Fall is definitely here and a sure sign is the beautiful fall foliage in New York State.  I visited my good friend, Maria Singh, and her family in Syracuse where we went to a Farmer’s market and even found a farm and a 91-year-old farmer with the last name, Luchsinger.

Luchsinger's Farm in Syracuse, New York

This year was our twentieth year of friendship and so we travelled to New York City to celebrate.  There we attended a brilliant musical production of Once, a love story with many instruments and great actors.  We were also were privileged to attend a free piano concert at the Juilliard School of the Arts. Instructors played two pianos at the same time.  They played selections from Rachmaninoff and Bartok.  The packed auditorium was thrilled by their performance.

Outside St. Bernard Theater at "Once" the Musical, New York City

A trip to New York City would not be complete without sampling the great food.  We were delighted by the Spring Rolls with plum sauce for dipping, at Breeze, a restaurant serving food described as French/Thai fusion.  We also had Junior’s famous cheesecake and pizza at John’s Pizzeria.

We try to do something different when we go into NYC. This time we found the Highline, a stretch of railroad track above the city that has been made into a walking park. This perspective gives an interesting view of the city.  We made our exit to the edge of the Chelsea District on 23rd street, a pleasant place with brownstone buildings where people were going out for coffee and a paper on Sunday morning.

As we travelled home to Syracuse, we again had the great views of fall foliage to keep us company.  I never tire of visiting New York, but it is always great to come home to the Pacific Northwest!