Welcome To Your New City

It’s Nothing like Your Old City

This weekend, my roommate from college came up to visit it me. We have both decided that it is really weird that we are no longer living together and that we should visit each other more often. She does not live that far away (when there isn’t any traffic), however it is still a bit of a hike to get to me. Since I live in the middle of suburbia, I thought that it would be a better idea to go into the nearest city to me: Baltimore.

She got to my place bright and early (10am) and we left not too long after that (you know you’re an adult when bright and early is waking up at 7am instead of 1pm). She made me drive. Since I am currently driving an SUV instead of my adorable sedan (I’ll explain that in another post) I spent a good part of the five minute drive into the city hoping I did not try to squeeze into anything two sizes two small.

This was not my first time in the city. The first time I had been there since moving was for a rugby interest meeting at a place called Alexander’s Tavern. Apparently it’s a hangout for rugby players (shouts out to my rugby friends!). I didn’t join the team (commute and time commitment was a bit much right now), but I did survive driving in an unfamiliar city at night. Before that adventure, I hadn’t been in the city of Baltimore since I was 15 years old. So I really did not have any idea where I was going. I also don’t own a smart phone or GPS. I have to rely on maps…from the Internet.

My official second adventure into Baltimore was a little bit less stressful. I still had no idea where anything was or where I was, but we did find a parking garage (I think it was in Little Italy) and a map of the Inner Harbor and Fells Point. Both are beautiful. Everything is expensive, but I was expecting that.

As we first entered the city from 295, we noticed all of the police out and about for the baseball game. This helped us plan when to leave the city to beat the baseball traffic. We then passed the convention center and realized that it was the weekend for Comic Con. I have never seen a Con before; just a quick glance was an eye opener. I would like to go to one before I die. I would also like to dress up as Franziska Von Karma from the Phoenix Write Ace Attorney games if I go to one (look her up if you don’t know who she is, trust me she’s awesome and not scantily clad).

It took us a little while to find a parking garage (though it was a little sketchy). We then headed over to the Inner Harbor. It was cool and very similar to how I remember it from when I was 15. I need a pin from the Hard Rock Café for my collection. We went into the Barns and Nobles, which was in an old factory building. I thought it was cool, but worried I might run into something.

After the ten minutes at the Inner Harbor, we walked to Fells Point, which isn’t that bad of a walk. The first place we ate at was a Tapas place that was really expensive. Only eat there if you don’t have a big appetite or if you have lots of cash. It was very yummy, but not worth the cost. We then walked around a bit more and discovered a place called The Daily Grind. We had to go in because at our old college campus, we had a place called The Daily Grind that several of our friends practically lived in (we also lived right next to it at one point). Though it was in an old factory building, the menu could have come straight from out college campus. It was great! It also made us (namely me) at bit homesick for school.

We left not too long after, but got a bit turned around finding my car. Getting out of the city wasn’t hard. The signs for 295 are a lot bigger than the ones for 83 and 95. We also beat the traffic from the game and the Con.

Baltimore is very different from my home city, even though they are very close. Fells Point does look like Old Town Alexandria, though. I find it charming and different, but I will always have a soft spot for home, even if it is one of the most annoying cities in America. I would recommend Baltimore for a visit and I would at some point like to live in the city, but not right now.