Albany - Capital of New York State

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We travelled in comfort from Wappinger Falls to Albany. Art and Gillian decided to drive us up so they could see our friend Ronnie who they hadn't seen in a long time. It was a nice drive up through Rheinbeck, where Chelsea Clinton just got married, and cross country to New York's state capital. They stayed with us for lunch before heading back home. During our stay in Albany we were also visited by a mutual friend, Hugo, who we had the pleasure of meeting up with in Istanbul last year. Oh, the life of the jet set!!!!!!!!!

Ronnie was kind enough to let us stay with her for 10 days before she heads back to Argentina. It was wonderful having a base for such a long time and we often took day trips out together. We'll put them all in a separate blog and concentrate on the city of Albany for this one.

Not many tourists make it to Albany. That's a shame as we really enjoyed the city. It's easy to walk around and we loved the architecture. Right in the centre is Empire Plaza where many grand buildings crowd around a large reflecting pool complete with fountains spraying water high into the air, as long as the wind isn't too strong. Nearby we visited the New York State Museum which was absolutely incredible. It is probably the best museum we have visited in the USA. There are displays about the whole of New York state, transport history and even the street stage from Sesame Street. Tucked away upstairs is a working carousel wheel.

We also spent time wandering around and exploring as usual. Lincoln Park was quite nice and has an open air swimming pool but we didn't find the time to use it. Washington Park was a little disappointing but it had a nice lake bisected by an iron bridge. We missed out (through laziness!) on the chance to see some open air theatre there - Annie Get Yor Gun is currently being performed. We loved Lark Street with its eclectic mix of shops, cafes, bars and restaurants, and the area around Empire Plaza is brimming with interesting architecture, memorials and statues. One day we walked along the river, covering a couple of miles of a path stretching from Buffalo to New York City, some 400 miles!

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Photos

State Education Department
Grand eh!

Gulf War Playing Cards
The Ace of Spades - S.H.

9/11 Memorial
Brighton fan, Robert Eaton, RIP

Comments

[Dawn Smallwood]

Albany
It sounds like you had a lot of fun in Albany and meeting up with Ronnie.

[Theresa]

Glad You Enjoyed The Visit
Thanks for hanging out in Albany. I visited in 97 and stayed. It's a wonderful place to be if you enjoy playing politics...or, should I say, disfunctional politics. Just an FYI...in the pics, I believe the building you've labelled "park building" is actually a private hom adjacent to the park and the building you've labelled "state capital" is actually "city hall." The building surrounded by cranes is the capital and my destination for the day. Glad you enjoyed our city.