Portsmouth, NH lies only about 1:15 minutes from downtown Boston, and provides a nice day retreat from the busy city life, to a relaxing and friendly north country coastal town. Portsmouth is a small and quaint town/city that has an overwhelming amount of excellent restaurants and bars that makes it very hard to choose which place. Luckily its close enough that you can come back frequently.

When you walk around the streets of Portsmouth, you get the feeling of a very relaxed and friendly community with a rich and diverse artistic side. The downtown area is kept very clean and the shops are all very unique. With the exception of a Banana Republic and and a few others, you won’t find any retail or restaurant chains in these parts. The city strives to maintain a unique and eclectic group of stores whose contents can only be found on Market Street and the surround streets in the downtown area. There is a pleasant mix of both shops and restaurants among the storefronts providing ample choice for whatever cuisine or item you might be in the mood for.

My first stop on this occasion (i’ve been there quite a few) was to the local coffee shop/ hangout spot, the Daily Grind. With an ever flowing line of customers you can be quite sure you are getting the best cup of joe or fresh brewed tea in the area. They also have a wide selection of delicious and fresh-baked pastry items for you enjoy on the go. The Daily Grind is located in the center of the downtown area.

After walking around a bit and exlporing the shops it was time for a light lunch.  For this I choose to get a sandwich at The Works Bakery Cafe, where they have freshly made bread and sandwiches, and a very friendly staff.  Most of all very reasonable prices.  After some more exploring and shopping, we decided to head to Dover, where we were meeting some friends for drinks at Brick House and dinner at Thai Cuisine Restaurant.

The Brick House is a neat bar with comfy couches, great beer selection, and pool tables.  There are two floors and it seemed they always have live music of some kind or another, even bands on the national platform occasionaly.  Thai Cuisine Restaurant, on the other hand, was very nice and moderately authentic feeling, but the overall, the experience was just ok.  The food was good, don’t get me wrong, just lacked a little something to give it the “Great” tag.

All in all, I love day trips to Portsmouth, as there is such an array of restaurants and shopping that every visit can be different.  Let m e know what your favorite restaurants are in the greater Portsmouth area.

Related posts:

1. Perfect Fall Weekend in New England
2. Rockland, Maine for Couples

The Fall in New England is b y far one of the most special and beautiful places to be.  The leaves changing colors, the crisp morning air, and of course the build up to Halloween.  This weekend, the 9th and 10th of October, was a particularly beautiful time that embodied these very characteristics.  Since the weather was going to be perfect for enjoying the outdoors and all it offers, I planned a day hike on Saturday with some friends at the Wompatuck State Park, on the south shore of Boston followed by a cookout back at the house.  On sunday, Erin and I went to the Newburyport Fall Festival, in Newburyport, MA about 50 minutes north of the city.

Wompatuck State Park

The hike at Wompatuck was a perfect start to the weekend.  We got there around 3pm, when the lighting in the Fall is perfect and went for about 3.5 miles and about 2 hours.  We discovered and old abandoned “factory” that we later found out was part of the munitions depot used in WWII in the Battle of the Atlantic.  The park is very large, so we were alone in the wilderness for the entire trip, which is always nice when your with friends.  Wompatuck is located off of route 3A about 30 minutes south of Boston and has over 260 campsites, 12miles of paved bike trails and many more miles of hiking trails.  You can see our track below:

Newburyport Fall Festival

On Sunday Erin and I went to the Newburyport Fall Festival for so good old family fun.  Newburyport, if you don’t already know, is located about 50 minutes north of Boston on 95.  Its a small coastal town there boasts a very eclectic and artsy crowd.  There are plenty of restaurants in all different types of food, that you will surely find something delicious.  The center square of downtown is always lively any time of year, but during the festival there are tons of vendors selling everything from food, to jewelry, to artwork.  After walking around for a few hours and shopping all the vendors and shops, we stopped by Loretta.  They have delicious sunday brunch/lunch in a small intimate atmosphere.  They had the door open giving a nice fall breeze through the place.  After strolling along the Merrimack river for a little while after eating, we decided to hit the road and head back to Boston.

Conclusion

I must admit, I don’t know if I’ve had a more perfect New England fall weekend before, as the weather was perfect, and all our activities worked out as we planned (as well as getting a great amount of exercise walking and hiking).  You can check out more photos on my Photo Gallery page as well as my Flickr page.

Feel free to comment on YOUR favorite Fall activities!

Related posts:

1. World’s End Trail – Hingham, MA
2. Ponkapoag Pond Walking Trail
3. Blue Hills Reservation