Quiet Escape to Montpelier, Vermont

Before heading out to the cities of Boston and NYC, D and I spent a day and night in Vermont’s capital: Montpelier. Coming from Montreal, we rode the Greyhound bus and crossed from Canada to the USA in a little over four hours. En route to Vermont we passed by forests of green. Well, it is called the Green Mountain State after all. I wish I could have seen this during autumn, oh the astounding colors of orange, yellow and red it must be!

When we arrived to the city, the eye-catching Vermont City State House’s gold dome was the first thing we saw.

Walking to our AirBnB located at Marvin Street, I took to the time to do some deep breathing snf looking at the beauty around me- sunflowers and birds flying about, fruit bearing trees and maple t trees around me.

I liked our room at the AirBnB right away – rustic, clean, and the bed looked comfortable. I couldn’t wait to snuggle underneath the sheets at night, as we were told it gets chilly as soon as the sun sets at this time of the year.

Looking out the window I saw their free range hens out and about from their coop.

At the side of our room is an apple tree. I thought how lucky they must be to have loads of apples available whenever they like it, make (organic) apple pie and stock up on apple sauce. Us in the Philippines would have to buy them from the grocery and wash them at least three times to hopefully rid them of chemicals.

After settling in we waked back to the city center for a late lunch at Pho Capital which was at the Main Street. Then we went to the Vermont State Capital and admired the garden of flowers.

Montpelier has a lot of vintage shops, and it was quite interesting to do sime window shopping. I stumbled across The Getup Vintage that sells clothes from the 70’s to as early as the 30’s! I also found the Bear Pond Books (my favorite shop of all in Montpelier)which sells new and used books, and got myself a couple of books to read during my upcoming trips.

For coffee we tried two highly recommended cafes. The Capitol Grounds, is a busy but cozy cafe in the Main Street. We tried their bagels and flagship blend, Bob’s House Blend.

For brunch the next day we went to the Skinny Pancake. I had the Breakfast Monster (savory crepe with cage free egg, cabot cheddar, roasted squash, basil, caramelised onion and spinach), and D had the State Breakfast (sliders with bacon, egg and homemade pesto). The ambience was great and the resto had a cool vibe.

Though we stayed only for a night, we felt energized when we boarded the Greyhound bus the next day as we headed off to to Boston. Montpelier was more than what I imagined it to be. We went there because it was halfway through Montreal and Boston, and because I was intrigued by the picturesque photos I found on Google Maps. What exceeded my expectations was the warmth and friendliness of the people. From our hosts to the shopkeepers, to the people who we meet on the street to the ones who let us pass on the pedestrian crossing – they actually greeted us and/or smiled at us. We felt welcome and safe. I am glad we made this trip to Montpelier, and I will remember it with fondness for a very long time.