New York State of Mind

Living in NYC makes me forget just how big New York State is. I'd only ever been to the Hudson Valley once and it was absolutely gorgeous. So, when Alex found out his law school roommate would be getting married up there, I was giddy with excitement - partly to visit such a beautiful area of the state and partly because I was happy to have a romantic weekend getaway with my guy.

I arrived Friday night to a remote little train station an hour and a half north of Manhattan to meet Alex who was already up there rehearsing for the big day. Alex picked me up and we headed to a dessert party thrown by the family of the groom before checking into our hotel and turning in for the night. The bride and groom added a special touch to our stay by having thoughtful goodie bags waiting for us upon check in with waters, snacks, and cute little treats.

The day of the wedding was an early start. At the venue and gussied up, Alex was looking good as a groomsman. The ceremony was very religious which made Harold (that's Alex's roommate), Alex, and I feel quite out of place being the only Jews there. (Note to self - keep the Hebrew to a minimum at my own ceremony so as not to evoke these uncomfortable feelings!) But it did happen to be beautiful - the backdrop was a gorgeous mountain off in the distance. The bride and groom were glowing with happiness. While there was no dancing, the food was pretty great and the day was bright and sunny. We were absolutely beat after the daytime wedding and hit the hay.

Instead of rushing back to the city, we took Sunday to relax and stay in the country for a bit. We took a private tour of Bascobel - a beautiful restored mansion with incredible furniture and spectacular views of the Hudson. Here I am outside of the house with the view from the house in the background:

And here is Alex as we roamed around the grounds of the mansion:

Then we headed to the town of Cold Spring which is full of interesting modern art galleries that Alex and I loved exploring. We both love modern art and even though our aesthetics are different, we usually come to a consensus on what we think is home appropriate and what should be better left on a gallery wall. It's amazing that after a year of dating, we're still learning so much about each other. As we strolled through the town and passed antique shop after antique shop, Alex noted: "we really don't like antiques much do we..." And it's true - neither of us can stand the thought of having a [potentially] dead guy's vase/table/lamp in our house - however beautiful it may be.

We grabbed lunch at a cute little restaurant and picked up ice cream cones by the water enjoying the outdoors in this quaint little town. Alex took the scenic route home through the mountains so we could enjoy the country air for as long as possible. As the city skyline came into view I felt so grateful to be living in New York.