Lunchin' & Walkin' SoNo

Welcome to SoNo

Is it fall already?

I know what you're thinking. SoNo? Doesn't she mean SoHo? Nope, I really really mean SoNo. It's a little town off the Metro North in Connecticut called South Norwalk. If you looking for a quick, easy day out of the city, check out SoNo. It's full of trendy cafes, lots of green, and even Frisbee golf! From Grand Central, take the Metro North to South Norwalk. If you travel on the weekends or a holiday, you get the off peak prices. The trip from Grand Central to SoNo is just over an hour.

The main street, Washington, is about a 5 minute walk to the train station (and the reason I picked this town for lunch).

Although it looks spread out here, it's all pretty close!

We headed straight for Washington Street since we were pretty hungry. I almost wish we shopped our lunch options a little more wisely, but some people were more hungry than others. Donvon's provided us a nice, shady table outside on the corner of Washington and Water Street. The prices are reasonable as well. I opted for the peel and eat shrimp (cold) for $15. Note: The restaurants offering outdoor seating were all dog friendly!

Outdoor seating at Donovon's

After Donovon's we headed south on Water Street in search of a bakery. Just under a 1/4 mile, we found another restaurant with tables directly on the water - and with parking (if you drive). Although we didn't eat at SoNo Seaport Seafood, it was super cute. Looks like a great place to grab a drink and a lobster roll. 

 

Across the street is SoNo Baking Company. Not only did they have a number of sweets, but it's a full service restaurant as well. BIG WARNING: they close early...around 2pm, so if you want something, go early! I opted for the most delicious vegan cookie (how did I not get a picture of my cookie. Probably because I inhaled it).

After our sweets fix, we headed back north along Water Street toward the Aquarium. This is definitly a good spot if you have kids (or even if you don't). Price of admission ($29) also includes one IMAX movie. It was nicely crowded, but not terribly. Since it was a nice day, we decided to skip this and walk the trail outside.

This is actually the backside of the Aquarium, but you can still enter here.

Plenty of parking if you have a car. 

We kept walking and found the front of the aquarium along with the start of the trail.

We were greeted with a nice map of the area, and decided to walk around Oyster Park and then over to the cemetery. It's a gorgeous paved walk along the water. This area is nicely taken care of as well. The flowers and trees were nicely groomed with nothing overgrown. Overall, I'd give this area a ten for peacefulness and cleanliness. 

This area is also dog friendly, so if you're coming from the city during the warmer months, bring your pup, eat outside then take this nice walk around the water! 

Although it's not quite fall, many of the leaves were already changing, which was GORGEOUSSS!

If you continue on the trail, you'll walk under the overpass and see a cemetery up ahead. There's also a playground, Children's Museum, and an old mansion, Lockwood Mathews Mansion. 

Lockwood Mathews Mansion

Heading back to Oyster Park, we noticed the Frisbee golf targets scattered throughout the park. So, another option here is to bring your friends and a Frisbee! 

We decided to head back toward town and check out a few shops. All in all, we walked about a 3 mile loop. 

I still can't believe how much it looked like fall. Especially since it was about 84 degrees!

El Segundo

There's not as many shops as I would like, but we found Braach's House of Flowers which not only had flowers, but a mix of all natural products - and the cutest little pup! Also, you could walk directly through the store where we found a few gems hiding.

El Segundo which specializes in global street food. This restaurant had both indoor and outdoor seating, but I was truly in love with these benches in the courtyard!

Across the courtyard and through the fountain, we found the gastropub, Harlan Publick. Again, great indoor and outdoor seating. They even had a few outdoor games. I was starting to think I was hungry again! 

Final tip for getting back to the train station. In order to get to the Grand Central track, you have to go into the station and walk underground then back up again. 

Questions? Comments? Leave them below 😁

xoxo Lynore