Hartford Off The Beaten Path

Marquis de Lafayette was born at the castle of Chavagnac, in Auvergne, 6 Sept 1757 died in Paris 20 May 1834. He heard of the Declaration of Independence and right away was eager to go to America. It took him a while, but on 14 June 1777 he landed in the U.S. Lafayette was at first met with a rather cold reception; but after he had declared his wish to serve as a volunteer and at his own expense, Congress (31 July, 1777) appointed him major-general. The next day he was introduced to Washington, and the life-long friendship between the two was at once begun. His military skills helped the Revolutionary Army a lot. He later went back to France to become an elected member of the chamber of deputies until his death.

His monument is to find at the crossroad Capitol Ave. and Washington St.

I hear you say: "Yet another court?" LOL We happened to park the car right in front of this court building. As a lawyer I am interested in courts, so sue me ;-) The building caught my attention - it's really beautiful - Federal Style I'd say, thus built around 1800.

The history of the Appellate Court is interesting, however. To quote their website:
"On November 2, 1982, the voters of Connecticut approved a constitutional amendment providing for the establishment of the Connecticut Appellate Court. The legislation implementing the amendment was passed on June 28, 1983, effective July 1, 1983. Governor William O'Neill appointed the original five judges of the court on August 9, 1983. Their terms began on August 15, 1983, and the court heard its first cases on October 4, 1983.

The original purpose of adding an intermediate constitutional court to the judicial spectrum was to alleviate the backlog in the Supreme Court, to provide appellate review to a larger number of litigants, to provide the bar with more published decisions relating to appellate motion practice, to reduce the time-lag between the filing of appeals and the publication of opinions, and to provide some litigants with a less expensive appellate procedure by eliminating the necessity of printed briefs."

75 Elm Street, Hartford

These have their home in the Supreme Court building which is located right opposite the State Capitol. The building is about 100 years old, a quite impressive structure. I didn't have the time to visit any of those institutions - next time then. Tours of the Library and the Court are offered during office hours and the museum has regular opening hours, of course.

231 Capitol Ave.,
Hartford, CT 06106

This is another place that was on my *must* list, but unfortunately we were too late for this house and museum. Too bad since it is located right next to Mark Twain's house - I had to make the decision between those two. Mark Twain won.

Her best known novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852), changed how people viewed the institution of slavery. It resonates with an international audience as a masterful literary work and protest novel. Of course I read it as a child and was deeply touched.

She's been living in that house for 33 years. A visit to the Stowe Center begins with the Harriet Beecher Stowe House, a charming Victorian Gothic Revival home (1871), and includes Victorian-style gardens, the Katharine Seymour Day House (1884), a grand mansion adjacent to the Stowe House, and the Stowe Visitor Center (1873), with changing exhibitions and the museum store.

Opening hours:
Wed-Sat: 9:30-4:30PM
Sun: Noon - 4:30PM
Tue: June - October 9:30-4:30PM

77 Forest Street
Hartford, CT 06105

Admission for tours is a bit less than for Mark Twain's house, about $9 for the house only and $11 for the whole grounds.

One evening while visiting Hartford, I drove 30 miles north to Springfield, Massachusetts for the Big E. The Big E is the name of the huge fair run by the Eastern States Exposition during the last two weeks of September every year. In addition to popular attractions and games, the Big E has houses with exhibitions from each of the New England states: Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine. There is also a large arena stage for the many popular music acts that perform during the two-week period in which the fair is held.

If you are in New England during the last two weeks of September, be sure to check out the Big E!

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This is for people that enjoy the following: mountain biking, hiking/backpacking, rock climbing, road cycling, horseback riding, and camping.

Check out www.CTXGuide.com to find huge resources of all kinds of outdoor adventure activities. The site has free topo maps with tons of trails without any fees or registration!

Hartford surprised me. There were a lot more cultural events happening here than I ever imagined to be. My friends living here are artsy types, so they took me to many interesting venues such as this one.

Real Art Ways is amazing; it is a contemporary arts center. It houses a theater that shows independent and foreign films, it houses art galleries, and it hosts many music and spoken word type performances. I came here to see a Bhutanese film entitled "Travellers and Magicians" - I highly recommend it by the way. While waiting for the film to play I heard an experimental electronic music group play some really off-beat compositions. They even have monthly cocktail hours if you wanna mingle with fellow artsy folks in Hartford. Look at the website for current movie showings, galleries, and concerts.

It's an incrediibly beautiful park and can be a good break from the bustle of traveling. During the summer months there is an immense rose garden that is well worth the trip. It's free parking and there's a fine restaurant in the garden where you can bring your own booze- a novelty in CT where liquor is tightly regulated. Lots of pensive fun!