Day 19. Hamptons

Larry asked to be cropped out of this early am pic!

The fast pace of Europe is starting to slow down. Finally, we are getting into relaxed mode. This morning started with a special breakfast for Larry's birthday! We made scrambled eggs with chives, grilled tomatoes, and streaky bacon! YUM. Happy Birthday to our beautiful friend and thank you to both you and Fred for being such fabulous hosts!

Our trusty rental car!

Today, Cory and I decided to go for a drive and explore the area. Cory has always been a big fan of the Hamptons and all the "shnitz" that goes with it. He wanted to see some of the beaches and grand houses that are in so many magazines and tv shows. So off we set on our drive around the south fork of this peninsula. NB- The word "shnitz" is a favourite of mine. It has been used a lot on this trip and there been some discussion as to what it actually means. Fred said his Mum used to use it, and it seems to be to describe something fancy or with lots of fuss. This trip has been quite the "shnitz". LOL...

One of the places that Cory really wanted to visit was Gin Lane, famous for its big houses right on the beach. When we visited, it was very cold, but it is clear to see the area is very beautiful and the houses were amazing. There was also some damage here from the recent storms, and on the streets, it was clear there was a lot of cleaning up going on of broken branches, trees and fences that had been damaged by Hurricane Sandy.

The houses in this area are amazing, though it was difficult to get a peak as the people who own them have beautiful big hedges to keep prying eyes out - fair enough!!! Like any good paparazzo, Cory had the philosophy that "where there is will, there is a way" and managed to snap some shots off anyway. As most of you know, the architecture, design, and interiors of these homes is one of his biggest hobbies. He was delighted to be able to suck it all up.

We stopped at the pretty town of South hampton, which is the setting for many of the scenes in Royal Pains. It seemed like Cory knew all the buildings. He even pointed at one corner, and said "That is where the Jitney crash scene happened!" (The Hamptons Jitney is an express coach service from New York to the Hamptons area).

Southhampton Home Nature.

There are many towns that make up the Hamptons. Fred gave us an explanation of them, but my memory is not so good. They all look nice to me! We didnt have time to stop at all of them, but we passed through a few on our way to Montauk, where we went to see the lighthouse! This lighthouse was the first built in New York State. It was commissioned by George Washington in 1795 and up until the 1860's it was kept alight by sperm oil! It alerts ships of the entrance to long island sound which stretches from the Atlantic all the way to Manhattan!

After the lighthouse, the sun was starting to get low. Cory wanted to visit one last beach! On our way, we passed a massive ranch style house which was the inspiration for the massive beach house in the show Revenge. Cory explained that the house was graphically imposed onto a beach (actually in north Carolina) for the show.

We headed for Sag Harbour and the ferry to shelter island. The car ferry is a fast, though expensive way to get between the south and north forks. The sun was setting as we drove onto our next boating experience. It was very efficient and we did not have to wait at all. The ferries run 24 hours a day, all year, though they do stop when the weather is bad. It was a nice new experience for us! Harry, you would have loved it!!!

Dinner looked a little like this! 

Tonight, we had a cheap and cheerful early take away dinner. It was Mexican and delicious! We had burritos, tacos, torta, and quesadilla. I wish we had mexican this good at home!!

To finish the evening off, we chatted and caught up on things we hadn't chatted about. Larry had gone back to the city today, which left the 4 of us - including Opie, who very dilligently brought me my pyjamas! He is certainly a very good retriever, and Fred said he loves bringing people their underwear!
We finished the night with starting to watch the new Lindsay Lohan - Liz Taylor telemovie. After 5 minutes, we all agreed we could watch no more! Sorry Lindsay, we did try but bed looked like a better option!!!