Road Trip Day 3: Burlington, VT

I was too tired last night to elaborate on my day in Burlington, VT, but I would like to reiterate: ILOVERMONT. Honest to God, I fell in love with Burlington to the extent that Jen and I had an actual conversation that contained comments such as "I could absolutely work at UVM" to "That hospital could be my future home" to "We could totally live in those condos." No joke, we found Burlington to be a little slice of heaven.

I owe my great friend, Jess, a good deal of credit for helping to make our stop in Burlington so wonderful. As a UVM alum, she had fantastic recommendations for us on how to take advantage of some gems in this great place.

On Sunday night, after the hotel desk attendant fell in love with me at first sight, we headed downtown for dinner. Taking Jess's recommendation, we decided on Trattoria Delia, and had a fabulous Italian dinner. We had some wine, some cheese, some meats, and some pasta, and all of it was absolutely delish. We then stopped at What Ales You, a local bar, where I had a Magic Hat #9 and Jen had some other local beer. (If we recall this at a later date, I'll let you know.) We weren't impressed by the bar tender at What Ales You, but we did enjoy the local brews.

After a good night's rest, we headed out early on Monday to explore Burlington. First, we headed to UVM and checked out the campus as well as the nearby hospital (which has a connection to UVM). We were impressed by the campus, particularly the architecture of some of the older buildings. It's evident that UVM is the 5th oldest university in the country when you see some of these buildings as they reminded me of architecture I've seen in Europe. We swung by John Dewey's house because the educator in me felt this was appropriate.

Next we headed to Lake Champlain Chocolates where we were given an overview of how chocolate is grown, harvested and produced, and in particular, how this little company produces amazing chocolates that are sold locally as well as shipped nationally. We got to sample different types of chocolates (white, milk, dark, and darker) as well as a truffle, a covered roasted almond, a caramel, and a peanut butter five star bar. As Jen noted, "The peanut butter sample was like an orgasm in your mouth." Needless to say, we enjoyed the chocolates.

After our chocolate tasting, we headed lakeside to check out the views of Lake Champlain. It was a fairly nice day, a little cold, but we had a delightful time walking out on the docks, seeing the North and South Lighthouses, and taking in the view of the mountains in the distance. Next, we headed to Church Street Marketplace and wandered this pedestrian area with a variety of eclectic shops and restaurants.

After our strolling downtown, we decided to have lunch at another of Jess's recommendations, New World Tortilla. I haven't had a good burrito in ages and Jen loves Mexican food so we decided to try this out. It was worth it. Jen had the Thai Chicken Burrito and I had the regular Beef Burrito. We both agreed that the tortillas were the best we've ever had. Glorious lunch.

From lunch, we headed out to Magic Hat Brewery which is probably the most unique brewery I've ever been in. Such a fun atmosphere. Unfortunately, we could only do the self-guided tour, but we did get to see beer being bottled at mass production. We also were able to sample a few beers. I enjoyed the Circus Boy while Jen enjoyed the Single Chair. We also really liked the young woman who served us; she had great personality and actually understood the hospitality necessary for a job in the hospitality industry.

You would think that by this point, we were probably stuffed full of chocolates, burritos, and beer and we couldn't possibly eat anymore, but we had one more necessary stop to make - Ben & Jerry's. We headed south to Waterbury to take the factory tour and see how this magical ice cream is made. The factory was a fun and colorful place, but it had two small downsides. One, they do not allow you to take photos of their production proccess, and two, they decide what sample of ice cream you get. We had a sample of orange creamsicle, which was good, but I would have preferred something with chocolate. I know, like I didn't have enough earlier? Ha.

I think it's safe to say we ate our way through Vermont. And like I said, I loved every minute of it. I just may have to explore it as a possibility for my future.