Such a cool experience in Portland... A tall ship docked next to the Maine State Pier behind RiRa…read moreand The new Science Center. I loved the interactive aspect of this tour. We were taken around by one of the crew members and he showed us the various parts of the ship. I don't know if there are words to describe being on a ship of this size and feeling like you've slipped back in time. This ship was built in 2009 (which was shocking enough) as a replica of a historic Spanish ship. There are crew on the ship that have sailed all over the world. The ship winters in the Caribbean and Florida and travels up the coast... This thing is MASSIVE!! Pay the money and go on this ship!

"General opinion's starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don't…read moresee that. It seems to me that love is everywhere. Often, it's not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it's always there - fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends... If you look for it, I've got a sneaky feeling you'll find that love actually is all around." This quote, from none other than Prime Minister Hugh Grant of "Love Actually" perfectly explains Love Locks here in Portland. Up until February 2013 it was just a fence... a nondescript fence that hundreds of thousands of people passed every year without a second glance... until one night some drunken friends decided to buy padlocks, write a dedication to a loved one on it (for one of the original women, that included her husband and two dogs), lock it on the fence, then dispose of the key. Portland has such a European (where this idea originated from) feel to it, that it only makes sense for us to have our own version of Love Locks, too! Some folks think it's an eye sore... I think it's lovely. So lovely in fact that I may or may not have a lock up there myself (and I may or may not have thrown my key over the fence into the ocean... which I now realize isn't entirely eco-friendly. Dear fishies, please be careful grazing on any new sparkly snacks you might have recently found!). What can I say? I love love. And I love the ocean. And I love this city. And I love romantic gestures. And I love the strong bonds people have with other people, places, and pets. And I love unique forms of art. And I love pretty things. Don't you? Who knows if our Love Locks will stand the test of time. If, over the years, the locks begin to rust and become an eye sore instead of love lore, I would think the city might take it down. So come leave a lock of love for your loved one (be that your mom, your sister, your pet rabbit, your favorite coffee drink, or yourself) now... or at least take the time to read some of the proclamations of passion permanently padlocked here in Portland!

They're locks... on a fence. That's 5 stars right there. haha They're right in the middle of the…read moreOld Port and it was cool seeing it since I've never seen a love locks fence before in person. It is small and insignificant for most, but for it to have a yelp listing -- I had to check it out. They are tons of locks on it and most of them looked recent with in the year. That poor fence is holding on for dear life. If you're a lover want to lock it in -- put a lock on the love locks fence to make it official. That's more lasting than facebook official. Story has it that once you lock it up, that you toss the key in the water over the fence after the fact. Superstition has it that once you lose the key -- your love is locked together forever.

We were delighted to eat out on the back patio on a beautiful evening. Jaxson was our server and…read morehe was top notch. He had wonderful stories about each menu item. We loved the Grecian - a Greek themed mixed appetizer plate with yummy pitas. The only addition that would have been good was a wedge of lemon but we devoured it before asking for one. LOL. We shared the shrimp appetizer- Gamberi e Agrumi- which was cooked perfectly but honestly it was the sauce that stole the show! Pistachio orange honey sauce - mmmm- so good. Then we shared Keftedes which was nice - half vegetarian for me and half lamb/beef. They were good but we couldn't stop thinking about the shrimp sauce. I had some Greek red wine which was fabulous!! We made a note to ourselves to be sure and stop here anytime we are in Brunswick.

Served here is an eclectic mix of Greek and Italian food. Not just the same tired old standards…read more(Parmigiana, Bolognese, Gyros), though they have these as well. The menu is pretty small and the dishes are not fancy, but this is more than made up for by the bold, fresh flavors, less-common ingredients, artful presentation, and generous portions. And equally importantly, creativity. Take the parmigiana, for example. Rather than boring, dry chicken breast theirs are made with boneless thighs, a much more interesting choice. In the carbonara, where you might expect bacon, something better: guanciale. Decorative herbs? Not the common parsley sprigs, instead beautiful purple micro-basil. The pastas: every one is made fresh in house, not dried. Excellent service as well. My waiter, Lucas, could not have been better, in every way. As for the bartender, Russell, the specialty cocktails are his own creations, with whimsical names, ingredients many of which I've never heard of, and the two I tried were fantastic. And he seemed genuinely pleased when I complimented him on this as I was leaving. The only service flaw - minor - was a delay in getting my first drink, which arrived after my appetizer. Appetizer was Arancini. Crunchy coating, and inside a risotto-style rice, al dente, along with asparagus, guanciale, and two cheeses for added interest. A beautiful presentation, artfully drizzled with lemon aioli (the lemon too subtle) and purple micro-basil. Two large pieces, and because I was dining solo I took one home for breakfast - along with half the generously-sized dessert cake. My cocktails: Eve's Temptation: Caraway-thyme infused vodka, Oloroso sherry, Dolin dry vermouth, apple, lemon. Hattan Bow Tie: Basil Hayden bourbon, Cocchi Barolo Chinato, Pernod Absinthe Superiore, flamed orange. Wish I could have tried every one! There's also a very interesting-sounding wine list including a red sparking Lambrusco dessert wine, served chilled, that I wanted to try but didn't. Lucas recommended the special pasta of the day, a simple dish of house-made spaghetti, romano, Calabrian chilis, garlic (lots and lots of it!), parsley, and bread crumbs. I don't normally go for pasta entrees, especially simple ones like this, but in this case it sounded interesting and I trusted his recommendation - after adding the optional grilled shrimp and guanciale. These additions raised the price considerably, but it was so worth it. The fresh pasta was perfectly cooked and the cheeses and bread crumbs added body without making it too heavy. The shrimps were very large, not overcooked, fresh, and loaded with more garlic flavor. The tails were not removed, which always slightly annoys me. The guanciale added smokiness and textural interest. More purple micro-basil for garnish. Pretty to be sure but disappointing to see it again; they used that on the arancini. As for the heat: it was more than mild from the chilis but by no means hot. The most assertive flavor was the garlic, much of it raw. Maybe a bit excessive but I'd rather have too much than too little. A good-sized portion but not huge, just the right amount to feel satisfied but not stuffed. And I left room for dessert! Dessert options were limited, even more so than the entrees. I decided on the pistachio olive oil cake. My take is it's like a pound cake but made with olive oil instead of butter. Olive oil was also drizzled on the plate and over the whipped cream; interesting. Lots of pistachio flavor, in the cake itself and also in the candied pistachios mixed in and sprinkled over the whipped cream which was flavored and firm. I ate one of the two slices and that was enough, taking the rest home. When I opened the box the next day I saw that they had even packed the leftover whipped cream in a small container, and it was still firm, not runny. Impressive. Disappointingly, there are no ice cream or gelato offerings for dessert. Lucas agreed with me that it seems a strange omission for an Italian restaurant. The room is comfortable and attractive, natural wood, old-fashioned cabinets, cork and burlap dominant in the decor. Plant prints, mosaics made from wine corks, an antique dresser in the men's room. The bar, dominant in the room (no TVs - yeah!), is apparently the place to meet and greet in Brunswick. I lost count of the number of hugs exchanged between the many people coming and going over the 90 minutes I was there. No hugs for me but I enjoyed watching the activity.

This was amazing. I'm so glad we decided to go down the coast and take this walk. We decided to go…read moreat sunrise. Although there was overcast, it was still a beautiful walk. I imagined the people who walked this jetty every single day and I was jealous. We didn't tour the lighthouse but we've seen plenty of lighthouses. We've never seen one out a mile though. Don't miss this gem! Be sure to use the bathroom before coming here as we did not see any portapods. Also, wear shoes with hood support. We saw a few wearing flip flops; so t know how they did it. I wouldn't take the risk of tripping.

The ending to a perfect day in Maine? Watching the sunset from a jetty of course!…read more After spending the day exploring coastal areas in southern Maine, we decided to walk the jetty near Wells Harbor/York Beach. We didn't know what to expect when we discovered this spot - so when you come know that there are two jetty's. One you can access from the elongated, sandy parking area on Foster Ln (which was free to use and deserted when we came in early November); and, one you can access from a bigger, concrete parking area at the end of Atlantic Ave (beyond Sage Fishing Charters - it's pay to park here, but I don't know if that's just during the height of the summer season). These jetty's are long (I read somewhere that they're over a mile) stone breakwaters that stretch out relatively far from land into the Atlantic. It's beautiful to walk down and back as you get stunning views of Wells Harbor, the beach on either side, and great for bird watching too (we were captivated by some sanderlings!). It's important to be mindful when walking on jetty's though - these big boulders have crevices between them, so "mind the gap"; if the ocean is rough, you might also get soaked from waves crashing against them! Absolutely worth seeing, especially in the shoulder season when it's got that much more serene, humble feeling to it!

Enjoyed a tasty lunch at Pemaquid Beach. The fried haddock and haddock tacos were so good. It was a…read morelittle too chilly for a beach day, but the beach is beautiful. Very peaceful area, great for families!

Beautiful sand beach, even on a chilly late October day. I can imagine it is a popular spot in the…read moresummer, but made for a lovely fall drop in.

Stopped in at St. Tropez while spending an afternoon at Old Orchard Beach. We dropped in to find…read moresome cheesy clothing for some family members as gifts from our vacation. This store had a ton of OOB items as well as a ton of tacky gimmick attire. The prices were reasonable and they had a ton of inexpensive shirts. We ended up stocking up on gifts for little money. Overall, this is a decent store but there are a ton of similar shops on the strip. The biggest positive was that the staff here was fairly polite.

Yep...this is a thing and it's kind of cool!…read more The name fits for sure...and I suppose the name is easy, entertaining and folks are used to it. But I couldn't help but wonder if it had a history of some sort and/or another name. I had to do some asking around and research to find out the original and/or real name of the statue and it is Chief Passamaquoddy. As the story and/or history of the statue goes: Once upon a time there was a Trading Post/Company (Casco Bay) where the Indian still stands today and it was put up by the owner, Julian Leslie. Apparently, Julian was a jovial person who liked to put junk cars in the parking lot to make it look busy and attract customers. One day he was having lunch in Boothbay and saw their fisherman statue and decided he wanted a statue...and an even bigger statue. He contacted the creator, Rodman Shutt and the rest is history. The statue was erected on 26 Aug 1969...it stands approximately 40 feet tall and weighs around 1500 pounds. He has been repainted a few times over the years, but for the most part he remains the same. The Trading Post is gone, but this piece of history still stands waiting on and greeting visitors today. And if you are wondering what replaced the Trading Post...I don't know, but there is the El Jefe restaurant nearby today. I thought it was pretty cool myself since I like unique things, but I wouldn't go out of my way for it. It is, however, located on US 1 and a lot of folks take this corridor for exploration. For us, we were not only trying to take US 1 to explore, but it was literally in the area we were visiting, so it wasn't really out of the way for me/us. If you are on a road trip and/or visiting the area and this is in your path...why not stop and take a quick look? It is our interest that keeps things like this intact.

As recently as 1983, Bryant Pond (Maine) was still operating a hand-cranked telephone system. The…read moreBryant Pond Telephone Company made the switch and their 431 customers were the last in the United States to be connected to the direct-dial network. To remember the old days, and commemorate the fact that they were special, they built this sculpture in 2008. Local resident Gil Whitman built this 14-foot "candlestock" phone, complete with working crank, as a permanent installation here in Remembrance Park across from the post office. [Review 18549 overall - 101 in Maine - 2071 of 2022.]

Welp, what can I say. It's exactly what it says. It's a big telephone. Cool to see, wouldn't go out…read moreof your way to visit though.

What a cool spot! We went to explore boothbay harbor and we didn't know this bridge was here. It…read moreconnects the two sides so you can go shopping and check out some other spots. They also have benches where you can just sit and enjoy the view. The history is also super neat!

The Boothbay Foot Bridge is part of the local flavor here - a 1,000 foot wooden pedestrian bridge…read morethat connects one side of the harbor to the other (and apparently saves you from a near mile walk around the head of the harbor). The short walk across offers beautiful views of the water and various boats, and both sides have a parking lot, some benches, and are surrounded by an abundance of lovely flora. The original bridge was built in 1901 by Luther Maddocks for $1,500. It had a hand-operated crank that opened the bridge to allow big boats to pass through. As another reviewer mentioned, the bridge has been rebuilt/renovated many times over the years due to ice and bad weather. Absolutely take the time to come walk across here -- spots like this feel like Maine to me!

Great food and upscale restaurant. Service was excellent. Nice bar to sit at as well. Overall…read morehighly recommend

It's been almost 4 years since my last review and since we have returned a couple of times since, I…read morethought I should update it. I have been adding photos along the way. Check them out! We have consistently had great experiences here. Food is always exactly what we hope for when ordering and in some cases, exceeded expectations. The service is always very good. Pleasant, prompt and fun to interact with. The management and staff at this location, are always so professional and well skilled. They definitely help make it a great experience. The environment hasn't really changed - cozy warm living room feel. Upholstered furniture. Still very nice. It's amazing that it doesn't feel worn out, even after all of these years. In the colder days, the fire place and fire pits are nice. Appetizers have been consistently great. The favorites: fresh bread, crab cakes, calamari and meatball Main dishes - any of the specials they offer are typically great. The most recent one I had was the crab cake and burrata risotto. Any pasta dish is usually amazing and I love ALL of their dinner salads with so many protein options you can add. The desserts - the only one that I know and love is the chocolate cake. ALWAYS consistently good! Parking - street and behind the restaurant there is a lower lot - difficult if you have accessibility needs, as it's an angled driveway. Warning - it's a one way in and one way out lot! There are signs, however, I have seen some people either not see them or ignore them. Drive slowly. Reservations - Easy peasy via the Resy App! I highly recommend reservations even on days you think it might be slow. This place is a main hub for the town and surrounding towns for a nice sit down dinner that isn't too casual.