Vermont State Historic Sites - Free!

Illustration copyright - Sarah Dillard

Something to write down in your agenda: this week-end, June 14th and 15th, all the Vermont State Historic Sites and the Vermont Historical Society Museum offer free admission. Isn’t it the perfect excuse for a great road trip through the wonderful Vermont countryside? Weather should be collaborating: warm with just some isolated thunderstorms…Come on, get out, enjoy the sun and the fresh air, and take one of these wonderful scenic drives up and down the green Vermont hills (there are so many of them!)… President Coolidge House, the old Constitution House, Chimney Point, Mount Independence, and the other sites will be all waiting for your visit. State Parks are also free… with free ice cream! And on Saturday, it’s also free fishing.
So, if you see a little blue VW Cabrio driving around, it might be us… we’ll definitely be going from place to place! And we will report on our favorite visits next week… Psst! Don’t forget to tell us which was YOUR favorite place!
For a complete list of the Vermont State Historic Sites, visit: www.historicvermont.org/sites.

 

Waterbury Award-winning Restaurants

Two award-winning restaurants in Waterbury! Or rather two award-winning Chefs I should say - to be more accurate.
The first one is Michael Kloeti, from Michael’s on the Hill. In 2007, Michael was awarded Vermont Chef of the Year by the Vermont Hospitality Council. His restaurant is charming, located in a farmhouse dating from 1820, up on the hill, with views of the Green Mountains and his innovative food is simply delicious. It has that perfect blend of European and American Regional influences with a strong focus on local and fresh products. And, on top of it, Michael is a wonderful person. If you have the chance to attend one of his cooking classes, don’t miss it, you won’t regret it. Michael, with his warm Swiss accent, can talk to you for hours about his passion for cooking and his passion for fresh, organic, local ingredients. What is his background? Well, Michael is native from Switzerland, where he started his cooking training and first work. He then moved to New York and joined Gray Kunz at Lespinasse Restaurant, restaurant which received four stars from the New York Times. He has also worked as Sous Chef at the Lodge at Koele Resort in Lanai, Hawaii, and as Chef de Cuisine at the St. Regis Hotel in Manhattan. He and his wife Laura, a graduate of The Culinary Institute of America, finally moved to Vermont to raise their family and opened their restaurant Michael’s on the Hill in 2002. They also offer catering services, and it is quite a privilege to have Michael prepare your wedding dinner for instance!

The second chef is Eric Warnstedt, from Hen of the Wood. He is one of ten chefs from all over the U.S. to have received the 2008 Best New Chef award from the prestigious Food & Wine magazine, and will be featured in their July issue. The award recognizes up-and-coming chefs in America who are “innovators with a distinct culinary style and vision creating exceptionally delicious food”. Definitely a restaurant we need to check out. We are sure it must be quite an experience, with such recognition, and the setting seems wonderful – the restaurant is located in a historic 19^th century grist mill. And finally, like Michael Kloeti, Eric Warnstedt likes to cook with the best local ingredients. Native of Florida, Eric worked previously at the Wildwood Restaurant in Portland, Oregon; Mark’s in Fort Lauderdale; and Shelburne Farms in Shelburne, Vermont. That is nice to see local gastronomy getting this kind of recognition. Vermont is the place for great outdoors, maple syrup, great cheddar and of course Ben & Jerry’s world-renown ice-cream… it can now add “fine gastronomy” to the list of great things to enjoy here!
And if you have dinner in one of these places, drop us a comment. We would love to know what you thought.

Links to their websites:
http://www.michaelsonthehill.com/
http://www.henofthewood.com/

 

Brookfield: its Unique Floating Bridge

 
As you travel south from Montpelier, on route 14, don’t miss the historic floating bridge in Brookfield on route 65. The village is nice and quiet, just like it was in the 19th century, with several houses of interest, including the oldest continually operating library (1791), and of course its unique bridge! First built in 1820, 330 feet in length and supported by 380 barrels (originally wooden barrels), it is said to be the only floating bridge east of the Mississippi. The story goes that one winter a resident had drowned trying to cross the frozen Sunset Lake and that the town had decided to lay down logs all chained together across the pond… When spring came, it simply became a floating bridge, later supported by barrels. Today, if planks and barrels have been replaced several times, the bridge is still standing. Used by both pedestrians and cars until the summer of 2007, it is now closed to car traffic, but you can still get across the lake by foot, get your feet a little wet if you want, and watch the few fishermen trying their luck for trout. Or if you come on the last Saturday of January, you will be able to enjoy one of the last ice harvest festivals in New England, and its ice cutting, ice sculpting, sledding and more!

 

Vermont’s Open Studio Week-end

This week-end is a great week-end to drive around and see watercolors, pastels, pottery, jewelry, furniture and many other crafts in the studios of 264 local Vermont artists. It is Open Studio Week-end throughout the State!

You can find the maps you need with the complete list of open studios at this link.

 

Official launch of Travel-Vermont.net

Today is an exciting day. It is the official launch of Travel-Vermont.net and we already have so many interesting stories for you “in the works”. We are also on the road exploring the little villages of Vermont, and we will share our discoveries with you. So, make sure you come and visit regularly.

You wonder how Travel-Vermont.net was born and what has inspired us? Read our story!

You want to share with us a great story about Vermont? Leave us a comment and we’ll be happy to share it here.

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