturday mornings, May-December) is lovely as well. Everything from local wineries and honey to fruit and meat.
Actually, if someone from out of town will be here for a few days, I usually take them up to Niagara-on-the-Lake, and go visit the wineries there. I’ve never actually been to the Shaw festival, but I love that whole area.
Anyone from Providence, RI, or spent a lot of time there? I’m moving there in two months, and know very little about the cool places in the city.
PS. If anyone ever comes to Buffalo, please call me and I’ll take you to the best places. I love showing visitors my awesome city.
@bellacoker – good call, I forgot about Magazine St. I used to live just off Magazine and Napoleon, and love all the good shops, restaurants, bars, gelaterias, and etc. there.
I haven’t seen a game at Zephyr’s Field yet – I’ll have to add that to my to do list!
You’re all making me miss my old home in NYC to no end. Sigh.
But there are marvelous things about Tucson, Arizona, where I live now.
1) Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum – an outdoor “museum”/arboretum/zoo showing off all the wonders of this other-worldly landscape, with saguaro cacti, coyotes, javalina, scorpions, snakes – and that’s just what you might meet wild on the trails! The Desert Museum invented invisible fencing techniques that lots of zoos use now, so you really are IN the desert, not just looking at it from afar. It’s awesome. I make everyone who visits Tucson go there, even if they do nothing else.
2) Kitt Peak National Observatory – our biggest, national telescope. There are lots of huge telescopes here because the air is so clear. Even the Vatican has its observatory here (yes, the Vatican has an official astronomer, and he’s an amazing man, very into science and religion existing in harmony and continual dialog – he was the one who convinced the Church to apologize for excommunicating Galileo).
3) Kartchner Caverns – amazing live cave system expertly preserved by the state park department. You have to go through a series of airlocks to get in, including being sprayed down with mist, so threads from your clothes don’t contaminate the cave. If you touch any natural formations, they have to come in afterwards and clean it assiduously. Giant formations and vibrant colors. The coolest cave I’ve ever seen, and I’m a cave junkie.
4) Guadalajara Restaurant – best margaritas in town!
5) Pinnacle Peak – steakhouse that owns its own herd of sustainably-raised cattle, in a former Western movie set. While you’re waiting for a table, you can watch a stunt show or shop in the old western trading post. Kitchy but lots of fun.
6) If you’re here during October, I will take you to Old Tucson, the even-bigger, old movie set out in the desert, where many old Western movies were shot, including most of the John Waynes. They built a whole replica of Tucson from the 1880s out of adobe and old timber, to shoot one of those 1920s epic films, Arizona. John Wayne himself invested a lot of money to preserve the old set, and now they do the COOLEST set of haunted houses every October. Every building is a different kind of haunted house, and all the local actors and stunt men really ham it up. I completely love it.
7) The sunset. It took me a long time to get used the muted palette of the desert, until I realized that all the color that had drained from the land sucked up into the sky. We get the most colorful, gorgeous sunsets anywhere I’ve ever seen. Every night is spectacular.
I’m moving soon, but for now I still live in Paris, and it’s certainly a good place for having guests. Here’s my top 10:
-Eating in creperies (about the only restaurants I can afford) – there are some really good ones in the Latin Quarter. Also, falafel in the Marais.
-Going to the Musee d’Orsay (EU citizens under 26 get into all museums free, woohoo!) – I never get tired of it. There is a great exhibition on ‘Crime and Punishment’ on at the moment, I’ve already been twice… I like the d’Orsay so much better than the Louvre, it’s much less confusing (and I find the period more interesting).
-In summer: drinking on bridges/next to the Seine/on the Canal St. Martin. I swear, it’s not looked down upon here. Everyone does it.
-Drinking mint tea in the courtyard of the oldest mosque in Paris (in the 5th)
-The view from a)Parc Belleville b)Père Lachaise cemetery c) the Sacre Coeur
Oops, I promised ten, so I’ll expand the list:
-The Sainte Chapelle (beautiful stained glass windows!)
-The Ile-Saint-Louis
-The parks. (Montsouris, Luxembourg, de la Villette, Tuileries, bois de Boulogne…)
-The Louvre (even if I don’t love it quite as much as the d’Orsay)
-Just wandering around different quartiers!
Endora, you have my support for falafel in the Marais, its among the best i’ve had. Also for the Orsay. Other things I like in Paris, going to the Arc, because it’s a great day out and I can’t believe how cheap racing is in Paris and the fact that there are so many good English language bookshops with interesting events and offbeat books. (I always pay homage to Shakespeare and Co even though it’s a bit of a cheesy thing to do but there are some other great ones as well).
Damn, this makes me want to travel!!
Denver is a great place to visit any time of year, not least because there are so many great outdoorsy opportunities just a short drive away. Red Rocks amphitheater, whether or not there is a concert, is gorgeous in its own right and has a great view back to the city. Or there are dozens (if not hundreds) of other hiking opportunities with waterfalls, wildlife, or the site of what was to be the “Western White House,” for any skill level. Plus biking, kayaking, skiing, snowshoeing, not all of which I actually do but they’re there if that’s your thing. But the city itself has loads to occupy your time. Some of my favorites:
- Visiting the Museum of Contemporary Art on Friday nights and having a drink on the rooftop patio.
- Jazz in City Park in the summer.
- My Brother’s Bar, virtually unchanged since Jack Kerouac and Neal Cassady hung out there. Well, unchanged but for the girl scout cookies they sell year-round.
- Larimer Square downtown, always lit-up real pretty at night. Has rather expensive, posh shops but some incredible restaurants. Faves are Rioja and Osteria Marco (house-made mozzarella and burrata, yum!)
- Tattered Cover bookstore, both the downtown location and the renovated theater.
- D-Bar Desserts, exactly what it sounds like. Yummy yummy, and owned by a dude from the Food Network, who is often there, which impresses people.
- 300 days of sunshine a year!
I’m in the Seattle area and we’ve got:
Snoqualmie Falls (used in the beginning of the show “Twin Peaks”)
Skagit Valley Tulip Festival (an entire valley full of blooming tulips)
The Seattle waterfront with Pike Place Market, along with Puget Sounds beaches.
Ferries are part of our transit system due to all the water.
Amazing library sytem… one of the best in the country. Each library is a gem. This area is BIG into reading, so there are bookstores (not to mention coffeeshops) EVERYWHERE.
Restaurants are not as great as when I live in the Bay Area, but my fav. is a small Afghan / Persian place called Bamiyan here on the Eastside. My little Eastside city has a gem of a sushi place in a small shopping center.
Like an big metropolitan area, there is something for everyone, from festivals, art, outdoor stuff, to shopping.
I live in the San Francisco bay area, which doesn’t really limit it. San Fancisco is about an hour’s drive away and I hate going up there for the most part, but there are some places I’ve enjoyed visiting when guests come by.
-Jeremiah O’Brien, a WWII liberty ship, and it’s submarine friend, the name of which escapes me, are fun to visit on Fisherman’s Wharf. The rest of the wharf I can leave.
-Golden Gate Park is a good place to visit. I’ve been to the Academy of Sciences and the Conservatory of Flowers and would recommend both.
-Alcatraz is neat as well.
Other SF bay area stuff:
-There’s the Tech Museum in San Jose.
-The Hornet, an aircraft carrier turned museum, in Alameda (or is it Oakland) is interesting. They offer good tours. I like this kind of stuff can you tell?
@elibard: I’ve been to the Arizona-Sonora Desert museum! We visited while we were out for a wedding. It was great.
@bluebears: I used to live in Michigan. I always liked the trains in the Henry Ford Museum. My in-laws moved to Indiana and they still make regular trips up to Greenfield village.
@Av0gadro covered the natural beauty part of the Portland area pretty well, so I’ll just add Powell’s, the Best Bookstore Ever In The History of All Mankind. It’s a mandatory stop for every Portland visitor.
This is such a cool thread. I could write miles of comments about what I love in your cities (oooh, Ste. Chappelle! etc.) or the stuff I haven’t seen in places I’ve been (all those music joints in NOLA), the places I haven’t been yet (Sydney & Seattle–though I’m going to the latter in July), and the places that I wouldn’t expect to be “cool,” like Buffalo and Wichita.
So many wonderful places. I am wildly tempted to call for a road trip to P’burgh. I had a student from there last fall and she gave a really good speech about Why Pittsburgh is Awesome. Everyone I know who lived there (people from CMU, natives, etc.) love it to pieces.
I lived in Milwaukee for a year, and I always tout it, since everyone just thinks “beer” (which is true) and “snow” (ditto) and “Laverne & Shirley” (not really), but it is really a great place. SO much culture (theatre and opera and symphony and dance and art), great libraries, beautiful waterfront, awesome little neighborhoods…I would live there again in a heartbeat.
Do it, Dorkie! And enjoy your mom’s visit!
State College, PA: the ultimate college town through the eyes of grown damn woman with no school spirit or patience for drunk people.
Of course, I enjoy showing off the massiveness of Penn State’s campus. It’s just your average state college campus, only on steroids. The football stadium is the 2nd largest in the US (including pro-arenas), the theatre spaces are actually quite nice and well equipped, and the library stacks are a quirky, crazy maze where actual murders have happened. Blah, blah, boring boring.
There are a ridiculous number of shops, bars, and restaurants shoved into our tiny downtown. Most of these should (IMO) be avoided at all cost unless you want to be groped and/or vomited on by 22 yr old boys. Exceptions:
The Comic Swap (run by my dude, our roommate, and another friend) is an incredible store – great selection of both typical superhero fare and awesome indie stuff, friendly service, and the staff make a special effort to be a woman friendly store.
The India Pavilion – I hated indian food before I ate here, they converted me. Since then I’ve eaten at many a big city indian restaurant and I’m proud to say that IP can run with them (and charges a lot less). The lunch buffet is the best $6 you’ll ever spend (that isn’t on drugs to save your life).
Since I try to avoid downtown except during the summer, my true favorites are:
The Autoport – very cool bar and swanky restaurant attached to weird skeezy motel. Great patio space and reasonably priced drinks. I’d rather drink around boundaries minded, middle aged swingers than the aforementioned gropey boys of downtown.
Home Delivery Pizza – don’t get the pizza and don’t get it delivered, lol. It’s ok…not the best in this town of pizza joints. But Home D has SUCH an extensive menu ranging from italian entrees to pittsburgh style sandwiches, as well as phillies, calzones, fried stuff, salads, whatever you want.
I’m rambling now so I’ll just add that my true favorites are walking through Tudek Park (great walking path, horses to pet, a butterfly garden, and a beautiful view of the mountains) and showing off our posh grocery store, Wegman’s.
@PhDork: So glad to see the Milwaukee love! It’s where I grew up (well, for me, the ‘burbs) but I love it too and think that it’s so sadly under-rated as a city. Co-sign on everything you said and would also add the summer festival circuit to this list: Summerfest, IrishFest, Bastille Days, etc… If you really want a taste of the city and it’s friendly people, hit up one of the summer festivals.
I’m currently living in Seattle, and would also co-sign with Ms. M on her list of fun things. I’d also add:
1) A tour of the major neighborhoods in Seattle. Seattle is definitely a city of neighborhoods – each with their own distinct histories and flavors. You can really get a feel for the city by visiting them: Capitol Hill (my home!) is a young hipstery-ish neighborhood with lots of fun restaurants and bars. My current fave is Lark. They do locally grown, Northwest-style small-plate type stuff. Little pricey, but worth it. Bookstores: Elliott Bay. Also is very gay-friendly, with a large portion of the gay community taking up residence here.
Fremont and Ballard: A little north of downtown business district. Fremont is the old hippie center of Seattle – with it’s own gigantic (and kinda scary!) statue of Lenin right smack dab in the center of the ‘hood. Now the neighborhood is a little overrun with Microsoft millionaires in $60 tie-dye t-shirts, but… it’s still fun. A don’t miss is the Fremont Sunday Market, with local artisans, flea market, and lots of good eats. Ballard was the home to the main wave of Swedish and Norwegian immigrants and their stamp can be seen on lots of the buildings and streets. Also a bit of a hipster-y hangout. Lots of bars with live music, if you like that sort of thing. Sunset Tavern and Hazelwood, in particular.
West Seattle. Southwest of downtown with a great view of the Seattle Skyline and Elliott Bay. Also lots of good restaurants. My favorite, though, is a bakery: Bakery Nouveau. The strawberry cheesecake is so good you’ll cry.
SeattleNeighborhoods
Anyhow, any Harpy visiting Seattle is more than welcome to drop me a line. I love to show off my city!
I’ve lived in Boston, Sydney, Baltimore, DC, and :drumroll: Scranton, PA.
I see Sydney and DC have been covered, so I’ll name a few things I love about the other places.
In college, my roommates and I ordered ice cream delivery from the Ankara Cafe on Comm Ave. like twice a week. They mash in whatever kind of candy/cookies you want and it’s delicious. I just generally loved walking around the Back Bay and along the Charles. There’s a place in Cambridge called the Garment District where you can get second-hand clothes for a dollar a pound. They have other cool consignment stuff too. Whenever my parents visited, we ate at The Paramount in Beacon Hill. Terrific lobster ravioli. And Beacon Hill is another lovely spot for walking.
My boyf and I discovered a place called The City Cafe in the Mount Vernon neighborhood of Baltimore a few weeks ago and oh man. Great crab cakes and freaking lobster mac and cheese. Droolmazing.
And then there’s my hometown of Scranton. I feel like I’ve got to put in a good word. Here is the description of the Coal Mine Tour:
Descend slowly into the earth in a mine car as you enter the old Slope #190. Watch the sky slowly disappear. Soon you’ve reached “the foot”. Then explore 300 feet beneath the earth through an anthracite coal mine originally opened in 1860. Accompany a miner in the winding underground gangways and rock tunnel past three different veins of hard coal, past the mule boy and the nipper, past the monkey vein and the dead chute. Listen as he explains the fascinating methods used, and the heroic efforts involved, in deep mining’s history. Do it!
Coney Island Lunch is an 86 year old establishment downtown that serves super cheap, super yummy Texas wieners.
I love Nay Aug Park. It’s like the Rock Creek Park of Scranton.
And of course the pizza is the bomb.
Northeastern PA is such a beautiful area. The Poconos are not far away and there are tons of lakes.
@PetiteXL
Also grew up near Milwaukee (West Bend). My Grandma lived in West Allis, where my mom grew up. I’ve lived several places before ending up in the Seattle area, but it’s funny we’ve begun and ended up in the same places (ended up here on Harpyness too!
ps – love Capitol Hill, esp. Volunteer Park.
@PhDork – Seriously, Pittsburgh is totally awesome. Just make sure to let me know if you end up there so I can fly back for a visit!
Boulder, CO here. What we have to offer is the great outdoors. We’re situated right below the front range of the Rockies, and the hiking in our immediate area is fantastic. There are a ton of great walking and bike paths, or you can just take a leisurely stroll through the pedestrian mall on Pearl Street. Boulder Creek is teeming once again with run-off from the mountains, and you can inner tube or kayak, or just enjoy a lazy day in the park noshing on eats from the farmer’s market while relaxing to the roar of the water. The Sun Mountain Brewery is always hopping; enjoy a pint of local brew while eating dinner or playing one of the myriad board games they keep in stock. Or have a glass of wine and catch some live music on a Sunday evening at the Laughing Goat Cafe. If tea is more your style, check out the Boulder Dushanbe Tea House, which was hand-crafted by over 40 artisans in Dushanbe Tajikistan, then shipped to Boulder and reassembled piece-by-piece.
ShineyObjects: We’ve been here for over a year now, and it’s lame how little we’ve gotten out to Denver. I’m going to take your list to heart this summer, and try to do more in the city.
I lived in San Francisco for many, many years and, yes, I did leave a piece of my heart there. I have to give a shout-out to the Mission District in all its grimy glory. La Taqueria on Mission, and Papalote on 24th Street, and Aslam Rasoi and Dosa on Valencia – I miss you so!!! I also miss sunny weekends in Dolores Park, coffee and reading the paper at at Cafe Que Tal on Guerrero St., hiking at Mt. Tam, and the majestic Sequoias of Muir Woods. Oh! And jumping in the car to twist and turn your way along Highway 101, stopping every now and again to enjoy the breath-taking scenery.
Endora: I had some friends who were living in Paris a few years ago, and I was lucky enough to be able to take some time to stay with them. They lived right on the Canal St. Martin, and I loved how people would gather along the banks of the Canal in the evening to eat, drink, and be merry. I also have to third falafel in the Marais – so, so good!
@Ms. M – Truly a small world! I grew up in Brookfield, went to school in Madison (U of WI) and have been in Seattle since the summer of 1990, making this my 20th year here. I can hardly believe it. (And, yes, despite my frequent use of exclamation points, emoticons, and use of the word “hipster” in the post above, I’m probably one of the older Harpies on this board.)
At one point, I came about thisclose to moving to Portland, but they just seem to have such a perpetually high unemployment rate, it worried me. It may be more of my fantasy city over-all than Seattle, though…
I live just down the street from Volunteer Park on 14th. If you are ever on The Hill and would like to meet and hang out sometime, feel free to ping me. I enjoy meeting new people, especially nice ones like the Harpies! I’m PetiteXL@yahoo.com
More on Sydney NSW Aust.
@SarahMC – did you ever go into Gould’s Bookstore in Newtown?
This bookstore is amazing – on two levels (kind of), and has a system based on themes. Often there’s books two/three rows back on the same subjects. It’s awesome, and one place that I think bibliophiles would love, so long as you don’t mind reshelving.
And the good thing about being located in Newtown, is that there are several excellent cafes. One in particular Campos on Missenden Rd is a fave, and they make unbelievably good coffee.
In Brisbane (in Queensland, Aust), I spend some time growing up. I would highly recommend the Gallery of Modern Art. When I visit family that live there, a group of us and do the kids activities – because it is just so awesome, and the activities involve doing, not just looking. For coffee you need to go to West End, and Milton.
In Darwin (Northern Territory, Aust), there’s a truck load of things to do. Mindil Markets, but the ones the locals go to the most – Parap Markets and Nightcliff Markets. Check out the Gallery, where there is a lot of information about and art works by the local Indigenous peoples. There’s some great parks for walking/hiking in Darwin locals – Holmes Jungle in particular is great. Check out Doctors Gully and do the fish feeding. Go to Stock’s Hill Wharf – during dolphin breeding season you will often see a lil dolphin pup with carer teaching it how to hunt fish. Then there’s a number of fresh water swimming places you can swim in the dry season – Berry Springs, Howard Springs, and further afield Litchfield National Park, Kakadu.
Dinner at Nirvana’s is always great – jazz/folk style live music, great mango dacquiris, and the most excellent Thai/Malay/Indian style food. Of course the Magic Wok – you have to eat here to truly understand the wonderousness and greatness of this place.
So any harpies that are venturing to the southern hemispere, in particulary Sydney – am plenty happy to show you round.
Oh and PhDork – have lots of fun with MamaDork. I hope she has a wonderful time with you!
If anyone decides to come across towards Europe, I’d be happy to show you around in Sweden!
Eskilstuna, where I grew up, is a small town just west of Stockholm. The parts I especially like are the old town areas, among them a restaurant close to the river (Tingsgården), and Rademachersmedjorna, a small 17th century craftsmen village right by the town centre. There is also a whole bunch of lovely places to visit within a sort of 1 hour drive radius, including the old palaces of Sundbyholm and Strömsholm, both beautifully situated on a lake and a stream respectively, and Julita Gård, a big outdoor agricultural museum with emphasis on the small farmsteads of old.
Stockholm is absolutely beautiful, built on a set of close-lying islands there is always water around, and the colourful facades of the slightly older areas makes a beautiful contrast that I just never get bored of! Places to visit include Skansen, another outdoor museum with old cottages and animals typical of the Swedish fauna, the Vasa Museum, dedicated to a 17th century ship that sank in the Stockholm harbour on its maiden voyage and found again in the fifties after being lost for 300 years. Again, I love to take a stroll in the old areas, Gamla Stan, where you can also find the Royal Palace with the Change of Guards and a bunch of interesting museums. Very touristy, I know! Also recommended is some boating in the archipelago.
Gothenburg on the west coast is where I currently live. It is Sweden’s second largest city after Stockholm, but still quite small by US standards.. The smallish size makes it fairly easy to get around on a bike, but although the town centre certainly is very walkable, the whole town is a bit too sprawly for walking to be part of my normal mode of transport. There is a great tour by boat that I recommend all visitors to take, then there is walking in the old town, stopping for a Hagabulle in Haga: an absolutely massive cinnamon bun. The Botanical Gardens and Slottsskogen are both worth a visit. You can also take a tram out to the sea and either stay just by the coast or take a ferry to one of the islands, a great day trip. Most of the west coast is made up of smooth, sweeping granit cliffs, but there are a few sandy beaches as well if you know where to look!
Visby is another of my favourites, with its medieval defence wall, narrow winding alleys and low, colourful wooden houses, many covered in roses. It is the largest town on the summer island of Gotland and hosts a massively popular medieval festival every summer.
Mostly summer activities, these.. Mainly because that’s when I’ve got time to do stuff, but also because I prefer my country in summer time when there is light and a bit of warmth! Winter can get quite dreary, especially in Gothenburg, where snow is pretty rare.. Anyway, sorry for the novel, but do come and visit!
PH.Dork, this was a fun thread. Harpies go global!
If you ever have the opportunity to make it here to Seoul, you definitely have to check out some of the funky/artsy/bohemian neighborhoods. The Insadong area is full of great antique shops, traditional tea houses and art galleries. Take the tram up to Nam San Tower and see 360 degree views of the city. Go hiking up Yong Ma San mountain for more spectacular views of Seoul. There’s great shopping at COEX mall in Samsung, or visit Itaewon for touristy souvenirs and foreigner-friendly pubs and shops. The giant outdoor markets at Namdaemun and Dongdaemun have great bargains for everything from food to clothes and shoes. Walk along the Cheon Gye Cheong stream in the middle of downtown. Visit traditional temples and palaces and bridges that have stood for a thousand years. Seoul has one of the best subway systems in the world, so getting around is super cheap and easy. The signs are in Korean and English and there’s always a friendly person around to help you out if you look lost. And of course the food is absolutely to-die-for, featuring fresh seafood, seasonal vegetables and flavors that you will remember with longing months after you’ve gone back home. If you want to see sights outside of Seoul, then definitely head to the southeast coast, to Busan and Kyungju and Ulsan, to see amazing beaches and breathe fresh ocean air. And of course Jeju island, which is the jewel of Korea. It’s gorgeous. The whole country is just incredible. There’s so much to see and do, and the people are incredibly friendly and helpful. Korea is a fantastic place to visit and to live.
Catnip, I’m moving to England in September and would love a tour of Sweden at some point I’m sure!
If anyone comes to Toronto, I recommend buying a day pass (on weekends it’s good for up to two adults and four youth), getting a transit map, and taking street cars up Queen St, King St, Spadina and maybe College. Then you’ll pass through the entertainment district, China Town, Little Italy (gelato, yum!) and more and can get off and on anywhere. What I love about the big city is, think of a food you want and you can find it. For example there are $6 sushi lunch deals.
Of course there is the CN Tower, which is cool if you’ve never been up something like that before. There’s a glass floor.
The ROM (Royal Ontario Museum) is a really big museum that has a lot of interesting stuff.
High five to Wegmans, AmBam! I spend most of the year in Ithaca, NY and we’ve got a huge branch there, and I make sure to go there at least once a month—it’s surprisingly not-expensive if you get the store brands (which really are good stuff), and I’ve got a Shoppers Club card so that makes things easier too.
I go to Cornell, and even though the “Ithaca Is Gorges” T-shirts that everyone in town seems to own get old pretty quickly, our gorges really are wonderful. (Even though we had a much-publicized string of tragic gorge-related suicides back in March that caused fences to go up along the gorges, they’ve been taken down now.) They’re the kinds of things that you can gaze into in awe, particularly for a Midwestern flatlander like me. And because of the gorges, we’ve got tons of beautiful waterfalls, too. Ithaca Falls and Buttermilk Falls are particularly exceptional, but even the humble Thurston Bridge waterfall on campus is lovely.
Other great things about Ithaca (I adore the place and miss it lots over the summer, so be prepared for wordiness):
-The fact that you can walk pretty much ANYWHERE. Ithaca’s spoiled me rotten in that sense since it’s got so much in a relatively small space so even with its hilly terrain—which makes walking a real hike—I’ve walked from the Kohl’s at the very very far southwest end of town up to campus on the northeast end in under an hour. And in winter when walking’s impossible—like much of the inland Northeast, we get tons of snow—there’s the TCAT bus system, which is pretty cheap at $1.25 a ride (but then again, as a student I get it for free after 6 pm on weekdays and all weekends…) and goes to places you can’t walk to like the mall.
-Campus itself, although it’s no longer a novelty to me, really is wonderful as well. Aside from periods of gray “unseason” in that awkward winter-to-spring transition, it’s really beautiful all year round—brilliant green in the spring/summer, flaming red-yellow-orange in the fall, sparkly white in the winter. I love college campuses in general since they’re like little cities unto themselves, and Cornell has, among other things: a famous clocktower that can be seen anywhere in the city, beautiful neo-Gothic architecture, particularly on the Arts Quad and West Campus (where I live, woohoo!), a killer bookstore, neat little cafés, great libraries with voluminous DVD catalogues, good health facilities and a gorgeous old restored movie theater.
-Food! Ithaca actually has more restaurants per capita than New York City, and I’m always on the lookout for new places to eat. My top picks: Collegetown Bagels (known as just CTB) and good chains such as Pita Pit and Insomnia Cookies in Collegetown; Kyushu up by the mall; Taste of Thai and Kilpatrick’s downtown in The Commons; Purity Ice Cream (which gives you two scoops when you ask for one!) on the south side; Napoli’s for pizza delivery; and of course, all the tasty things that The Boyfriend and I make back at the dorm with provisions from Wegmans.
-The general ethos of the place—it’s definitely a hippie town, but any sort of liberal weirdo is welcome. (Or weirdo, period—a good friend of mine is a Republican but also a DJ, a disco fiend and a hardcore punk. Go figure.) This makes it have a good music scene—sadly, two of the best venues, Castaways and The Haunt, are pretty much the only places in town you can’t reach either by walking or TCAT, so a taxi is required, but it’s definitely worth it. There’s also the swanky State Theatre downtown for more upscale concerts, and Cornell itself puts on a fair number of concerts, with the biggest ones at Barton Hall, which seems like a big soulless auditorium but becomes surprisingly intimate with the right tweakings. (Full disclosure: At The Decemberists’ concert in Barton in November 2008, The Boyfriend and I kissed for the first time and became an official couple.) There’s also the biggest and best record store in town, Angry Mom, in the Commons, where The Boyfriend and I have found tons of great $1 singles and a stunningly good selection of LPs—Ithaca’s definitely a vinyl town, so you’ve got to have a good turntable and stereo. We’re starting to become regulars there, and Angry Mom itself is in the basement of Autumn Leaves bookstore, which is the best for used books, while not too far away in an old high school-turned-alt-mall, Buffalo Street Books is the best for new books. Book and record fairs are also rather common in Ithaca and occur at least twice a year, usually in the late spring and fall.
Unfortunately Ithaca’s really hard to get to—we’ve got a teeny-tiny airport that flies to NYC, Philly and Detroit but nowhere else, and there aren’t any interstates nearby so driving on twisty-turny state roads is a necessity, but it’s a really wonderful place to visit!!
Sorry for the late response, Mackey, but I can’t remember if I’ve ever been to that book store. I will say that I absolutely loved all the neighborhood markets that were held on the weekends. Do you know what I’m talking about? So much cool handmade stuff for sale. God, Sydney is the best.
Hi,
I am the owner of the photo of New York that you have posted in the Friday Fun Thread: Local Boosterism (http://www.harpyness.com/2010/06/04/friday-fun-thread-local-boosterism/) without asking for my permission and without giving me credit for it. Either remove my photo or add links so that when you click on the photo it takes you to the original flickr page http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikegk/2479868011/ and right below the photo write “Photo by Mike G. K.” with a link to http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikegk/ .
Thanks,
Mike G. K.