The World Turned Upside Down. And Brunch.

Day 2 started with Sunday brunch in Albany.  After some searching, we landed at the Cafe Madison, which rather tellingly, doesn't take reservations.  The wait was supposed to be 45 minutes but was only 25 (rah!).

CM's motto is "brunch without booze is just breakfast."  Their drink menu lived up to it; I had the strawberry lemonade (it had vodka in it, duh) & K had the cranberry ginger.  Pictured. For the bright color.

Then off to the National Historic Park at Saratoga.This was a last minute selection -- something different.

It is beautiful ground.  As you can see here from the visitor center:

That's Vermont across the Hudson on the horizon, BTW. 

The park has a nice one-way, 9-mile drive, with 9 stops to give you local knowledge.  There's not much reconstructed.  There was a house, which was the headquarters for General Gates. We wondered what Chip and Joanna could do with it. 

The Battle of Saratoga is full of legendary moments and monuments.  General Arnold (he who shall not be named) was shot in the leg during the battle and there's a boot statute denoting the spot, though not mentioning who the two star general was.  Clever.  

British General Simon Fraser was shot there, too, and is buried there on the battlefield.  

BTW, the audio tour did not make fall weather in that part of New York sound pleasant.  OC, it is different if you are in a tent all the time.  

One selling point was that there was an 18th c fair on the grounds where General Burgoyne actually surrendered days after the battle.  There we learned that churning butter is hard (who knew?) and it's easier to make it in a mayonaisse jar and shaking.  And whey tastes awful.  

We learned that beer was food back then, with low alcohol content.   I know several people (who are reading this in fact) who believe that.  

And there was this Punch and Judy show, replete with a sign warning that it was an 18th c show and not PC.  Who knew?

Then a long drive to Geneva, where we are staying in a restored/renovated old mansion, with almost a view of Lake Seneca.  

Dinner in Geneva was a disappointment.  K had the pizza du jour which was white pizza with duck and brussel sprouts.  I wondered why.  & there was a discussion of whether it was pizza without red sauce (no!)

And then back to the room,to watch GoT on HBo Go (the wonders of modern tech) & act surprised Jaime is still alive.  & Little Finger is a sneaky prick.  Who knew?