No Crowds visits some Connecticut museums

Laura Sanderson Healy is back on the road exploring some Connecticut museums that are long on interest and short on crowds. First up is the Barnum Museum in Bridgeport.

Visiting museums in Connecticut can be great fun thanks to the vast array of historical collections, art galleries and noble edifices across the Nutmeg State. Three on the list for my husband, daughter and me were the Barnum Museum in Bridgeport, the Yale Center for British Art in New Haven, and the Mark Twain House and Museum in Hartford.  

  A stroll from Bridgeport’s Metro North rail station and the Port Jefferson Ferry, The Barnum Museum was founded in 1891 as The Barnum Institute of Science and History. Usually the ornate structure boasts a huge stash of art and artifacts pertaining to Bridgeport’s most celebrated son, the outrageous impresario and circus showman P. T. Barnum. The museum building was closed by 2010 tornado damage, but that has not stopped it from exhibiting its peculiar treasures – the show must go on! Out loaded oddities from the 25,000 that found emergency storage are shown two days a week -- free -- at the back of the Barnum in the People’s United Bank Gallery. While the museum undergoes restoration and conservation. the exhibition “Recovery in Action” shows its wares in their “disaster mode,” including the Baroque furnishings from Barnum’s home, the midget Tom Thumb’s 1865 miniature carriage, Ulysses S. Grant’s personal items, and ephemera about the Swedish protégée of Barnum’s, singer Jenny Lind.  It may not be the Greatest Show on Earth, but it possesses a fiery chutzpah in showing off some wonderful stuff against all odds.

There is also the worthy “virtual” Barnum Museum that offers on-line exhibitions such as “Heroes of the Home Front” in honor of the 150^th anniversary of the American Civil War and the main exhibits, “Phineas Taylor Barnum,” “Humbugs and Curiosities,” “Jumbo the Elephant,” and “Egyptian Exhibit: Pa-Ib”. A wide range of lectures and seminars swirl around the Barnum, including “Mummy Dearest,” looking into past peoples’ lives.

The Barnum Museum, 820 Main Street, Bridgeport, Connecticut

Hours 11-3 Thursday and Friday

203-331-1104

http://www.barnum-museum.org

www.barnummuseumexhibitions.org

http://twitter.com/BarnumMuseum

Hadrian's Wall in Four Easy Steps

I once met a journalist in London who was about to retire. She had been at the forefront of world events over a long career. “So what are you going to do next?” I asked her expecting a reply about consulting and board membership. “Walk Hadrian’s Wall” was her response.

And boom - the idea was planted. It sounded so iconic. Hike across England along a wall marking the northern edge of the Roman Empire. But not the kind of thing one would do by oneself. So I mentioned this cool idea to a good friend who was (conveniently) 5,000 miles away in North Carolina.

Step Number 1 – Just mention Hadrian’s Wall to one keen hiker and watch what happens

Before I could say ‘lets think about this a little more’ there were 10 keen Carolinians, mostly from the mountains, mostly lawyers who were all packed and ready to go.

Now what?

Step Number 2 – Get support

 You could organize a walk by yourself. But you don’t need to and, I would argue, you don’t want to. There are several companies that can help you organize your walk providing everything from itinerary planning to accommodation booking and luggage transfers.  We used Hadrian’s Wall Ltd run by Gary and Stacey Reed whose passion for the region, local knowledge and organizational skills turned our experience into something much more than a walk along a wall. From the company’s extensive range of services, we chose the 7 Nights Part Guided group option that included a custom itinerary, an orientation meeting on arrival, top of the line B&B accommodation, baggage transfers and 2 days of guided walking with Gary. It was an article in the Observer by Jane Dunford that convinced me that we had to hike with Gary and you can read that article here. And yes, he was every bit as good as his press.

Step Number 3 – Take your time

There are several ways to trek Hadrian’s Wall. You could focus on how quickly you can do the distance but then you will probably miss the full experience. Hadrian’s Wall Path is really an 84-mile encounter with the Roman Empire filled with some of the most important archeological sites in Europe such as the Roman Vindolanda fort. Go too fast and you miss the chance to revel in the history. If you are short on time or don’t want to walk too far each day, go for the middle bit considered by many to be the best of the wall. Our group did a wonderful 47 mile stretch from Carlisle to Chester Fort near Hexam which allowed us to walk a reasonable 8 to 10 miles a day (with the prevailing winds to our back – this is important), enjoy the landscape, explore the antiquities and meet the  people.

Step Number 4 – Meet people

I am a city mouse so my natural instinct is to be wary of strangers. But I learned something on this trek from the gregarious Carolinians and thanks to them, we did meet just about everyone.

From the young barkeep at the Hallmark Hotel in Carlisle who was so chuffed (UK slang for a state of delighted satisfaction) to have made his first American friends, to the ‘Miss Marple’ pair of ladies we kept bumping into on the trail to innkeepers Dee and Gary at the marvelous Battlesteads in Wark, we made so many new friends and exchanged countless stories.  In the pantheon of great walks, it doesn’t get much better than that.

Pioneertown

Laura Sanderson Healy reports on a 'pioneering' road trip in the California desert with Mama Jane and nephew Benjamin

Looking over the photographs I took on a recent trip to the former Western movie set called Pioneertown, California, I realize it is the perfect No Crowds destination if you happen to be visiting either the stunning Joshua Tree National Park in the High Desert or the well-attended Palm Springs and its neighboring desert city resorts. Pioneertown is the perfect antidote whether you’ve been hiking, pool lounging or hitting the parterres of the El Paseo shops in Palm Desert.

There was nobody around the “Mane Street” when we visited, though a few storefronts were open (a pottery, a saddle store) and a lone horse stared at us from his dusty paddock. You can swing through saloon doors while admiring the Ghost Town effect of it all. Pioneertown was built in 1946 and Roy Rogers and Gene Autry were among its investors; both movies and television shows were shot here, where the authentic homes were lived in by actors. There are 350 residents today and there is a tiny post office on the unpaved street, selling Stars of the West stamps.

The real draw of this off the beaten track locale is Pappy and Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace, a vibrant bar/restaurant/music club founded in 1982 that boasts a talent list from the Arctic Monkies to Vampire Weekend to Gram Rabbit:. I was bound and determined to make a pilgrimage to this indie rock paradise, even if just for lunch, which proved to be delicious (barbecued pork sandwich plate and a Sioux City Sarsparilla soft drink).  Pappy and Harriet’s location was once a façade for a cantina when filming was going on, and after that, according to its website, it served as an “outlaw biker burrito bar” until it was closed down.

My fellow travelers were my 86 year old mother and my 7 year old nephew, and we had a fine time playing pool in the saloon at Pappy and Harriet’s and promenading down the street. Things really get popping when they have festival days, but that might be a bit crowded.

To reach Pioneertown, take Pioneertown Road at California State Route 62 in the town of Yucca Valley and go four miles until you reach Pappy and Harriet’s. You’ll be traveling a meandering California Scenic Drive past cactus and tumbleweed.

http://www.pappyandharriets.com/

Night at the Museum

On August 28^th 2012, we went to bed in the 21^st century but woke up in the 18^th. How? By staying at the Petit Hotel Labottiere in Bordeaux, France. The Petit Hotel Labottiere is many things: a private museum, an historic monument, an upscale bed and breakfast and the life’s work of a family.  Best of all, it offers a totally unique travel experience. I know ‘unique’ is an overused word but this is the real deal.

The story goes like this. Back in the 1960s, Liliane and Michel Korber purchased an elegant 18^th century hotel particulier that had fallen on hard times and spent the next 30 years bringing it back to life. They then decided to share this passion for the Age of the Enlightenment with like-minded travelers by creating two period rooms in an outbuilding of the property.

When we arrived, hot and dusty from a long drive from Spain, we were greeted by Daniel, the charming and urbane son of the proprietors who helped us settle in to our rooms, which were also charming – a bit like a Boucher tableau with modern cons, and some thoughtful treats in the little fridge courtesy of our hosts. (Caveat emptor. If you are looking for the standard luxury boutique experience, this ain’t it. It is more like staying at someone’s house who is very concerned about your comfort but it hasn’t been ‘designed’.) We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening enjoying the elegant streets and sights of handsome Bordeaux, a city with over 350 classified buildings, lovely restaurants and of course, lovely wine.

But our time travelling adventures really began the next morning when we awoke, threw open the heavy wooden shutters with ancient hardware and saw our breakfast waiting for us in the mansion courtyard.  Rich, gorgeous, abundant – I felt like Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette – but much happier. Throwing my Paleo Diet to the wind, I ate heroically, from another century. I ate it all.

After breakfast, we were given a sublime private tour of the mansion by Daniel. I have taken countless tours of countless mansions all over the world. Reader, this was something else. Here we have a son explaining both his parent’s life  – their choices, decisions, acquisitions and the same for the life of the original owner – an 18th bachelor property developer whose aesthetic aspirations live today thanks to the Korbers. This tour is a great time travelling experience. It is great social history. If your favorite thing to do is to imagine the past, I think you will love it too.

Petit Hotel Labottiere

14 rue Francis Martin

33000 Bordeaux

Tel: 00 33 556 484 410

contact@petithotellabottiere.fr

A Shining Moment in the Middle of Frickin Nowhere

Driving South through Florida? Heading to Miami or onward to the Keys?  Here’s a No Crowds Option to consider…in the middle of frickin nowhere!

Florida is rarely thought of when considering a No Crowds destination, but there are alternatives to the crowded Atlantic and Gulf shorelines. If you drive two hours directly south from Orlando, down the center of the Florida peninsula, you’ll see some lovely farmland, and eventually find yourself in Highland County, Florida’s little known lake district. At only about 100 feet above sea level, the highlands of Florida aren’t too lofty by global standards, but the residents like to say that if we don't do something about global warming, they will,soon be the only ones above water. The main attraction, though, is the plethora of natural lakes that cover this area. They range from the deep and sandy lakes that attract the water skiers and swimmers (they haul out the gators when they get to be large enough to bother anything larger than a medium sized bass), to the shallow, mud bottomed lakes that yield some of the best bass fishing in the United States (or so our local fishing guide tells us, and he has some impressive pictures to back his claim). 

Be sure to stop in Sebring, a little town of 10,000, which is rather unusual.  For one thing, it has an active railway station, where trains stop 4 times a day as they make their way between New York and Miami.  For those of you who know how common actual functioning railway stations are in the US, even in big cities ( meaning not very), this is quite unique.  Especially since Sebring is, to coin a phrase, in the middle of frickin' nowhere.

The second weird thing about Sebring is, it has its own Grand Prix race.  In the middle of frickin' nowhere.  So, just like Monte Carlo, race week and the weeks leading up to it are a beehive of activity. All the Major Grand Prix teams roll into town, and for a short period of time, Sebring is the center of the racing world. For those interested, the next 12 hour race is scheduled for Saturday, March 16, 2013.  Let me assure you, however:  there are absolutely no other similarities between Sebring and Monte Carlo.  None.

The third strange thing about Sebring - strange in a wonderful way - is the Sebring Diner.  It's a real life, 25 page menu, open 24 x 7 x 365, American Diner.  In the middle of frickin' nowhere.  It's out on the highway, just a few minutes from the center of town (which is easy to miss).  But it is easy to see from a half mile away because it's a stainless steel art deco masterpiece, and every inch of that steel has been shined until it glows.  Inside, it's stainless and neon all the way down.  This IS American Graffiti.  Classic clocks from Budweiser and others adorn the walls, and the chairs are the real thing--stainless and naugahyde.  Fine Corinthian leather would not be welcome here.  Of course there are booths where you can drink your milk shake and talk about who was kissing who at the hop, but sadly, the juke boxes on the tables seem to be missing.  Even for a techie like me, the free WiFi just doesn't make up for this.

I don't know what this place is like at 3 in the morning, but I hope I'll get to find out somewhere along the way.  My guess is that the enormous parking lot in the back fills up with the big rigs making their way south from Orlando, their drivers looking to take a break with, as it turns out, some truly first class comfort food. No surprise the diner’s refreshingly simple slogan is Save Money, Eat Better, Leave Satisfied.

Before you get a chance to choose from the 8 kinds of pie, with or without ice cream, you will find a surprisingly sophisticated menu, populated with fresh fish and shrimp from the Gulf, crabcakes with remoulade, and some of the best prime rib we’ve ever tasted.  A little known fact is that Florida is now the leading cattle raising State in the U.S. bypassing Texas since the drought of the past few years has caused Texas herds to dwindle. 

We started with an order of Fried Green Tomatoes ($3.99) the crispy crab cakes with choice of cocktail or tartar sauce (4.99).  The tempura coating on the fried tomatoes was light and lacey, making us consider another order.  The mini crab cakes were crispy and delicious, but couldn’t outshine the tomatoes.  We followed this up by eyeing the prime rib, (king cut, 18 0z for 15.99, Queen size something less for $13.99), and decided that we still had a long drive ahead  so went light and ordered the prime rib sandwich for $7.99, which included fries and cole slaw.  When the 9 oz serving of rare prime rib arrived, we congratulated ourselves on our self-restraint.  It was perfectly cooked, and the coated fries were irresistible.  As it turned out, so was the apple pie with ice cream, though it wasn’t easy to decide between the many pies on offer.

So if you're visiting the States, especially if you're visiting Orlando (which recently passed New York City in annual tourist visits, go figure), you have an unusual opportunity, especially if you decide to sample the delights of the Keys, South Beach or Little Havana in Miami on the same trip.  Don't, I beg you, drive down the over-commercialized shore route.  Instead, go directly south through the colorful spine of the state, only returning to the shore in Palm Beach for the final trek to Miami and beyond.  If you start out at a relaxed 10 am, you'll reach the Sebring Diner just in time for a glorious lunch, and you'll still make Miami before the sun goes down. And you will have spent a brief, shining moment in the middle of frickin' nowhere.

++++++++++++++++++++++++

Gary and Lorraine, best know for their coverage of the world's authentically exotic and unknown places have even figured out how to have a No Crowds experience in one of America's top tourist destinations. And yes, they saved money, ate better and left satisfied.

Photo courtesy of the Highlands County Visitor and Convention Bureau

What about North Korea?

In the Financial Times  today, I read something that got me really excited. It was a full page article about Political Tours, a company run by a former Balkans correspondent for the New York Times who runs tours to former and current conflict zones such as North Korea, Bosnia and Libya. What also got my attention was the fact that the Bosnian tour described in the article was led by Kate Adie. For those of you unfamiliar with her career, she was the BBC’s premier correspondent in conflict zones such as Rwanda and Saravejo. British soldiers used to say that they knew they were in big trouble when she arrived on the scene. In short, she is about as serious and knowledgeable as it gets.

In the FT article War Stories, the author Catherine Nixey makes the point that No Crowds has been making for years. She writes, “Travel may broaden the mind, but so homogenized is the international tourist experience, so perfectly do the high-end hotels and galleries replicate one another, that often all I learn is that I can be as bored in a museum in Istanbul as I can in London.” She goes on to ask the question: Political Tours is offering a different kind of travel experience, but is war tourism the right way to go?

And then she answers the question by describing the group’s visit to the war crimes section of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina where one of the judges insists that this kind of travel is valuable and makes a difference. “If it’s not on the front page of the newspaper, people don’t see it”, he says. “People should know.”

When I took a course on Peacekeeping Operations at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy in 2009, I was amazed by how much I didn’t know about Bosnia and Sierra Leone and the Congo and Kosovo and East Timor and Afghanistan. How so much could go on for so long with my only having a vague awareness, So I’m excited to know that there is a serious travel company doing these kinds of tours to parts of the world we should know more about. Conflict tourism may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but what Political Tours is offering sure impressed me.

Political Tours

www.politicaltours.com

Tel: 0843 289 2349

The Miracle at Camp Nou or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Crowds

It all started innocently enough.  My husband attends the Barcelona/Chelsea Champion’s League Semi Final football (soccer) match at Stamford Bridge stadium - capacity 41,000 - in London. Against the odds, Chelsea beats the legendary Barcelona with the next leg of the competition to take place at the Nou Camp stadium – capacity 96,336 - in Barcelona.  An ecstatic but lonely husband (I was away in North Carolina) returns from the match, goes online, finds match tickets, flights and a hotel and so I found myself heading for Barcelona to spend some time with 96,336 impassioned, inebriated football fans. How’s that for a No Crowds experience? Had he forgotten … I hate crowds.

No he hadn’t. So the first thing he did right was book us into the Hotel Rey Juan Carlos – a luxurious hotel close to the stadium. It’s a massive place and not in the center of town. Not the kind of place I usually like.  My first surprise on this journey of discovery was that I liked it a lot. The staff were quite delightful – well, I’m a sucker for a charming concierge - the room was quiet and comfortable but best of all, the place was crawling with football celebrities including the Chelsea players and most of the 824 accredited members of the media from 199 press outlets from 28 countries. I can’t remember the last time I had that much fun at a hotel bar. Plus, we were a 15 minute walk from the stadium so no concerns about transport on match day.

The next thing my football-loving husband did right was to get us to Barcelona in time to eat some fabulous food and see some sights. The first night we headed for the well-known seafood restaurant Botafumeiro (Gran de Gracia, 81 Tel: 932 184 230). It’s huge, it’s loud, it’s expensive and once again not the kind of restaurant I usually like but we had a blast helped by the fact that the place was heaving with football stars – Jamie Rednapp, Gary Neville and Lauren Blanc to name a few. If you like your restaurants buzzing and aren’t too worried about cost, Botafumeiro is big fun. The seafood was outstanding.

With the match not starting until 8:45 in the evening, we spent the next day focusing on artistic pursuits with a three hour architectural walking tour of the modernist masterpieces: Manzania de la Discordia, La Pedrera, the Palau de la Musica and many more extraordinary buildings. Sadly, the crowds and lines to get into the buildings were extraordinary as well. Between the student groups and the cruise ships, we didn’t stand a chance. So we satisfied ourselves with viewing the exteriors and that was pleasure enough.

Lunch was a delight. The concierge at the hotel had spoken so enthusiastically about the restaurant, La Pepita, that I was skeptical but the place was terrific – lovely food in a friendly, fun atmosphere at a great price. Plus, the best gin and tonics in town. We’ll be back. (Carrer Corsega 343, Tel: 93 238 4893)

But on to the main event. The game. Let’s start with the fact that Jeff insisted that we get to the stadium 1 ½   hours before kick-off. I thought he was nuts but he certainly wasn’t. Let’s put it this way, there were 90,000 of them and 5,000 of us and if that wasn’t scary enough, we were so high up, it was like watching the game from a blimp.

But what a game. An upset for the ages. Ordinarily, I’m not that interested but this was epic. I loved it. Yet the best was yet to come. After Chelsea’s miraculous victory, 5,000 of my new best friends and I had a love-in for the next 40 minutes while we were held in our pen in the sky so the stadium could be cleared of the 90,000 people who now hated our guts. Screw them. After 40 minutes of cheering, singing, hugging and chanting, the stewards opened the gates and we few, we chosen few, marched triumphantly, like gladiators, still singing, still in disbelief, out into the Barcelona night.