Last weekend we needed a break from the city, so we set our sites on the Hudson valley. After some unsuccessful attempts at finding an available hotel, we rented a house in Gallatin, New York just outside of Red Hook.

Brooklyn owners Eric & Danny have created the perfect woodsy escape with comfort & style. We loved hearing the wind through the trees, seeing the stars at night from the deck’s hot tub, heated floors throughout, browsing the slick coffee table books, staring out the picture windows, and the bonus washer/dryer.

The 2 bedroom house is filled with distinct personal touches and unusual finds, and we particularly loved the little collections of things scattered here and there.

We checked out the town of Red Hook on our first stop of the day and browsed in a sweet little shop called Tivoli Mercantile. Next up, we followed Route 9 South to Rhinebeck. Pretty storefronts and restaurants line the streets of this charming town like Arielle and Le Petit Bistro.

There were a few must see stores including Wing and Clover that is both a storefront and workshop space offering a variety of classes.

Paper Trail has an array of pretty paper goods and gifts

We grabbed a bite for lunch at Terrapin bistro

Vanderbilt Mansion and National park is just south of Rhinebeck so we decided to take a drive and tour the house and grounds. It was a really interesting look into the lifestyle during the Gilded Age of America and the Vanderbilt family history.

The views alone of the Hudson river are worth seeing.

In the late afternoon we drove north to Hudson, and cruised along Warren Street to check out all the antique and home decor shops with too many favorites to count.

I loved Hudson Supermarket for its varieties of dealers, and in particular the section curated by Stephanie Lloyd. Vintage French & German seed sacks sewn into pillows and upholstered on French furniture were the highlights. I have a soft spot for chaises, and I loved this linen striped version.  On one of the tables, I spotted a book from the 50′s called Mon Amie Jennie about a French cat and was tempted to buy it since I am called Jennie by my family.

As nightfall arrived and the shops closed, we walked to Baba Louie’s and grabbed one of their famous pizzas for dinner and headed back to our house in the woods.

We lucked out with perfect weather all weekend: sunny and crisp during the daytime and cool nights prime for sleeping. On our last day we visited a barn in Red Hook filled with antiques {or mostly junk I would say} and headed to Poet’s Walk in Red Hook.

It is said to have inspired Washington Irving’s famous story Rip Van Winkle with two miles of trails through woods and open fields with vistas overlooking the Hudson

Off to the right of the entrance trail is a wagon with fresh flowers that you can drop $5 into and choose a bouquet.

After our walk we headed to look around the small town of Tivoli and stopped by the Madalin hotel. We caught it in the middle of a sleepy afternoon with not much going on so after a brief stroll, we left and saw the new Woody Allen movie at Upstate Films just in time for the late afternoon show.

We ended the trip with the perfect dinner at Mercato in Red Hook. Generally, reservations are necessary, but I think since it was Halloween, we got lucky and were seated right away. We shared shrimp scampi over lemon risotto and fresh rigatoni with tomato and basil and finished up with “Francesco’s fabulous tiramisu” and a glass of Moscato dessert wine.

All photos and written content by Luster©2010