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| Burlington's City Hall |
“Belle Ville!” I heard someone say while we were sitting at the Burlington water front dock, waiting for the sunset. Just like me and my husband, the couple sitting behind us were amazed by how beautiful the city is. Belle Ville is a French phrase meaning beautiful city. I thought, they might be Canadians from the border, thus they speak French, or who knows, they might be French tourists visiting Vermont just like we are. Whatever the case may be, we could just nod in agreement, yes, indeed, it is a beautiful city.
I and my husband flew from Washington, DC to
Burlington one September for the Champlain College Parent Weekend. To tell you
frankly, I have not even heard of Vermont before, much more the city of Burlington.
The only Burlington I know, is of course the discount store Burlington Coat
Factory. My step-son chose to spend his four years in this New England state
and we were somehow forced to start a relationship with a state we barely knew.
Just like how any long-lasting relationship, it started just right!
GETTING TO KNOW VERMONT
Although Vermont is small, the city has great things
to offer not in infrastructures or sky scrapers, but in its abundant natural
riches. When we registered for the Parent Weekend event, we were handed three
sheets of paper. Two of them has the activities from Friday to Sunday for the parents
and their students, and the last sheet was a list of recommendations of places
to go to and things to do in Burlington. Who would know better the city and the
state better than the educators, staff and students of Champlain? So then, I
and my husband started to uncover what this place offers.
LAKE CHAMPLAIN – THE PHYSICAL ATTRACTION
To look at Champlain Lake is to look at beauty! The
picturesque lake surrounds the state, stretched all the way to New York and
Canada border. I live in Annapolis, Maryland where we’re located near the
Chesapeake Bay, but because Lake Champlain is bigger, it gives a resplendent
view of a beautiful landscape.
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| Lake Champlain view from our boat |
Looking at the lake from afar is a different
experience from experiencing it. Our appreciation of the lake was furthered when we
did a narrated boat tour by the Northern Light for 1 and a half hour. That
might be a little long to be cruising on the water one chilly fall afternoon,
however we did the tour after hours of walking downtown. Doing the boat tour was perfect to do nothing
but relax and enjoy the beauty of the water and the view. There was a recorded
narration on the cruise, this has put substance to the physical beauty. What I
thought was only beautiful, has great history, has a great story.
ART, CULTURE AND SHOPPING – THE EXPERIENTIAL STORY
However beautiful a person is, or in this case, a
city is, relationship has to have substance on it, and it can be summarized in
the experiences that you will entail with that someone or in that city.
Downtown Burlington is a quaint area with an interesting
mix of arts, culture, food and shopping. When we had our first dining
experience at Ahli Baba’s Kabob Shop,
a small hole in the wall take-out Mediterranean eatery, we saw the first
evidence of the vibrant art and culture in Vermont. In the Bulletin board,
there were all sorts of events, improv shows, art exhibits and concerts. In
fact, we saw that Melissa Etheridge was coming to town to perform at the famous
Flynn Theater. The numerous event announcements may well be a reflection of the
creative adrenaline of the young adults currently living in the area –
Champlain College is there with 3000 students and The University of Vermont
with 16,000 students – but for me, it speaks more of the diversity and
character of the city in general.
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| Church Street |
When we talk about shopping, Burlington may be small
but it’s not detached to what’s in or trending in big cities like New York or
Los Angeles. Church Street Marketplace is one of the famous shopping districts
in the state. I am not a fashion expert, but as I was looking on the displays
of the numerous clothing boutiques and novelty shops, numerous times I murmured
to myself, “Oh that’s pretty!” We also had a great time visiting Burlington
Records, a small store selling Records. I was born at a time when records was
becoming obsolete and I really do not know so much about records, but it was an
experience to see original album covers of singers in the 60s and 70s like
Billy Joel, and bands like the Beatles and Journey. It felt like I entered a
museum with a vast and rare collection of artifacts, and I could only feel so
much admiration.
At the end of our Saturday walk at Church Street, I
was able to get myself a fall color lipstick from Mac, not very “Vermont” but
it made me happy, we saw several musicians playing on the street, my husband
participated in a “Bald By Choice” charity event where he had his hair shaved
TOTALLY and witnessed group of friends trying to pull a fire truck in the
middle of the street as part of an event contest.
CONQUERING MOUNT PHILO – CHALLENGES MAKE RELATIONSHIPS SWEETER
We came to Vermont for Parent Weekend. Our son, being
a College boy, had met us on several occasions, gave us a tour of the very
pretty Champlain College, showed us his very nice dorm on Main Street,
introduced us to his dorm mates and friends that we met along the way, but he
had to do assignments, had to attend an improv practice and meet his friends in
between. He was part of an Improv troupe that performed that Saturday night and
we could not be any prouder!
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| the view from the peak |
However, that Sunday, as part of the parent weekend
activities, we joined the “easy hike” of Mt. Philo. The last time I hiked was
11 Years ago at Sagada, a mountainous province in the Philippines, and that was
the first and last time! Because, it was described as “easy” we chose to go. We
met at the foot of the mountain before 9 AM, then started one memorable hike.
For someone inactive like me, it was not easy. I could complain easy, but I
just thought, after all this hardship, we’ll be rewarded by a magnificent view
when we reach the summit. Mt. Philo’s summit was not a summit in the real sense
of the word. But when we reached it, we cherished the priceless view that
stared back at us! From the mountain you can see a 180 degrees view of the
lake, Vermont and upstate New York.
LOVING VERMONT IS AN OPTION
Four days in Vermont is not enough to get to know
Vermont at its core, enough to say, “I love Vermont!” Our relationship with Vermont has just started. I know for sure, we'll have a great relationship!
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