When heading to New York City, I asked around for recommendations from my friends. One comment on Facebook suggested a "Lower East Side Food Tour", which sounded like a lot of fun. I started looking into tour options and stumbled across Free Tours by Foot, a tour company that offers walking tours in various cities...on a pay-what-you-wish basis. Since I was on a tight budget, especially by New York City standards, Free Tours by Foot sounded like the perfect opportunity compared with tours that cost $40-$50 or more. They believe that everyone should be able to enjoy a tour for whatever price they like, even free, and guests can decide what to pay after they experience the tour rather than pay upfront. After perusing the numerous New York City options (Greenwich, Chinatown, Williamsburg...oh my!), my friend, Heidi, and I selected the Greenwich Village Food Tour. I figured that, with no upfront cost, we didn't have anything to lose by trying it out! The Tour: We selected the Greenwich Village Food Tour on Saturday at 11:00am. This was a fantastic decision for multiple reasons. First, a two-hour food tour at 11:00am can be your lunch, and, as you'll see, it ends up being a very cheap NYC lunch. Second, the neighborhood wasn't super crowded on a Saturday at 11:00am, despite it being the weekend of the Pride Parade. We figured a lot of people were still sleeping off their Friday night. Third, the food in Greenwich Village is awesome. Fourth, we got a lot of information about the history of Greenwich Village, even though it was a "food tour". Greenwich Village has a long, fascinating history, from the early farmer's fields and bodies buried under Washington Square Park to the bohemian culture that launched many musicians and writers to being the center of the LGBT movement. I appreciated that the tour guide took us to Washington Square Park and pointed out landmarks like Cafe Wha?, The Gaslight Cafe, and the Stonewall Inn. The Food: Our tour consisted of 6 stops, including many classic NYC foods. Free Tours by Foot has great relationships with these establishments, so they have "tasting options" at each restaurant. For example, you could go in and order your own slice of pizza for $3.50, or you could have 1/4 slice for $1 with the "tasting option". Even though it's only a 1/4 slice, New York slices are huge and, when tasting food at 5 or 6 stops, you will be full by the end. Here were our stops:
Food allergies and Preferences:
The Cost: If you do the math, you'll see that one of each sample item on the tour adds up to $5.50, plus whatever you decide to get for dessert at Sugar & Plumm. Our dessert cost was $5 each because we each indulged in two macarons. It was really hard to stop at just one, but, if you have more restraint, it could be even cheaper. You could choose to spend more if you buy double of something. There is no upfront cost for the tour, but, of course, the tour guides always appreciate tips. They say that you can decide what the tour is worth or pay what you can afford. Our guide was personable, very helpful, and offered free maps for us at the end. She definitely got a tip from each of us at the end of the tour. Heidi sampled everything and had 2 macarons, bringing her cost to $10.50 plus a tip for the guide. I couldn't sample everything (see the Food Allergies section), so my cost was a bit less. I spent $1 on falafel, $3 on corn from a street stand we passed, and $5 on macarons, bringing my total cost to $9 plus tour guide tip. For an awesome activity and lunch, we felt that was pretty affordable. In New York, you can easily spend much more on a meal. Even our cheap lunches in the city cost about the same without the fun tour. Recommendation: Highly recommended for a fun, low cost activity! We got to spend two hours in Greenwich Village, sample a variety of restaurants, meet some other people, and hear the history of the area. Our tour was great, and I appreciated that I could still enjoy a food tour, even on a tight budget. I would not have been able to afford a $50 food tour at this point in my life. They have a variety of tours, some involving food, some involving bikes, and some that just explore certain neighborhoods. Check them out in New York, London, Chicago, Washington DC, Paris, New Orleans, Boston, Philadelphia, Charleston, San Francisco, or Berlin! http://www.freetoursbyfoot.com/
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What comes to mind when you read the words "The Kingdom"? Personally, I imagine armies of knights on horseback defending a walled city. The Northeast Kingdom, often referred to by Vermonters as simply "The Kingdom", is nothing like that. The Northeast Kingdom covers the northeastern corner of the state of Vermont. It is rural, mountainous, and breathtakingly beautiful. The area is sparsely populated by people and densely populated by trees. We have learned that The Kingdom is the place in Vermont to "get away", whether that involves pitching your tent at a campground, fishing at a lake house, or vacationing with the whole family at a lodge. It feels worlds away from Burlington, not a huge city itself, though The Northeast Kingdom is only a few hours away by car. Brett and I, freshly equipped with camping gear from our wedding registry (Thanks fellow REI fans!), were determined to plan a camping trip during our Vermont summer. The idea to camp in The Kingdom grew organically out of Brett's desire to visit Hill Farmstead Brewery, considered one of the best craft breweries in the world, located in middle-of-nowhere Vermont. One of Brett's co-workers described the route to Hill Farmstead: "You keep going until you're in the middle-of-nowhere and you think you must be going the wrong way, and that's how you know you're going the right way." We figured that we might as well drive up to Hill Farmstead, visit the brewery, camp overnight, and enjoy some hiking. Eventually, our plan was foiled by the weather, as happens to many good plans. It was supposed to rain Sunday, but Saturday was a glorious, sunny, blue-sky day. Rather than spend our one nice day waiting for beer, Brett opted to go hiking on Saturday to enjoy the natural beauty of the Northeast Kingdom. This meant forgoing the opportunity to visit Hill Farmstead, since the brewery is closed on Sundays. He assured me that this was fine, so, after checking in to a campground, we set off for a hike up Bald Mountain. The Bald Mountain trail came up on my AllTrails app as "easy", but I feel confident that this was a mistake, especially given that the AllTrails website rates it as "difficult". I would rate it moderate to difficult. Though it requires no technical skill to climb, the top half of the trail is quite steep and rocky. I had to be extremely careful with my footing at points. It is just over 2 miles to the top, but the trail is well-marked and well-maintained. My husband, who hikes less often than me, found it very challenging, but we made it to the top! The summit of Bald Mountain has an old fire tower that you can climb. On a beautiful day, like the one we had, there are 360 degree views of the surrounding lakes and mountains. The views were breathtaking and certainly worth the effort! We were lucky enough to chat with a Northeast Kingdom family on top of the fire tower. Familiar with the landscape, they pointed out the Green Mountains, White Mountains in New Hampshire, the various lakes, and even the distant outline of some mountains in Maine. After descending, we returned to our campground. We camped at Will-O-Wood Campground, near Lake Willoughby. It was fine, though definitely not a campground for those who want solitude. It is a family campground, with a pool and many children running around. It seemed as though a lot of families from Vermont, NewHampshire, and Maine camp for the entire summer in their RVs. We picked it for its proximity to Lake Willoughby and last-minute availability. Brett and I were lucky to get a site on the edge of the campground, meaning we didn't have to worry about pool noise or too many people running by our campsite. Had the weather been sunny on Sunday, we could have walked or driven down the road to the beach at Lake Willoughby. On our way to Bald Mountain, we drove by Lake Willoughby, a beautiful lake surrounded by pine trees and rolling mountains. I packed a swimsuit, just in case, but it rained all night on Saturday and all morning on Sunday, so we headed back to Burlington without a stop at the beach. A final story from the Northeast Kingdom
Brett: "What do all these people do out here in the middle of nowhere? Like for jobs?" Me: "I don't know. Farm? Own these little stores? Make maple syrup?" Later that day, we were in a small shop by Lake Willoughby, waiting to buy bottles of water, when we overheard a conversation between the clerk and a girl about our age. Clerk: "What's up?" Girl:"Just working all the time." Clerk: "Yeah, what have you been doing?" Girl: "I canned maple syrup all day." |
AuthorMy name is Alyssa Good and I have a passion for travel, adventure, culture, and new experiences! I focus on budget friendly travel, trip planning resources, and seeking out new experiences. Archives
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