If you are coming to Stamford, Connecticut on business, taking a day trip or making a pit stop on the way to your final destination, you can find fun activities and local hot spots without breaking the bank.
Make the city work for you and your wallet with these simple steps.
1. Have a GPS in your car. If you are traveling by car you should have a GPS. It’s the year 2010. You could buy a cheap map at the train station but every place will take twice as long to find. Maps are also hard to fold.
2. Familiarize yourself with the neighborhoods of Stamford. The ones by the water are Cove and Shippan. The woods and parks are in Westover and North Stamford. The other sections are Glenbrook, Springdale, South End, East Side and West Side.
3. The main streets around Stamford are Long Ridge and High Ridge roads that run parallel to each other. There is also Hope and Summer Streets. (Which run perpendicular?) These all connect to each other and will bring you everywhere you need to go on this journey.
4. Drive down Hope Street to the Springdale train station where you will find the Springdale Diner next door. Eat breakfast here. Their hash browns are the best. $10
5. Drive north on Long Ridge Road to the Westover section and hike at Mianus River Park. There are many trails along the MianusRiver which are very nice in the fall. Soak in the country atmosphere even though you are in a city. Free
6. Drive over to High Ridge Road and find a little Italian deli named Fusaro Market. It’s hidden between a couple of houses. Order their fresh mozzarella and roasted pepper sandwich with balsamic vinaigrette to go. They also sell authentic Italian foods and cold cuts. Add a drink = $7
7. Drive north on High Ridge Road to the Stamford Museum and Nature Center. Walk around the lake and visit the animals, farm, planetarium and observatory. $10
8. Drive back down High Ridge through the downtown area and towards the water onto Cove Road. Park your car at the top of the hill in a parking lot in front of Cove Pizza. (It’s free and you won’t get towed.) Walk down the hill to Cove Island Park. Walk on the trails that overlook the beautiful views on Long Island Sound and Stamford’s beaches. No need to dig into your pocket for a $20 day beach pass. Free
9. Drive a mile up Cove Road to Myrtle Avenue where you will find Colony Grill. This special thin crust pizza is the best in Stamford according to the people who live there. Asking for anything other than a pizza, beer or soda will let them know you’re not from Stamford and may result in a heavy stare by the waitress. A whole pie + drink = $20
10. Finish the day by driving into downtown on Bedford Street. There is an indoor/outdoor café named Capriccio Café. I recommend sitting outside and looking at the Stamford skyline at night. Soak up the atmosphere. Sit among the local people and taste their signature drink called the Shakerato. $6
This is how to enjoy good food and different environments all over Stamford without going to expensive restaurants and national chains.
Were you looking for a “Getting the best of what Stamford has to offer under $60: Priceless” at the end? Well, you just got it.
Look closely at the new release you just saw in theatres or on Netflix. Odds are one of the scenes was filmed in Stamford.
Welcome to the Hollywood of the East. No, not New York. No, not Miami. You are in Stamford, Connecticut. Hollywood has come to me. Well to my backyard. Since Connecticut passed a bill giving movie studios tax breaks for using the state as a movie set, more and more actors and actresses are being seen around Stamford.
Two years ago, I was walking my dog and saw bright lights in the far distance. We got closer and all of a sudden Martin Lawrence and Raven-Symone walked by us. I told my dog to be nice to the movie stars. Turns out they were filming College Road Trip.
Walt Disney Pictures was less than one hundred feet from my front door. That’s when Stamford became Hollywood. The Maury Povich and Jerry Springer shows moved to Stamford. Production facilities were immediately built to accommodate Warner Brothers and Paramount Pictures coming into the city.
More recently, John C. Reilly was seen in the Springdale and Glenbrook neighborhoods of Stamford filming a new movie We Need To Walk About Kevin. He even mentioned my hometown on The Daily Showand sang karaoke at Black Bear bar.
Actress Laura Linney was seen less than a mile from my workplace filming the Showtime special The Big C in the Shippan neighborhood.
When I headed out to a bar in downtown Stamford a year ago, John Krasinski and Jeff Daniels were filming Away We Go right next door in Remo’s Pizzeria.
Get off exit 8 on I-95 in Stamford. As you go into downtown you will see signs with arrows on every telephone pole. These are to guide the production trucks to the next scene that is being filmed.
So save your money on a plane ticket to the west coast. There is bound to be a movie being filmed on any block around this city. Why pay for the Universal Studios tour? You can walk around Stamford and catch movie landmarks for free.
Who knows, maybe Bedford Street will have stars on its sidewalks in the near future. I might just quit my day job and become a tour guide for movie enthusiasts.
Humans are curious beings. We live and learn. So it’s no wonder we try to find reason in everything using our complex brains. We try to make sense of every object or action we see, hear and smell. The same thing happens when we write on paper or a computer keyboard. Writing is a step-by-step process.
My mathematical requirement class in college was called QRMS (Quantitative Reasoning and Mathematical Skills). I was never good at math or science. If I did not attend office hours to get extra help from the professor, I would not have passed with a C as my final grade. Even though I could not solve the complex quadratic formulas and algorithms, I learned that applying step-by-step logic would help prove any argument. I must perform step A and B before arriving at the conclusion of step C. Applying logic helps to avoid problems and frustration.
I arrive at a conclusion every day just to make my next action easier. As a writer I develop an idea, practice it and then prove it. I feel like a detective on the television program The First 48. With the help of my laptop I can start writing and rearrange my piece even when I create conclusions at different times. Logic opens up the door for new ideas and procedures.
The production facility where I work is using a new software program called Mediaflex to become fully digital and tapeless. Mediaflex seems to work for every employee except my boss and me. We are trying to apply logic and incorporate Mediaflex into our work flow so that we can work with the rest of the staff, but it is not easy.
Last week’s lecture stated that “In a relative world, where there are always more arguments to be made, logic gives us the ability to make them.” I did not realize that every day I’m using logic to innovate and create positive solutions.
I never solved those complex formulas in QRMS, but I did learn that applying simple logic helps unravel the situations and pieces of software that life throws at me. It puts the creativity back in writing and makes me feel like a detective.
When I was at a party at the University of Colorado, I met someone else who was also from Connecticut. When I told him I was from the city of Stamford he quickly responded with “oh the city with the futuristic buildings!” That about sums up what the downtown skyline for Stamford looks like.
The unique architecture of downtown Stamford was developed in the early 1970’s and has grown since then. With the vision from a scene straight out of a Jetsons episode, Stamford has attracted large corporations with these massive structures.
When motorists drive over the border into Connecticut from New York on I-95, they immediately see the new Trump Tower over the tree line. This new addition along with the new RBS and UBS buildings has made Stamford even more futuristic. In 2002, UBS built the largest trading floor in North America. Not to be outdone, rival RBS broke ground across the street in 2006 with its own lavish headquarters and a trading floor as nearly as large.
The city has garnished an image as the city that works. The financial services sector contributed to the construction of these buildings that lie parallel to I-95.
Landmark Square and the Stamford Marriott were the pinnacles of Stamford for a long time but have recently been overlooked when pioneering designs for corporate headquarters took over.
All of these symbols of mini Manhattan get quite a few glances and make nice views for the daily traffic that builds up on the highway.
High school instilled the image of a thesis into my head as something you don’t look forward to doing. It was trying to cure cancer. It was putting a man on Mars. I had to take something I wasn’t remotely interested in and write about it. A thesis was a boring investigation. It determined whether you could become a senior or not.
Just like Pavlov’s theory, a thesis has triggered that image in my head since high school. I can write for days if the topic is something I am interested in, especially if it is a debatable topic. I know that I am not a great writer but making it simple and interesting fosters my unstoppable personal voice on paper.
This past week’s lecture that spoke of a thesis as being both an idea and an argument has opened up the doors to endless possibilities for me. No more am I running into a stone wall and looking for extra words to fill up space to submit for my high school class.
“A thesis is not an argument out of anger, but out of curiosity.” I wish I was given that opportunity to write about a topic of my interest rather than a topic of the teacher’s choice. I was a scientist in high school.
I am anxious to examine what factors have affected my life and what I am interested in exploring. When I studied abroad in college, I was told to see the country with my own eyes and write about it. That was my homework. I developed my own thesis and enjoyed it. I shaped my thoughts based on what my brain produced.
From this experience I became my own devil’s advocate. In ICM 501, I challenged every lecture and gave myself a reputation for approaching topics from every angle. It’s not easy to pick my own brain, but I have fun doing it. It’s also better when you enjoy the topic.
“Stamford is just one big parking lot. I have driven through Stamford, Connecticut on I-95 and it’s a useless city and state. Massachusetts should just swallow it up and become one big state.”
“Have you been to Stamford other than driving through it on I-95?”
“No.”
That was a short conversation I had up in Montreal with a New Yorker this past winter. She was right. Driving through much of Stamford, you’ll encounter a lot of traffic and many bad drivers. You might as well own a helicopter or hop on a crowded train to easily get in and out of the city. But don’t judge a city by its highway.
If you dig deeper into the city, you will find a landscape with beaches and hiking trails filled with a diverse population. The downtown, once home to a high crime rate and run down buildings, has changed its image. Fine restaurants and festivals attract outsiders. Movies are being filmed in Stamford because of its unique architecture and state tax breaks.
Stamford has a rich history. A tight niche community hides behind the large corporate buildings. The city manages to stay clean and attract jobs through budget cuts and tough economies.
I was born and raised there. Many of my friendships and memories developed in the city of Stamford. I have seen it change over the years. The population has grown and more buildings have been built. Local markets and restaurants have given way to national franchises. What used to be a small town in the mid-20th century has become a mini Manhattan. It is starting to resemble WestchesterCounty.
The small neighborhoods where everyone knew your name like Cove, Springdale and Glenbrook have given way to half a million dollar condominium complexes for commuters. High property taxes and living prices are driving many out of Stamford to cheaper towns in FairfieldCounty.
If you decide to travel beyond Stamford, you will find an even bigger headache. If you can get by the airline delays, cancellations, price hikes, long lines and cultural barriers then it could be enjoyable. Similar to if you get off I-95 in Stamford. It could be worth your while.
So what makes Stamford so special these days? Not that much. Many cities across the United States have the same environment. What makes this city different? It’s just another place that you drive by on the way to your final destination. It’s just another exit off of I-95. I guess that girl from New York was right.
I have decided to develop an online passport that will have an emphasis on Stamford, CT. I will also include side articles on other places of interest that I have been to in South America, Europe and Africa. There will be travel tips and reviews of restaurants, landmarks and how to pack for each destination incorporated into each article. I will include personal stories for each place so that the reader can feel more personal with the place they are reading about.
For the main emphasis of Stamford, I plan to investigate why a large city in Connecticut still has that small town feel to it through its history, education, economy and people. These are all factors that have shaped my life. I will truly make it the city that works for both you and me. Through these entries, the reader can see the cultural difference between a city in New England and cities around the globe.
Just by living in America we all know how strongly image plays a role in our society. Our culture thrives on both good and bad public personas. Juicy celebrity personas and the private lives of politicians rule the nation. It has been this way from the first images of Marilyn Monroe to the introduction of TMZ. In order to shape your own public persona, you take risks and pay the price alongside the celebrities and politicians. It can work in your favor or get you the evil eye on the sidewalk.
Beyond the local criminals on the five o’clock news and the positive community heroes, the average person has their own persona today. Social networking (Facebook, blogging, etc.) has enlarged the images of people that would not have been noticed twenty years ago. Media convergence allows ordinary people with an Internet connection to publish and publicize their own masterpieces. The success of Youtube characterized by Beniger enables us to shape our persona whether good or bad.
This can backfire. The saying “more money, more problems” comes to mind. The more information we put out there, the bigger the security risk. This increasing danger was described well in an entry from Hallsmark’s blog. Even though it is an exaggeration, I’m reminded of the movie Enemy of the State where private information is instantly available to anyone.
Just like on that special Facebook setting, I believe you can pick and choose what you would like the public to see. Take into account the amount of information as well as selected images can have an impact on shaping the persona. The voice and actions online can have an impact on all other realms of society (workplace, bar and television). Today the virtual self is more vulnerable to public perception. How someone chooses to shape it is their own personal mission.
Up until now, my life has been like the final show of Lost. All of the questions remained unanswered from the past years (seasons) of my life. Now I have to piece it all together and figure out who and what I am. Just like there were many interpretations to what the show really meant, there are many possibilities to what I am capable of becoming online.
We were programmed robots. From kindergarten to senior year of high school, we were apart of a curriculum developed by teachers and school administration to memorize what was presented to us and stay within the box. Then I got a job and the monotonous work every day paralyzed my brain.
This is why I had such a difficult time thinking about my niche, my online presence. What subject do I know enough about that I can pick it apart on my own?
There were some teachers who encouraged us to escape that box and conjure up coherent thoughts of our own in high school and college, but for the most part we were taught what we were supposed to be taught.
So finding my niche was difficult but when you think for yourself and develop your own personal program, the sun is a little bit brighter. I learned that living a personal experience like studying abroad or watching my hometown change over the years is a little more interesting to write about. Textbooks preaching facts or spreadsheets dulling my mind are helpful for learning, but a major obstacle when I needed to open up my mind.
The scene from Indiana Jones immediately came to mind when I read the lecture explaining word and size selection of a piece of writing through the works of Mark Twain.
This passage stresses the importance of summing up details when writing about your life or writing a story:
"Simplicity doesn’t mean you cannot enjoy language – that you cannot describe something as succulent or perspicacious, or say her eyes were like pieces of sea glass tumbled smooth by ocean-sized storms – you just need to choose your words wisely."
In this online world, the structure of an entry combined with content is important in creating a strong voice. It is interesting to note that the attitude expressed displayed in an email or message thread cannot be accurately shown as opposed to having the same conversation in person. Since we are living in a complex society filled with technology with many voices yearning to be heard, the virtual world will swallow you up if your writing is long, disorganized and filled with unnecessary errors.
Cutting down my bio sketch reminded me of moving. When you’re driving that U-Haul truck to your new destination, you say to yourself: “Wow, my whole life is in this truck.” After packing up all of your belongings and throwing away things you should’ve never kept, you wish your life were simpler. You wish if you didn’t keep so many things, you wouldn’t have been so stressed and sweaty packing so many boxes. My first attempt at writing a bio sketch was exactly that. I wanted to include so much more but did not want to lose the reader. Then are I threw away more stuff, and then more stuff. I moved my life and made it simpler at the end, and it felt good. All of that nonsense from the first draft was clutter as Zinsser described. Now I know the highlights of my life and what is most important. I have moved on.
Even though I felt discouraged when I read Professor Kalm's entry on a student writing about travel last semester, I think my interest and previous experiences lean toward that area. This proposes a dilemma since it will not help with my master’s project planned for next year. Currently (and this could change between now and then), I will be working with the Stamford Historical Society to design an online addition to their website on the history of Stamford, Connecticut. The primary focus of this addition has yet to be determined.
I am open to any ideas or suggestions about how I can tie these two together or how I can create a strong and interesting manifesto solely on Stamford. If not, I will write about the sophisticated world of traveling and all that embraces it based on my personal experiences. These include the Semester at Sea study abroad program and trips with family and friends.
I would like to reflect upon the different cultures, landmarks and food that I observed first hand in these countries. Throughout my childhood up until the present day, I have met different people from various countries and lived through some amazing moments.
I believe traveling changes the character of a person and make them look at the world in another way. Improvements in social networking have brought the world closer together but witnessing a place first hand that is thousands of miles away from your home is a different experience.
Beyond the screaming babies on the plane or the lifeboat drills on a ship are unique places that are important in someone’s life.
Jon Richichi was born and raised in Stamford, Connecticut where he currently lives. He attended college at the University of Colorado and currently works at A&E Television as a closed captioning coordinator. He is pursuing a Master’s in interactive communications at Quinnipiac University.
Jon Richichi was born and raised in Stamford, Connecticut. He attended college at the University of Colorado. One of his most memorable experiences in life was during college in the fall of 2001. He traveled to Japan, China, Vietnam, South Africa and Cuba on the Semester at Sea program.
He currently works at A&E Television as a closed captioning coordinator.
In 2008, he decided to change career paths. He is pursuing a Master’s in interactive communications at Quinnipiac University. He is interested in the creation and development of a website. He would like to be a content manager for a web design company in a more creative environment.
He also likes playing all types of sports, traveling and laughing. Some of his favorite movies include Good Morning Vietnam, The Hangover, Rudy and Shawshank Redemption.
