PolyStyrene

This is my new favorite place in the South and one of my favorites in the US. Been here for a few days at Charleston’s Notsohostel which is a very cool little hostel on Spring street with a great staff and interesting mix of people from around the world. I’ve been apartment searching and doing homework on the side so I’ve only just gotten out last night and this morning to do sightseeing. Since I’ve been living off of a Starbucks gift certificate I got at Christmas I decided to splurge today and actually plunked down 40 bucks at the wine bar down the street and made myself sick with wine, bread and cheese. Horrible stomache ache this afternoon but it was totally worth it. Such a romantic city. Everyone is friendlier than you could imagine. The waterfront is beautiful. I went to the open air market today and got a gigantic homemade cinnamon bun and coffee for $2. Stuffing myself full of food in a two hour span probably made me sick too. ; > The cemeteries are magnificent…so much spanish moss hanging from the trees. It’s hot as hell here, though. I’m from Connecticut and it is already in the 50s there so this is HOT but nice. Come to Charleston. This place is amazing.

I grew up in Windsor and my family has lived there since the 1930’s. Small town outside of Hartford. We used to be rural and were a fairly big agricultural center in Connecticut. Many parts of Windsor have fallen to suburban blight (we have a Stop and Shop, Dollar Store and Target one exit up from Windsor center). Our town green is charming. Stop by in the summer for a free concert. We have a great little library with lots of comfortable chairs to spend the day reading in. Come visit Patty’s Antiques, Bart’s hotdogs, Windsor 75, Taste of India, The Whistle Stop Cafe, Union Street Tavern, The Windsor Donut Shoppe, Giovani’s and all of the other little goodies we have to offer.

If you have one day in Windsor, here is what I recommend:

Start off with breakfast at either The Whistle Stop Cafe or Windsor 75. You can get an outside table at either of these places.

Take the river walk along the Connecticut River starting either across the street from Bart’s or behind the town hall.

Walk across the Ray Henry Bridge (next to Barts) over to the little cemetery behind the old Congregational Church. There are a bunch of old headstones in that cemetery worth taking a peek at.

Walk across the street to the old town center and visit The Windsor Historical Society.

Walk back over to Barts for one of their famous hotdogs or visit Taste of India for a delicious buffet.

Visit The Museum of Radio and Technology

Do a little antique shopping at Patty’s Antiques (Patty is very cool!) and Central Street Antiques.

Get a cup of coffee at The Windsor Donut Shoppe (it used to be much cooler. Unfortunately, they moved to a new location and lost most of their flair).

Visit Northwest Park if you have a few hours and explore the nature trails.

1. Free Yale Museums

2. Amazing restaurants

3. Access to New York

4. Toads Place and Cafe Nine

5. Pretty good movie theater (Bowtie Cinema) right downtown.

6. Good nightlife.

7. St. Patty’s Day Parade and Columbus Day Parade.

8. Yale architecture

The drawback is that outside of the downtown area, things get kind of sketchy. My boyfriend lived on Dwight Street for 5 years and got sick of the hoodlums on bikes that came out every summer. It has big city problems in a small city setting. Some of the homeless people are quite aggressive. These are the downsides but overall this is the best place to live in Connecticut. Just be safe and remember that you are in a city and you will be fine.