New York City’s Roosevelt Island is a gem, with bucolic landscaping and scenic waterfront views. It’s a great place to stroll, jog or picnic. Accessible by a four-minute tram from Manhattan’s Midtown East, Roosevelt Island isn’t on most anyone’s list — many native New Yorkers have never visited — but it should be. These are some images from the holiday season.
I love finding a cozy, atmospheric, informal wine bar with a variety of selections by the glass. That’s what I found at Kurant, a Midtown east wine bar in NYC that also has some wonderful food options, including the cheese platter, the guacamole with chips, and the sweet potato fries that are accompanied by a delightfully smoky (and spicy) huancaina sauce. And now they’re all decked out for the holidays.
The art hanging on the exposed brick walls depicting old world New York City contributes to the cozy vibe at Kurant that’s noted for its warm and welcoming vibe.
As a photographer, I’m all about presenting even tried-and-true destinations from a completely different perspective. I’m captivated by color and form. But, I don’t need to travel to locales that are far-afield. I find treasures right in my backyard — sometimes literally — as these images reveal. Of course, all my photos are available for purchase, whether as any occasion note cards or photo prints.
There are abundant botanicals to be found on New York City’s Roosevelt Island that’s a short tram ride from Midtown east.
These were the dramatically-hued leaves on my neighbor’s tree.
After 15 mph winds, blowing most of those leaves off my neighbor’s tree, this is the picturesque scene nature left for me on my lawn.
I found this scene when I set foot on a wooden deck in the backyard of a tiny coffee shop in New York City.
It’s easy to practice mindful walking at the tranquil Untermyer Gardens Conservatory, especially in the off season and when visiting mid-week.
Though there’s so much to love, by far, I most enjoyed exploring the Walled Garden with its crenellated walls.
Stepping into the Walled Garden is a magical experience.
Even many New Yorkers are not aware of all the green spaces that are accessible by mass transit from Manhattan. The 46-acre Untermyer Gardens Conservancy in Yonkers is one of those verdant expanses that’s just a relatively short walk from the Metro North’s Greystone station.
The Vista with stairs that gently descend to the Hudson River was modeled on Italy’s Villa D’Este where the stairs cascade down to Lake Como.
The Temple of Love offers stellar views of the Hudson River and looks lovely from just about every angle.
It’s worth exploring the nooks and crannies of the magnificent outcrop that’s capped with the grand Temple of Love.
You never know what you’ll find at the Catherine Konner Sculpture Park when roaming about the lush grounds that are part of the Rockland Center for the Arts.
Barely two miles from downtown Nyack, New York, the grassy lawns and paths at this sculpture park are dotted with some curious works of art that are worth examining.
The campus of Cornell Tech on New York’s Roosevelt Island couldn’t be more scenic, rain or shine.
It has a dreamy side — such as my view of the 59th Street Bridge when walking from the tram on Roosevelt Island. Or the reflections of sky, clouds and bridge in the windows.
I spent the past week in Uptown Kingston, New York (in the Hudson River Valley) where there are abundant vibrant murals, like this one by Lindsey Wolkowicz with Dillon Paul. “Lifted” depicts women and girls as voices of change.
On Crown Street, this mural, when seen straight on, is a large-scale playing card painted by Nils Westergard as a celebration of a friend through the good times and the bad.
Artist Samantha French and Aaron Hauck painted this evocataive mural “Late Summer Kill Swim” that references typical summers enjoying local swimming holes along the Hudson Valley. The word “kill” is a Dutch word for creeks or springs.
“Vignettes of Home,” a mural by Kingston-based painter Jane Bloodgood-Abrams, opens three windows into the evocative landscapes of the Hudson Valley that’s long served as inspiration to the area’s artists.
It’s so easy to hop on Metro North from Manhattan and quickly escape to a stellar scenic landscape in Irvington, one of the peaceful villages fronting the Hudson River. This is Matthiessen Park, a bucolic public park with numerous distanced picnic tables and benches where you could sit for hours reading a book or working on your laptop.
The 26-some-mile Old Croton Aqueduct Trail that meanders from the Bronx up through the river villages of the Hudson Valley (including Irvington) is a leafy gem with its signature stone cylindrical ventilator shafts peppering the route. I’ve walked numerous portions of this trail.
Sitting in New York Harbor, Governors Island is just a short ferry ride from the Manhattan shoreline yet it feels worlds apart.
And, of course, it’s blanketed with foliage to keep me entranced.
Strolling on the network of flower-laden paths that wend through the Hammock Grove on Governors Island is sheer delight.
In the Hudson Valley, the Olana State Historic Site and Blithewood Garden are stunning. These are a few more images from my recent trip.
Nature and art are interwoven at the Olana State Historic Site, just like the fencing and benches dotting the landscape. It shouldn't come as a surprise, given that this scenic property was largely designed by noted Hudson River School painter, Frederic Church who lived and painted there.
On the forested property of the Olana State Historic Site, this is one of several silk banners - Memento Mori Mandalas - created by artist Portia Munson. They each honor a creature that had been felled by climate change.
Blithewood Garden on the bucolic Bard College campus offers myriad sensory delights, from the sweet fragrance of lavender and other blooms to the sweeping sight of the Hudson River and the Catskill Mountains in the distance
On my recent travels to the picturesque village of Tivoli, I jogged just under two miles every day to the banks of the Hudson River, passing this magical house along the way.
Numerous carriage roads wind through the scenic Olana State Historic Site that sprawls along the Hudson River. (It's just a short drive from Tivoli.) Among the myriad botanical species growing on this expansive property, the smoke trees with their cloud-like blooms were especially evocative.
The woodsy campus of Bard College is stunning, especially because of its abundance of gardens. (Many Bard students reside in Tivoli.) The walled Blithewood Garden that's set more than 100 feet above the Hudson River is the most spectacular.
Just two hours from New York City, Greenport on the North Fork of Long Island is a more low-key alternative to the scene in the Hamptons.
Roaming around Greenport early in the day before high season started has many advantages, including finding artistic shapes outside restaurants that had not yet opened.
I found plenty of artistic inspiration in Greenport, Long Island even without visiting the myriad galleries.
In fact, not all the creative art in Greenport, Long Island is displayed in the galleries.
A short drive from Main Street, numerous shaded boardwalks zig-zag through the wetlands that provide abundant bird watching opportunities in the Arshamomaque Pond Preserve, which was renamed for an environmental champion, Paul Stoutenburgh.
Riding the East River Ferry is the scenic way of escaping my New York City neighborhood that’s mostly devoid of nature. The other day I took the relatively new route to Astoria, Queens where I found an abundance of showy blooms (and coffee shops, such as the adorable and yummy Chateau Le Woof that appeals to pets and their humans).
The ferry is a delight: It’s scenic, inexpensive and efficient. Myriad routes criss-cross the East River, and every week or so I’ll be exploring green spaces and coffee shops in a different neighborhood.
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