Niagara and the Finger Lakes

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fall leaves, Finger Lakes, food, nature, Niagara Falls, Taughannock Falls, Upstate New York, Watkins Glen

I am a country mouse, not a town mouse, and the honest truth is that I was pleased to say goodbye to the noise and bustle of New York City. It was a wonderful visit, but exhausting, and the sight of the green countryside and blue water of Lake Ontario was refreshing.

We stayed in the most amazing BnB in Niagara Falls – Hillcrest Inn – decorated in French country style and probably the most welcoming place I’ve ever stayed. We set off to the Niagara State Park – the oldest state park in America, we were told – and really had such a fun afternoon! We did the Maid in the Mist boat cruise, looking smurf-like in our blue ponchos and enjoying the massive spray from the Horseshoe Falls. It would have been good to see them from the Canadian side, but without a Visa, I couldn’t get there, so we looked up at them from the boat and down at them from the lookout point on Goat Island, as well as admiring the American Falls. But the best fun ever was doing the Cave of the winds tour, which we almost didn’t do because we were feeling tired, but certainly felt invigorated afterwards. There, they give you long yellow ponchos and sandals, but even after rolling our jeans up and tying down our poncho hoods, we were very wet afterwards. The main thing is to do the Hurricane Deck, where you stand directly under the Bridal Veil falls. The buffeting you receive is unbelievable and I screamed my head off while standing there. It was Great! I had such a huge smile on my face for the rest of the afternoon.

In the evening we drove over to Grand Island to find The Riverstone Grill. As seen on the tv programme Man vs Food, we thought it would be something different, and it certainly was. We got the “small” steaks – weighing in at 18 ounces (over half a kilogramme). But the guy next to us, on a night out from Buffalo City, was a real man and got the legendary Bone in the Stone. This cut of beef is usually anywhere between 36 and 50 ounces, and comes with huge piles of potato fries and maple drenched sweet potato fries. He didn’t finish it, to be fair, but he made a solid dent in it (but then, it looked as if he’d had some practice eating large meals!)

We then headed out to the Finger Lakes, watching the leaves get more golden as we drove, and ended up at one of the most beautiful places you could ever imagine. On a flight from Greece to London a little while ago, I met a lovely couple from New York, and when we met up with them in the city, they invited us to pop in to her Dad’s place on Seneca Lake’s western shore. And so we arrived at a gorgeous double-storey wooden house overlooking the lake, with rolling lawns and views of the trellis railway bridge behind; all three were kind and welcoming. We saw around the house, had a drink on the porch, and a tour of the grounds before seeing around Glenora’s wooden jetties and homes backing onto glens and a waterfall. They then took us to Atwater Winery for a tasting. I’m not sure what I enjoyed more: the view of the lake from the tasting room balcony (we could see our friend’s house) or the delightful tasting, guided by knowledgable Patrick. I particularly liked the sparkling white, but the Cabernet Franc got thumbs up from O Husbandly One. Our new friends really made a super day even better – it was so special to be shown around by locals who knew lots about the area and were clearly very proud to be connected to the neighbourhood. I can totally see why their Dad retired out here and even though he’s in his nineties, doesn’t want to move. It’s a breathtaking part of the world.

We said a sad goodbye at Watkins Glen and we went off to hike up the 800+ steps through tunnels and over bridges past the 19 waterfalls. I think we must have taken over 100 pictures, trying to capture the tumbling water and autumnal tones of the trees, but really, nothing can capture what it’s like – all the photos seem dull in comparison to what we saw.

The Antlers in Ithaca was our dinner venue that night – clearly full of parents with Cornell Freshmen and we were lucky to get a table. Lobster bisque, rib steak and baby back pork ribs were just delicious, and I was certainly sad that I didn’t have space for dessert. Aside from the tender ribs, it was a relief to escape for a while from what could easily have been called Bates Motel Ithaca – the suspicious red stain on the carpet and clear “no soliciting” sign on the door was off-putting to say the least!

We did a mouth-open drive through Cornell on our way out of Ithaca – Ivy League money clearly in evidence – and spent the rest of the day in Taughannock Falls state park. Taughannock puts the gorgeous into gorge. Created by post-glacial erosion, a walk up along the river shows spectacular limestone weathered chemically to form cracks, pits, and layered cliff-faces stretching 400 feet up. With its 215 foot drop Taughannock Falls is 33 feet higher than a Niagara Falls and truly lovely, framed by golden and red maples.

We drove past Critter Run Road on our way out to Ithaca, and were finally rewarded with more than road kill: some real-life critters! A cute chipmunk chirruped and chattered in the forest, squirrels jumped and scrunched on acorns, and we were rewarded with the sight of a deer calmly munching on someone’s lawn as the sun set over Trumansburg. While I’m sure it must be tough to live out here in winter (beware of snowmobiles signs notwithstanding!), it has seemed idyllic in the couple of days we have been here. Whether living on Critter Run Road, Podunk Road or Swamp College Road, huge properties, rolling lawns and massive trees, currently decked out in their warm tones, make this part of the world a very attractive proposition.

Besides, it’s about time we moved house again!

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Boom Boom Broadway

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bars, food, New York, nightlife

New York nightlife – bigger, better, brasher? Whatever adjective you use to describe it, one thing is for sure, there is something for everyone.

We ate at fantastic bistros – Cafe Cluny in Greenwich Village was hard to find for tourists used to the grid pattern of the rest of the city, but had amazing food. Packed with locals, and turning tables over as soon as they became free, I was impressed with their stellar service and superb New York strip steak and frites. I’ve already mentioned Vin Sur Vingt – also in the West Village – but perhaps skated over what makes this a special night out. Low-key on the outside, inside is exquisitely tiny, a slender room with a little row of booths down one side, and stools at the bar fiend the other. Properly French, not a fake façade (even the people in there were trendy New York immigrants speaking French), the selection of wines is excellent and the food, although a limited menu, equally good. Mmmm. The Creme caramel will remain amongst the best desserts we have ever eaten, anywhere in the world.

For an experience unrivalled by anywhere I’ve been, certainly, we booked a table for sundowners at The Top of the Standard. A hotel towering above the Highline, The Standard’s eighteenth-floor bar is spectacular! Known also as the Boom Boom Room, you can see why: the hostesses in their barely-there gold dresses, expensive cocktails and designer snacks (kale crisps, anyone? Or would you rather have the caviar?) are perfect accompaniments to the sun setting over New Jersey, the pinks reflecting on the towers of glass in Lower Manhattan. As the sky grows darker, you have views over the whole of New York – even in the bathrooms, where you can look out over Midtown from the comfort of your toilet seat. The bar itself is overshadowed by great golden colonnades reaching to the ceiling, and too-cool-for-school jazz wafting over the patrons as they try to snap photos (strictly not allowed) of the views. It was certainly too cool for me, as I managed to knock over my (luckily nearly empty) glass of wine. No City slicker am I!

As our finale to New York, we did Broadway. A long-time aficionado of the West End, I wasn’t disappointed. We went to see Wicked and I’m glad we chose that particular show. I think it is, in many ways, an embodiment of American showmanship and played on American humour. I’d be curious to see how this translates to the London show. Glinda was brilliant, using her voice not just for singing, but for twisting words to irony, and her physicality played perfectly into the role. Elphaba was, like her golden friend, a spectacular singer (naturally), using her voice incredibly emotively. What I loved was the commentary the story makes on society and on the nature of good and evil (sadly something we struggled to communicate to the man from Minnesota sitting next to us). Ultimately, though, it was a very moving production and I can see why Mrs Minnesota had been four times: I defy anyone not to leave with goosebumps and a little lump in their throats.

We walked home via a Times Square – a heaving, horrible mass of humanity basking in the rays of thousands of lights. Too much for me, thank you – I’d rather have a quiet glass of wine somewhere where only a few people can gather.

New York, New York

Tags

food, New York, travel

They say London isn’t so much a city as a collection of villages. New York – such as I’ve seen, so far – is much the same.

A transatlantic flight is not much fun, especially in economy class, especially seated next to a woman with very sharp elbows and no sense of personal space. Needless to say, the only possible way to survive is to be grateful it’s not a direct flight to Australia, hence only 7 or so hours, and to watch The Great Gatsby – now showing on a tiny, pixelated cinema screen near you. Even nearer if the person in front of you suddenly lunges their seat back.

Our first experience of this great city was, erm, interesting to say the least. Assuming navigating the subway into Manhattan might be beyond our powers at midnight NY time (5am UK time), we staggered into a shuttle bus for our prebooked airport hotel, congratulating ourselves on our foresight and general brilliance when, a mere hour after landing (short pause to discuss gun violence in NYC and Johannesburg, plus the Great Shutdown with our very friendly immigration official) we arrived at the checkin desk. Sadly, we were not at the right hotel. Apparently the tiny differences between Hotel X and Hotel X and Suites or Hotel X Express are vast and unimaginable – and 10 minutes apart by taxi through some of the least attractive areas in the JFK surrounds, that is. Bed never felt so good.

Day One found us in the middle of Manhattan, luggage-free and ready to roam. Aaaaah! We took a deep breath upon emerging from the grimy subway. Aaaaah! The aroma of Midtown is a strange mix of roasting nuts and raw sewage. As we walked down Broadway (quick detour into Macy’s – apparently the largest department store in the world, although I am pretty sure Dubai must have some to rival, if not overtake), we saw some of the iconic architecture – Empire State Building and the Flatiron building – and pushed our way through street markets of overwhelming colour and vibrancy, and the scents became mouth-watering and consequently much, much more appealing. Curving down along 4th Ave after Union Square, we found ourselves on E Houston faced with Katz’s Delicatessen (famous for That scene in When Harry Met Sally). Soon their equally famous Pastrami sandwich was in our faces…. Deeeeeeeelicios! An equally fabulous coffee from a cupboard-sized coffee shop with our friends from London made us question the very nature of the coffee we drink at home. McSorley’s Old Ale House was packed with students playing drinking games to the accompaniment of the obligatory dark or light ale, served in two small tankards.

But, the only way to end your first day in New York? The Husbandly One made an epic choice: Vin Sur Vingt and a bottle of Pomerol, saucisson, French bread and the most incredible Creme Caramel… Tired, sore feet instantly repaired.