Performance weekend in New Britain, CT

Dave and I returned from Hartford, CT this past weekend. Hartford is known as the "Insurance Capital of the World"; i.e. Hartford Insurance? Our trip reason was to see my eldest sister's youngest son; Matthew debut his concert performance in New Britain, CT with the New Britain Symphony. Matthew recently graduated from SUNY Purchase as a percussionist and performed Áskell Másson's Konzertstück for snare drum. Áskell is a composer from Iceland. Matthew has incredible talent and I told him afterwards how impressed I was by the piece and how it struck me as industrial-like as there were moments in the music where I could hear the tug of a train engine and the hum of an airplane. It was unique; different and very well performed.

Matthew after his performance:


We arrived in Hartford on Saturday afternoon. Dave and I took a lovely fall stroll through the park in Hartford; specifically Bushnell Park. We got there late in the afternoon and a health fair was just wrapping up. We walked through with the sun on our backs but it was definitely cool and crisp; a typical New England fall afternoon. The park is situated near the State Capitol Building. Unfortunately we got there too late in the afternoon and missed the last Saturday afternoon tour. We walked the entire circumference of the building then made our way through downtown Hartford seeing other historic buildings and landmarks such as the Old Statehouse; the Hartford Public Library, the Ancient Burying Ground of Hartford and the Wadsworth Antheneum Museum of Art.

After touring Hartford we made our way into a bar; McKinnon's Irish Pub for a hot beverage and a late afternoon snack. We stayed at the Hilton in Hartford. My nephew David stayed there as well. Matthew and my sister Sherri stayed in New Britain. We all met that evening for dinner at a local restaurant called Trumball Kitchen; a member of the MAX Restaurant Group. Dave and I shared an awesome fondue as well as a "stone pie" or pizza. Truth be told; while the fondue was tasty; we have had better pizzas. The drinks were good and the atmosphere was nice as well.

We learned on Saturday evening; sadly that we would not be able to have our schedule hot air balloon ride the next day due to the wind levels. We called to confirm our Sunday morning lift off only to hear a schedule recording that the flights had been cancelled due to the winds. We were crushed! We were so looking forward to seeing the leaves from above. On Sunday Dave and I drove through Elizabeth Park and saw the beautiful rose gardens and changing leaves on the trees. We got some great shots of the neighboring communities as well.

Matthew's performance was at 3:00 pm on Sunday so we drove from Hartford to New Britain and while there are places to go and things to see; it was pretty obvious that Sundays are not the days to attempt that. Each place we tried to sneak in and get under our belts was closed. So we opted to drive around Stanley Quarter Park and watched a soccer game and took more photos of the gorgeous trees.

Nice colorful trees at Stanley Park:


After Matthew's performance David drove back to Maryland and Matthew back to Port Chester. Sherri remained the night and we met up for lunch the next day as we flew back and she drove back home to New Hartford. Sunday night Dave and I ventured over to Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, CT (about an hour's drive from New Britain) and tried our hands there but gave up pretty quickly and settled for a nice dinner instead.

It was a quick getaway but a lovely fall getaway and a definite recommend. We are home for the holidays folks. No travels for Thanksgiving or Christmas so we wish you all a safe and healthy holiday and look forward to posting again in the New Year. Check back in January as we have an adventure to Puerto Rico.

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