Last year we spent a beautiful long weekend in Tivoli with M&D. This year, we had B's parents visiting. They wanted to see "the fall", we wanted to get out of NYC, and we all wanted to eat wonderful food and do some good hikes, so back up to Tivoli we went.
This time, we stayed in this slightly bonkers shipping container house just outside the town. But apart from that, we behaved quite similarly.
There were morning visits to our favorite bakery, a rainy day in Hudson, stopping at all the farm stands to stock up on all the squash and apples we could eat, hikes in the Catskills and Taconic State Park, warm baths as we hid from the rain, lots of sleep, drives to watch the sunset, an attempt to use the barbecue without freezing, and everyone falling in love all over again with this part of the world.
Oh and there were leaves. Lots and lots of red, orange, gold, copper, yellow, green, brown, and all the other colors I can't name, leaves. (I was pretty happy about it.)
Tivoli
Tivoli Bread & Baking: for breakfast and endless supplies of lemon bars.
Germantown
Gaskins: A totally fantastic restaurant in the most idyllic town. Best for a cozy dinner and lots of red wine.
Otto's Market: For pre-hike breakfasts, sandwiches and bagels to take with you, and a bigger basics and not-so-basics selection than Tivoli's General Store.
Hudson
Flowerkraut: Plants + sauerkraut. A surprisingly great combo.
Moto: For coffee, and a motorbike on the side.
Olde Hudson: Yes, it's expensive, but if you need something else to cook, you'll be able to get it here. And be sure to pick up a bag of Augie's granola. It's the best.
Talbott & Arding: Maybe my favorite food shop in the world.
Red Hook
Mercato: We had a delicious dinner here after a less delicious train ride up to Rhinecliff on Friday night. It was buzzing and the pasta was amazing.
And don't miss the farm stands: stop at every one you pass. You can never have too many apples.
