Winter Tourist Ithaca New York

http://www.boston.com/travel/getaways/us/newyork/articles/2009/01/25/gorges_and_vegetarian_fare_in_upstate_new_york/

Gorges and vegetarian fare in upstate New York

Triphammer Falls, with an abandoned power station at its base, sits right on the Cornell University campus. From the A.D. White Library, visitors can enjoy great views of the city. (Photos by Ali Austerlitz/for the boston globe)

Saul Austerlitz

ITHACA, N.Y. - Visiting this city in winter seems crazy. Miserable weather has scared off countless students from attending college here and rendered the tourist trade a mostly summertime affair. My wife and I trekked northward, seeking to triumph over the elements.

Setting up camp in the well-located Hilton Garden Inn Ithaca on downtown's Seneca Street, we set out to discover ways to beat the sleet. But with relatively mild weather, we had caught something of a break.

"Ithaca is Gorges," local T-shirts proclaim, and no visit to Ithaca is complete without seeing the gorges and waterfalls that dot the area. We began with an early morning walk to Ithaca Falls at the foot of Lake Street, between downtown and the Cornell University campus. The rough-hewn stone walls, towering hundreds of feet above us, formed a natural arena in which to view the waterfall. The stream pours down with such force that it bounces off the rocks, creating a spray visitors can feel from dozens of feet away. (The Triphammer Foot Bridge on campus offers another glimpse, with foamy, greenish-white water surging downhill, occasionally soaking passersby.)

We hiked up Buffalo Street, which runs parallel to Seneca, making the arduous ascent to Collegetown, an area well stocked with bars and inexpensive restaurants, and the Cornell campus. A climb to the top of McGraw Tower on a weekend morning offered two treats: a brief concert by a student chimemaster gifted at getting 100-year-old bells to play "Hey Jude" and the Cornell fight song, and afterward, a short scramble up to the lookout post, where the entire campus, and the city beyond, unfold. Dark-blue Cayuga Lake swirled to the south, and the snowy campus appeared untouched by humanity at this hour.

Having enjoyed the performance, we decided to create songs of our own on the musical steps adjacent to the tower. Skipping stones along the otherwise-normal looking steps creates tones akin to a xylophone's. Believing that every exposure to the elements, however brief, should be amply rewarded with heat and comfort, we retreated to nearby Uris Library, which offered views of the city from the Cocktail Lounge study area and the A.D. White Library.

We popped into Sage Chapel, whose man-made splendors include heavy brass fixtures, a dazzlingly colorful rose window, and medieval-style frescoes and inscriptions - all unexpected on the mostly Gothic campus. The Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, designed by I.M. Pei, also presented dramatically framed views of Ithaca. The couch on the fifth floor, where the best views can be found, faces wraparound windows, and away from the collection of Asian art. The museum is splendid in a low-key way, with Tiffany vases and samurai swords joined by Giacomettis, Picassos, and Rauschenbergs.

That night, we dined downtown at the legendary Moosewood Restaurant, source of the bestselling vegetarian-friendly cookbooks. The dining room's indifferent decor was clearly no impediment to the crowds who thronged the entrance, waiting for a table. We enjoyed the food, which consisted of hearty dishes like mushroom lasagna and baked cod, along with brews from the Ithaca Beer Co., but the heavy fare left no room for dessert.

Later we made our way along Buffalo Street to catch some live music at Lehigh Valley House. The listing in the local alternative paper didn't make clear that we would essentially be crashing a private party, but we made ourselves comfortable at an empty table to enjoy the concert. Four grizzled veterans of rock cranked out the blues with impressive vigor as middle-aged and retirement-age couples twirled on the cracked-tile dance floor.

The Lehigh Valley House is the sort of place where everyone knows the band - and the band knows everyone. Departing guests stopped by the keyboardist's stand to say goodbye. We felt like outsiders, but the show provided a much-needed respite from the relentless youthfulness up the hill.

The next morning we made our way to brunch at Taverna Banfi, located in the Statler Hotel on campus and staffed partially by students at Cornell's hotel school. We were planning to end our visit with a trip to Lynah Rink, where $2 rentals made ice-skating sound like an ideal activity, but it was closed.

The weather gods were sending us a message. As we dug into our eggs and pancakes at brunch, the wind-whipped snow began to pound furiously at the windows. Winter was back with a vengeance. It was time to leave Ithaca.

Saul Austerlitz can be reached at [email protected]. 

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