New Haven CT

LA QUINTA INN - NEW HAVEN

We made a reservation for 1 night stay and we were given a twin double-bed room facing the wharf. For US85 per night, not only did we have a clean spacious room with super comfy beds, there was also complimentary breakfast and free wireless internet!

The view wasn't that great but still it was a waterview! I was worried about traffic noise but I could hardly hear anything.

And Ikea was right next door! We went there for some window shopping to get some home deco ideas and had our dinner there.

MUSEUMS/GALLERIES

There are many museums and galleries in New Haven. As we didn't have a lot of time to spare, we picked 2 to visit - Yale University Art Gallery and the Yale Center for British Art.

Photography was restricted to certain areas but I managed to photograph this painting of Mao by Andy Warhol...one of my most favorite pop artists!

There are also numerous sculptures on display in courtyard of the Yale University Art Gallery.

The Center of British Art has the largest collection of British Art outside of the UK. Unfortunately, I was required to deposit my backpack/camera bag so no photography of the inside of the gallery....but trust me, there are some wonderful art pieces and you really should pop in for a visit if you are in New Haven. Admissions to the Yale University Art Gallery & Center for British Art are free.

FOOD

Compared to many other places, eating out in New Haven is relatively inexpensive. Maybe 'cos it's a university town and most of the customers are students on shoestring budgets.

We especially liked the bookstore-cum-cafe concept which seemed very popular as most of such places were packed.

The below photos were taken at the Atticus Bookstore Cafe - great snacks and coffee/drinks at very reasonable prices.

The brownie dusted with a generous coating of cocoa powder tasted heavenly!

We had lunch at this japanese restaurant called Sushi on Chapel. The lunch bento sets cost 10 bucks and the food and serving sizes were very good! Unfortunately, I was too excited with my bento that I forgot to take some photos for my blog. And we got a bottle of hot sake for 1 buck...can you believe it?!!

We also ate at a Thai restaurant called Thai Pan Asian Restaurant and Bar which received a pretty decent review by New York Times. We both went for the all-you-can-eat lunch buffet and the price - USD7.50 per pax!! There was rice, noodles, curries, meats, vegetables, soup and even dessert - tapioca in coconut milk...yumz!

A last cup of coffee at the bookstore cafe before we left New Haven!

SHOPPING

There are actually a couple of huge factory outlet malls near New Haven but they don't interest me that much. For shopping, I made RG drive me to the nearest thrift store. I love vintage stuffs and I don't mind using/wearing 2nd hand goods...so thrift stores are such a fun shopping place for me. The eclectic stuffs that you can often find in the thrift stores will make your creative juice flow!

We left the store with 2 vintage bedspreads which I'll probably reclaim for my craft projects and RG also found this amazing set of solid wood containers which we are planning to sand down and repaint. And all these for less than 10 bucks...not to mention that it's such a great way to REDUCE, REUSE & RECYCLE!

AROUND NEW HAVEN

These were some of the many interesting sights around New Haven. Enjoy!