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Saturday Farmers Market in Washington Depot CT

Washington, Connecticut: The Town That Inspired Gilmore Girls [Itinerary]

December 31, 2019 By Elizabeth Larkin Leave a Comment

Some days, you just gotta get in your car and drive to a new town and see the sights. Washington, Connecticut is a really good town to drive to. It’s got a rustic-chic vibe with its mix of locals and weekenders from New York City. There are rolling hills, sprawling farms, and very nice restaurants to eat and drink in.

Washington Connecticut Day Trip

Bryan Memorial Town Hall in Washington CT

You can park your car at the Hickory Stick bookshop and spend an hour or two wandering it’s little “downtown” area. There’s the bookshop, Marty’s Cafe for coffee, some clothing stores and on Saturdays in the spring, summer and fall, a small farmers market.

Washington is famously the setting for the TV show show “Gilmore Girls” and while it doesn’t exactly resemble Stars Hollow, it does have all the trappings of small town life: lots of community activities, a folksy vibe, and tons to do (see my list below). As I say in my Gilmore Girls Guide to Connecticut (coming soon!), Washington is way more rural and outdoorsy than Stars Hollow.

Saturday Farmers Market in Washington Depot CT

The point of traveling to a town like Washington is to just be there, to soak up the small-town atmosphere.

Park at the Byran Memorial Town Hall. There’s a farmers market on Saturday mornings in the spring, summer and fall where you can stock up on local produce. Then hit Marty’s Cafe for a coffee before browsing the Hickory Stick Bookshop. There are other small retailers to dip into as well.

The day I visited I spent about an hour checking out the scene in town before wandering down route 47 towards the intersections of Kirby Road, Whykeham Road, and Parsanoge Lane.

There’ll you’ll find another little town center but this one looks like time forgot it. The buildings are still well kept and blindingly white, but there’s one lonely store and what looks to be an old town square.

I parked my car on a side street ear the intersection, grabbed my camera and roamed the area. There you’ll find the The First Congregational Church, the Gunn Memorial Library and the Gunn Historical Museum.  I didn’t see many people, but there was a fairly regular flow of vintage cars out for a weekend drive.

From there I continued North on Route 47 (enter Hopkins Vineyard into your GPS or Google Maps app) and enjoyed some of the most beautiful scenery Connecticut has to offer: rolling hills, gentleman’s farms and finally, a view of Lake Waramaug on the approach to Warren and the winery.

This would be a beautiful day trip year-round.

PLACES TO VISIT IN WASHINGTON, CONNECTICUT:

Averill Hill Farm
250 Calhoun St.
Washington, CT 06794

For apple picking, pumpkin picking, pizza, apple cider and apple cider doughnuts.

Hollister House Garden
300 Nettleton Hollow Rd
Washington, CT 06793

The Institute For American Indian Studies
Curtis Rd
Washington, CT 06793

Mayflower Spa
118 Woodbury Rd (Route 47)
Washington, CT 06793

I am DYING to try this place. I plan to organize a day trip there with my girlfriends this winter

Gunn Historical Museum
5 Wykeham Rd
Washington, CT 06793

Hidden Valley Preserve
198 Bee Brook Rd
Washington Depot, CT 06794

PLACES TO EAT IN WASHINGTON, CONNECTICUT

The White Horse Country Pub
258 New Milford Turnpike
New Preston, CT 06777

British Pub Food in the Litchfield Hills.

GW Tavern
20 Bee Brook Rd
Washington Depot, CT 06794

The Pantry
5 Titus Rd
Washington Depot, CT 06794

Norimaki
4 Green Hill Rd
Washington, CT 06793

A local Favorite.

Marty’s Cafe
4 Green Hill Rd #1
Washington Depot, CT 06793

The Washington Pizza House
13 River Rd
Washington Depot, CT 06794

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Afternoon in Union Square, Flatiron & Gramercy

December 19, 2012 by Elizabeth Larkin 2 Comments

I spent the weekend in New York City a few weeks back and I’ve decided to break it up into several posts. Today’s part two is about how to spend a lovely afternoon in Union Square, Flatiron and Gramercy Park. You can read part one here, A Saturday Morning in Soho and my tips on How to Walk in Midtown Manhattan. 

On our walk up from Soho we hit one of the most familiar and dear places in New York City to me, Union Square. My last NYC apartment was in Gramercy, the neighborhood directly northeast of the Square, and I used to spend many weekend mornings strolling the famous Union Square Farmers Market with a cup of coffee. I would carefully select produce for the week, half of which I would use within three days, and the other half of which would go bad in my fridge as I got lazier about cooking as the week went on and succumbed to the allure of happy hour appetizers.

Regardless, you have to visit the market, and Union Square is a good jumping off point for touring these neighborhoods.

Afternoon in Union Square, Flatiron & Gramercy Pictures

Afternoon in Union Square, Flatiron & Gramercy Itinerary

Union Square, Flatiron and Gramercy have become a food lover’s paradise. Aside from the farmers market, there’s Fish’s Eddy a fantastic store for cooking tools, glassware and plates; Eataly, a high-end Italian Market; and some of the City’s most famous restaurants like Coffee Shop, Blue Water Grill, Union Square Cafe, Casa Mono and Gramercy Tavern (try the bar’s mixed nuts).

Below are some of my favorite places to visit and I’ve included a Google walking map of all my favorite places in this ‘hood: walking map.

Strolling / Sightseeing
I recommend touring the market, then head East toward Irving Place and walk north to Gramercy Park. This is one of my favorite walks in the city for it’s combo of unique architecture and street decor. You can’t get into the actual Gramercy Park without a key (highly prized by area residents), but you can peek into the gates. 

Union Square Greenmarket
17th Street & Union Square West
New York, NY

Gramery Park
Intersection of East 21st, East 20th, Irving Place and Lexington Avenue

Shopping
This is a great area to shop for kitchen and household items. I highly, highly recommend Fish’s Eddy. Most of my favorite items in my own kitchen came from there, including my steak knife set, cereal bowls, and glasses, and I’ve gotten my mother many gifts there over the years as well.

Eataly
200 5th Avenue
New York, NY 10010

Fish’s Eddy
889 Broadway
New York, NY 10003

Dining + Coffee + Cocktails
If you’re tired of walking, this is a good neighborhood to stop and get a cocktail or an afternoon snack. I love everything at Almond, from their steak frites to their entire brunch menu. They also mix a mean martini. Irving Farm’s coffee and tea are renowned, and Pipa’s sangria and calamari are both can’t-misses.

Almond
12 East 22nd Street
New York, NY 10010

Irving Farm
71 Irving Place
New York, NY

Pipa
38 East 19th Street
New York, NY 10003

Tips

If you’re meeting up with friends on trip to New York City, meet them in this area for a meal or a drink. It’s super convenient to almost all subways lines and has a ton of great bars and restaurants.  Bring a large group into Balthazar seems like a nightmare, but any of the restaurants on Park Ave South are very accommodating to larger parties.

If you’re following the itinerary I laid out in the first post, I recommend walking up Lafayette from Soho to Union Square rather than Broadway.
_______________________________________

Location: New York
Seasons: year-round
Meal: afternoon cocktail, coffee or tea
Themes: good for groups, romantic, a good walk, shopping1

Filed Under: Food + Drinks, New York, New York City, Travel Tagged With: a good walk, cocktails, day trip, dinner, farmers markets, going solo, good for groups, holidays, lunch, romantic, shopping

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Connecticut Day Trips is a blog about travel and life in Connecticut, written and photographed by a native who moved away, moved back, and learned to love it: About/Contact

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Saturday Farmers Market in Washington Depot CT

Washington, Connecticut: The Town That Inspired Gilmore Girls [Itinerary]

Some days, you just gotta get in your car and drive to a new town and see the sights. Washington, Connecticut is a really good town to drive to. It’s got a rustic-chic vibe with its mix of locals and weekenders from New York City. There are rolling hills, sprawling farms, and very nice restaurants […]

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