Botanical and Culinary Bounty of Ithaca!

Day One - Monday

Group arrives via motor coach and checks into hotel at about 3pm. Upon arrival, group will be welcomed with a reception featuring Finger Lakes wines and hors d'oeuvres created using local culinary bounty. For dinner this evening the group can have a more formal dining experience at The Heights Cafe or a less formal catered barbecue or picnic supper overlooking Buttermilk Falls or at Treman State Park.

 Day Two - Tuesday

Following breakfast at our hotel, we will head for a guided tour of the Cornell Plantations led by a floriculture specialist. The extensive arboretum and New York State Robinson Herb garden are both living showcases of botanical diversity.

 Board bus for 25 minute scenic ride to Baker's Acres which began as a modest family business and grew into one of the largest herb and perennial growers in Central New York.  Lunch for the group will be provided in the Garden Tea Room and will feature seasonal herbs and local produce.

Depart Baker's Acres at 2pm and arrive back at hotel at approximately 2:35 for rest and relaxation.

Dinner:   Boatyard Grill: Overlooking the Cayuga Lake inlet, the Boatyard is a casual restaurant located at the southern tip of Cayuga Lake.

Following dinner, the group will enjoy a theatre production (either the Hangar Theatre or Kitchen Theatre).  Note: the date of the visit will determine what theater companies are in session.

 Day Three - Wednesday -

After breakfast, time at leisure for hiking or spa treatments. Depart mid-morning for a private tour and catered lunch at the Museum of the Earth.

 This afternoon we will explore Taughannock Falls (thirty feet higher than Niagara Falls). After a leisurely few hours to explore the botanical wonders of the gorge with an experienced State Park guide, we will return to our hotel to rest before departing our to hotel for our Cayuga Lake wine and dinner cruise.

 Depart hotel for dinner cruise aboard the MV Columbia and cruise magnificent Cayuga Lake.

Day Four - Thursday

After breakfast we will depart for our forty minute drive through some of the most scenic landscape in upstate New York.  We will spend the morning visiting the Corning Museum of Glass. Considered the most extensive collection of glass in the world, the museum explores all facets of the art, history, and science of glass and includes live demonstrations in glass-blowing. The group will have time to shop in the amazing museum shop.

 We will depart Corning and travel via Watkins Glen to Glenora Winery. We will have a wine tasting following by a memorable lunch at Glenora's Veraisson Restaurant overlooking Seneca Lake.

 Return to Ithaca for later afternoon at leisure. Depart from hotel for final dinner at  Maxie's Supper Club or Taverna Banfi at Cornell's Statler Hotel.