Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
www.oldrhinebeck.org
;
9 Norton Rd; adult/child Sat & Sun $20/5, Mon-Fri $10/3; 10am-5pm
mid-Jun-mid-Oct)
has a collection of pre-1930s planes and automobiles and air shows on
weekends in the summer. The
Bread Alone Bakery
(45 E Market St; mains $9; 7am-7pm,
8am-3pm)
serves lunch specialties such as brisket panini and spinach and feta quiche.
Continuing along 9G N you reach
Hudson
- a beautiful town with a hip, gay-friendly
community of artists, writers and performers who fled the city. Warren St, the main road
through town, is lined with antiques shops, high-end furniture stores, galleries and cafes.
adult/child $12/free; grounds 8am-sunset daily, tours 10am-5pm Tue-Sun)
, the fish-out-of-
water Moorish-style home of Frederic Church, one of the primary artists of the Hudson
River School of Painting. On a house tour you can appreciate the totality of Church's
aesthetic vision, and view paintings from his collection. At the riverside end of Hudson,
the whitewashed, cozy and affordable
Front St Guesthouse
( 518-828-1635;
www.frontstreetguesthouse.com
;
20 S Front St, Hudson; r from $140; )
has polished wood
floors, high-end bedding and an accommodating owner who will quickly meet guests'
$13-25)
, in a restored carriage house, has a restaurant serving locally sourced cuisine and
a popular music venue showcasing rock, jazz and indie performers.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Catskills
American painters discovered this mountainous region rising west of the Hudson Valley
in the mid-19th century. They celebrated its hidden mossy gorges and waterfalls as ex-
amples of sublime wilderness rivaling the Alps in Europe. Though the height and profile
of its rounded peaks might have been exaggerated and romanticized, traveling through
the Catskills it's still possible to glimpse the landscapes that beguiled these artists and in-
spires others today.
Despite the introduction of fine cuisine and cute boutiques in charming small towns,
for some this bucolic region is still synonymous with Borscht-belt family resorts and the
wise-cracking Jewish comedians and dance instructors
a la
Patrick Swayze in
Dirty Dan-
cing
who entertained generations. While that era is long past, the Catskills have become
a popular choice for sophisticated city dwellers seeking second-home getaways.
Having a car is near essential in these parts.
Adirondack Trailways
( 800-776-7548;
www.trailwaysny.com
)
operates daily buses from NYC to Kingston (one way $25.50, two
hours), the Catskills' gateway town, as well as to Catskills and Woodstock (one way $28,
2½ hours).
Shortline
(
201-529-3666, 800-631-8405;
www.coachusa.com
)
has regular trips
