Kicking off my fall season with a series of short trips throughout New England. My first stop this season was Portland, Maine.
Portland is a short trip from Boston, where I'm based. Only an hour and 45 minutes away- super easy drive it was totally worth it and I cannot wait for my next time up there.
Portland is known for a lot of things but the food scene is unmatchable. There are a select few restaurants in Boston that I love. But I learned pretty quickly there that a lot of Bostonians that actually travel the hour and forty-five minutes to Portland just for the food.
Here's a breakdown of our day
9:30- left Boston
11:15- Arrived in Portland and parked the car. Parking was a bit on the pricier end - $44 but my car is new and I didn't feel comfortable just leaving it anywhere. Also my friend I went with doesn't drive, and I don't know how to parallel park - so I felt safer leaving it in a lot. We walked everywhere- Portland is really walkable. I did not wear my applewatch so I didn't get to see how many steps we took.
11:30ish - Holy Donut I asked you all where to go and almost everyone said Holy Donut. All the donuts are made from potatoes and they have so many flavors. I tried Lemon and my friend tried their seasonal apple cider donut. I also bought an apple cider to take home. The lemon was delicious- not too sweet at all. Great start to our day.
11:45ish- We walked around Portland a little bit. I went to the SeaBags outlet. While, I love the utility of these handbags: (they're made from sails and are durable especially in unpredictable weather) I couldn't justify spending $160 on something for not the best quality in my opinion. SeaBags is super New England and great for those people that like that vibe. While I am a Lily Pulitzer girl- I think I'll still to other designers that fit my style.
1:00- Portland Observatory. The walk to the observatory is uphill so be warned- but its doable. Admission is $10 and you do have to walk 517 steps. HOWEVER, there are landings in between and you can stop to take a breather if you need to and read the exhibits they have. I do have the say the exhibits were a bit wordy but we got the gist of the history beforehand. The view was really beautiful at the top and the admission folks were very friendly. They let me take a postcard for free!
2:15- Boarded the ferry to Peaks Island. The ferry company, Casco Bay was super quick and efficient. You can take cars on the ferry if you need to. Its a small ferry though so I'd say like 2-3 cars can go on. Ferry ride in total to the island is 15 minutes. If you choose to sit on the top it is cold up there so bring a jacket or sweater. Our ferry ride going was eventful. We saw a wedding and a baby seal- my day was made.
2:30- Arrived at Peaks Island. There isn't much to do in total. We saw one restaurant and probably should have stopped there for a drink, but we decided to walk around and take in the scenery. It's very New England. Storybook picturesque houses flooded with hydrangeas in every corner. By the time we were done walked around we decided to walk back and board the ferry back.
4:30- Duckfat. : The ultimate end to the best day was Duckfat. Highly recommended by anyone I mentioned "Portland" to, Duckfat is famously known for its duck poutine. I'm not a big duck lover- in Trinidad curried duck is a specialty- but its not my thing. However the way this duck was cooked it tasted more like pork than anything else. It's also a very small piece. I thought the poutine would be more filling but we ended up splitting the lobster roll too. Surprise surprise- this is actually my first lobster roll. It was pretty good in my opinion!
Grid Top left to right
Peaks Island
Portland Observatory
Portland Observatory
Maine State Pier- close to where we got the ferry
Peaks Island
Peaks Island
Peaks Island
Peaks Island
Duckfat- poutine, wine, blueberry milkshake
My Friend Sagar and I
Do we like these travel guides? Let me know I can do one for Greece, and Atlanta!