For a different kind of day: Amherst

By Sarah Tomlinson, Globe Correspondent, 06/01/2003

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		Printable version How to get there From Boston, take Interstate 90 (Mass Pike) west to exit 4 for I-91. Take I-91 north to exit 19 (Route 9). Take Route 9 east to Amherst. Resources Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce 409 Main St. 413-253-0700 www.amherstarea.com www.amherstcommon.com www.amherstguide.com What to do Dickinson Homestead 280 Main St. 413-542-8161 http://www.dickinsonhomestead.org/ Tours: June-August: Wednesday-Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday 1-5; reservations recommended. Admission: $5; $4, seniors/students; $3, ages 6 to 18; with Evergreens admission $9; $7, seniors/students; $5, ages 6-18. The Evergreens 214 Main St. 413-256-3925 www.dickinsonhomestead.org/evergreens/ Tours: June-August: Wednesday-Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday 1-5; reservations recommended (413-542-8161). Admission: $5; $4 seniors/students; $3 ages 6-18; with Dickinson Homestead admission $9; $7 seniors/students; $5 ages 6-18. The Jones Library 43 Amity St. 413-256-4090 www.joneslibrary.org Open Monday-Saturday 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.; Tuesday and Thursday until 9:30. The special collections are open Monday, 1-5 p.m.; Tuesday-Friday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday, 2-5 p.m., but it is recommended that you call ahead for any changes. Free admission. Amherst History Museum Amity St. 413-256-0678 www.amhersthistory.org Open Wednesday-Saturday 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. Admission: $4 adults, $3 children. Yiddish Book Center Hampshire College Campus Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Building 1021 West St. 413-256-4900 www.yiddishbookcenter.org Visitors Center open Sunday-Friday 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Closed Saturdays, legal and Jewish holidays. Free admission, but there is a fee for some lectures and concerts. Fiber Art Center 79 South Pleasant St. 413-256-1818 www.fiberartcenter.com Open Monday-Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Closed Mondays in winter. Free admission. Where to stay The Lord Jeffery Inn 30 Boltwood Ave. 800-742-0358 www.lordjefferyinn.com Full of country charm, from the worn brick exterior, to the tavern serving pub food and the New England favorites served in the dining room. Rooms $89-$209. Amherst Inn 257 Main St. 413-253-5000 Enjoy the same view as Emily Dickinson at this bed-and-breakfast across the street from her house. Rooms $95-$175. Allen House Inn 599 Main St. 413-253-5000 www.allenhouse.com An award-winning Victorian bed-and-breakfast built in the stick style of architecture. Rooms $95-$175. Where to eat Bueno Y Sano 1 Boltwood Walk 413-253-4000 UMass Amherst students swear by this bright and airy burrito spot that serves immense burritos with more than a dozen fillings from shrimp to veggie chili; $4-$8. Open daily 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. The Black Sheep Deli 79 Main St. 413-253-3442 www.blacksheepdeli.com A bakery and deli with comfy, country atmosphere, serving sandwiches, salads and hot deli items, plus ice cream sandwiches, cream puffs, and whoopie pies. Open Monday-Saturday, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., Sundays, 7:30-9. Fresh Side 61 Main St. 413-256-0296 Quick Asian food in a simple sleek room with a display of photographs in sparse modern frames, including miso soup, Vietnamese salad with shrimp or tofu, and chicken pad Thai. $2-$8. Closed for vacation until June 16, then open Monday-Saturday 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Amherst Brewing Company 24-36 N. Pleasant St. 413-253-4400 www.amherstbrewing.com A plethora of beers brewed on site, from North Pleasant Pale Ale to Massatucky Brown, plus a pub menu and a dozen pool tables. Dinner served until 10 p.m., open until 1 a.m. Pub food, $4-$15. $2 cover for live music. Judie's Restaurant 51 N. Pleasant St. 413-253-3491 wwww.judiesrestaurant.com/ Popular and homey restaurant in a greenhouse, serving home-style favorites including specialty salads and stuffed popovers. Closed Mondays. Open Sunday-Thursday 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday-Saturday until 11. Lunch, $8-$11. Dinner, $10-$17. Bistro 63 Monkey Bar & Restaurant 63 N. Pleasant St. 413-259-1600 www.mymonkeybar.com/ Eclectic fare and martinis served in a sleek, elegant room with modern art against pretty blue tiles and pale wood. Open daily noon to 10 p.m. Dinner, $12-$19.

AMHERST - This is the perfect day trip for city people who don't like to leave the city. The food and entertainment choices will please the picky palate of someone used to dozens of options. Yet the winding country roads that lead to a town with only two main streets - walk too fast and you'll walk out of town - manage nonetheless to ensure a relaxed, vacation state of mind.

The town's slower pace has inspired rumination in the many literary figures who have called Amherst home over the years. And today, it affords thousands of students and academics from colleges here and nearby the perfect backdrop for study, while unwinding with an inexpensive picnic lunch or fleeing the library to bask in the sunshine.

The tree-shaded grass of the Town Common, framed on one corner by the two main streets, offers an ideal setting for such relaxation. Nearby restaurants provide picnic fare, while benches and wooden planters at the tree bases beckon with resting spots. There is abundant metered parking near the common, and the nearby information booth can offer a guide to local events. In summer, the common itself may be the center of action, with outdoor concerts and the annual Teddy Bear Rally.

For literature aficionados, poet Emily Dickinson (1830-86) is the grand dame of Amherst. In fact, according to the Jones Library, she considered herself so intertwined with the town that she sometimes signed her letters "Amherst."

An annual poetry walk honors the May 15 anniversary of Dickinson's death, and she is honored always at the Dickinson Homestead, where, at 30, she retreated to nurse her mother, compose more than 1,000 poems (publishing only seven in her lifetime), and excel as baker and amateur botanist.

The tour includes Dickinson family and house history, and a chance to view original letters, manuscripts, and housewares, as well as the bedroom where Dickinson composed her poetry. A recent tour, led by a passionate guide at a level perhaps too sophisticated for children, culminated in the reading of a poem in this bedroom.

The yellow brick house next door was built for Dickinson's brother, Austin, and is the earliest example of Italianate domestic architecture in Amherst. Known as The Evergreens, the house is set back from the street in a thicket of evergreens, and offers more information about the poet's life, as it contains furnishings from when the Dickinson households lived side by side.

More Dickinson manuscripts are displayed at the Jones Library, which is home to an assortment of her poetry and letters. An extensive collection of work related to Robert Frost, who taught and lectured at Amherst College throughout his life, is also on site.

Dickinson's gravesite is located in the West Cemetery, which dates to 1730 and islocated on nearby Triangle Street.

Learn about Mabel Loomis Todd, Dickinson's first editor and an accomplished visual artist, at an Amherst History Museum exhibit in the historic Strong House on Amity Street. Permanent exhibits of period clothing, tools, and artifacts document the history of the town and the house, which dates to the 1750s. In the summer, enjoy a history lesson amid foxgloves and bleeding hearts in the garden. This facsimile of an 18th-century garden is part of the Amherst Historical Society's annual townwide garden tour in June.

The National Yiddish Book Center, which rescues and distributes Yiddish and modern Jewish books, has a visitors center on the Hampshire College campus that offers Sunday afternoon lectures and readings. Other attractions include the Gerson Gallery, which has an exhibit on illustrator Mordicai Gerstein through June.

Devote the afternoon to less studious pursuits, such as a visual arts exhibit, or a leisurely perusal of local shops. Located in a stately white brick church, the Fiber Art Center has a nonprofit gallery that shows work by modern fiber artists, such as The Sacred Flags of Haitian Vodou exhibit in June. The gift shop sells funky handmade gifts, including silver jewelry, brightly patterned clothing, and greeting cards. Lectures and classes are also offered.

A few doors down, Alfredo's Photographic Gallery displays prints of local nature scenes and retro pop culture images, including 1960s film stills. The new Gallery A3 exhibits contemporary Amherst area artists. Plus, the region's cluster of colleges provides abundant opportunities to see classic works of art.

Happy Valley Gifts sells more local artists' work and handmade gifts, including ceramics, wooden bowl sets, natural soaps, and knit items. (Plus free cookies at the cash register.)

In keeping with the literary nature of the town, Amherst boasts four bookstores in the downtown area. Valley Books stocks used and antique books, while Raven Books' selection of inexpensive used paperbacks is perfect for spur of the moment purchases to read in the sun. Food for Thought Books, a workers collective, offers a collection for the politically minded, including independent publications and works by small presses.

Take advantage of city fashions at country prices at Revolve, a vintage clothing store whose women's and men's clothes are a steal.

The best way to stroll the streets is with ice cream cone in hand, and Bart's Homemade Ice Cream offers the traditionalists vanilla and coffee, while tempting adventurers with peanut butter and jelly, French toast, and ginger. Or for more zing, Rao's Coffee Roasting Company gives a mini-lesson in coffee, plus sells espresso drinks and coffee beans. The high-ceilinged room, blanketed in late afternoon sun, has wicker-bottomed chairs to rest tired feet.

End the day by finding your own space for reflection, or people-watching, on the Amherst Brewing Company patio. With pool tables and live blues, rock, and funk music on weekends, those staying over can make a night of it. The Black Sheep also offers evening entertainment including poetry and live bluegrass.

After all, even great minds need to unwind.

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rrSarah Tomlinson is a freelance writer who lives in Jamaica Plain.