Cold Spring, NY

A few weeks ago—before we explored the cemetery or hiked through the Cornish Estate ruins—we explored a bit of the town of Cold Spring, New York. Cold Spring is a stop on the Hudson line of the Metro North Railroad, about 1.5 hrs north of the city, on the banks of the Hudson River.

It's an adorable small town, filled with antiques shops, an actual Main Street, a few restaurants, bars and coffee shops. The houses and brick buildings were almost all absurdly cute, with mansard roofs, porches, porthole windows and red doors. Cold Spring reminded me of other Hudson Valley towns I've been to or through—Tarrytown, Irvington, Ossining—but slightly less expensive.

I would have loved to explore the antique shops, but we had a full agenda and couldn't carry anything with us, which means I would have 100% found tons of things I couldn't live without.

The hiking trails are located really close to the center of town, and our hike through the highlands was incredible. Aside from the ruins, we saw so many rock sculptures that they began to look like little cities (or little people) and the views from the top are breathtaking. I might have complained (mostly in my head) about being tired on the trek up, or almost died of thirst (dramatic exaggeration) but the views of the Hudson Valley and beyond were totally worth it.

At one point we could even see the city—looking like a tiny, toy Emerald City—which is the best part about the Hudson Valley. You feel light years away from New York, but you're only a short train ride from home.