How to be a Tourist: Winter in Portland, ME edition

~~Wear good shoes.~~

Wear good boots.

Bring sweaters.

And a great big, super warm coat.

And a hat that covers your ears.

Stay in a really old house that has been converted into apartments that alternates between freezing and too warm.

It’s better if you can’t dry your hair because simply plugging in a hair dryer makes the circuits flip.

Make sure that apartment has a bed that makes it impossible for you to get a full night of sleep.

Also make sure that apartment has wifi so slow you can’t stream Netflix.

That last one sounds like a dig, but honestly, it forces you to read so…

Bring a book or a Kindle.

Drink coffee at Bard, Tandem, Speckled Ax, and Higher Grounds.

Make sure you bring your book to those coffee shops to enjoy both books and coffee at the same time.

Eat the biscuits at Tandem.

Go to The Thirsty Pig even if you don’t eat pork — they have vegan bratwurst!

Wake up at 4am every day because the bed sucks in your AirBnB and read the book you aren’t sure you like.

I’m not kidding about those biscuits.

Meet up with someone you forgot lives there — my choice was a library friend.

Talk libraries all day in front of your boyfriend who knows very little about libraries.

Slip on some invisible ice and do a fun little dance trying to get back up.

Go to the art museum on Friday night (because free!).

Drink the beer!

Eat at Duckfat even though everyone recommended it and you were prepared to be let down. (It’s really good, y’all).

Take a deep breath every chance you get.

Eat some lobster, if that’s your thing.

Go to the Crypotozoology Museum because it’s raining and snowing and you need to be inside for the an hour or so.

Enjoy the time away from obligations for the first time in over a year.

Take more deep breaths.

Finish the book you were reading at 4am when you couldn’t sleep.

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