My sister & brother in law live in Portland, ME and as it is only about a 45 minute to an hour drive from Portsmouth, it can be an awesome place to go for a day trip or for a night. I’ve been up a few times this summer and have gotten to experience different things every time. On this past trip, I went up with my parents on a Saturday morning as I actually had a rare Saturday off of work (which is very exciting for me)! First we headed to the Portland Farmers Market, which occurs in Deering Oaks Park every Saturday from 7AM-1PM and also on Wednesdays in Monument Square. I’m used to the Portsmouth Farmers Market which is decent sized but the Portland one was huge and offered an awesome array of fresh veggies, flowers, meats, & other goods. There was also some fruit but not a ton. I ended up buying dandelion greens, baby eggplants, sour cherries, & blueberries. Unfortunately, I failed to take any photos but suffice to say, the spread of local products was amazing. Check out more info on the Portland Farmers Market here if you’re interested!
Next, we headed downtown to walk around & stopped in some stores. Although I didn’t buy anything on this particular day, I did manage to snap a few shots of different stores that had interesting or unique products.
Se Vende Imports had some awesome unique, handcrafted jewelry items many of which I really loved. Price is varying; some items were in the $10-$20 range, while others were much more expensive. It is dependent on what exactly the piece is. You can check out more info on them and some of their jewelry here!
The second store I enjoyed was Earthbound Trading Co. They featured a wide variety of products including clothing, jewelry, accessories, home decor, & more. I especially liked their maxi skirts and headbands and they also had very cool backpacks. i would say overall the store has a hippie-chic aesthetic and their website is here if you’re interested. It looks like they have many locations for anyone interested who is not local to the area.
Following our downtown shopping adventures, we headed to Brian Boru for lunch, although we found out when we arrived they were serving brunch still. I am forever a lover of breakfast food above all other kinds of food so this made me happy. We were able to sit outside on the upper deck area which gave a cool view of the water. They were offering $2 mimosas and bloody marys as brunch specials and $4 manmosas, a mimosa in a pint glass so of course I had to partake in a mimosa. I had the corned beef hash, which I thoroughly enjoyed as it tasted and looked homemade instead of like it came out of a can.
My dad also had the corned beef hash, while my mom & Seamus had the veggie home fries & Melissa had the burger. Everyone’s meals looked good and being able to sit on the deck was a huge perk as it was a gorgeous day outside.
Our next stop was up in Freeport to visit the LL Bean outlet and check out some of the other outlets as well. I am a huge fan of outlet shopping as I live very close to the Kittery outlets so I get over there frequently and I stopped by the Merrimack outlets recently as well Outlet shopping means there are always sales which I am all for.
The area where the Freeport outlets are located is great for walking around outside and although I didn’t buy anything, I got a good idea of the pricing for backpacks & tents which I am in the market for due to future hiking and camping trips we have planned. Tents are expensive though! We have a camping weekend in Acadia National Park planned for the end of September which I am super excited about and I am debating the merits of buying a tent versus borrowing one from someone.
Some other places I highly suggest checking out if you make a day/overnight trip to Portland:
Duck Fat, which specializes in fries cooked in duck fat. They are so heavenly they make me not want to eat any other fries & they have an array of different dipping sauces you can choose from to accompany them. Also awesome: the pork belly panini and although I haven’t tried any of the milkshakes yet, I plan to and I will report back when I do.
Silly’s, my sister’s favorite restaurant which features so many delicious yet weird sounding dishes. But seriously, if it sounds weird, order it cause chances are it’ll taste great. I can personally vouch for the fried pickles & sweet potato fries. Also receiving rave reviews from friends & family: the big fat greek dinner and the chicken in a boat. Their milkshakes are also to die and they have alcoholic milkshakes (what could be better?). If you have a sweet tooth, I’ve only had it once quite a few years ago but I still remember absolutely loving the cocoa-doodle-doo.
Portland Greendrinks, which occurs the second Tuesday of every month. It costs just $5 to get in if you bring your own vessel and features typically 4 or 5 local breweries who serve beer until they run out. As far as I’m aware, they don’t limit how much you drink although you do have to get there early because they tend to run our fairly fast due to the large amount of people attending.
I’ll be posting again soon with some good places to shop in downtown Portsmouth, a look at one of my favorite hidden gems here on the seacoast, and some details on some of the outfits I’ve been wearing lately & where I buy my clothes. Plus I have a few more restaurant reviews in the works!
Coffee Chocolate Clothes 