Today I was going to do a quick recap of a trip to Ithaca, Ny, where I went to visit my son to help with a car repair. However, if there’s one thing I love it’s a college town and Ithaca is home to two amazing universities. I’m not certain if it’s the youth and vitality you feel in a college town or maybe it’s just the amount of things to do, whatever it is, I find them to be great places to visit and possibly to live. The colleges themselves usually have something happening on campus on any given day and most of these events are open to the public. You can see amazing art and music and sports. The areas surrounding the colleges are usually hubs of excitement with fun restaurants and noisy bars, (if that’s your thing). This life ebbs out into the town itself and it’s very apparent in Ithaca. After looking at all the things I did I couldn’t find a way of lumping it all together. So today I’m going to focus on their Farmers Market.
The first thing I noticed was the amount of cars coming and going from the market. We pulled onto a dirt and gravel road and a parking spot opened up. My son told me to take that spot and we’ll walk the rest of the way. I took his advice, because he knows I don’t like fighting traffic. We walked through three separate tree lined parking lots , with little archways made of vines that gave us passage to the market. In an odd way I felt like I was going back in time , and if the cars where replaced with horses and carriages and the people dressed differently we could have been in a medieval market. The market itself is actually housed in a permanent building of sorts. The ceiling is around 20-30 feet high and made of wood and metal sheeting giving the place a huge open feel. Air flows freely and the vendors all have their own stalls with some erecting tents to give them more space for cooking or their wares. Having a permanent roof over a farmers market is a brilliant idea. It allows for visiting in any type of weather. The location of the market is also very inviting as it’s on an inlet of Lake Cayuga, people dock canoes and kayaks and come into the market for food.
The amount of vendors blew my mind, I’ve never been to Marrakesh but this was like a mini version of that, only American style. There were artist selling pottery, wooden bowls and furniture, sculptures, metal art, glass art, etc… Then you have the food artisans selling, breads, cheese, wine, ciders, honey, ice cream and flavored vinegars. Then more vendors selling handmade clothing and soaps and aromatherapy, and an herbal apothecary. Hot cooked food and pastries were also available, and the food was from around the world. My son and I decided on Tibetan food, but we could have eaten , Jamaican, Thai, Cambodian, Macro-biotic, Cuban and others. And last but not least, there were farmers at the farmers’ market. Crazy right? Each farm had a speciality and most were organic. The apples caught my eye as they were selling varieties I had never seen before like the Gravenstein which is a very old apple. Sometimes I wish I had two or three of me so I could run around and try a little of everything. We took our meals and sat on a bench overlooking the lake and enjoyed the live music and the fresh air while we ate and watched the people. To say I was overwhelmed would be an understatement. It would have been great to speak with each vendor and really get to know them and their wares. There was something for everyone at the Ithaca Farmers Market and I would recommend it as a thing you should do while visiting Ithaca, Ny. It’s only open on the weekends till 3pm so plan accordingly.
I had a wonderful time on my quick visit to the Ithaca Farmers Market. The people were nice and there was a laid back hippie vibe that made strolling along seem to be alright. It’s quite the change from the farmers markets in the city where everything is rushed. It made me think that maybe we should all take a little more time in our days to enjoy the simple things. Get out locally and find an apple you’ve never tried, drink a wine you’ve never had, taste a cuisine from a county you’ve never been to. All the while slowing it down and enjoying it. If you’ve ever been to the Ithaca Farmers’ Market or the town itself please let us know your thoughts. As always if you have any questions or comments please leave them in the box below and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can. Until next time, Boone Appétit!
