Day of Freedom!

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So yesterday, Saturday, was our only full day off. We slept in until NINE O'CLOCK and had a leisurely breakfast (I had time to eat a whole grapefruit!). We had an idea what we wanted to do for the day, but this weekend most people in the Golo house are away, so we weren't sure what was going to happen. Ithaca is a very spread out area. The actual city only had 30,000 people; it's when the suburbs are included that it becomes a city of 100,000. Most of the GIA (haha) is spread out residential areas, with pockets of activities in between. It's definitely a city you need a car to get around, and we didn't have a car.

Around 10 we found a ride to get to the Farmer's Market, which is the hip happenin' place in Ithaca. It only runs from spring to fall, so the vendor stalls aren't enclosed. It is located right on the edge of Lake Cayuga and you can walk through it and then sit and eat the the boardwalk. It is so much larger than Guelph's, and it only gets bigger as the real farmers come in the summer to sell produce. There were so many baked good and drool-inducing food stalls. It was a mecca of organic, locally produced food. I could have spent so much money there, but, with the help of of Nadine and Efrain, I kept my purchases to a minimum: one apple cider doughnut, one apple pastry bar, and this amazing Cambodian snack that I forget the name of.

From there we managed to find our way to downtown Ithaca (a bit of a walk, but it was through gorgeous residential neighbourhoods), which is called The Commons. It's a student-friendly area with cute shops and eateries. Nadine had her heart set on eating at Moosewood, a famous vegetarian chain of restaurants with cookbooks and a line of food, so we ate there. I had a pretty good spinach lasagna and it had a really nice, friendly atmosphere.

Then we wandered into some neat shops and I kept note of the local restaurants. The Commons is only a few blocks around. One nice thing is they have pedestrian-only streets and benches and tables everywhere. We stopped at Collegetown Bagels to grab some delicious ice cream. Around 4:30 our ride came to pick us up and by 5 we were back at the Golo house. We had a dinner of leftovers, followed by the apple bar and a walnut-maple-chocolate chip cookie from the Farmer's Market.

I was so tired that I went to bed just after nine. This morning I woke up at ten (major sleep in!) to see snow falling outside. It's just cold enough for there to be snow (with windchill it's -3 degrees Celsius) but not cold enough for it to build up on the ground. We are doing nest checks today, so we'll see how that goes with the windy, cold, and snowy weather. I expect to be freezing and covered on mud by the end. 😊

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Photos

Apple Cider Donoughts
Mmmmm....

Beautiful, Delicious, Amazing Cambodian Food
It had sweet potato, potato, mung beans, and other stuff that I forget in it.

Food Heaven
Mmmmm....

Probably Jewish Deli
Hey Dave, is this the Deli you were talking about?

Buster's Hand!
"Make love in your own hand mother!"

Junkyard Art!
Found inside a local artist's co-operative.

Comments

[Mama]

Hi there!
Miss you on mother's day but am so happy you are having this experience. All the places look so beautiful and the food looks yummy! I hope it warms up. Its cold here, but not snowing--just very windy. Love ya, Mama

[Drew]

I love blogs
It has been nice getting pictures to go with the stories from your trip Rebecca, happy for you. The junkyard art is the best! Although the food looks delicious, the day seemed to be all about food! Typical Revka.. Stay as warm as you can, much love Drew.