Mark Twain described Hartford as "the most beautiful city he had ever seen", and what we saw of it is beautiful! Our first "adventure" in the city was The Mark Twain House and Museum http://www.marktwainhouse.org/man/biography_main.php, where the author lived from 1874 to 1891 when he created Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. It is a beautiful Victorian mansion and its history, as well as Mark Twain's and his family, is quite fascinating. I left feeling the urge to be witty and profound but, unfortunately, I can't think of anything that doesn't sound lame after spending the day surrounded by reminders of his wonderful wit and wisdom...oh well!
Our next "adventure" was to "walk next door" to the Harriet Beecher Stowe museum and her Victorian Gothic-Revival cottage-style house http://www.harrietbeecherstowecenter.org/visit/hbs_house.shtml, where she lived from 1873 until her death in 1896. Her famous anti-slavery novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin, was only one of 30 books she authored, and the museum uses her story to inspire social justice and positive change.
Unfortunately these two fun and interesting "adventures" did not leave us a lot of time to explore Hartford, but we were able to go by the State Capitol Building, a gold-domed High Victorian-Gothic building completed in 1878, and Connecticut's Old State House, the country's oldest Capital building built in 1796.
We could not take pictures inside the museums and houses, but we do have a few to share.
Hartford, Connecticut
Mark Twain House & Museum
A nice couple from Alabama (can't remember their names)
This statue was totally made with Legos!
The two kids were 4 and 7. They were with their grandmother working on a school project as, in the little boy's words, "inspectors". They were so cute and well behaved, raising their hand when they had questions. On their clipboard was a sheet of pictures that they had to find in the house and write down the room it was in.
We enjoyed talking to this couple, Sandy and Seth from Mississippi, after the tour.
The Connecticut State Capital Building
Connecticut's Old State House
It was such a fun day! We highly recommend these tours!
Love Mark Twain! My favorite Mark Twain saying “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” I think you're living this one!!
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