Had a great weekend in the Hudson Valley. For miles and miles both sides of the river offer gorgeous views. We rented a car and drove first to the Vanderbilt Mansion in Hyde Park, now owned by the U.S. Park Service after the Vanderbilts failed to find a buyer for it in the late 30’s. The craftmanship throughout is astounding, though ostentatious to contemporary eyes.

We stayed at the Cromwell Inn, whose interior balanced quaint and elegant (read: not too much Victorian decoration). One of the proprietors is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America – which I must visit on my next trip to the Valley – and so breakfast was a treat, including Poached Pears

• Find the hardest pears you can
• Peal them
• Poach them in cranberry juice with a little cinnamon mixed in

The result is a steamy sultry treat eaten with knife and fork.

I’ve wanted to visit Mass MOCA ever since it opened, and felt like the recently opened Dia:Beacon would be a closer, albeit smaller, version of the industrial factory-turned-contemporary art museum. The building and grounds are beautiful and functional, including a cafe area that doubles as a free library. The art itself, like so much contemporary art, failed to move me. Nothing happy or sad or surprising in any way, no great messages sent or received. Saturday’s trip to IKEA was much more exciting.