Fun last Minute Trips

Usually a bit from the bow slowly will leave a lasting we-carworld. 11 and gnaw at a feeling of unrest. Woman, whose grandparents ran an Italien pastry store outside of New York City, is usually not impressed by the cuisine of the North End and prefers Providence's pastry and cakes to what is on offer here. Accommodation was provided around the block at the Dean Hotel (thedeanhotel.com), a fashionable street hotspot with a café in the alley way and weird cards created by RISD Point of Interest college children.

In the factory's own sustainable Local Sprouts Cooperative (localsproutscooperative.com), a children's playground gave adults more space to drink tea and eat a pancake in the middle of inappropriate furnishings. When you have toddlers in your wake, the Children's Museum & Theatre of Maine (kitetails.org) has four stories of fun for toddlers; the last times we left, our little girl was allowed to make and design her own little hula-hoop in a small craftshop.

Starting from the city centre, you can explore on foot or by bicycle the 2.1-mile shore path that follows the beautiful Eastern Promenade - or you can see it aboard the ancient Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Co. & Museum (mainenarrowgauge.org) train that follows the same picturesque path. Omni is halfway between two favorite gardens for younger children:

Whilst the children are spoilt with a selection of local outdoor pursuits and room serviced milks and biscuits, the parent can also indulge. The Pioneer Valley really has no off-season with kilometres of cobbled cycling and walking tracks and the rich art offering of the Five College Consortium.

When it' s the second Friday of the months, get off work early to get into the city in good shape for Art Night Out (artsnightout.org), a free, city-wide open studio and galleries walk. And of course, the five universities themselves (Amherst, Hampshire, Mount Holyoke, Smith and UMass Amherst) provide information on free activities, fine dining venues, fine dining venues and botanic gardens.

Normally we land at the historic Hotel Northampton (hotelnorthampton.com), situated in the centre of this walking city. However, we also crossed the Amherst stream at Lord Jeffery Inn (lordjefferyinn.com), which was just as unusual as it sings. In Northampton' s Look Park (lookpark.org) the stroking animal park, the paddle boots and the kilometre-long journey on the steamer made our little girl happy, while the Eric Carle Musuem of Picture Book Artwork (carlemuseum.org) in Amherst is an arts musuem that little children will also like.

Theodor Geisel recommends a visit to his home town of Springfield for the new Amazon World of Dr. Seuss Museum (springfieldmuseum.org) for those returning to Boston; admission is available, but it is useful to book an appointment soon before. Although not inexpensive, the high speed boat (Bostonharborcruises.com) travels through Columbus Day and takes you from Long Wharf to the top of Cape Cod in 90 min (a dedicated high speed boat from the seaport leaves until 16 October).

Lab Day cannot stop a centuries-old art and theatre community from getting squeezed into another seasonal one, with many art centers and the Provincetown Art Association and Museum (paam.org) staying open all year round and the Tennessee Williams Theatre Festival (twptown.org) taking place annually from September 21 to 24. But if you don't care to work on the telephones, you can often find a room that has fallen through the tears of the diary by phoning on the date of your call; the Chamber of Commerce also adjusts the last minute room availabilities on its website (ptownchamber.com).

Featuring roofed bridge, strolling boutiques and a sweeping arable landscape, Woodstock is a picturesque Vermont Town coming right out of the centre. In addition to several park, among them the Marsh Billings Rockefeller National Historical Park, there are kilometres of interconnected paths in practically every possible destination; many walks start at the enchanting Billings Farms (billingsfarm. org), a functioning milk cow business and a Foreign Historical Site Centre.

Quechee Goorge in a city where a flat, broad trail drops 165 ft into Vermont's lowest ravine is recommended for a gentle stroll. Last minute accommodation is easy to get after high seasons and before close skiing areas such as Suicide Six and Killington open up for overwinter. "Portsmouth and Kittery are my latest passion for a last-minute escape," says Eater Boston journalist Rachel Leah Blumenthal.

Then stroll for a few moments through Maine Meat (memeat.com), a local butcher's, before heading to the cosy Wallingford Dram (thewallingford.com) for a sparkling evening drink in the afternoons. Finally, there is supper or BBQs, and an exquisite range of raft beer at Black Birch (theblackbirch.com), which comes first, first come last minute type served?_?perfect

The Seacoast Repertory Theatre (secoastrep.org) is the place to go for dramas. Any place as lenient to last-minute travellers as the town that never slept? Manhattan is 1 a.m., but you still have lots of free food and drink, and with more than 100,000 rooms, New York will almost always have a place to hang your skull.

Capture the 16:15 Acela from South Station and you could be on Broadway in good season to see a show that night. Following a Chelsea days stroll along the High Line (thehighline.org) and visit the Whitney Museum of American Art (whitney.org), we had supper at the Mermaid Oyster Bar (themermaidnyc.com) where the mussel soup was as good as any other I've tried here - and I reassure you I'm a full-fledged New England Sea Shells Snoop.

Near the guesthouse we stayed with local & vine (localandvine.com) for delicious beer, small snacks and New York wine. Last-minute theatre ticket holders should contact the Theatre Development Fund's TKTS stand (tdf. org) in Times Square for reduced fare on the same date, or ask at the theatre ticket desk on the opening date of the drape show - you may even be able to pick up uncollected theatre ticket (s) directly before the opening date of the show - show - you may be able to pick up uncollected theatre ticket (s) at show??you

Using travel zoo, you can look for last-minute and special discount groups in New England hotel and sights. The Tonight Hotel specialises in finding rooms at 11th hours, but in smaller towns the possibilities may be restricted.