We spent the day at the Rawlings Conservatory and Hampden to look at plants and enjoy the local shops.

If you’re new here and found this blog through the mysterious powers of the Internet, welcome! My name is Ashley, and I’m a dedicated reader and movie watcher who thought to turn this website into a little digital archive of sorts.

I was watching and reading so much that I wanted to keep track of it all, so I began blogging as a way to keep these books as memories somewhat forever. I expanded into travel and theater a bit later, especially when I began realizing even more than memory is a finicky thing.

That said, I recently fell into a period of unemployment, and this blog was a solace for me. Not only was it a way to make a little bit of money when there was nothing else coming my way really, but I found, after getting my finances in order, that I enjoyed sitting down to write blog posts when I had nothing else to do in my day.

If you like this review in the end, feel free to click around. This is my digital home, so I’m happy to have you here.

One day a good friend of mine texted me a Facebook link and asked me if I wanted to go to this event with her. It turns out it was the orchid show at the Rawlings Conservatory, which is a place I’ve never been to, despite being born and raised in Baltimore County.

I said yes, and we headed out at 12:30 on a Saturday in order to go see the orchids. It wasn’t as big as I thought it was; it was a handful of orchids on platforms in the entrance of the conservatory.

Here’s what we did throughout the day!

The Rawlings Conservatory is a nice little oasis in the heart of Baltimore City.

As I mentioned before, I did not have any experience with the Rawlings Conservatory. I had heard of it in passing, but never really knew where it was or what existed inside of it. That was kind of the reason I wanted to go; lately, I’ve been trying to go on more little excursions.

There was free parking around the conservatory, but it was all parallel parking and in the snow. I had made the dumb mistake of wearing Crocs, so I ended up having to change my shoes with my friend’s spares because the passenger door opened up into a mound of snow.

When we went, the conservatory was a little busy, but not crowded enough that you’re going to be elbowing people in order to see a plant or two. It was nicely spaced out, minus the little orchid section, and the admission was by donation. They didn’t check, but we did the suggested amount of $5 per person.

In all, we spent about 45 minutes in the conservatory overall. There were three main rooms. One was a more tropical room, another a desert room. If you’ve been to other gardens, I found this to be a standard one. My favorite is still Longwood Gardens up in Pennsylvania, but it can be a pain to get to sometimes.

If I lived a bit closer, I think I would go here if I wanted a green space to escape to in the city. I live in the county though, so it’s a bit harder to get to on a weekly basis, so unless they have a special event, I probably will not be going here often. But it is a nice space!

Hampden has a lot of nice little shops and restaurants throughout its streets.

After we piled back into the car, we decided to go to Hampden. It was only a 10 or 15 minute drive from the conservatory, which makes it a good combination to pair with each other if you want a day out.

For those who aren’t from Baltimore or live here, Hampden is a cute little neighborhood. There are shops and restaurants, it has a lot of personality with its colorful buildings and art, and there’s quite a bit to do if you’re into either shopping or eating. Ekiben, a Baltimore staple, can be found here, and one of my favorites, Dangerously Delicious, is a great place for a pie.

I had found a little Afghan cafe called Spring Cafe that we wanted to go to. We found parking for $.50 right in front of the cafe; on this Saturday it was surprisingly not that crowded. The little cafe we went to though was packed, as there are only about six small tables, and we had to stand for ten minutes until a table cleared out.

I ordered the pulao with beef, which came with pumpkins covered in yogurt, as well as a lychee black tea. All of this was only about $20, with the pot of tea. That’s so cheap! It was also made by this older Afghan man who was really friendly with the customers, and we really liked what we had. My friend ordered the Kabul cream roll, mantoo with rice, and a bigger pot of tea.

We were quite full with all of this food, and we spent about three hours in there. The owner was so sweet and even told us to stay when he took the bill, and while we could have taken his suggestion, we went for a scenic drive through the city to get back home.

It was such a nice little outing, and I enjoyed it a lot! I would recommend both the conservatory and Hampden if you’re looking for a small break in the routine that can be affordable.

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