Sunday Stroll

After witnessing a beautiful wedding on Saturday, Sunday was kind of a funky day for me.  What better way to span new beginnings and potential endings than a literal walk across a bridge?  Exactly - especially when you factor in the gorgeous sunshine and my complete lack of schedule. The Walkway over the Hudson was the perfect start to a mellow day.

Aloysius was my promenade partner, and I must say, we are well suited walkers.  We scored a legit parking spot on the west side of the river and then proceeded to leisurely walk and talk our way east to Poughkeepsie.  There was a generous wind blowing, but the sun was shining and the air was the perfect mix of crisp and mild.  I had hoped the foliage was going to be a bit more colorful, but the first weekend in October proved to be a bit too early in the fall for really dramatic color.  .                                                                                                                        

The view north while walking east.

In case you're unfamiliar with this bridge, the longest pedestrian bridge in the world at 1.28 miles, here's a link to some FAQs.  What their website fails to mention is that there are some minor issues with traffic flow.  I mean, it isn't a big deal, but there aren't distinct lanes for the various types of traffic crossing the bridge, i.e. pedestrian, cyclists, folks with dogs and/or strollers, joggers...  It's a bit of a free for all, which is fine if you're a person who remains cognizant of others, unfortunately, however, we all know how increasingly rare that trait

                                                                              seems to have become. 

View from Caffe Aurora

Once we got to the east side of the river we decided to search out a good cup of coffee and some pastry.  Both desires were met at the charming Caffe Aurora, in the Little Italy area of Poughkeepsie.  I had a cappucino and a plain Baba which is a delicious sponge-y cake which had been soaked in rum.  It reminded of the cake I enjoyed in Tuscany and was the perfect degree of sweet.  After reading the Yelp reviews, I'm going to try a cannoli  for sure next time - calories be damned. We enjoyed our treats on their cozy covered front porch and were incredibly entertained by the conversation at the neighboring table between a few characters named Nunzio and something else that ended in a vowel.  Very authentic stuff.

I definitely recommend your going to check out this bridge and explore the local area.  The Mid-Hudson Children's Museum  is nearby and this handy map has more information about additional places of interests nearby.  This Cafe Bocca place has some serious potential and Janet's Jerk Stop looks like a cool cheap eats kind of spot.  And talk about a great name!  I imagine the next couple of weeks are going to be pretty popular ones for pedestrian leaf peepers, but you should still slip your walking shoes on and get yourself there.  Some more photos from our jaunt are below.

View south

Walking shoes?

Mid-Hudson Bridge