New
York – May, 2017
There is more to New York than New
York City and I decided to experience the “more” on
this trip. I spent one day in New York City staying in
a nice airbnb on 117th
street and enjoyed my favorite walk around the
Jacqueline Onassis reservoir. A delicious lunch at the Little Owl in the
village consisted of soft shell crab on watercress salad and warm chocolate
cake. The afternoon was spent at the Met
which had a wonderful exhibit of the photography of Irving Penn, i.e. portraits
of people all over the world as well as Seurat’s Circus Sideshow with more than
100 paintings, etc. documenting the traveling circuses of the day.
Dinner at
Kingsley, a new restaurant on B
Street with great food. I had octopus with fava beans, chickpeas and
mole and finished with a deconstructed cheesecake.
In the morning
after breakfast and a walk around the reservoir I took the M60 bus to LGA where
I picked up my rental car. The rental
car lot is near the 83rd
street bus stop and easy to find. I drove to Tarrytown
where I had lunch at the Twisted Oak on Main Street, i.e. massaged kale salad
with crisp blue potato slices and spicy BBQ onions and lemon pudding cake with
marshmallow brulee for dessert and stayed at an airbnb nearby. Dinner later
that evening at Blue Hills at Stone Barnes is a destination in itself. My menu centered around asparagus, konan
kohlrabi, rhubarb among other things and everything was unique and delicious.
I drove into
Tarrytown in the morning for a walk and breakfast before heading up the Hudson Valley
to Hudson. I stopped near Poughkeepsie to do the Walk Across the Hudson which was a beautiful walk as the day was
fine. Drove up to Hyde
Park for lunch at Cranberries, which I remember liking very much
from my previous trip and then back to Beacon to visit the modern art museum
Dia:Beacon. On display was art by Dan Flavin,
noted for his use of fluorescent tubes and light as an art form. It is an enormous warehouse with “big” art
and fascinating.
Afterwards, I
drove up to Hudson
and stayed in a very elegant airbnb, driving into town later to walk around
town and have dinner at Swoon Kitchenbar on Warren Street, the main street in
town. I enjoyed a relaxing dinner of
crispy fried baby artichokes, beet salad with arugula, ricotta and candied nuts
and crème brulee for dessert.
Stopped by the Hudson farmer’s market in the morning and had breakfast at
a cute little café called Cascades before heading down the other side of the Hudson to New Paltz. I walked to the historic Huguenot district to
see the stone houses, church, etc. but since it was raining I passed on the
tour but will return some day as the town is really cute. Had a delicious lunch at The Bakery on N. Front Street
before heading to Mount
Tremper to see the
world’s largest kaleidoscope. Well worth
a detour.
Stayed the night at the Phoenicia Belle in Phoenicia, a
delightful little b&b on the main street.
Wandered around town along the creek and up to the train station and
later in the evening had a delightful dinner at Tavern 214 nearby. Started with tuna poke served with crisp taro
chips and finished with a flourless chocolate cake. Atmosphere was divine.
Took a nice walk
along the creek in the morning and had a relaxing and perfectly prepared
breakfast at the Belle. Drove to the
tiny little town of Bloomville
where Table on Ten was well reviewed.
Stopped first at the quaint little church and then had a farm gathered
greens salad with radishes and lots of fresh ground pepper and a slice of apple
caramel pie. They are known for their
pizza but only serve it in the evening.
On to Ithaca in the driving
rain. Parked and wandered around the
commons, along Court Street to see the great buildings, etc. and finally to a
glorious airbnb set right on the lake complete with cat. The owner was away so I had the place to
myself, i.e. just me and the very friendly cat.
After a hot shower and a rest I drove by Ithaca Falls, through the
Cornell campus to Agava for dinner and had octopus with pickled beets, roasted
carrots with salsa verde, puffed crisp bread with kale chimichurri and lemon
tart – each dish had it’s own special flair and everything was yummy.
Took a walk to the
Ithaca Falls and then had breakfast at the
Ithaca Bakery. Drove to the Taughanock
Falls, part of the finger lakes region, and walked down to see it. It has an incredible drop of 215 feet and is
one of the highest east of the Rockies.
On to Seneca
Falls, also on the finger lakes, where I had lunch and then visited the Historical Society Museum
located in a structure dating back to 1823.
It was Mrs. Partridge who began an extensive remodeling and updating
that changed the two story dwelling into the 23 room Queen Anne style home that
stands today. It is interesting to see
how the different families lived during that time and there is a very nice
collection of period clothes, hats, shoes, etc. as well.
Drove on to Geneva where I stayed the
night in an airbnb walking distance into town.
Wandered the town, walked around the lake and later had dinner at
Parker’s grill, i.e. grilled tuna on baby greens. It was a Monday night and most of the other
restaurants were closed. In the morning
I took another walk around the beautiful lake, had a nice pastry and coffee at
Opus Café before heading to Niagara Falls,
stopping first in Lockport. I took the 90 minute Lockport
cave and underground boat ride where we also walked through a water tunnel that
was blasted out of solid rock and explored the Erie Canal
locks 67 – 71 constructed in 1838. Great
Fun!!! Had a delicious sandwich and
cookie downtown before driving on to Niagara
Falls.
Checked in at the
Giacomo, a charming, elegant hotel on First
Street and spent two lovely nights there. The hotel is only about 5 minutes from the
falls. I spent the next few hours
visiting the falls from close up, far away, over the bridge, etc. Niagara Falls
is the collective name for 3 waterfalls that straddle the international border
between Canada and the U.S. Horseshoe Falls, the largest, lies on the
border of the U.S. and Canada, the American Falls lies entirely on the
American side and the smallest Bridal Veil Falls in separated from the other
falls by Luna Island.
In the evening I
dined at the Culinary Institute nearby run entirely by students, i.e. the
preparation of the food, the making of the wine, the waiting on tables,
etc. I had a delicious ricotta,
caramelized onion pizza with arugula, baby greens salad with beets and a warm
chocolate flourless cake. The atmosphere
is calm and peaceful and the wine was delicious.
In the morning
after breakfast I took the Maids of the Mist tour which takes you to the base
of the falls on both the U.
S. and Canadian sides and provides you with
complimentary ponchos as it is also a very wet experience! Afterwards I walked across the Rainbow Bridge
to the Horseshoe Falls and all along the banks
until I was almost touching the falls.
Luckily it was a beautiful day so I could look across from the Canadian
side and see the complete beauty of the American Falls. Back to the Culinary Institute for lunch as
the dinner was so good and afterwards I walked to goat island to visit the Bridal Veil Falls.
In the evening I
had dinner at Wine on Third, a cute little restaurant in “town”. Delicious tuna with soba noodles, baklava and
a nice glass of wine. Walked down to the
falls to see them all lit up…So beautiful…
Took a nice walk
to the falls and across the rainbow bridge in the morning, had coffee and
banana bread at Starbucks and then headed to the Letchworth
Park which comprises 14,350 acres
along the Genesee
River. You can drive along the Park road and stop at
different outlooks and trails down to waterfalls, gorges, etc. A lovely little park. The road ended at Glen Iris Inn where I had a delicious brownie
topped with ice cream and caramel sauce and some tea to tide me over until
dinner.
I drove on to Corning where I stayed at
a lovely airbnb about 10 minutes drive from town. After relaxing, showering and unpacking, I
drove back into town and walked around for about an hour until it started to
rain. Corning is a sweet little town filled with
interesting shops and restaurants and, of course, the museum.
Dinner at Cellar
was a roasted asparagus, smoked potato salad, chicken skewer with mole,
Brussels sprouts with toasted walnuts and a chai crème brulee.
I came into town
for a nice walk in the morning, breakfasted at a little café and spent about 3
hours in the fantastic Corning Museum of Glass, the home to the world’s most
comprehensive and celebrated collection of glass. There are also ongoing glass blowing, glass
cutting, etc. demos all day long and across the lot is an extensive collection
of Steuben glass designed by Frederick Carder.
On my way to
Roxbury I stopped again at Table on Ten for lunch in Bloomville and it was as
delicious as before, arriving at the Roxbury, a boutique motel resort with VERY
original rooms. The city is charming set
nicely in the Catskill Mountains and the
Roxbury is truly one of a kind. I was
able to see the most expensive “suite” called Archaeologist’s Digs which was so
unbelievable that I cannot even do it justice.
If you have the $$ stay there!!!
After a walk around town I drove to Pine Hill for dinner at Zephyr, a
cute little restaurant about 20 minutes away.
I had a wild greens salad with dried cranberries, pears, candied pecans
topped with nicely cooked salmon and a flourless chocolate cake for dessert.
Stopped for a
cinnamon roll next door and then visited the red barn market close by. Local crafts for sale along with music and
small town feel. Also stopped at the
farmer’s market in Margaretville before parking near the Kaaterskill Waterfall
to see it from the viewing platform and then driving down below it to hop over
the guardrail and see it from below.
There is a rather slippery trail you can take up to it but it sounded a
bit too dangerous for me…
Drove on to the
cute little town of Woodstock
where I had a delicious eggplant, roasted pepper and hummus sandwich at Bread
Alone along with a triple chocolate cookie.
Wandered around a bit and then drove to Bear Café to hear some music and
then on to Opus 40, a large sculpture park in Saugerties created by sculptor
and quarryman Harry Fite. It comprises a
sprawling series of dry stone ramps, etc. covering 6.5 acres of a bluestone
quarry. He was supposed to complete it
in 40 years but died after 37 years into it so it was left unfinished but still
very impressive.
Stayed in an
airbnb walking distance from town but dined a bit further out at Red Onion, a
very nice atmospheric restaurant where I had some roasted mussels and warm
bread followed by a very rich chocolate pot of cream topped with mascarpone
whipped cream.
Nice walk around
town in the morning, breakfast at Bread Alone and then returned the car about
12:30 p.m. to the rental car place near LGA.
Took the M60 bus back into Manhattan,
dropped my suitcase off at the airbnb on 77th and then had a typical
NY lunch of egg salad on toasted bagel with a triple chocolate cookie from
Bread Alone.
Spent the rest of
the day at the Brooklyn
Museum where there was an
excellent exhibit on Georgia O’Keeffe: Living Modern. It focused on her wardrobe, the way she posed
for pictures, candid photographs taken of her and key paintings. I wandered around Brooklyn
for a bit and then had dinner at Coarse, a unique restaurant on W. 13th Street
serving little plates. I started with
the wild striped bass “poke” with quinoa, miso and radishes, followed by short
rib on parsnip puree with romesco sauce and finished with a tiny vanilla pot of
cream.
Took a walk around
the reservoir in the morning and then spent the morning at the Cooper-Hewitt
museum visiting “the jazz age: American style in the 1920s” exhibit. The Jazz Age is a multi-media experience of
more than 400 examples of interior design, decorative art, jewelry, fashion,
and architecture, as well as related music and film. A very engaging show. Had lunch at the Spotted Pig on 11th
Street, i.e. grilled cheese sandwich with onion marmalade and lemon tart and
then, even though it was pouring rain, I walked along the river to the World
Trade Center.
The 9/11 memorial
plaza is an 8-acre park composed of a grove of nearly 400 white oak trees and
the largest manmade waterfalls in the U.S.
Set within the footprints of the original twin towers, each pool is
approximately one acre in size. The
names of every person who perished in the terror attacks are honored in bronze
around the twin memorial pools.
There is also a
memorial museum with information on the original twin towers, the 911 attack,
etc. All very moving. As it was raining and there was no
visibility, I decided to go to the top another time. Delicious dinner at Buddakhan, i.e. tuna
tartar spring rolls, short ribs on scallion pancakes and warm chocolate tart.
Took a nice long
walk along Fifth Avenue,
etc. after breakfast and then had a last lunch at El Porron, a little tapas
restaurant, i.e. salmon on the plancha, wild mushrooms with garlic and a lava
cake. Bus to LGA and flight home. Glad I didn’t have a chance to see
everything, saving something for the next time.
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