One from the vaults: Postcard from Long Island

Posted on 30/09/2022 by

24 Comments

This post should’ve preceded last week’s but  but what the heck! Prior to heading to Richmond for the 2015 UCI Road World Championships, we spent a few days in NYC and Long Island.

My beloved is on a roll. He successfully navigated our way from Manhattan to Sag Harbor without GPS and has twice selected restaurants for lunch that have been truly magnificent. I can only conclude that after almost 40 years of intensive training he’s now close to perfect. If only he didn’t keep leaving stuff behind in restaurants and hotel rooms!

Now that's what I call a beach - acres of soft, silky sand.
Now that’s what I call a beach – acres of soft, silky sand.

We’re currently chillin’ in The Hamptons. We’ve gone from life in the fast to the slow lane. A few days in New York was enough to catch up with some of our favourite museums and galleries and spend hours pounding the pavements just soaking up our surroundings.

Having watched the film “Woman in Gold” on the flight over my beloved wanted to visit the Neue Gallerie to see Adele Bloch-Bauer’s portrait by Gustav Klimt. I’d already seen the picture in the Belvedere in Vienna before it was returned to its rightful owner and acquired by Ronald Lauder for the gallery. It was well worth seeing again and a trip to the gallery’s typical Viennese coffee shop reminded me that another visit to Vienna might be in order. It’s been over 40 years since my last one – way too long.

No visit to the Big Apple would be complete without a trip to the Guggenheim which sadly was between major shows and the work of a Columbian artist (Doris Salcedo) who had mutilated furniture with concrete left my beloved unimpressed. His sensibilities were soothed by a quick trip to the Frick.

I’ve wanted to visit Long Island for a while largely as a result of watching Ina Garten’s cookery programmes. She lives in a wonderful house in The Hamptons with a truly magnificent garden. She’s a cook not a chef but her recipes deliver real crowd pleasers every time. I’ve not bumped into Ina but her signed cookery books are in all the book shops, surely the next best thing?

A little bit of France in The Hamptons
A little bit of France in The Hamptons

 

Renovated windmill in East Hampton
Renovated windmill in East Hampton

 

Impossibly cute fire station
Impossibly cute fire station

 

Old Colonial style Hotel in Sag Harbor
Old Colonial style Hotel in Sag Harbor

The Hamptons has lived up to the hype. It’s bigger than I imagined – but that’s the States for you. The property porn is spectacular with wonderful wood clad, historic and modern homes. I particularly love the older properties with a gingerbread trim. For a cool pad, without a sea view, don’t expect much change from US$10 million. Add at least another 10 million for a shore side location.

Acres of dunes and forest
Acres of dunes and forest

As we drove around we saw a veritable army of Latino gardeners maintaining the manicured perfection of many gardens. Landscape gardening is clearly big business, along with Pilates studios, organic food stores, art galleries and……bike shops.

Goin' fishin'
Goin’ fishin’

There’s been no problem sticking to my enforced regime. Organic juices, lobster, oysters, shrimp, striped sea bass, salmon and salads (no sauces or dressings) have been easy to source. I’ve even found some vegan, soy and gluten-free baked goodies to enjoy with my afternoon camomile tea. I’m writing this on the balcony overlooking Sag Harbor which is full of yachts – a bit of home from home. The weather’s been a balmy 27C and the season is surely winding down, meaning it’s easier to get tables in the restaurants.

And chill
And chill

If I lived and worked in New York, I too would escape to Long Island at the week-ends to indulge in a less frenetic way of life. Rested and relaxed, our next stop is the road race World Championships in Richmond Virginia.

Category: The Americas, TravelTags: , , , , , ,

24 Comments on “One from the vaults: Postcard from Long Island”

  5. Ah yes pretty pictures, the island out there ! Many think is NYC but is not, there is another one call island who is Staten closer to my old hood ::) Cheers

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  7. 💜 “What the heck!!!” is the Control Freak Losing Control 🤔 ? that asked, Congrats on the “40 years training”

    …💛💚💙…

    Like

    Reply

  9. That is near where I went to school. Most of my family has left LI including the Hamptons. My favorite spot was Montauk where I spend the summer months living in a cottage across from the ocean cleaning hotel rooms and getting ready for a return to college.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  10. Some great photos, Sheree. I went to NYC and Long Island a few years ago. Two completely different worlds, but each with their own charm.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  11. Pingback: One from the vaults: Postcard from Long Island – Site Title

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Follow View from the Back on WordPress.com
Translate
September 2022
M T W T F S S
 1234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
2627282930  
%d bloggers like this: