22 | THE HOLIDAY NINJA DOES CONNECTICUT
CONNECT TO CONNECTICUT
BY THE HOLIDAY NINJA
DID you know that there was a daily direct flight from Dublin to Connecticut in the USA? But what exactly can Connecticut offer the holidaymaker? The HolidayNInja has the answer! We travelled with Aer Lingus on their daily
flight from Dublin to Bradley International Airport, Hartford, CT with the relatively short flight time of 5.5-6 hours (only a couple hours more than a flight to the Canary Islands!). On arrival we collected our hire car from
Alamo before hitting the road on our way to the small New England town of Simsbury, roughly 25min outside of Hartford. Our accommodation for the next two days was the Simsbury Inn. Set back from the road, alongside a state park, the hotel was small town New England personified. Our room was spacious with classic decor and breakfast was included. The next morning we were up bright and
early to tackle the 1.25-mile trail to Heublein Tower in Talcott Mountain State Park. With a fairly steep climb accompanied by stunning views over the Farmington River Valley, the
The drive from Simsbury to New Haven
took approximately 1 hour. Our first stop was the Ivy League, Yale University set right in Downtown New Haven. Driving into New Haven you immediately get the feel that this city is different – the architecture, the shops, cafes, delis and tree-lined streets – it very much has that academic/university vibe about it. We arrived at the Yale University visitors
centre for our guided tour with Josh, a current student at Yale, and a fountain of knowledge on all things Yale. Founded in 1691 in a town
Heublein Tower trail certainly gets the heart rate going early in the day. Set just inside the city of limits of Hartford,
a 20-25 minute drive from Simsbury, sits the historical home and museum of the US author Mark Twain. The 25-bedroom house itself is a beautiful red-brick house set inside stunning gardens and incredibly well kept and the author wrote some of his most famous novels in this very house - Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. We had a private tour through the house. Our next destination was not too far from
the Mark Twain House and Museum – in fact no more than a 7-minute drive – Destination: Hartford Yard Goats Minor League Baseball Game at the Dunkin’ Stadium (of Donut fame!). The Yard Goats play in the Eastern Minor League and though you may be hard pushed to have heard of the Yard Goats or any of the other teams in this league (like their opponents, the New Hampshire Fisher Cats), I can tell you that you are in for a treat if you get the chance to see a game. We had a bit of time to
kill after the game and before heading out for dinner, so we walked into Hartford to explore having been advised that Bushnell Park was worth seeing. The city itself is relatively small and compact so easily navigable. We found ourselves at Bushnell Park, in the middle of the city. With ponds and water features throughout it is a place of relaxation in what I would assume is a busy city come Monday morning. After dinner it was back to the Simsbury
Inn for a good night’s sleep before heading off to New Haven, home of the famous Yale University the next day.
called Killingworth with only six students, Yale (named after an English donor, Elijah Yale) later moved to its current New Haven home, the first planned city in the US. The Central campus is large but compact
which made navigating the grounds relatively easy. With it being summer break, the university was quiet, which in some respects was nice in order to be able to take our time walking, talking and admiring the various buildings we visited. Continuing the Yale
Uni theme, we headed off to our next lodging, the aptly named Study at Yale Hotel, a few blocks from the central campus. This quirky, academic, and artsy bespoke hotel is a beautiful place to base yourself while in New Haven. Set in the heart of Yale Uni Art’s district
this is reflected in the décor and atmosphere of the hotel. Despite our sizeable breakfast at IHOP, we
kept hearing rumours of Connecticut being something of a pizza mecca, particularly New Haven. But of course, this had to be put to the test. We went for Frank Pepe’s, located in the
Little Italy district of New Haven and it did not disappoint. On the go since 1925, this pizza house has established itself as one of the best and of course, with that it also comes with recommendations on which pizza to go for. “Try the white clam pizza!” was the general advice and being a seafood lover, it didn’t take much to convince. So, where next? Mystic, CT. You may not
have heard of Mystic before, but the film Mystic Pizza starring Julia Roberts was inspired by a pizza parlour in Mystic. It is the most beautiful riverside small town. We started at the main tourist attraction; Mystic Seaport Museum. The museum shines a light on the maritime nature of Mystic and its importance as a shipbuilding and sea-faring hub. The museum is entirely outside with many of the boats docked by the quayside and accessible to hop onto and explore which was a real highlight. Mystic Village spans both sides of the river
and one of the main features is the large Bascule Bridge which crosses the Mystic River in the centre of town. Crossing the bridge onto Main Street you feel a little bit like you are in a movie, set-in small-town America during the summer break season. One of the key selling points of Connecticut
is its proximity to some of the big cities on the East Coast, with Providence (Rhode Island), Boston and New York City all just a
www.nitravelnews.com
September/October 2023
an ice lolly and drink in the shade we moved south through Manhattan taking in a lot of the sights and sounds, including: Radio City Hall, St Patricks Church, Rockefeller Plaza, Times Square, Ghostbusters Firehouse, Wall Street, The World Trade Centre, 9/11 Memorial, Battery Park, The Staten Island Ferry and Brooklyn Bridge. Last on our list was to head back uptown
to The Edge, another of the newer viewing galleries situated in the revitalised Hudson Yards area of Manhattan. Unlike Summit, this gallery had a large outdoor seating area with glass panels all around – still unnerving mind you when you look down! And with that, over 35,000 steps later, our
day in NYC came to an end. It was back to Penn Station and onto the train back to New Haven.
And so, we arrived at our last day, and
as with any NInja USA trip, that means the outlets! The nearest one to New Haven, and enroute towards Bradley International Airport, was the Clinton Premium Outlets, Clinton, CT. With all the usual designer outlets (Armani, Boss, Calvin Klein & Ralph Lauren), sports outlets (Adidas, Nike, Under Armour) and American apparel outlets (Abercrombie, American Eagle, Aeropostale) this is a compact but well stocked outlet mall and a great stop to stock up on clothes and some bargains before heading home. Following a quick bite to eat at Bobby V’s restaurant and Sports Bar right by Bradley International Airport it was off to our last activity. And somewhat suitably, it was the
New England Air Museum, in Windsor Locks, CT, right by Bradley. If you have an hour or so to put in before
train ride away. So, which would it be for the Ninja? Well, the NYC was calling and with a sub-2 hour direct Amtrack train from Union Station, New Haven into Penn Station, NYC it was off to the Big Apple we went. Our first destination was only a few blocks
away – SUMMIT at One Vanderbilt – one of the newer viewing galleries to join the likes of Empire State, Rockefeller & One World Trade Centre. Upon entry you are given sunglasses and overshoes – seemed a bit strange so I asked – “why the need for these?” The answer: “to protect the mirrors and your eyes!” That certainly got my attention! Once at the top, you make your way round to a viewing gallery with a difference – the floors, ceilings and walls are all mirrors! And when the sun catches them, you see the need of the sunglasses. Further round the experience was a room
full of sliver helium balloons which made for a moment of chaos amongst everyone hitting, kicking, and jumping trying to pose for their Instagram pictures! Being in NYC for the day meant trying to maximise what we could see in a relatively short period of time (12 hours!), so we headed past the Plaza Hotel to Central Park and after
your check-in, this museum is worth a visit. Jam-packed full of both military aircraft (especially focussed on the Vietnam War) and commercial aircraft, some of which you can hop in and look around, this is a great way to see what the USA has to offer in terms of their aircraft. There are a couple of flight simulators (extra charge) should you want to experience what it is like to fly a jet, for example. A pretty cool attraction that has such a convenient location to fit in your schedule. Once back at Bradley International Airport, we checked in and were through security very promptly. We were also treated to complimentary access to the “Escape Lounge” prior to our flight. Connecticut is the absolute PERFECT base
for exploring New England and the Eastern Seaboard of the USA. Whilst it has fantastic proximity to the BIGGER cities, the State has enough going on that you should consider spending a couple of days exploring. The road network is very simple to navigate, even the highways, however the train network is there and within budget, if you don’t fancy driving yourself. The other aspect, that shouldn’t be overlooked, is that CT is a little more “kind on the wallet” for lodging, food and drink, compared to those BIGGER cities!
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64
