The second I turned 15-and-a-half (legal driving age in New Hampshire), my friends and I went to Portsmouth, the cool place to hang out away from our parents. It\u2019s been a few years since then, but I\u2019m happy to find Portsmouth hasn\u2019t lost its cool factor.<\/p>\n
Portsmouth is often compared to Portland \u2014 maybe Portland\u2019s cute little sister who really likes\u00a0indie rock<\/a>, french\u00a0toast<\/a>\u00a0and Rocky Horror. The two have a lot in common: They both love the ocean, beer and twisty old streets. They\u2019re both historic, walkable and filled with art stores that have to satisfy locals and tourists.\u00a0Portsmouth has so much that we\u2019re going to have a full guide up soon*. Plus, at only 50 minutes away, Portsmouth is a lot closer to Portlanders than Rockland, Bar Harbor, Bangor and most of the rest of Maine.<\/p>\n You could spend an entire day window-shopping in Portsmouth, and if you go you probably will. Poke around the book stores, cafes, thrift shops (there are lots of them, some with sequined pants, just sayin\u2019), breweries and historic neighborhoods or catch a show\/movie at the beautiful\u00a0Portsmouth Music Hall<\/a>.<\/p>\n DESTINATION<\/strong>: Downtown Portsmouth, NH, about 50 minutes from Portland. If you go, here are some places to check out:<\/p>\n Every little city needs that killer coffee-beer-books-wifi combo space. In Portsmouth, it\u2019s Book & Bar.<\/p>\n After some window-shopping in downtown\u2019s Market Square, this is a nice little (air-conditioned\/heated \u2013 pick your season) respite. You can order a local beer with a grilled cheese (with hot\u00a0pepper jelly) or coffee and a cookie while perusing the Pollan, Atwood and Nabokov hardcovers in the sale section. A few New Hampshire beers (or ciders) are usually on tap, plus some other New England breweries, lesser-known West Coast brews get a couple taps too.<\/p>\n It can get pretty busy. The cafe doesn\u2019t offer wifi on the weekends to cut down on all those aspiring novelists who might otherwise spend all Saturday morning at the counter with their MacBooks. Darn aspiring novelists.<\/p>\n Book & Bar is at 40 Pleasant St. It\u2019s open every day 9 a.m.-10 p.m., open until midnight on weekends. More info at\u00a0bookandbar.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cGood stuff \u2014 not cheap\u201d is an understatement, or overstatement, depending. It\u2019s the sign I saw at about 93 Daniel St.\u00a0I was headed to get a cappuccino\u00a0at the German caffe next door (Kaffee Vonsolln \u2014 it was great, btw) when I saw Emilio come down his steps and unchain his sign. When I asked if he was open, he began to test me. He pulled out a drawing of a mouse in a white tuxedo with the caption, \u201cHere\u2019s looking at you, kid.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s this from? This fine drawing with watercoloring?\u201d After a cappuccino next door (perhaps not coincidentally, with chocolate shavings), I headed back to find Emilio hadn\u2019t cleaned up (he apologized), but was instead arguing with a customer. No, he would not sell that. No, he can\u2019t do $10 for that.<\/p>\n \u201cShe won\u2019t leave me alone,\u201d he told me about another customer who was trying to buy \u2026 anything, it seemed. I poked around the Audrey Hepburn mugs, the $150 heavy cast iron dutch oven (one of the only priced items in the store) and the stuffed animals before finding something useful.\u00a0I snagged\u00a0a small hand-held panini press (shaped like two scallops) that you might bring camping and a chess grater. I pulled $5 from my pocket and handed Emilio\u00a0the money.<\/p>\n \u201cOh no no no,\u201d he said, taking the aluminum (tin?) camping panini press from me. \u201cWhat do you want to do with this? What do you think this is for?\u201d He shook my hand, asked my name and said goodbye.<\/p>\n Emilio\u2019s yard sale store doesn\u2019t have a name. I suspect he lives there. I suspect he won\u2019t sell you anything. If you go, bring cash and your Latin books \u2014 he\u2019ll appreciate it.<\/p>\n Emilio\u2019s place is near\u00a0Kaffee Vonsolln (79 Daniel St.), doesn\u2019t have hours, probably doesn\u2019t have a phone, no website and no name. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n After all that haggling, how about some serenity? Six minutes (walking) from Emilio\u2019s yard sale store is the ever-pretty Trial Gardens in Prescott Park. The park is green and occasionally has free music (every Wednesday night) or theater (most weekend days) or movies (Monday nights). But it also has wharfs where you can watch the Terns dive (or the teenagers make out, as the case may be).<\/p>\n You\u2019re now near Strawberry Banke (an outdoor living history museum) and State Street, which has a bunch of shops. Pickwick\u2019s Mercantile has gifts like tea, bracelets, cologne, hand-made candles, etc \u2014 everything beautifully arranged, right down to the store\u2019s color-coordinated bookshelf, offering a rainbow of spines. There\u2019s also a cupcake shop, a dog boutique, The Red Door Lounge (for a late-night drink and some music every Monday night).<\/p>\n Prescott Park is on Marcy Street. It\u2019s free. All the program listings are\u00a0available at\u00a0prescottpark.org<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n \n *Don\u2019t worry, we will have The Friendly Toast\u00a0in the guide.<\/em><\/p>\n Get out of dodge (at least for a little while) with a mini adventure. These excursions can be done in a day \u2013 sometimes an afternoon \u2013 and will hopefully lead you to places you\u2019ve never been. This is Maine, after all, and we all need some adventuring.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Nice write up in Portland-based Maine magazine. PORTSMOUTH, NH: EXPLORE THIS FUN LITTLE CITY\u2019S BREWERIES, PARKS, SHOPS AND TRY TO MEET EMILIO Written by:\u00a0Heather Steeves –\u00a0staff writer\u00a0–\u00a0hsteeves@mainetoday.com The second I turned 15-and-a-half (legal driving age in New Hampshire), my … Continue reading ![\"mini\"](\"http:\/\/mainetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/mini-e1409079228858.jpg\")
<\/a><\/h2>\nTHE BASICS<\/h2>\n
\nHOW MUCH<\/strong>: $9 for a flight of beer.
\nWHO<\/strong>: You, probably. Portsmouth is best if you have another reason to go, like if you are already planning to catch a concert.
\nWHY<\/strong>: It\u2019s close by, quirky and super walkable.
\nWHEN<\/strong>: Autumn and spring are nice because everything is open, but the tourists have migrated elsewhere.<\/p>\n![\"collage_booksbeer\"](\"http:\/\/mainetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/collage_booksbeer.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nBOOK &\u00a0BAR<\/h1>\n
\n![\"This](\"http:\/\/mainetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/emil-copy-e1409070493525.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nSEE IF THE YARD SALE STORE IS OPEN<\/h1>\n
\n\u201cCasablanca.\u201d
\n\u201cHow did you know that? Do you know where the word \u2018hearth\u2019 comes from,\u201d he asked.
\n\u201cNo,\u201d I said.
\nHe gave me an etymology lesson.
\n\u201cAre you open?\u201d I asked.
\n\u201cNo. I have to clean up first. Go get a coffee and then I\u2019ll let you in. You know, in Germany you don\u2019t order the coffee. You buy some chocolate, sit down and begin shaving it. They\u2019ll bring you a cappuccino. You put the chocolate on and (smacked his lips).\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\u201cPaninis? Maybe for making eggs when I go camping,\u201d I said.
\n\u201cThis is very old, valuable,\u201d he said, \u201cyou put your bread here, then your filling here, then put it over heat,\u201d he said. \u201cI can do it for $15.\u201d
\n\u201cSorry,\u201d I said, putting the money back in my pocket.
\n\u201cTake this for example,\u201d he said, taking a mashed potato hand-masher from a jar near me. \u201cYou buy this at Wal-Mart it will cost you $7. But it will break and you\u2019ll need to buy four of them in your life. You buy this one for $15 and you\u2019ll only need one.\u201d
\n\u201cTrue,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
\n![\"park\"](\"http:\/\/mainetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/park-e1409071777966.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nNOW GO TO THE PARK<\/h1>\n
\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/mainetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/MiniGRAPHIC-300x248.jpg\")
<\/a><\/span><\/p>\nMORE MAINE MINI ADVENTURES<\/h3>\n
CHECK OUT ALL THE MAINE MINI ADVENTURES<\/a><\/h3>\n
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