The Wedding Singer, Part 2: Places to Go and a Place to Avoid

Friday we went back to the Church Street Marketplace to look at some shops we didn't have time for the day before.  We started to park in a parking garage that charged outrageous prices, but the sign said no parking on the roof and there were the only spaces.  We exited without paying since there were no spaces available to us.  Becky suggested parking at a meter and did one of her phenomenal parallel jobs, ending up with the Fusion parallel to the curb and four inches away from it. I fed the meter, which ran $1.00 an hour, the bargain of the century except for the free space the evening before.

One of the stores we went into was Ten Thousand Villages, which features the work of craftspeople from all over the world. I saw a canvas messenger bag that looked like something left over from the days of Empire in India. Sure enough, it was from India and about half-price. The nice young lady working in the store said it was one of a kind, a sample made for use in the store which was not picked up for general sales. If you see me with it, it is not a purse.  You can call it a "man bag" or a "messenger bag." (I suppose you could call it whatever you want. It's up to you.)

We had lunch at the Vermont Pub and Brewery at Bank and St. Paul Streets. It was quite good, and recommended to us by Debbie Cobb of the VBMB.

Then we did something I wish we hadn't.  We went down to the waterfront where we paid a flat $8 to park in a parks and rec lot (should have used the meters) and went to the ECHO Aquarium on the waterfront.  Even with a couple of discounts it was $9 apiece. I have had better aquariums in my house.  The "aquarium" was suitable for children about eight years old.  Our advice is, if you are a child or have a child with you, go.  Otherwise avoid it like the plague.  (There was one mildly amusing section, again for kids, called "Grossology" which examined such phenomena as urine, mucus in your nose, throwing up, and flatulence, among others.  Very amusing if you are ten years old.  Maybe I am, mentally.)

The battery in Becky's camera died again so we went back to Radio Shack to see about a new one.  The young woman there gave us one from a new camera. We think the rechargeable did not have much of a life (like me) because it had not been conditioned (discharged and charged five or six times) and the temperatures were in the 50's, which will put a drain on batteries.

We went back to the room to rest and decided to go to Leunig's Bistro and Cafe on College Street. We had been by it several times and were attracted by the traditional French look of the place. Plus, it had good reviews in our Vermont book (which also recommended the ECHO aquarium).

We drove around and around trying to get to a parking lot and ended up in a municipal lot with meters. I thought I would have to feed them (they were a bargain at 25 cents for 35 minutes) but the bartender in the restaurant said there was no charge after 6, which it was about then. We had a half hour wait for a table, so we went down to the waterfront (five blocks downhill going and guess what coming back) where Becky got some nice shots of the sunset.

Our meal at Leunig's was phenomenal.  Wonderfully French, with attentive service.  We got desserts to go.

Afterward, we went to a big two-story Barnes and Noble where I had some coffee and bought a bargain book on home repair.

And so to the hotel, and to bed.

Tomorrow: The Wedding Singer, Part 3: Goin' to the Mountain to Watch Someone Get Married, or, Gone with the Wind