Amsterdam, Viet Nam, Italy and Greece… all on a day off. Just for fun, David and I recently took the Downeaster Amtrack train out of Durham, New Hampshire to Brunswick, Maine and what a pleasant surprise to have our senses tickled with artistic influences from all those continental destinations.
First stop upon arrival; Vietnamese food at the restaurant Lemongrass. Sweet potato and shrimp crisps, Pho [soup] with lime, lemongrass and basil, chicken bean sprout salad.
Next stop; Bowdoin College to visit its art museums. Surrealism photography and Arctic expedition artifacts. But the campus itself, founded in 1794, was art in itself. Classical architecture, so well-appointed with so much detail, made us feel like we were in Europe.
After immersing ourselves in art, we took a stroll through the town peaking our heads into antique and home decor shops, then ended our day with happy hour wine and apps at the local, agrarian Greek and Italian restaurant Trattoria Athena. Prosciutto wrapped artichokes, cheese stuffed “crepes”, cauliflower cakes. A perfect day off.
For your own perfect day-off, try these to-die-for cauliflower cakes that I worked out the recipe for.
This sounds like a delightful day, Jane! And as fate would have it, I just recently pulled an article out of the AAA Magazine about doing a day trip to Brunswick. I thought it sounded so inviting. Now my interest is truly piqued. Road trip! 🙂
The AAA magazine article was our encouragement too! We had been wanting to try the train and article gave us the direction.
Thank you so much for these lovely pictures, Jane! What a great trip right in our own backyard! You’ve inspired me and have given me a great idea to enjoy with my Mom. I’ll let you know what WE find in Brunswick ………………..
So happy to have created an inspiration! Please comment again when you have your own adventure!
Great reminder of the wealth we have nearby, and to take the time to enjoy it!
Yes, so odd how we tend to look far away when we have so much in our own backyard!
Yes Walter, we were amazed at what treasures the art museum contained. Mr. Bowdoin was a collector of many unusual forms of art in addition to those Stuart works. Art appreciation for sure but also a real look back at that time period through the filter of what was of interest then during our nations founding period; history lessons through art – love it! Jane
Hi again, Jane!
Just a quick comment on your recent trip to Brunswick, Maine. Bowdoin was one of the colleges I seriously considered before finally choosing Franklin and Marshall in PA. Many years later on one of our visits to southern Maine, David and I visited the campus specifically because we had heard that they had a number of Gilbert Stuart paintings in their art museum. It was an off time, not the regular school year and also not summer school so the campus was quite deserted. We found the art museum and were immediately “adopted” by a very bored security guard. He gave us the tour to end them all. When I was amazed that Bowdoin had all of these Stuart works, he explained that there were not many people in those days who could afford to buy fine art and Mr. Bowdoin was one of the few. Our nation began in the East, hence the riches we can uncover there.
Ciao for now, Walter
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