Cape Cod

Last week, in between my two travel fiascoes, I got to spend a few days on Cape Cod with my friend Lara. Still pre-season, it was a relaxing and picturesque way to kick of the summer season. While the days were sunny and 70, the mornings started out with a cool, misty fog that perfectly set the New England ambiance.

Once the fog lifted, our hotel looked out onto a sand bar...

...and onto this vintage car. We never found out why it was there, other than in honor of the current Gatsby fever.

We discovered a local winery where we did a little wine tasting that included cranberry wine.

We drove out to Provincetown, at the very tip of the Cape, where there's a ton of shops, galleries, and restaurants, plus a monument to the Pilgrims.

 

My first lobster roll of the year. (Hopefully not the last!)

 A surprising number of shops in Provincetown seemed to be of the tacky T-shirt variety, but there was a little gem in the form of Tim's Used Books. Tucked behind the main commercial street and accessible by what would best be described as a cross between an alley and the bridge to Hansel and Grettel's cottage, it's packed to the rafters with treasures. I could have done much more damage than I did but, mindful of my impending bus ride home, I limited myself to a handful of paperbacks: three Barbara Pym novels, an orange Penguin Evelyn Waugh, and Noblesse Oblige, a slim collection of writing edited by Nancy Mitford. Best of all was the store's employee who exclaimed over the Pyms as he rang up my purchase, leading to a conversation about how great she is.

Do you have any summer getaways coming up?