Florence Griswold ran a boarding house in Old Lyme in the early 1900’s.  Many Impressionist artists of the time were drawn to the beauty of Old Lyme and chose to stay exclusively in her home, which eventually became a sort of bohemian artists colony.

The grounds of the museum are really quite beautiful – with several gardens and views of the Lieutenant River.  I spent quite a bit of time taking pictures of the house and the gardens before actually entering the museum.  I apologize for the quality of the photos – I didn’t take the good camera to begin with and then later realized my white balance was set weird.  D’oh!

Once inside, we watched a couple of informative videos about Florence and the house and one of one of the exhibits, and then we spent some time looking at all the art.  We then went on a tour of the house, which has been completely restored to circa 1910, when so many of the artists stayed there.  It was particularly fascinating to see all the painted panels in the home.  The dining room and many other rooms in the house have paintings on the panels of the walls that were done by some of the artists staying there.  One would actually have to be invited to paint a panel and it was considered quite the honor to get that invitation.

The exhibit that I probably enjoyed the most, though, was The Rambles  – a huge outdoor sculpture of woven sticks and branches overlooking the The Lieutenant River.  It was pretty incredible – you could even walk through it!

After more wandering around the grounds and a quick stop at the gift shop, we decided it was about time to find some lunch.  After reading a few reviews on Yelp, we decided on the The Morning Glory Cafe, which was just a couple minutes (if that) down the road from the museum.   This ended up being the perfect choice for our afternoon out.  It had outdoor seating, with views of the river, and a simple menu consisting mostly of sandwiches and salads – which is just what we were looking for.

I chose the Veggie Glory Wrap, which had onions, mushrooms, roasted red peppers, and spinach and provolone cheese, served along side a nice crispy order of their Sweet Potato Fries.

Mom had the MGC Panini, which looked amazing – Prosciutto with roasted red peppers, basil and Feta, served with fries.

After lunch, we ran a couple of errands and finished our day with a stop at the Old Lyme Ice Cream Shoppe, where I had the best thing ever!  No really, the best thing ever.  I had Sam Adams Double Chocolate Bock ice cream.  I have been saying for the longest time now that someone needs to combine two of my favorite things – ice cream and beer – and they did it!  And it was amazing…  It was like a really good chocolate ice cream with just a little kick at the end.  Perfect.

Here’s mom enjoying her cone outside the shop.  I thought the shop was absolutely adorable.  I honestly think I would make a trip down to Old Lyme just for the ice cream!

It really was a perfect afternoon – took a beautiful drive, saw some great art, ate an excellent lunch, and finished it all with ice cream (which, of course, is the ideal way to end all things)!

It looks like I easily have the entire Northeast region covered thanks to my recent visit to Portland, ME (which can be read about here and here too), in which we seriously did nothing but eat and drink all weekend long (not that there’s anything wrong with that)!  Now, on to conquer the rest of America’s beer towns!

A few pictures from our various beer adventures over the years:

PS – Kevin will most likely kill me if he sees the picture I posted of him, but when I found it, I really had to share it.  I love it

I can only imagine what a powerful experience this must be, to really get to experience and be a part of her art.  It turns out a lot of people can’t quite handle it and are  actually brought to tears.  Marina Abramovic Made Me Cry is a collection of pictures of the people who have cried while sitting across from her.  If you click on any of the photos, you will be brought to the Flickr page that contains photos of all the people who have chosen to sit across from her.

via Kottke

The outside of  Wrapsody still feels a lot like  a McDonald’s and as you park, you really aren’t quite sure what you’re going to be in for, but as you enter the building it’s very clear that you won’t be offered fries with that.  The inside is really nice and even a bit trendy – definitely a change from the Golden Arches – and really quite different from most of the restaurants in the immediate area.

Upon being seated, we were greeted with an impressive drink menu – with 20 beers on tap and over 100 bottles, an extensive wine list, and some really interesting cocktail options.  We were quite pleased with the selection.

The food was pretty amazing…   For appetizers, we chose  the Fresh Fried Rhode Island Calamari, served with banana peppers and pickles,  and Seven Types Of Roasted Olives, served in olive oil with crostini and roasted garlic. I even enjoyed the olives I tried  and I’m typically not an olive fan.

For our meals, we had the Maple Horseradish Crusted Atlantic Salmon, the Fresh Herb and Dijon Crusted Roast Chicken Breast, Grilled 14 ounce USDA Certified Black Angus Dry Aged Rib Eye, and  Sweet Italian Sausage and Ricotta. Of the four entrees, I think Kevin’s rib eye was the clear winner with it’s Malbec demi-glace.    They were all really great, but the rib eye was particularly spectacular.  We also chose a couple of sides to share  -  creamy wild mushroom  and  parmesan risotto and their handcut truffle and  parmesan pomme frites, which were both pretty awesome.

A few shots from my iphone :

Overall, we were quite  impressed with our meals and we hope to be back.   I really want to see this place do well.  On the Thursday evening that we went, it was alarmingly quiet (though I imagine they’re pretty hopping at lunchtime being across the street from ESPN) and I do hope word gets out about how great it is and that people support it.

While the Tim Burton exhibit was pretty neat and all that I’d hope for, it was in no way the highlight of my visit.  Before our trip, my dad had sent us all a link to an article he came across about some performance art involving two naked people standing in a doorway that would be showing at MOMA while we were there.  We  obviously couldn’t leave without seeing this.

We found our way up to the 6th Floor, where the Marina Abramovic Exhibit was showing, and we not only saw the two naked people standing in a door way (who you have the opportunity to walk between), but a number of re-performances of her work – plus various videos and photographs spanning her 40 year career as the queen of performance art.  I’m really not quite sure how to describe it all… it was really interesting and kind of dark and at times even a bit mortifying – and always completely intriguing.  I couldn’t get enough.  This was by far the highlight of my day!   If you’re planning a trip to MOMA some time between now and May 31st, I order you to please take some time to check it out.  You won’t regret it.

Before we headed up to the 6th floor, we actually saw her performing a piece where she is sitting still and speechless  at a table every day during museum hours until May 31st.  Across from her is a chair in which members of the public can sit and basically stare back at her.  At first, I have to admit, I didn’t really get it.  Later, as were walking out (after I’d seen her work upstairs), we walked past and I looked at her face which was so oddly calm amid all the noise and chaos in the museum, and something struck me –  I suddenly felt like I really got it – or at least I got something out of it.  In the center of everything going on – the noise, the lights, the  people- she was perfectly calm, and for  the person who chooses to sit across from her, they can experience this sort of rare quiet intimacy with a complete stranger, even among all the chaos.  How often does one have the opportunity to experience that sort of connection  even with those whom they know very well?   It’s rare – and totally beautiful.

So now, I feel like the next time someone asks me who my favorite artist is, I’m going to have to begin with “Well, there  this performance artist… ” and then try to explain some of her work as they look both shocked and confused. I look forward to it.

Anyway, the other day,  Kevin sent me this link to Med Men Yourself and I just found it really amusing and spent far too much time messing around with it (at 5:30 AM when I was supposed to be getting ready for work nonetheless), so I felt the need to share it with all of you.  Oh and when you’re making your little 1960′s you, I say definitely go for the martini or even a cigarette… at work… because it’s like 1962 and you just don’t know any better.  And because you can, damnit (I know I could have used a drink or two at the office the last few weeks)!

Mad Men Yourself

Enjoy!

CANABALT

Pretty cool, no?

30 Classic Music Albums Recreated with Lego

Show dates are Friday and Saturdays at 8pm now through August 22nd.  There will also be  a couple of Sunday matinees, showing at 2pm on August 2nd and 16th.   Admission is a suggested donation of $25.

Today, however, I read that there is talk that the original cast may not be returning for the new episodes and are asking for pay increases amounting to several times what they used to make.  That’s really disappointing news.  I’m sure the show will still be really great either way, but it just won’t be the same…

Futurama Cast Holding Out For More Pay
Futurama Cast Not Returning?

On Friday night, Kevin and I really weren’t sure what we should do with ourselves,  so of course we decided to hit up a bar -  because that is just how we roll.  But where to go?  It seemed like the perfect night to to try out Prime 16!

While the place was busy when we got there around 8pm, we had no trouble getting seated.    The first thing we did, of course, was look for the beer list, which we found on a giant chalkboard hanging on the wall… and oh, what a list it was!  Widmer Hefe,  Flying Dog Golden,  Lagunitas Pilsner,  Blue Point Blueberry,  Shipyard Summer,  Lagunitas Correction Ale,  Great Divide Titan,   Lagunitas IPA,   Dogfish Head 60 minute,  Southern Tier Unearthly, Weyerbacher XII,  Guiness,  Great Divide Yeti,  Rogue Captain Sigs, BBC Draymans Porter, Farmington River Mahogany, Wolaver’s Oatmeal Stout, Chimay, Delerium Tremens, and Alagash Double… and that was just what was on tap!   There was also a multiple page bottle list on the table!

So needless to say, we were thrilled with the beer selection.   And the food was pretty great, too. We ordered an appetizer of Chipotle and Agave chicken tenders, which were perfect in every way – crisp, spicy, smokey, and a little bit sweet.

Prime 16 specializes in burgers, so that is what we had. Kevin had the Maui burger, “topped with grilled pineapple, Maui onion, bacon , pepperjack cheese, and tropical mayo”. I chose the stuffed mushroom burger, “stuffed with crimini mushrooms and shallots, topped with swiss, portabello mushrooms, and IPA mustard. Both burgers were really phenomenal- juicy, flavorful and cooked just right!

Kevin and I will definitely be hitting up Prime 16 again in the near future. It has easily become my new favorite beer bar and I have to admit, it even kind of makes me sad that we no longer live near New Haven.

172 Temple St.
New Haven, CT 06510
phone: (203) 782-1616

What really is exciting, though,  is that we will now be able to entertain and be social outside now that everything has been cleaned up and the flowers and vegetables and the whatnot have all  been planted.  The balcony is one of my favorite parts of  our current apartment.  We have lots of space to plant things, a place to sit outside and read,  a place to entertain guests, and the cats enjoy hanging out there with us as well:)

I took a few pictures this morning and have posted them below.  More can be seen on my Recent Photos page (as soon as I upload them!).  Take special note of the garden box on a cart that is now holding our two tomato plants… Kevin and his dad built that!  Pretty neat, huh?

Also, because it is now officially porch drinking season, I wanted to direct your attention to a great article I came across on Apartment Therapy, detailing some guidelines for Porch Drinking Etiquette.  If you have a porch, balcony or deck, and you like to hang out there in the Summer months and drink,  then you should consider adhering to some or all of these rules.

A few of my personal favorites from the list include:

- Everybody’s welcome on the porch. There’s a time and a place for exclusivity: middle school. On the porch, your influence extends only as far as your generosity.

- Greet your neighbors as they come in and out of their front doors, which are, after all directly adjacent to your drinking area. Not to do so will create a weirdness force-field for all future interactions.

- Clean up after yourself, but don’t scrub too hard. A porch should never feel too clean to spill a beer on.

Apartment Therapy: Porch Drinking Etiquette

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