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Thursday, April 5, 2012

Local Outing

Yesterday we decided tomake the most of a sunny spring day and do some local sight-seeing. We headed north to Poughkeepsie, only about 45 minutes away, and explored the Walkway Over the Hudson. This state park used to be a railroad bridge but was converted into a walkway in 2009.
There are signs along the railing that give information about the building of the bridge, its history, its transformation into a walkway, and the Hudson River itself. The bridge is the oldest surviving steel cantilever bridge in the world and is a historic landmark.
As you can see, we weren't the only ones out and about on the walkway yesterday. Lots of people brought their dogs, bikes, scooters, and strollers to enjoy the fresh air and scenery.
It was a bit windy, as you can see!
But some of the sights were breathtaking.

All that fresh air and exercise gave us quite an appetite, and we opted to satisfy our hunger at a fantastic little restaurant nearby:
The campus of the Culinary Institute of America is a very pretty place! I'm not sure if this is the wine-tasting building or an Italian Restaurant.
Around the corner is this plaza with fountains and trellises.
And here is the entrance to the main building.
Here are some close-ups of the medallion in front of the building
and the window over the door.
We headed to the Apple Pie Bakery and Cafe`, the only restaurant that does not require reservations. You wait on line and order food cafeteria style, and it's brought to your table. The decor is modern and upscale, but also comfortable and casual. Three of the girls ordered this delicious macaroni and cheese. Mmm!
Mark ordered this spring Risotto dish with mushrooms and "pea foam." Don't the plates look beautiful? This one was garnished with fresh edible flowers.
After a little rest, we went back for some desserts. Two of the girls shared this 61% dark chocolate mousse. The square of chocolate garnishing the top was sprinkled with edible gold glitter.
I had this lovely lemon merengue tart. Wow, look at that piped merengue!
We were planning on taking their daily tour at 4, but after our earlier long walk and that hefty meal, we decided to save that for another day. So instead, we explored their gift shop/book store, digested on the ride home and then had a long nap! A perfect day!

2 comments:

Vivien Zepf said...

Lucky you! I've dreamed of going to CIA for a while. And I didn't know about the walkway; I'll put that on my "to do" list, too!

Norma Schlager said...

I love the Culinary Institute. I've done the whole tour and have eaten at a couple of the restaurants. Your bridge tour looks like fun. I'l have to put that on my summer itinerary.