Hi all! Today we spent the day in Portland and saw it both by land and by sea. We’re staying in an AirBnB in a small little town called Arundel which is closer to Kennebunkport so it took us about 45 mins to get up to the city of Portland. It is a cool city sitting right on the water. The Old Port waterfront area features working fishing wharves and converted warehouses with lots of restaurants and shops. The West End of the city has lots of beautiful old Victorian homes. And the weather has been picture perfect. Sunny and 75 during the day and a chilly 57 at night. I had to buy a sweatshirt! It feels good to get a break from the southern heat and humidity!
We decided to do a trolley tour around the city (hey, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!). It was really fun and informative. They told us how the city burned down twice and got rebuilt. We learned that the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was born there as was the director John Ford. We drove thru the various cool neighborhoods and saw some great architecture.
The trolley then drove over to South Portland where the Portland Headlight lighthouse was. They say it’s the most photographed lighthouse in the US and that it was commissioned by George Washington in 1791. The trolley stopped there for awhile so we got the two most famous foods in Maine for a snack. They are the lobster roll and a Whoopie pie. So delicious!
After the trolley tour we walked around all the shops and unique stores. We even saw a piece of the Berlin Wall they had on display. Very powerful. Then we grabbed an early dinner down on the wharf looking over the water. We were getting tired of lobster rolls but still wanted seafood so Kathy got steamed clams and I got haddock and some New England clam chowder soup. So yummy!
We then went on a sunset boat tour that went past several lighthouses and thru all the surrounding islands. Saw the cutest little lighthouse they call “bug light” since it’s one of the smallest in Maine. We even saw a bunch of seals sitting on a rock right at sunset. After the tour we listened to some live music at an outdoor setting and then drove home. Portland is a great city and I’d love to come back in the Fall when the leaves are all turning color. On to Sunday!
The Wandering Italian 