Falling into the Season! New England in the fall with Catherine.

New England in the Fall

The trees are ablaze with brilliant shades of red, russet, orange, and yellow.  Where am I?  I am in New England for the Fall, for a few short weeks form late September into late October New England transforms itself into a carpet of glorious colours.

Pumpkins in Vermont

There is nothing quite like New England in the Fall.  At this time of year all six New England states celebrate harvest time with a fantastic displays of pumpkins, parsnips, apples and corn, every private house and shop will also decorate their front porches showing off their variety of pumpkins both large and small. It truly is a lovely time to visit.

I start my journey in the city, which claims it never sleeps – New York. Though not part of New England, it can and does, act as a major gateway for any visit to New England.

New York is a city that I have visited many times and it is easy to see why it captures the imagination of most people. It is instantly recognisable because of the many movies and TV shows that are shot on location in the city so we feel that instant connection with it!  Whilst I was in the city, I came across Julianne Moore filming scenes for her new movie What Maisie Knew in Greenwich.

New York Skyline

New York has many attractions and way to many for me to mention here, whilst the must see attractions of the Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Top of the Rock, Times Square and Central Park will be on everyone’s itinerary, this year I took myself off to visit The High Line. Located in the lower west side of Manhattan, the line was originally an elevated freight railroad which has been out of service since the 60’s, it has now been redesigned and planted as an aerial greenway and offers unexpected views of the city and Hudson River.  With very little green space in this part of the city, I found it a welcome retreat from the concrete streets below and well worth a visit.

The lower West Side is now alive with bars, cafes, restaurants and boutique shopping plus Chelsea Market, which was an old biscuit factory, its kind of New York’s equivalent of our Borough Market and a great place for lunch. I love staying downtown and the area now offer a host of fabulous hotels.

Dining and drinking in New York is always a pleasure, however, you do need to choose carefully!  For fabulous views of the Manhattan skyline, I would strongly recommend that you cross the East River to Brooklyn where you will be rewarded!

If you head over early evening (depending on the season), you can sit and watch the light show that is Manhattan. For dining, it has to be The River Café make sure you book this fabulous restaurant before leaving the UK.

Times Square at dusk

After two nights in the city I was ready to get on the road, actually I got on an Amtrak train! More of this continued tour from Travel Matters soon!