Ithaca

View From Cornell Campus

 Last weekend was an opportunity for us to return to a place that we'd enjoyed visiting 20 years ago - Ithaca and Cornell University. Our old friends are long gone from graduate school, but Ann has new friends at Cornell through work, so we headed 3.5 north in search of another cool college town and renewed acquaintances.

Ithaca is situated at the southern end of 40 mile long, 2 mile wide Cayuga Lake in central upstate New York. High hills rise along the sides of the lake and numerous streams cascade through dramatic gorges to the shore. Ithaca sits on the floodplain at the confluence of a number of these streams while Cornell is up the hillside and spans several gorges. It's very pretty.

The Red Room at Vila Madeline

We found a sweet inn on the hillside only 2 blocks from downtown and across a gorge from Cornell. The folks at Inn on Columbia have restored a number of properties in their neighborhood, and have a great design sense. Friday we had the entire Vila Madeline to ourselves - the other 2 rooms were empty. A full kitchen with a scrumptious breakfast of scones was at hand. Fresh fruit and banana bread in a bow wrapped greeting box waited in the fridge - we could have breakfast at our convenience. A stylish sitting room completed our breakfast leisure.

Ann at Viva Taqueria

Ours hosts recommended a number of restaurants. The first night we arrived late, so we dodged into Mercato, newly opened only a few weeks, to share a second dinner. A great find. Superb homemade ravioli, very good sauteed green beans, and a cozy, friendly atmosphere. It was so good we went again the next night, which was also excellent. Ann's snapper in parchment with meyer lemons and blood orange was perfect and imaginative. Pine nut tart was unusual and good for desert. Maybe a close second in our travelling restaurant finds this year.

Downtown Ithaca

We had a nice Mexican lunch at Viva Taqueria on Saturday. Not to the level of Mercato, but worth a visit. Especially unusual was the tequila sampler - a good way to discover any differences in the various levels of tequila. There were interesting restaurants all over Ithaca. We heard it said it has more restaurants per capita than New York city, and we believe it. In fact, Ithaca overall had a kind of relaxed east coast feel to it, partly because of the wide recruiting of Cornell outside the region. Very urban, a bit nerdy, and wildly liberal, like a Berkley for the east. This is the home of the Dali Lama (in fact our neighbors at Vila Madeline Saturday night were in town for a retreat at the monastery), violent student protests in the 60's, the original organic restaurant (the Moosewood), and multiple paraphernalia shops. The winter farmer's market indoors was big - I imagine the outdoor one in summer is massive - overflowing with organic vegetables and baked goods.

Cornell Art Museum Lobby

We spent our afternoon on campus walking the steep hillsides, touring the old arts quad (since 1868 - the youngest of the Ivy League schools), walking the suspension bridge across the gorge, and visiting the I.M. Pei designed art museum. Always eager to experience architecture, we spent several hours exploring the building and its holdings. Of special interest was the exhibit disassembling the Tata, an ultra affordable ($2,200) car being made in India. It was fascinating walking through the components - like moving through a 3D exploded diagram - and reading the challenging trade offs made by the engineers to meet cost, efficiency, cleanliness, and performance goals. Amazing engineering. There was also an inspiring view of the entire Cayuga valley from the 5th floor gallery. As well as some interesting art, including my favorite, a bronze Picasso - head of Ferdinand.

The Tata - Deconstructed

Our last morning we had a leisurely breakfast, then took a drive through the region. We got to see the massive gorges quickly fade into streams through farm and woodland on the hilltops, to follow the waterfront scenic highways along the lake, and to stop at one of the state parks known for its gorge and waterfall for a hike. We walked up the valley floor on a well packed snow covered trail as the walls of the gorge rose higher and higher till we rounded the last bend. The ice flows were dramatic, but even more dramatic was the spray of water that continued to issue from behind the icy curtains and funnels. A fitting last act for a beautiful setting.

Taughannock Falls -Winter

We met with Andrea and Joe at the top local Thai joint where Sunday brunch was being served. But with a difference - it was all you can eat, but they brought the food around on platters straight from the kitchen as soon as it was prepared. No soggy fried dumplings or sopping noodles. Really a great idea, and with a great imagination in preparation. Thanks for the treat, guys! And so from there, tired and full, we headed back on the scenic drive down US15 through the Pennsylvania wilds and home to State College. Mission accomplished.