Below: A reverse angle; the waterfront is beyond
the buildings.
>>Why do I write a lot about Portsmouth New Hampshire? It's because it's become our favorite vacation spot and almost three hours away, and on the coast between Massachusetts and Maine. We've been there three times this year will go again when there's a film or concert we want to see playing in downtown's historic Music Hall pictured below. There are two large chain hotels and a charming old small inn within walking distance of everything. We've stayed at all of them and now another chain hotel is under construction where I will be able to get my company's corporate discount rate. Cheaper hotels are on the outskirts but we prefer staying downtown by paying for convenience. We do our driving to local attractions during the day, come back to freshen up & relax/nap, and then walk to dinner, theaters, more shopping. Here's a good general video about the city: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXtpoHDQDkI
Below: The Mrs ready to take a cruise from the waterfront:
Below: Here's us on the ship. Kinda like a
scene from Titanic....
>>Downtown is by the waterfront and only a few blocks in scope. There's great restaurants offering all kinds of cuisine and new ones always opening. You can skip coffee & dessert in them and sample good coffee shops, bakeries, and ice cream parlors. Among plenty of small stores there's my favorite CD/DVD shop called Bull Moose Music where I spend at least two hours finding items from my wish list and browsing. This store has good prices on new & used stuff. On our last trip I traded in a batch of DVDs & CDs for store credit which was immediately used.
Above: Another view of the church ahead from Congress St.
Below: As you see I never leave this store emptyhanded.
Below: As you see I never leave this store emptyhanded.
Below: Take a tour inside the U.S.S. Albacore
http://www.ussalbacore.org/
>>There's also lovely public gardens and historic homes open for tours as well as a guided walking tour of the city departing from the center next to the church in the first pic. You can get more history by visiting Strawbery Banke, that has restored homes and their contents from Colonial times to the present. You can walk to two cruise lines for day and evening trips. Another way to see the city is taking a narrated hour ride on the bus that looks like an old trolley car. Portsmouth has the oldest naval yard in the country and you can take a tour inside a decomissioned submarine pictured above.
>>There's also lovely public gardens and historic homes open for tours as well as a guided walking tour of the city departing from the center next to the church in the first pic. You can get more history by visiting Strawbery Banke, that has restored homes and their contents from Colonial times to the present. You can walk to two cruise lines for day and evening trips. Another way to see the city is taking a narrated hour ride on the bus that looks like an old trolley car. Portsmouth has the oldest naval yard in the country and you can take a tour inside a decomissioned submarine pictured above.
>>Besides the shows at the Music Hall, there's a repertory theater company and theater & concerts at Prescott Park. If you want beaches, they are a short drive north or south and there's a nearby mall with a large Barnes & Noble, another must stop for us. And shopping in New Hampshire is tax free. For more shopping, cross the bridge into Kittery Maine for countless outlet stores. Leave Kittery for York, the next town north, to visit their zoo & amusement park next to the public beach where I went swimming a few weeks ago. Take the evening Ghostly Tour to see sites of local lore.
>>People ask me why I don't go to other places on vacation. Simple. 1. We love this area and know our way around. 2. There's still places we haven't seen and old & new restaurants to try. 3. It's an easy drive and instead going directly into Portsmouth , we take the back road in to stop at our favorites stores and eating places in neighboring towns before entering the city. 4. Good deals on lobster dinners.
Here's more links about the city:
Here's more links about the city:
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