Baltimore!

Remember that trip I was keeping a secret from Anthony? Well, last week we took a roadtrip to Baltimore to celebrate his birthday!  It was a new city to us both and we really enjoyed our short, but sweet, visit. 

There was very little traffic driving south on a Friday afternoon and we arrived on time at the Inn at 2920, which is located in the Canton area just a couple of blocks from the water.  It was our first time staying at an inn and it was a real treat.  The renovated home has 5 rooms, tons of amenities, great breakfast and lovely owners and innkeepers.  I loved that the Inn was in a neighborhood with young professionals and lively O'Donnell Square was just a block away.  It really gave us a feel for what it would be like to actually live in the city. 

Baltimore reminded me of so many cities that I've been to before.  The numerous neighborhoods (I think I read there are more than 30) reminded me of New York City.  Fell's Point, with its cobblestone streets and numerous bars, felt like Boston.  And for some reason, the kitchy Hampton area, home of the great John Waters, reminded me of the Hillcrest area in San Diego.  In and of itself, Baltimore has tons of history and is really quite similar to Washington DC though, a city we fell in love with just this January. 

We were in Baltimore for less than 48 hours but we tried to see lots of different sides of the city.  In Little Italy, we had Italian ice and gelato at the famous Vaccaro's, and then went to see a movie with the locals at the Landmark Theater in Harbor East (there's a bar in the lobby so the crowd is mostly adults).  We drove through Federal Hill, spent some of Saturday afternoon near the water at Fell's Point and ate at the delicious Nacho Mama's right near our hotel. 

Two of the best things we did were go to the annual HonFest in Hampden (tons of people, tasty fair food, awesome shops and so many beehived ladies!) and take in an Orioles game at Camden Yards.  The stadium is beautiful and the crowd was really into the game (the visiting team was the Mets so it felt like all of the New Yorkers followed us on our trip!). 

Overall, our trip to Baltimore was a real success.  Anthony had a great birthday and we were able to spend the entire weekend together alone, which never happens.  I'm really looking forward to our next trip in August, although we're not sure yet of our destination. 

Some pictures from our trip:

   

(From Top: The Pomfret Room at the Inn at 2920, Honfest in Hampden,

Camden Yards, Anthony and I after a very long and humid day)