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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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How to Spend a Saturday Morning in Soho

November 30, 2012 by Elizabeth Larkin 2 Comments

A Saturday morning in Soho

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 one is all about how to kick off Saturday with one of the best brunches around, followed by a good walk and some window shopping.

My favorite way to experience New York is not to go in full-tilt planned. Instead, I like to choose a neighborhood and then go from there. This is especially helpful if you’re traveling with a group because you only have to take the subway, bus or a cab once, and I truly believe New York was meant to be experienced on foot.  On this trip, we did very grown up things: brunch at Balthazar, shopping in Soho and dinner at The Modern. This is not a kid-friendly trip, this is a trip for people who like to eat really good food and do a great deal of walking. You could do this as a group, as a couple, or by yourself.

The nice thing about NYC is that you can be alone together. While it’s a very romantic city, you can also spend a day by yourself out and about without getting any side-eyed glances.

A Saturday Morning in Soho Pictures

A Saturday morning in Soho

A Saturday morning in Soho

A Saturday morning in Soho

A Saturday morning in Soho

A Saturday morning in Soho

A Saturday Morning in Soho Itinerary

Put your name in at Balthazar ASAP and then head next door to their patisserie to grab a cup of coffee and one of their amazing pastries (we split a croissant three ways). The wait for brunch is about an hour and a half, so you’ll have time to drink your coffee and walk around the neighborhood.

Balthazar
80 Spring Street
New York, NY 10012

Most people associate Soho with shopping. I personally hate shopping in Soho because it gets so crowded, but it’s one of those things you really should experience if you’re visiting, and there are tons of unique stores to dip into. On this trip we spent a lot of time in C Wonder, a pop up shop on Spring Street right next to Balthazar, and if I didn’t have Mike with me I would have gone into the downtown Bloomingdales.  I recommend staying off Broadway in this area because it’s so crowded and mostly chain stores (Banana Republic, Sephora, Crate and Barrel–places you could easily find in any suburban mall), but I will make an exception for Bloomingdales.

C Wonder
72 Spring Street at Crosby Street
New York, NY 10012

Bloomingdales Soho
504 Broadway
New York, NY 10012

If you’re looking for more suggestions, NY Mag has a great guide to shopping in Soho.

For me, Soho is about the walking. It’s just a really stimulating neighborhood to walk in, with lots of interesting street art and architecture.

Back to Balthazar after our walk, our friends and hosts for the weekend, Ari and Jackie, both had eggs benedict, which they loved, Mike had the french toast, and I ordered the chicken paillard. I typically go for poached eggs at brunch, and I usually don’t eat chicken ever, but I watched a chef making this dish on the Food Network years ago and it always stuck out in my mind as a Balthazar specialty. It was excellent, especially paired with their warm bread and butter.

Next up, after all that brunching and bloody mary-ing, a walk up to Union Square.

Location: New York
Seasons: year-round
Meal: brunch
Themes: good for groups, romantic, a good walk, shopping5

Filed Under: Food + Drinks, New York, New York City Tagged With: a good walk, brunch, day trip, good for groups, lunch, romantic, shopping

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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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