Sunday, February 24, 2008

Peeking Over The Fence




We found ourselves heading north on Rte. 5 this afternoon, looking for lunch. We stopped in the town of Bernardston, just short of the northern border of the state. We decided to check out Antonio's II, the "Taste of Italy in Bernardston", for a couple slices of pizza and a grinder.




It's not hard to find, being right at the intersection in town. The intersection, I think. The small restaurant has a cool little arcade, with some oldies. Oh yes, I threw a couple quarters in while I waited for my grinder.





They serve some local brews like People's Pint and Berkshire Brewing. Witness this 22 0z behemoth:



After lunch we continued on Rte. 5 and crossed the border into Guilford Vermont, then on into Brattleboro.







Brattleboro is a unique town. The vibe is a little bit like Northampton. But Brattleboro makes do without the benefit of being close to several huge colleges, and the flood of students half the year. The town bills itself as an artist haven, and it appears they do take art seriously here, and encourage it among the kids in the schools. The last time I was here there were several paintings from elementary students on display along the main street, and today we saw these surrealistic drawings on display in a store window, drawn by some local 8th graders :



Getting the kids used to sellng their art, I suppose, as a lot of the local artists do...






Whatever they're doing, it's working. I don't think I saw one closed storefront on any of the downtown streets we walked through. Brattleboro is a great place to walk around. And walk around we did, exploring the cafes, book stores, record stores, antique stores, and outdoor outfitter stores.














The Northampton vibe I mentioned...





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