For our first anniversary Paulo planned us a mid week getaway to the Catskills. What a lovely little trip we had. To be honest we spent most of it in the saltwater pool at the house he found for us on Airbnb. Take a look at the property and you'll see why we stuck close to home!
So you'll notice not a shot of the pool to be seen. Well that's because I saved the best for last... I can honestly say I have never been in a more beautiful pool. The pool itself is a slate grey and it is surrounded by large tufts of grass on 2 sides, giant hydrangea bushes on one end and lounge chairs on the last. I felt like I was at a luxury spa or something. When you are floating in the pool and look up all you can see are beautiful maple and birch tree limbs in front of a clear blue sky. The fact that the pool was saltwater instead of heavily chlorinated was just the icing on the cake. I will dream of this pool.
So, when we finally got out of the pool and drove into Kingston we were greeted with lovely turn of the century buildings and cute shops and eateries. Kingston is the largest city in the area. We parked the car and wandered around downtown for a few. We ended up grabbing a Gyro at a little Greek spot, really adorable town. Lots of little antique shops, eateries, coffee shops and other retails stores. The next morning was the real culinary treat of the trip. Two words Phoenicia Diner.
This place is a gem. It's not like we stumbled upon an unknown secret. When I was in the Catskills for Phoenicia Flea about a month ago it was the big recommend. We didn't have time on that trip. Boy, am I glad we had time this week! Seems like pretty much everything on their menu is made in house or locally sourced. Speaking of the menu, how much do you love their branding?? I chose a skillet with cheese grits (my absolute fav) duck confit and shiitake mushrooms with a poached egg. It came with house made wheat bread that was fantastic as well. Delicious coffee, fresh squeezed juice and then there were the corn cakes. These things are like pancakes but with fresh corn in them. My husband and I split a side order and I am so glad we did. Next time we are in the Catskills I want to hit them up for lunch, there was some kind of stuffed chicken dish that sounded amazing. They are only open for breakfast (served all day) and lunch (til 5pm), so don't plan on stopping by in the evening unless you are looking for libations. They have a little cocktail lounge that looks like a lot of 60's inspired fun as well that I believe is open later. After breakfast we wandered over to Woodstock via a route that took us along the Reservoir. Talk about a breath taking view...
After a brief walk around Woodstock, with a stop in this shop and that, we popped into Bread Alone Bakery. This a company who's bread we know and love from buying it in Brooklyn, so it was neat to find their storefront in Woodstock. We picked up some lunch for later and headed back to the pool! This really was a few days of pure relaxation. We ended the trip with a bottle of Vueve Cliquot in celebration of the occasion, a meal prepared entirely on the grill and we enjoyed it under the stars. The sounds in the Catskills really are spectacular, crickets, owls and cicadas, frogs and who knows what else! Can't wait to return.