“Both Pasta and Ice-cream was invented in China, “ says Alicia, the food blogger with Free Tours By Foot NYC whereas Pasta ( a descendant of Asian Noodles) was bought to Italy from China by Marco Polo during the 13th century. Ice-cream whereas was invented some 2000 years ago and used to be a non-diary product similar to our current day Sorbet and was frozen on huge blocks of ice because at that time there was no refrigerator. 

Has anyone tried #soup dumpling? Not the ones that comes with a soup on the side but the dumplings that has broth inside it 😘😋 So you see my sucking the broth in as I make a small hole in it with my teeth. We get these kinds in #shangai dim sum in #chinatown New York and they make it with pork.. Ever wondered why with only pork and how does the liquid go inside the Momo? #newyork is a foodies heaven. Which is the quirkiest thing you have tried here? #foodporn #food #newyork #nyc #vlogger #vlog #travelblogger #travelingram #travel #momo #chinese

A post shared by Ankita Sinha (@ankionthemove) on Nov 16, 2017 at 7:32am PST

Chinatown in New York is the largest Chinatown in USA - there are about 110,000 - 150,000 Chinese who live here. But it is not the only Chinatown in New York - we have another one in Queens where they have about 40,000 Chinese; we have one in Brooklyn where have about 30,000 Chinese and even few blocks of Spanish Harlem is turning into a little Chinatown.





For those, who are new to New York or haven’t been ever here, New York is foodies paradise - we have Chinatown , Korea Town , Japan Town and other food outlets , food tours and food festivals that makes New York such a melting pot for variety of cuisines from around the world.

The Columbus Park of Chinatown

This neighborhood was originally called the five points neighborhood which is also shown in the movie “Gangs of New York”. It was a very dangerous neighborhood to live in and there were poor Irish, poor Italians, poor Germans etc who lived there. They considered this neighborhood to be a stepping stone neighborhood where people from different countries would live here long enough to make some money and get out of the neighborhood. So when you look around Chinatown you would see many cultural neighborhoods around. For example, Little Italy is close because that's where poor Italians lived. In 1897, the neighborhood was tore down because it was a dangerous neighborhood and they felt the easiest way to deal with that problem was to create a park.



When you walk in this park, you feel a sense of close knit community there. You would see Old-Chinese dudes gambling or you can listen to some Chinese Music players playing in the park.



What bought Chinese to New York

In 1850’s we had very small Chinatown originally. In 1900, only about 7000 people lived in Chinatown and the number stayed pretty low until 1970’s when the California Gold Rush happened. If you read my post on San Francisco, I have mentioned that San Francisco was once wilderness until California Gold Rush happened. So many Chinese then came from China for the gold rush. The Chinese thought they could strike very big in the Gold Rush. The truth was money was mainly made by people who lived in the mining towns.

And so, the Chinese had no choice.

“You give up your whole life trying to get to California and you are not finding any Gold, so you can’t go home even if you wanted to. That time it costed about $25 to get back home which is in today’s currency $5000 which for many was their entire life savings.” And so they were forced to work to make money. All of a sudden there was about 10,000 people entering the workforce . People who were living here wanted to move out to better neighborhoods when they earn enough, because there was a whole new set of people willing to take their place at a lesser cost. The Chinese decided to move to East Coast because they did not wanted to be discriminated and they felt the Americans wouldn’t feel threatened here.

How did food come to Chinatown?

So you had all these men coming to work and that created a Bachelors society in New York where you had to create a surrogate family and one way to do that was to go out and eat.. So, these inexpensive restaurants started popping up where the Chinese would go for meal and sit down with someone from China and create a sense of Community. Those restaurants still exists in the form of Dumpling Shops.

Have you ever tried Bubble Tea or Boba Tea?

Bubble tea was a gimmick or a happy accident that was created in the 1980’s by a women in Taiwan. She owned a tea shop and wanted people to get excited about drinking tea again. So to do this, she thought - she has been to Japan and have seen people using milk in tea and that could get people excited. To make it more exciting, she had tapioca pearls (the stuff with which you make tapioca pudding with), she dumped them into the milk tea and that's how Bubble tea was born.



How was Dumplings invented?

Dumplings were invented about 1800 years ago as a form of medicine. Parts of China was going through a really hard winter one year and as a way to cure people from sickness who were crossing those areas - people picked up dough and filled it with herbs and spices and three of these dumplings with a bit of broth was served to them. This helped people cope up with the winters.

This also helped Chinese immigrants cope up with the winters of New York as they are really inexpensive, handy, compact and had a lot of energy. They also say during New Year if you have dumplings at 11 pm, you will have prosperity for the entire New York..

Today’s Dumplings do not have healing herbs and spices but ground pork or veggies. We tried dumplings at Tasty Dumplings. They are from Beijing.

- Dumplings (5 for $1.25)



The Soup Dumplings - Broth inside the Dumplings!

So, this had to be only made with Pork. Pork because it helps to solidify the broth a little bit as it has gelatin in it and then it is put in the flour wrapper and made! So how do you eat them - by making a whole with your teeth on any side and sucking the liquid in.. The liquid is very tasty.. :)

Whats in the name?

99% of the time, the name of the restaurant has the name of the place from China. For example, we had dumplings in Tasty Dumpling. ‘Tasty’ then translated in Mandarin is similar to an area in Beijing.

Why was Chinese immigration stalled and then reopened?

During the phase where there was California Gold Rush and lot of Chinese arrived and started working here, a lot of Americans would think that Chinese would take their job. And so California actually made a law for anyone of Chinese descent entering California. That did not happen until 1882, when the president of US passed a law targeting laborers that stated unless you are dignitary, missionary or a merchant you cannot stay here. You could leave but you wouldn’t be allowed here. So a lot of Chinese stayed. They had more rules on they cannot become US citizen, they cannot use services such as police etc, and so they had to create their own police force and with changes, Chinatown became an inartistic community because they had to provide a lot of these services to themselves.

During the involvement of US in world war 2, it realized that if it has to beat Japan, they have to be humble enough to the Chinese that they have made a mistake. And so the doors for immigration were opened for 104 Chinese every year. There were more than that numbers already coming as Dignitaries and Merchants. So the boat would come in every 1st of the month and there was this race to get in in that boat. Because once the quota was full that was it. In 1940’s, US experienced inflow of Chinese refugees. In 1949, China became a communist country and US had a very complicated relationship with Communism. It was not until the civil rights movement, the immigration opened up once again in 1960’s and people from China, Middle East and Dominic Republic started pouring in!

Originally it was Cantonese food for the most part and then came Shanghai, Hunan, Schezwan etc. Today it is a melting pot of Chinese Food here with food from different regions of China.

Someone recently was telling me this

“We are experiencing this yet again - the discrimination against immigrants which used to be once”

Best Roasted Pork Bun in Chinatown

These tender and juice fluffy pork buns are to die for! Bursting with flavor and made out of seemingly fresh ingredients this is something not to be missed. For vegetarians we have Lotus Seed Steamed Bun and Cocktain Bun. In fact the variety at this place is huge!




Best Ice Cream in Chinatown

It has become a latest fad to catch up on the rolled ice cream that you get in many places in NYC. What they do there is they take liquid ice-cream and put it on a cold platter and roll it. You can find the list of Rolled ice cream here, 10 below is in Chinatown

The Original Chinatown Ice cream factory serves great ice-cream (not the rolled one though) but they come in many flavors such as Mango, Ginger, Egg Cream, Black Sesame, Durian etc)



That’s it about Chinatown. All in all, the places that I have been too was really inexpensive and I loved it!

Rolled Ice-cream at 10 Below Ice Cream

For the first time we had an Avocado Flavored Ice-cream at 10 Below Ice-cream and that too in an ice cream roll form! It's an interesting concept when an ice-cream is rolled. The plate on which it is rolled is cold. There have variety of different flavors and toppings to choose from and they taste very natural and creamy.

It looks pretty cool when served. It costs $7. 





Love food and in NYC: Check my posts on New York
Traveling to US? Check my posts on USA

Tune in your toes and oomph up your fashion quotient as you wear your boots and walk the city in style. Whether its New York or Bangalore or Switzerland, Boots give you that runaway look that you so desire. How much ever, unkempt you may be on the outside, add on the right Boots and pair up with the right attire and you are good to go!


When the crisp air of Spring, Winter and Fall blesses you each year and when our cozy pullovers come out that’s when Boots hear our calling… I have often wondered why we give our Boots a miss during Summers. Oh yes, our feet need to breathe – and so Cut-out Boots exist and they look gorgeous on your Mini Skirt or that Short Dress. So, here’s my ultimate Online Shopping guide to Boots when travelling and a few tips that’ll help both Men and Women decide on how to wear, what to wear and where to wear. I can classify Boots in 10 Styles:

1) Ankle Boots:

When we think of Boots, we think of the traditional Knee Length Boots in winters but here’s where we go wrong! Ankle Boots are short boot shoes that covers your ankle. They come with pencil heels, block heels or flats.






Season: They are mainly Summer, Spring and Fall wear. During Summer and Spring, the colors that go very well are Tan, Beige, Red, Nude etc.

Pairing: Pair your Ankle Boots with short skirts or jeans. Pair your long skirt or long dress with Ankle Boots that has heels.

Places: During early Spring and early Fall, the Flat Ankle Boots / Blocked Heels Boots makes walking easier and stylish in the cobwebbed streets of Europe. Ankle Boots with pencil heels would look great during evenings in pubs. Tropical places with slight winter variations also welcomes this style. Examples: Spain, North East India, Bangalore, Delhi, Los Angeles etc.

2) Mid-Calf Boots:

These boots are slightly higher than the Ankle Boots but lower than the Knee-High Boots – it falls between the two!



Season: These are mainly Fall to Winter Wear. Many of the Waterproof / Winter wear boots also fall in this style of length. Rain Boots also fall in this style often.

Pairing: The usual Mid-Calf Boots would look good with short shirts, short dress or on tights or jeans.

Places: Places with known cold weather variations: Shimla, Scotland, Switzerland etc.

3) Knee-High Boots:

The good old traditional Knee-High Boots are in limelight for a reason in the season. They also are the most popular category of Boots. The best part about them is you can hide your socks under them (to add extra warmth) or wear them without socks to feel a little protected. With layering of clothes, Knee Length Boots look great.



Season: These are mainly Fall to Winter Wear. Some of the Waterproof/Winter/Cowboy Boots also fall in this style. Rain Boots also fall in this style often.

Pairing: They pair up very well with short sweater dress or short woolen skirt. If it’s a little more protected you want to feel, it looks great when paired with sheer leggings on your attire.

Places: Places with known colder weather. You may have seen girls wearing sheer leggings on Skirts in UK during winters or on fitted short dress. Examples are Scotland, Switzerland, New York, Wisconsin etc.

4) Over the Knee Boots:

In Fashion Fad, recently with celebrities and the fashion-conscious folks, these Boots are higher than Knee-High Boots.



Season: From Fall to Winters. The colors that are mostly seen are black and tan.

Pairing: It’s a little tricky to pair them. These go very well with regular Blue Skinny Jeans, on Short Skirts and on Boho Street Styles.

Places: Places that are fashion-conscious and cold: Paris, Milan, New York.

5) Cut-out Boots:

Cut out Ankle Boots allow air to freely move in between our feet and go very well during Summers with outfits.


Season: Summers. Cut-out boots don’t pair well with socks or leggings during Fall or Winters.

Pairing: These go well with flowy dresses and short skirts.

Places: Although I would love to wear them all Summer along, they go well in places that has moderate summers – i.e. Chicago, Bangalore etc.

6) Metallic:

Embrace the metallic trend that is so in these days on your toes that deserves that ladylike sparkle. We all know how big they are currently – we see them everywhere – from Silver Skirts to Golden Bags. So why not Boots! Online Shopping is a way to go for these kind of Boots as you may not find varieties or color in stores. (These are fast moving trending styles)


Season: Summer, Fall, Spring

Pairing: Pair up your Silver Boots with Black Leggings or Ripped Blue Jeans and that’ll look great. Whereas, your matte finish golden ankle length booties can be paired with anything!

Places: The big 4 of Fashion: New York, London, Milan, Paris.

7) Cowboy:

The last time I saw those Cowboy boots in Turkey, I was overwhelmed with the self-embroidery it had on them. And then I saw someone wearing Cowboy boots with colored embroidery in Goa on a white short dress and I was wowed more.


Season: Early Spring, Summer, Fall

Pairing: They usually come in Tan and Black. Pair them up on a white frilly dress or anything Boho and you’d love yourself a little more!

Places: Spain, Texas, Mexico, Turkey

8) Waterproof or Insulated:

Come Rain or Snow, some places around the world knows how to celebrate life, come what may! And if you happen to be in one of those places, your need overpowers everything else. You got to wear these because you have no other choice.



Season: Rainy or Extreme Winters

Pairing: Pair them up with leggings or jeans.

Places: I can’t imagine my life without these in Midwest of USA (ex: Chicago and Wisconsin) because it snows plenty and everyone has them (It has to be insulated and waterproof). The last time I went to Switzerland in winters, I needed them too! Where there’s snow and rain and things that can mess or wet your socks up: P once they melt or stay, get these. Scotland pours like crying lady and just waterproof boots (colorful ones like Green, Red etc) looks good there.

9) Office Boots: 

I didn’t know about them until my hubby bought one. His logic was I can’t wear my summer formal shoes in winters – I need something thicker but not proper super thick boots!



Season: Winters

Pairing: On formal outfits.

Places: If you are working in cold areas like in New York, office boots look way cooler when layered with formal outfits.

10) All Time colors like Black and Brown and Unique Colors like Reds: 

 Black is an all-time favorite color. You simply can’t go wrong in Black. Everyone buys them, you can too! Reds are for those experimental folks who’d love to experiment.



Season: All season

Pairing: Black Layers with almost everything and every color. Brown goes next after Black. Reds go very well with Short Denim Skirts or ripped Jeans. Red Bright Rain boots go very very well with Blue jeans for a pop of color (But red with red will be sheesh! Never try that)

Places: All around the world.

Well guys, here are my few tips, what do you think?

When ski season starts and you have an abundance of cabin rentals in Colorado to choose from, it can be pretty hard to pick our which town should you stay in; after all, you do want the best spot in the state to savor your stay in the state.

To assist you in choosing the perfect one, this list of 3 ski towns in Colorado was compiled just for you.

TELLURIDE


Seated in a box canyon, Telluride certainly has come far from being a small, mining town to the wonderful spot that it is today. These days, Telluride is anything but a mining town, as evident by the accolade of it being named #1 Ski Resort in North America by the Condé Nast Readers’ Choice Awards. But what exactly makes Telluride, well, Telluride?

Before the 70s, mining used to be the only industry the town was profiting from. In fact, the town is named after the gold telluride minerals one can find all over Colorado, but not in Telluride itself. In 1972, Joseph T. Zoline installed the first ski lift and a whole new profitable industry was born. Telluride has ski trails that begin at 8,750 feet and if you want something a little higher, they also have trails up at 13,320 feet. Of course, you don’t exactly have to hike all the way up as there are lifts that can bring you up to 12,570 feet. These extremely elevated slopes are the ideal choice for any advanced skiing enthusiasts, especially since they are located on some of the steepest mountains in the state.

Of course, to make a town a favourite among many needs more than just slopes. You may want to simply take a stroll to see the mark mining has made on the town such as the historical buildings that may have witnessed a crime or two (in fact, Butch Cassidy’s first robbery was made in Telluride), or you might see a mining shack with equipment still inside. There’s also several good restaurants in the area and you might also want to take the gondola to the nearby town of Mountain Village. Take advantage of this gondola ride to look around and see the wonderful view you might not get anywhere else. Truly, Telluride deserves to be on anyone’s list of top ski towns.

VAIL




If there’s one town that’s really for skiing, it has to be Vail. Since its founding in the 60s, it seems like all plans lead to creating the gorgeous ski town that we know today as it was crated intentionally to be the base of Vail Ski Resort. This may also probably why it is the first town someone will mention if you ask them to name you ski towns in Colorado. And why not? After all, it is the biggest ski town in the state.

Before its founding, Vail was like any other town in Colorado—a mining town; however, the mineral resources soon ran out and the town’s grounds became grazing and sheep farming land. It wasn’t until three World War II veterans came back to the town they trained at during the war and decided to develop it into the mountain ski community they envisioned. When a uranium prospector joined the group in 1954, the plans then began to unfold. Construction started in 1962 and by 1966, the vision was complete. When Gerard Ford became president, spotlight was turned to Vail as he owned a residence in the town. Soon it became the ski town on every skier’s lips, something that has not changed until today. Beaver Creek combined with Vail, and now you have 343 trails and 7,121 acres available for your perusal. The best part about Vail is, there’s a trail for everybody. Whether you’re a child, a beginning adult or an expert you are sure to find what you need.

When you are not skiing, why not check out the town? What makes it stand out is unlike other Colorado towns, the architecture is reminiscent of an Austrian village. Gourmet food trucks pepper the town, ensuring your stomach will never be empty. And since it is winter, you just might want to take advantage of the weather and go on a sleigh ride or go ice skating with your family and friends.

ASPEN




If you want high end, then Aspen is the ideal town for you. Over the past few decades, it has become the hideaway for many known personalities and some have even made it their home, like singer John Denver, who even wrote a couple of songs about the town. If you want something in a ski town, Aspen probably has it.

Silver was what the miners had in mind when they first came to Aspen in 1879. The silver boom happened in 1891-92, when Aspen became the United States' leading silver mining district. Unfortunately, the same year that the town developed was the year that many turned away from the city due to then president Cleveland's repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act. Nearly forty years later, the town was a mere shell of what it once was. Just like Telluride, a World War II veteran by the name of Walter Paepcke returned to the town with visions developing it into a resort. In 1946, the Aspen Skiing Corporation was founded and the town grew into the bustling, busy place it is at present.

The longest run in Aspen on Aspen Mountain is 5 kilometers, with eight lifts than can transport 10,755 people an hour. Beginner skiers better not try the trails on this mountain as it is recommended only for well experienced skiers, with at least 25% for experts.

Any winter sports enthusiast will delight in discovering the Winter X Games have been held in Aspen since its first year and will be done so until 2019. Sports included in the competition are skiing and snowboarding. For any art aficionado, the Aspen Art Museum is at your disposal. If you have any young tots, you may want to bring them to the hallam Lake-Aspen Center for Environmental Studies so as to educate them on how to care for the environment. As for food, there’s more than enough for you to choose from as the restaurants in Aspen number more than 80.

Skiing will always be best in Colorado, so this winter, get in that plane and head over to one of these towns for the best ski of your life.

*This is a guest post by Seb from http://aspiringbackpacker.com*

“The Lindt chocolate in Chili melted in our coffee as we poured maple syrup to wake us up this beautiful fall morning in our Little river campsite with a view of colorful falling leaves on our tents . Today was a long day, we had picked apples in the morning and had smacked our mouths into the most yummy Apple Betty with ice-cream and Apple Cider donuts. Further to our adventure, we hiked Mt. Mansfield after the parking lot and the wind and the view both literally blew us away. Vermont, to me more than the colors was an experience to be cherished.”




As the Vermont Fall Foliage map (Current conditions, Foliage forecaster) is hinting on past peak predictions this weekend (For those who do not know, we have Fall Predictions every year), I reminisce about my journey to this land of color during my visit last weekend. However, good news is we had a little snow in Stowe this week and what a perfect time to watch a hint of snow on the mountains with remaining fall colors!

Every time the fall season arrives, I wish it stayed longer but alas! like everything else all good things comes to an end. This year, the weather has been pleasant throughout the summer but the nippy cold arrived late and so the leaves got confused. I guess, they weren’t ready for the late cold we got and so like last year, this year’s fall wasn’t a conglomeration of abundant bright hues but subtle shades that stayed for a very short span of days. And so this year, the fall duration was actually shorter. The peak fall was predicted on Columbus day weekend like every year, however the actual peak happened somewhere between Columbus day and the consecutive next weekend. By the time we went, we got to see Myriad of colors on few pockets but a few other pockets were already fallen off. One way to find out how colors , spots etc, was by watching hashtags (I followed #stowe) on Instagram to get live updates on changes in colors etc.

The business as usual for many closes on Columbus day weekend or the next weekend to Columbus day weekend, however many things still are open by the end of October. I am yet to understand what stays open and what stays close during and before the winters because this place to me looked like a place that could be very happening during winters as well specially with the winter sports. But I guess, some of the state parks and homemade ice cream outlets and tours close after fall. This trip of ours was accompanied with friends as we drove from Troy , NY to the upstate and the trip was for 1.5 days and we mainly were traveling around Burlington and Stowe.

These are some of the places to watch and view Fall colors in Vermont:

                                             "Image Credit to Canva Infographic"

We had thought of the basic things to do, but we simply chose to enjoy what was coming in front of our eyes, not wanting to restrict ourselves with time. So short, because we didn’t had our leaves but I would highly recommend planning for full 2 days or 3 days or more at leisure to enjoy the place fully. I would love to go there again, may be in winters sometimes and summers again but for now , These are the 15 Things to do in Vermont this fall:

1. Apple Picking at Shelburne Orchards

This was our first time at apple picking. Located on the shores of Lake Champlain, there were McIntosh, Golden Delicious, Red Delicious, Empire and Liberty apples to pick at the Orchards. The orchards open at 9am and closes at 5pm on the weekends and at 6pm on the weekdays and they are still open for the season :) They have about 6000 apple trees and they have been awarded for sustainable agriculture farm of the year in 1997. To us, the experience of watching the dozens of apples hanging in there in red and green was amazing. We had gotten the apple picking tool from the entrance (you get 1 per team) to pick them up in dozens and it was a great experience. To top it all, the Betty bar at the entrance serves the most delicious Apple Betty with Ice-cream and the cider donuts. And if its cold, the hot apple cider warms you up.










We felt authentically Vermont in the hay ride that took us back to the parking lot. Shelbourne Orchards is in making Apple Brandy and the next bottle release will be in Dec 2017. They have Brandy Crepe recipe on the website here.

2. Camping in State Parks 

Once you have experienced staying inside a state park in the campsite, you wouldn’t want to go back to your conventional hotel stays for a long while. USA gives you the liberty to camp at many state parks and national parks. The beauty of many of these parks is, your basic necessity is taken care of. They have bathrooms, shower rooms, logs and some even have grocery stores and service station etc. Also, many of these sites are located inside the state forests so you would be enjoying the sites and trails and ranger programs that has to offer. We booked our stay at Little River State Park ($30 per night) because of its proximity to Stowe and the fact that it is a scenic campsite with Waterbury Dam. You can reserve your campsites here














 We totally enjoyed our stay there and cooked for about 4 hours in the night. Then chatted and slept through the morning, slowly getting up to coffee and taking a short trail. The website for Vermont State Park is a little tricky, you would see many state parks and you’d have to enter dates at each of them to see vacancy if there are any. I would have loved if that was other way round, as it you add dates and they display the State Parks where it’s available. We’ll have a guide on camping in USA in my next post for new campers who’d love to camp!

3. Taking the Auto road or Gondola at Mt Mansfield 

Mt Mansfield is the highlight on the map of Stowe! Mount Mansfield is the highest mountain in Vermont. The mountain gets its name because when viewed from the east its summit ridge resembles man’s facial features, and the names of its prominent features reflect this: Adams Apple (4,060'), Chin (4,393', highest point), Nose (4,062') and Forehead (3,940’). Mount Mansfield is the most frequently visited mountain in Vermont with nearly 40,000 visitors walking its upper reaches every year. Last sunday was the last day of Auto Road or Gondola before it closes for winter. We took the auto road($28 dollar per car + $8 per extra person) because it was cheaper than the Gondola ($28 per person) and we could stop on the way if we wanted to.











The 4.5 mile Toll Road is the easiest way to the summit of Mount Mansfield. You park the car at the parking lot then there’s a hiking trail and you reach there at the summit. It’s very very windy up there but the views are great!

4. Driving to Smugglers Notch State Park 

Smugglers Notch is a narrow pass through the mountains with 1000-foot cliffs on either side. “Smugglers Notch” was so named because the forbidden trade with Canada passed through here during the war of 1812. Cattle was smuggled into New England though the picturesque gap beside Mt Mansfield, remote from revenue officers.









In the early days, only footpath and trail for horses existed. Today as you enter at the park, right at the entrance, we have caves and we saw many folks exploring that. Smugglers Notch closed after Columbus day but driving through it was still possible. The main places to explore in Smugglers Notch are Smuggler’s Head, Elephant’s Head, Smuggler’s Face, Big Spring etc.

5. Take Ferry to Lake Champlain / Watch it from Overlook Park 

If you are near the Burlington area, Lake Champlain is a great place to view the sunset. Lake Champlain is a natural freshwater lake mainly within the borders of US( in the state of Vermont and NY) but partially situated across Canada - US border (in quebec). The southernmost town in the Islands, South Hero, is just twenty minutes from Burlington and home to Vermont's first vineyard, Snow Farm Winery, a lively stop along the Champlain Coast Wine Trail. The largest town in the Islands with a population of 2,000, Grand Isle is 35 minutes north of Burlington and a quick ferry ride from Plattsburgh, New York. You can reach Grand Isle by car and there is state park there where you can camp. Some locals have also seen Northern lights in Grand Isle. You can see the Ferries here



You can also take a ferry ride on Lake Champlain ( Burlington, VT to Port Kent, NY (closed for winters); Grand Isle, VT to Plattsburgh, NY ; Charlotte, VT to Essex, NY). You can view Lake Champlain from Burlington harbor (great place to eat) or from Overlook park - that gives a great of the Lake Champlain area from a height.

6. Vermont Teddy Bear Factory Tour

If you have kids or if you are kids at heart this is the place to be! When the founder of the Vermont Teddy Bear saw his kids playing with Teddy Bear he saw none of them were made in the USA. He decided to make Teddy Bears. His first bear was inspired from his favorite comedian with silly ties and goofy glasses - it wouldn’t stand nor was ready for Bear hugs” and so he designed the second Bear that became a hit! The bear had articulated arms, legs and head.



Their story started in 1981 when the founder opened a cart on Church Street in Burlington, Vermont and began selling Teddy Bears that he made in his garage for $25 each. He kept the articulated arms, articulated legs and the articulated head and gave it all american belly (called Ben and Jerry Belly here). Ever since they have come up with varieties of Bear such as Honey, Snow, Maple, Cows, Vanilla , Misfit etc. The tour is for $4 and they take you through how the Teddy Bear is made in the tour.





7. Ice cream trail 

Vermont is also famous for its home made ice-creams. Ben & Jerry Factory tour is very famous for their 30 minute guided tour on how their ice cream is made.


The fun lies also in exploring the jaunts where home made ice-creams are made throughout Vermont and hence Vermont is an ideal place for Ice cream trail. Scoop and Lake Champlain Chocolates in Burlington, Island Home made Ice-cream in Grand Isle, Stowe Homemade Ice-cream in Stowe, Billings Farm Museum in Woodstock etc.




8. Groton Lake State Park and Ponds 

The Owl’s head trail in Groton Lake State Park gives one of the best views during Fall. You would see Lake Groton below and Vermont's two most famous peaks, Camel's Hump and Mount Mansfield.
It is a short hike.



To see the area in totally from the base, head down afterwards to see Lake Groton from the shoreline at Boulder Beach State Park. Lake Groton is about an hour’s drive from Stowe. Some of the amazing views can also be had over Long Pond and Lake Willoughby toward the northwestern mountains of Vermont from Haystack Mountain which is in north of Vermont. The Sterling pond trail in Smugglers Notch also gives great views of the fall colors.

9. Farmers Market and Local Festivals 

Fall and Summer is a great time to enjoy the festivals in the Vermont area. I think the festivals happen almost every weekend and some of them are Snoweflake Balloon Festival (July 7-9), Lamoille County Field Days( in July), Stowe Octoberfest (in Sept end) etc. If you are hungry, Stowe Farmers Market is not only a great place to get fresh fruits and veggies but also a great place to sample many free meals. Try Farmers Market Challenge where you can go from Booth to Booth eating every free sample offered.



10. Scenic Drives & Scenic Rail

Soak in the spectacular scenery during fall as your car traverses through loops of scenic drives during fall. Whether its traveling by Scenic route 100 or by taking a detour in the small countryside, it’s always a fun thing to do. Some of the popular ones are Green Mountain Byway, Route 100 Waterbury to Stowe, The Shires of Vermont Byway, Stone Valley Scenic Byway, Molly Stark Scenic Byway, Lake Champlain Byway, Connecticut River National Byway,Mad River Scenic Byway.


For more details , click here. If you enjoy rail rides, Vermont has Fall Foliage Dinner trail and Fall Foliage excursions.

11. Cold Hollow Cider Mill 

New England's favorite cider mill is the must stop in the region. Watch cider making, free samples, live beehive, bakery, maple products, Vermont speciality foods, crafts and gifts. Lunch, hard cider tasting and sales in the Apple Core Luncheonette.

12. Cheese Trail

Taste the Cheddar rated "best in the world" at Cabot Creamery. Enjoy the Tour ($3). In Plymouth , go to Frog City Cheese where they use original Coolidge recipe for creamy Plymouth cheese. Three Shepard in East Warren offers 3 day cheese making classes.  Near Burlington, go to Shelburne Farms.  Dakin Farm is another great place to taste Vermont's Finest Smoked Ham, aged Cheddar and pure Maple Syrup.
This is map for Vermont Cheese Trail in Vermont , here

13. Stowe Recreation Path & Covered Bridges

There are about 100 covered bridges in Vermont and most of them are located off major routes and in the less traveled countryside. Some of the bridges are on this website: VirtualVermont.



Stowe Recreation Path is a greenway from the Stowe Village to the Top Notch Resort on the mountain road .It is 5.3 mile trail and it criss crosses West Branch of Little river, mountain views, gives access to lodges and local business and is one of the most popular biking path in Stowe. More details here




14. Maple Syrups, Farms & Museum

Vermont is also famous for its maple syrup! In fact, Vermont also has its own Maple Museum called New England Maple Museum in Pittsford. You can also enjoy the Maple Farms in Vermont and some of them are Goodrich's Maple Farm (Learn all about Maple from trees to table),  Maple Grove Farms of Vermont ( Visit Sugar House Museum to learn about gathering of sap to boiling , from Vintage Maple Candies to Pancake Mixes),  Morse Farm Maple Sugarworks ( Vermont's oldest maple family presents Sugaring from Tap to Table, Maple Trail and Free Tasting), Bragg Farm (has been producing Vermont Maple for 8 generations) etc. So, Maple Syrup makes a great takeaway from Vermont.




15. Corn Maze

The great Vermont Corn Maze is the largest maze in New England, and is selected as one of the top 10 mazes in America.


Guys, there’s so much more to do that I have to come up with another post listing them! But for now, hope you enjoyed the post..