Meghan & Xinyuan
Things To Do
Welcome!
If you get here early, are staying late, or find yourself with a few hours to spare, here are some of our suggestions!
The Glass House, National Trust for Historic Preservation
This is a source of New Canaan pride, the product of a crazy 50's architectural movement. This is Phillip Glass' "signature work.", so if you like architecture and/or design you will love this. Be warned though that it can get expensive ($50 for the self-guided tour). This is why, embarrassingly, Meghan has still never gone.
Waveny Park
This is a fun park with an old robber baron's house where Meghan spent a large portion of her childhood, such as our Catholic School field day, every 4th of July, and all of her elementary school soccer games. The house and grounds are full of interesting nooks and crannies, like a rose garden with a lion-head fountain or an arts center in the old carriage barn, and the fields and woods are also very beautiful.
The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk
This place has lots of fun marine facts and animals, as well as an IMAX theater where you can watch videos of coral reefs on a 100-foot wide screen set to the soothing voice of Morgan Freeman or Meryl Streep. There is a shark room where you can look into the shark tank through a glass wall. Meghan had her shark-themed 5th birthday party in this room!
Weir Farm National Historical Park
Another really cool thing that Meghan wished she had known about growing up! Weir was a famous painter who lived on a beautiful estate. We haven't actually gotten to go onto the estate, but both the museum and grounds seemed really cool and we took a lovely hike in the woods next to it.
New Haven Pizza Showdown
If you have a car or want to hop onto Metro North, New Haven has a lot of great pizza places. Here are some of Meghan and Chen's favorites: BAR Pizza: 254 Crown Street Not one of the OGs (Pepe's and Sallys) but the fiesty new kid on the block, with such blasphemies as cheeseburger pizza and mashed potato pizza in addition to classic brick oven pizza. Very fun atmosphere in a repurposed warehouse space, this is our favorite. Frank Pepe's: 157 Wooster Street & Sally's: 237 Wooster Street The OGs of classic brick-oven New Haven pizza. Meghan grew up on Pepe's so it's really big for her. Chen prefers Sally's (But don't tell Meghan or her family) De Legna: 687 State Street A pizza place that leans towards the funky and creative side with their toppings, we enjoy their experimental style and solid delivery. Modern Apizza: 874 State Street They always have huge lines on the weekends. Chen really likes the hot cherry peppers. Meghan could take or leave this one.
Yale University
Yale is a very old and distinguished institution that hosted an overworked Asian man for a number of years. There are several free museums and art galleries that are worth a look, or you can walk through its impressive architecture. Meghan recommends the Museum of British Art if you like looking at portraits of nobility and the Yale Museum for a broad variety of styles, cultures, and time periods, including ancient greek statues and a Van Gogh painting.
Chen + Meghan in New Haven Pack
Three places in New Haven that Chen and Meghan love: 1. Lighthouse Point Park Our first date was here, and we returned for our engagement photos. It's a beautiful park with a view of the bay that looks like the sea melds into the blue sky. There is also a lovely antique carousel which might be open this summer! 2. Elm City Games 71 Orange St Meghan and Chen met here! This is an awesome community space where geeks of all types gather to play everything from card games to tabletop RPGs to board games. Our officiant co-owns the store and it's a great vibe. 3. MakeHaven 770 Chapel St An excellent local MakerSpace that Meghan and Chen hung out at in New Haven. Meghan taught sewing here and Chen got back into Woodworking here.
Gillette Castle State Park
This is our farthest recommendation, but if you have the time and the means this is a very special park. The top Sherlock Holmes stage actor of the late 1800s spent his wealth to construct a castle, with secret passageways, mirrors, and playful little tricks for guests. There's a railway around the perimeter of the property, and it was filled with dozens of cats and two frogs. He glued all his knick knacks onto shelves so the cats couldn't knock them off. He had a huge collection of books and art and was friends with Mark Twain. Overall, he was a certified eccentric who seems like he would have been a fun person to be friends with. It's very out of the way but we loved visiting, and if Meghan ever came into too much money this is definitely what she would do with it.