Moving to New York City last year meant being nearby so many cities and states in the Northeast that I wanted to explore. Vermont had always been high on my list – the fall leaves and the maple syrup were two top priorities. I mentioned the trip idea to a few girlfriends, and they were all in! We found the cutest little AirBnB, packed our bags and headed up to Stowe to escape the city for a weekend.

I had originally wanted to go to Burlington, but luckily one of my coworkers, Allison, has been going to Stowe for years and years with her family and gave us the complete scoop about visiting there. She told us the low-down of where to eat, explore and shop, so I’m going to share with you!

Where to Go

Cork is a super cute wine bar downtown with a wine shop inside. We got lucky and happened to walk into an orange wine tasting (I had never heard of this before!) and it was a perfect Friday night experience.

The Bierhall at Trapp Family Lodge has an amazing story. The website tells a whole story, but essentially, “the von Trapp family toured the United States as the Trapp Family Singers before eventually settling in Stowe, Vermont.” Their storyline was inspiration for The Sound of Music! Now there’s a lodge, restaurant and brewery where they settled in Stowe!

Cold Hollow Cider Mill is a cute shop with “legendary” cider donuts, as they said, and lots of locally sourced products you can take home – think scone mixes, maple syrup, sauces, jams, jellies, etc.

If you didn’t pick up maple syrup at Cold Hollow, you can swing by the shop on the side of the road called Stowe Maple! We met the man who runs it and he gave us samples of the syrup and explained how the make it.

The Ben and Jerry’s Factory is a must if you’re in Vermont! It’s a quick 30-minute guided tour and it’s amazing to see how all the ice cream gets made. It felt kind of like we were in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory! The best part – a really decently-sized sample at the end of the tour.

Harvest Market was my favorite little place we visited! It’s a little specialty food shop where it feels like Ina Garten could walk out at any moment. They’re known for incredible baked goods, so pick up some scones and muffins, focaccia and other bread for dinner while you’re swinging by. It’s a *little* pricey as far as groceries go, but their pre-made foods are perfect to pick up for a picnic or outdoor adventures.

Other things we didn’t make it to because of the rain: Moss Glenn Falls hike, which Allison says is a “beautiful uphill wooded area with a pretty waterfall,” Mt. Hunger hike and the hike to Sterling Pond. Alchemist Brewing and Doc Ponds for beer and food, plus the Grey Fox Inn for huge, dutch pancakes!

Cooking in Vermont

While it was raining and we were feeling cozied up in our home, the girls and I cooked a few meals that I’m still dreaming about. On my Instagram Story you’ll see we made a Creamy Chicken Pot Pie soup. It was SO good and I cannot wait to make it again! We ate so fast I didn’t get a picture, but you can see videos of it on my story highlights. Inspiration from Gimme Some Oven!

With the syrup we got from Stowe Maple and the pancake mix we got from Cider Hollow, we had a glorious pancake breakfast in our home before leaving. The lighting, scenery, company and food couldn’t have been better. So grateful for these girls!

We met ALPACAS!

On the drive out of town, we decided to take a detour to an alpaca farm we saw on Instagram. A woman, Karen, and her husband take care of the alpacas and they were beyond kind showing us around and taking us literally INTO THE FIELD to play with them. I just wanted to hug the furry friends and snuggle up and become best friends with them! If you’re in the area I completely recommend you swing by, learn about the animals and get some epic photos along the way.

I hope this weekend trip was just one of many coming up with this group of girls. We had a blast, got to caught the incredible fall leaves, cook and eat some amazing food, and spend time together. Next I have my eyes set on Montreal, Canada. Let me know if you have any recommendations for there or any favorite spots I should add to the list for Stowe!

Love food. Love self. Love life.
Gabriela