Saturday, February 20, 2016

February 20th 2016: Exploring Connecticut for a Day

We started out this morning with breakfast at Annie's Country Kitchen, a popular breakfast in Sturbridge. We got a Hot Chocolate,
the 8 oz New York Sirloin (3 eggs, toast and home fries),
the Cranberry Orange Muffin
and the Corned Beef Hash.
The steak was very dry and the hash was from a can. Overall, nothing special here.

Next, we headed into Connecticut, passing by Ashford CT,
Living Proof Church
Ashford Town Hall
St. Philip the Apostle Church
Before heading into Mansfield CT to find the Codfish Falls, which were just a short walk away from the road at 99 Codfish Falls Road.
Next,
Storrs Congregational Church
St. Thomas Aquinas Chapel
St. Mark's Episcopal Chapel
Mansfield Town Square,
Dog Lane and Storrs Road
Mansfield Town Hall, 4 South Eagleview Road
We explored the University of Connecticut in town.
Lunch was in West Hartford CT at Pho Boston, a Vietnamese restaurant in town, where we got the Sate Dac Biet (a special spicy sate with rare steak . contains peanuts, cucumber and tomatoes)
and the Che Ba Mau (Tricolor Bean Pudding).
The soup for the noodles was absolutely delicious, although the cucumber and tomatoes did not go well with it. The dessert had a little too much coconut for my liking. Overall, not a bad meal though.

Next, we headed into Hartford CT,

stopping first at the Mortensen Riverfront Plaza, where we walked around for a bit

passing by a few places
The Phoenix Building
Connecticut Science Center
Founder's Bridge
Bulkeley Bridge

on the way to Riverside Park.


After finally getting back to the car, we headed to the Old State House area,

then the State Capitol,

which is located in Bushnell Park,
where there is a carousel,
and one can see buildings like the Goodwin Square.
Other places I visited in the downtown area follow.
Connecticut State Veterans Memorial
Hartford Armory
Connecticut State Library
Columbus Green,
Lafayette Avenue and Washington Street
Bushnell Center for Performing Arts
Legislative Office Building,
300 Capitol Avenue
Travelers Tower
Bushnell Plaza Sculpture Garden
Wadsworth Athenaeum Museum of Art
First Church of Christ
State House Square,
Main Street and Asylum Street
Ancient Burying Ground
Hartford City Hall, 550 Main Street

Emanuel Lutheran Church
Hartford Public Library
Pulaski Mall, 394 Main Street
The Linden
391 Main Street
South Congregational Church
Charter Oak Cultural Center
St. Peter's Church
South Park Inn
Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church
First Presbyterian Church
Aetna
The last place we visited for the day was the University of Connecticut School of Law in town.


For dinner, we decided to go to the second best restaurant in town, Max Downtown.
We got the Copps Island Oysters, Colossal Shrimp, Snow Crab Claws,

Maryland Jumbo Lump Crabcake (Cornichons, cured lemon, celery leaves, radish, tabasco aioli, fingerling chips),
the Seared Jumbo Sea Scallops (Coconut-whipped carrots, glazed turnip & sweet potato, hearts of palm & macadamia gremolata)
and the Baked Alaska (chocolate strawberry ice cream, ganache) for dessert.
The seafood was not bad, although we were disappointed to just get one crabcake for 15 bucks. The ingredients for the scallops did not go well together either. The dessert wasn't anything really special either. Overall, this place is way too expensive for what we got. Don't know why it is #2 in town. A disappointing end to a pretty fruitful day of sightseeing.

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