What's your favorite city or town in your region?

[reinaert]

For me, there's no contest. It's Portland, Maine.

I'm at home in the Whites, love my wife's look at contentment walking along a rocky shore just after daybreak, and won't turn down a trail run or a street fair.

But let's keep this to municipalities, I think.

As for Portland, a few reasons why:

Batson River Brewing & Distilling | Maine Craft Beer | Maine Spirits

Experience house-brewed Maine Craft Beer & Spirits and seasonal fare amid lush and cozy decor in Biddeford, Kennebunk, Portland, & Wells.

batsonriver.com

The Holy Donut | Gourmet Potato Donuts | Portland, Maine

The Holy Donut crafts mouthwatering Maine Potato Donuts from scratch, using only wholesome, high-quality ingredients. Indulge in a diverse assortment of flavors at any of our locations in Portland, Scarborough, Arundel, and Brunswick, Maine.

www.theholydonut.com

Portland, Maine Craft Cocktail Bar & Restaurant | Blyth & Burrows

Sophisticated cocktail bar in the Old Port district of Portland, Maine, rooted in local maritime history and the art of the cocktail experience.

www.blythandburrows.com

MOONDAY COFFEE

www.moondaycoffee.com

Leeward

Pasta and Good Times in Portland, Maine

leewardmaine.com

 

[Sweden]

Öregrund - a small Swedish coastal town whee kept our boat.

 

[Loulit01]

NYC because... well, duh.

 

[reinaert]

NYC because... well, duh.

NYC is big. Favorite neighborhood?

 

[Loulit01]

NYC is big. Favorite neighborhood?

Depends. When I was young and wanted cocaine, Alphabet City. When I got older, 109 St. and Amsterdam Ave in Morningside Heights. When I was young and wanted to impress a date, Pink Floyd Laser Show at Hayden Planetarium on Central Park West. When I got older, NY Botanical Gardens in the Bronx, with my camera and BW and color film, 100 ISO.

South Bronx for day games at Yankee Stadium. When I wanted to eat well, look up the best place for steak or burgers or pizza, or ethnic food and go there in non-peak hours when lines were shorter. Museums mostly in Manhattan, MoMA, Met, Guggenheim, Whitney. When I was a kid, American Museum of Natural History, of course.

I liked wandering around with a NYC architecture guide book and looking at the interesting buildings. That was fun. You could also learn about the lobbies and cafeterias of really wealthy corporate buildings in midtown, and wander there for free, and eat real good for cheap.

We would cop coke late at night then pick up a bunch of beer and hang all night at Strawberry Fields or Grant's Tomb free. They now have a guard shack at Grant's Tomb at night but you can talk the guard into letting you and your date in. I'm talking about the outside of the tomb which was surrounded by rolling benches covered in mosaic tiles.


Through intensive workshops, the community came up with images and ideas that were incorporated into the benches, which were inspired by the style of Antonio Gaudi, a Spanish sculptor and architect. Between 1972 and 1974, Silva, six professional artists, and large numbers of volunteers constructed the benches from iron rods, wire mesh, and poured concrete. They laid mosaic tiles over the framework. The free-form benches extend for more than 350 ft. around the sides and back of the memorial, and are set back about 25 ft. from the building. Silva and the volunteers created a variety of mosaic designs, including a portrait of General Grant, depictions of his travels and accomplishments, and what one writer called an “energetic medley” of other images, including an elephant in a jungle, a New York taxicab, bouquets of flowers, and a flooding fire hydrant.

Mosaic Rolling Bench at General Grant National Memorial — CITYarts

www.cityarts.org

We'd just hang on the benches all night drinking and doing lines and talking shit. But we were at a National Monument enjoying the art, so it was a good thing.

Now I have a Central Park guide book that's fascinating. They built that park right, sparing no expense. And I still go to Strawberry Fields every October on John Lennon's birthday.



This was last October 9th.

There's more.

 

[Allan]

Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. It's a beautiful town to begin with...



It's also historically important as one site where British forces drove American troops back toward the border.

The War of 1812: Niagara Frontier and York - 1813

Leaving the town and heading south you pass through Queenston, also an important War of 1812 battle site. Then the drive takes you along the beautiful Niagara Parkway which follows the Niagara River to the falls. The 55 km route has an excellent bike path.

Many tourists head straight for the falls and miss what I think is one of the most beautiful areas in Canada.

Niagara-on-the-Lake is also home to the annual Shaw Festival which attracts many US visitors.

 

[Grand Mal]

Either Lund, BC...

About an hour up the coast or Tofino BC...

On the west side of Vancouver Island. Best surfing in Canada but wear a wetsuit!

 

[Sweden]

NYC because... well, duh.

I spent a day in NYC once. Quite enough. Many nice places in NY State however.

 

[justoneman]

I like the charming town of Woodstock Illinois, the site of the filming of Groundhog Day.

 

[Loulit01]

I spent a day in NYC once. Quite enough. Many nice places in NY State however.

If you go to the city without knowing it, you can easily hate it.