Welcome, friends! While I am off in Japan, I have collected a lovely team of bloggers to share a variety of guest posts about travel, fashion, and everything in between! I will be back from my adventuring soon, but in the mean time please enjoy these wonderful ladies :)
I am happy to introduce you to Abby of Little City Adventures today! This mama-to-be has become one of the sweetest friends I have, even though we live on the opposite coasts :)
How To Explore a Little
City
By the title that I chose for my blog you may have guessed that
not only do I live in a little city but I love living in a little city.
My little city is Lancaster, Pennsylvania, a city that you probably have never
heard of but we are pretty historical and over the last few years we have
become a pretty nifty city as well. Growing up my family really never came into
the city, I’m racking my
brain and I can’t remember
a specific instance at all, I think because when my parents were growing up
Lancaster was an all around rough city. But as I said earlier, it has cleaned
up a lot and there are so many awesome things to see. I know you have one
burning question, “How did
you, someone who never went into the city growing up, become familiar with
Lancaster city AND learn to love what it has to offer?!” When I was in high school one of my friends suggested going
downtown to visit the vintage shops on Queen Street. Immediately, I felt a pull
to visit the city more often. When Seth and I started dating we would spend hours
on Sunday afternoons/evenings just wandering around the city holding hands and
just chatting. I mean hours people. Those are some of my fondest
memories of our dating times. Soon after we started dating I got a job working
at a cafe right downtown and I really got to know the city. I’ve loved the hours that I’ve spent exploring my little
city, the history and cultures represented are so interesting. Do you live near
a little city that you’ve
never explored or are you taking a day trip? Have no fear, I will give you a
few tips on exploring a little city.
1. Take a gander at
a map of the city
Many cities, large and small, have maps like this one scattered
throughout the sidewalks. Don’t
be embarrassed to read the map, they are there for a reason. When I was
learning my way around the city, I seriously relied on those maps. Be sure to take
note of the layout of the city as well as the main streets in and out of
the city. Many older cities, like Lancaster, are laid out in an easy to
follow grid system with alternating one way streets. Those one way streets can
be tricky to catch on to at first but most places have them in an alternating
pattern. Also make sure that you know the main streets in and out of the city
just in case you do get lost while walking or driving. In Lancaster the most
well known “in and out” streets are Chestnut and
Walnut, “In Walnut, Out
Chestnut.”
2. Read those signs
Whatever city you are visiting probably spent a gross amount of
money on signage. So use them. The signs pointing you towards the sites and
stops are especially helpful when driving. When I first started driving in the
city I literally knew like two ways out of the city and the one way I could
only find by following the sign pointing out a “landmark” that
was in that direction. Don’t
be ashamed to read those signs, I’m
not!
In third grade my class went on a walking tour of Historical
Lancaster City and I remember having to read a lot of the historical signs. I
also remember that my teacher was really tall and she had long legs and would
walk so quickly and our little third grade size legs could not keep up (ha).
You can learn a lot about your little city by reading those signs. For example,
in the photo above you can learn that not only was Lancaster City was founded
in 1729 but for awhile it was the state capitol.
3. Follow the crowds and ask
questions
I used to be so afraid to ask people questions about where to go
in the city, I guess it seemed “uncool” to ask questions, I thought I
should just know without ever having been to those places. That’s
just silly. Store owners and employees really don’t mind answering questions and recommending shops and
restaurants. When I worked at the cafe downtown, tourists asked questions all
of the time, whether it was just directions to the Amish or what store could
they find a specific item in, and I never really minded answering those quick
questions. Alternatively, when driving around take note of which blocks seem to
be the most crowded, it probably means that those blocks have the best shops
and eats.
4. Simply enjoy the sites and the
mix of old and new
If you rush around, you are going to miss things. One of my
favorite things about my little city is the wonderful mix of old and new. We
have churches and homes that were built in the 1700s and right beside them are “modern” structures. Each city has a unique feel and look so take
some time and just enjoy what is going on around you. Go in and out of shops,
especially the locally-owned ones that you’ve probably never heard of, and take your time learning what
your little city is all about.
Bonus Tips
- Research parking before going. The other
day I was trying to get to Central Market to do my grocery shopping but
tourists (I confirmed that they were indeed tourists by their license plates)
had literally blocked an entire city block waiting to get into a full parking
lot when they could have just just gone around the block and found two other
parking locations. Also, many of the heavy residential streets have free
parking, you may have to walk a bit farther, but it could be worth it.
- Worried about running into the bad parts of
the city? Do some research. One way to altogether avoid accidentally
walking into those…well…scarier parts of the city do
some research. Look up homes for sale in the city and you can sort of judge by
the photos (most of the time) what those streets look like. Or utilize street
view on Google Maps.
Abby
blog // facebook // twitter // instagram
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My blog is about discovering life’s little treasures one adventure at a time. From 
In the last four years we've done more than our fair share of traveling and have spent a 
