Hudson, NY

October 8th 2016

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Hudson, in upstate New York, has to be amongst the quirkiest places I’ve been to. We were supposed to have two days there as a little appendix to our latest trip to NYC, but someone (me) cocked up the dates so we actually spent a scant 24 hours there. We rolled off the Amtrak – catching a train from Penn station in itself an odd and disorienting experience – on a warm Monday into what felt like a little ghost town. It’s certainly the first train station I’ve been to where there are little standalone stools left on the tracks for you to step down onto, and you have to trip yourself and your luggage directly over the tracks to get to the charmingly tiny station.

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Luckily we warmed to it after a walk up and down the main drag, Warren Street. For such a small place (population under 7,000) it has a ton of interesting shops, in particularly interiors, antiques and very cool book and record stores. And a cat rescue centre with kitties dozing in the window = you have my heart forever.

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We stayed our single night at the Rivertown Lodge, a brand new and utterly charming (there’s that word again) and cosy little hotel at the top of Warren Street. The room was lovely, and my favourite part, other than the bikes and ping-pong table, was the communal pantry cupboard instead of minibar.

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We took the bikes on a late afternoon ride to the nearby Greenport Conservation Area. We were a bit early in the season to do some true autumnal leaf-peeping, but we did see some wild deer prancing in a meadow. Mexican Cokes from the gas station were our welcome post-ride reward.

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The town had woken up a little after we got back. I suspect it’s an entirely different story at high season and weekends, when it’s a retreat for a lot of NYCers. If you ever find yourself there, don’t miss Spotty Dog, Moto Coffee Machine, Oak Pizzeria, American Glory BBQ, and Bakar – and that was all we managed to sample in 24 hours! While I feel like we can put NYC to rest after 4 trips in as many years, I think we’ll definitely want to return to Hudson some day.

Comments (11)

  • Bella

    October 9th 2016 at 12:35 am

    Such beautiful photos, they really give a sense of the place. Now I want to go, too. Pity your visit was so short!

    1. katie

      October 10th 2016 at 2:05 pm

      Thanks! Definitely recommend it if you’re in the area.

  • Zoe – floral and feather

    October 9th 2016 at 4:11 pm

    Beautiful photographs! It looks like such a contrast to NYC, in a charming way!
    Zoe | floral and feather

    1. katie

      October 10th 2016 at 2:05 pm

      Yes, it was, a nice contrast and chance to relax a bit after the city.

  • Bailie

    October 9th 2016 at 6:50 pm

    I love how cute it looks! I lived in a Swedish town where you had to drag your suitcase and yourself over the tracks which was horrible in the snow!

    1. katie

      October 10th 2016 at 2:04 pm

      Eek. I’ve been conditioned to avoid rail tracks at all costs, so it’s kind of scary!

  • Rhys

    October 10th 2016 at 11:22 am

    What camera do you use? Photos come out really well…!

    1. katie

      October 10th 2016 at 2:04 pm

      Thanks! I use an Olympus EM-5 Mark II, with a Panasonic 20mm/1.7 lens.

  • Christine

    October 13th 2016 at 7:49 pm

    Never been there but it looks like a really cute American town!

    http://www.christinelovestotravel.com

  • Dannielle

    October 14th 2016 at 1:24 pm

    Hudson Valley is a big wine region, I used to work at a wine festival there for an upstate ny winery. I’m from an even smaller town in upstate NY than this, and they can look awfully old world charming!

    1. katie

      October 17th 2016 at 2:06 pm

      Ahh, there’s another good reason to go back! We were a week late for a brewing festival too unfortunately.

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