A Venture to Noho and all I got were 24 pictures of us!

The ways that I love the pioneer valley are innumerable. JRD and I recently went to Northampton, MA, where I lived for a year and have been visiting my whole life. We needed a day for ourselves and the atmosphere of this little western mass city. To start, (like most treat days or trip days or any excuse days) we went right to a cafe - one of probably a dozen up in this town.

The Woodstar Cafe has a productive, thoughtful and ever expanding bakery. They make their own bread, bagels and delicious pastries. Here, I have enjoyed the most satisfying eclair to date and one of the more satisfying lattes. I know less about coffee than I do about sweets but I always thoroughly enjoy their espresso drinks. They roast their own coffee at a different shop of theirs off route 9 called, Esselon Cafe (I love it here too, they have a bigger cafe/bistro menu as well). Hot chocolates are an afternoon's undertaking and thick with indulgence. The atmosphere is littered with students, academics, artists, former hippies, constant pathfinders, lesbians, free range children, free thinking parents, trans people, transplants and valley folks who have been there for generations. They will all get on your nerves at some point but its nice to soak it all in and assess where I am.


We visited a few stores:
Faces, a fun browse and usually a great place for a cheap gift or treat for yourself.
Essentials, the same description as Faces but with a french borgouise twist and without the word, cheap (still worth a browse!).
Lots of places in Thornes market, but most importantly, we spent the entirety of our afternoon at the photomaton booth on the second floor. Just a classic black and white strip of 4 pics that we theme as deemed necessary. On this trip, we made a narcisistic valentine, depicted fruits and veggies, retold the story of Hannah Jumper, showed the decline of a hairdo, played with collars, reinacted favorite memories for a friend and did a variaton on our favorite theme fall backs, the menagerie and the menagerie of emotions. You have never seen or known self-love like us in a photomaton.

The day got rather late as it only can when we are taking pictures of ourselves. Not sure how best to satisfy our needs and also get on the road, we went to Herrell's, the ultimate ice cream shop destination. I find the chocolate whip cream to be the perfect way to top their peanut butter shake, this of course, when I am not just wanting just a bowl of pure sweet cream, or trying one of their more unusual flavors. Be careful! There are a couple bastard versions of Herrell's or Steve's around the commonwealth, but, the original is the thing!

We got onto 91 South happy, tired and full, but knew that there was much we didn't do.

As for places to eat:

Osaka is the choice place for sushi and perfect for a mixed crowd. They offer lots of options for vegetarians (the bhudda roll is avocado and peanuts!) and for people who just plain old, don't like sushi. The best seats are on the sun porch anytime of year.

Viva Fresh Pasta is a little italian place that makes its own pasta and sauces and the diner can mix and match them. They offer a regular menu which has many good things on it. But they always have a great special ravioli and when in doubt they have egg fettuccini and an alfredo sauce that I always want whether I order it or not.

India House is an Indian Restaurant in a house (and thus the name) and reliably good. If I recall correctly it is a favorite take your parents to, or special occasion place among the co-eds in the area.

Sylvester's is a scrumptious place for breakfast, plus it is in the house of Sylvester Graham, inventor of...Graham Crackers!

Kathy's Diner on Strong Avenue is a place to go for the experience and the price.

As for things to do:

Pleasant Street Movie Theatre is a fun little place with funny, tiny screen rooms and good popcorn. They show independent films or the more thoughtful studio films. No giant blockbusters here. They have a great rental store too!

Lots of good music comes through here of all kinds. There are a few different places, all with their own atmosphere, and mostly in the Iron Horse entertainment group. The Iron Horse venue is my favorite. Go early for a good seat and have a snack or dinner!

Despite my allegiance to the original women's college, the Smith College Art Museum usually has interesting exhibits and can be worth a trip. Plus it is small, so it won't take up your day!

There are beautiful places to walk around, just in the town, around the college, in parks, and around farms.