History and Food, but no West Point Visit

6/20/13

An early morning car trip to Hyde Park, NY took us to the Vanderbilt Mansion.  This mansion was owned by  Frederick, grandson of Cornelius Vanderbilt who made all of the money (the grandchildren are the ones who spent all of the money).  Frederick's brother George built Biltmore in Ashville, NC.

Louise Vanderbilt's bedroom (copying European royalty)....had a rail around the bed.  In Europe this served two purposes.  #1  When a birth occurred, 40 observers were required to be in the room to document the birth.  #2 The rail kept servants from approaching.  Servants were required to remain at a distance.

Lunch at Bocuse, the French restaurant at the Culinary Institute was fabulous.

 There were 15 waiters in the room...all seniors who graduate within a few weeks.  We were served an apertif (a sparkling wine with a capsule of Curacau liquor and sugar in the bottom).  For lunch, Ron had sea bass and I had black truffle soup and arugula salad with strawberries.  Ron's dessert (very small but excellent)consisted of several types of chocolate.  One was a small, warm chocolate/raspberry brownie...wow it was great!
I forgot to take pictures of the food...the presentation was unbelievable!

After lunch we toured FDR's country home which actually belonged to his mother.  Both FDR and Eleanor Roosevelt are buried on the property. 

Bronze of Winston Churchill (he's the one on the right)

Instead of going to West Point (which is just a bus tour..no walking tour allowed), we drove through Cold Spring, a quaint town between Hyde Park and Croton..

Laundry, groceries, dinner at a local BBQ in Croton and a movie rental (Hyde Park on the Hudson) completed our day.