As always, we stayed at the famed Hawthorne Hotel; a beautiful spot. Our room was wonderful and very comfortable, and the service was impeccable. I am sure the other hotels in Salem are very nice as well, but there is something to be said for having stayed in this beautiful historic hotel.
The image here is of the Tavern at the Hawthorne Hotel. Our favourite spot to sit is the green chairs in the corner at the left of the picture. Many glasses of wine and samplings of the scrumptious appetizers have taken place here. And of course we watched Jennifer on Hells' Kitchen from this spot!!A number of great new shops have opened since our first trip back in 2006; two of our favourites this time were 'Hex: Old World Witchery' and 'Omen: Psychic Parlour and Witchcraft Emporium'. The people working these shops were helpful and very nice; we made some great purchases.
And of course, who can forget the tours; they are soooo important! We had a riot as well as learned many new things about Salem. The wonderful gentleman here in the picture was our tour guide for our evening haunted excursion. (That's me on the left and my dear syster and sister on the right!)
Whether afternoon or night, another favourite spot was a cafe down near the wharf; great spot to sit outside under the shade tree and watch the world go by. Both of us noticed that almost every resident (so it seemed) has a dog or two! My sister, being a dog lover, and I enjoyed ourselves greeting all those that trotted past us. Across the street was an 'establishment' that we frequented more than a few times during our stay. The picture here shows the night view of the Bunghole; the best place in town to purchase your evening 'enjoyment in a bottle'.
We did so many other wonderful things while there: excursions on our own to see the local architecture; a sailing trip aboard the Flame, a beautiful schooner; a visit to the Peabody Museum; LOTS of fine dining at a few of the best restaurants in Salem (one of our favourites is the little Italian place across the street from the Hawthorne Hotel) delicious, fabulous food!; and plenty of relaxation in The Commons sitting on a bench drinking 'coffee'. We also revisited the House of Seven Gables; amazing place. And how could I forget the oldest candy shoppe in the US; they have the most incredible cherry cordials!!!! A magazine article displayed in the store reads that Oprah goes there to buy their version of the Turtle. Mmmmm! Unfortunately she was not there when we were! But I do recall hearing that we missed Debbie Reynolds in the Tavern at the Hawthorne one night. Not sure where we were at the time but obviously in the wrong place.Anyway, we both hope to go back one day; however, the Systers Wyrd are toying with the idea of trying somewhere new. New Orleans? Romania? Who knows. We shall see where the heart takes us next.
