In which we drive in fog to a city with a big heart, say farewell to The Mighty Sentra, see some really big buildings, and eat some non-American food.

We were up early yet again for our last day on the road, as the rental agency office closed at 12:30pm (it was a Saturday, you see) and we had a good drive before us to get there. Not that we had been out cutting loose all night in the fleshpots of Corning. Our road trip was definitely characterised by early to bed and early to rise.

And, being early in the day, the late summer sun had not yet burnt off the early morning fog. This was most certainly the worst weather we encountered on the road trip.

Being in somewhat of a rush, we stuck to the Interstate so it was a pretty unexciting trip. The only other even mildly interesting thing that happened on the trip was that we passed briefly into Pennsylvania. No, really!, there’s a stretch of the I-86 that edges over from New York state into Pennsylvania for all of 600 or 700 metres. But they have “You are now entering Pennsylvania” and “You are now entering New York” signs at the appropriate places, so we noticed.

So do we get to put a pin in another US state? Technically, yes. But our rule of thumb is that we have to stop for a meal* for it to count, so no, not this time.

*Which raises another question, does frybread at Four Corners count as a meal? History will be the judge.

And so we dropped off The Mighty Sentra after nine days on the road. If this was Top Gear, I would wipe a tear from my eye and tell a moving tale of how I had come to love the brave little car as it soldiered on through tribulations and rough terrain, bringing us safely to journey’s end.

But, no. It was, at best, okay. The biggest tribulation we had was when a petrol pump card reader wouldn’t accept my credit card so I had to … use a different credit card. Scott of the Antarctic it was not. If I had any emotion as we handed the keys back in, it was a resolve to never again rent the cheapest car on the lot. Road trips are more fun with a good car!

And gladly it was a short walk to our hotel, the Hilton Albany. It was a very pleasant hotel, but to get to the rooms they have one of those elevators that are made of glass on every side, and that leave you with a sense of impending death. At least, if you have mild vertigo they do. I feel there should be a warning on the website when you book, but noooo. Ah well.

Checked in, bags in the room and white-knuckling it back down to ground level, we went for a stroll around the capital city of New York state.

Capitol building seen from Empire State Plaza

The Capitol is a handsome building. constructed in the late 19th century in a mix of Classical Romanesque and Classical Renaissance styles – you can see that the ground floor is different to the upper floors and no, that’s not for structural reasons, it’s because they changed architects part way through.

Also in shot is a tremedously big “I love New York” logo, created in 1977 as part of a campaign to encourage tourism. The logo is iconic and has of course spawned a host of rip-offs loving emulations.

As our refrigerator door clearly shows

Next to the Capitol is Empire State Plaza, a self-consciously epic piece of architecture. Built in the late 1960s and early 1970s, it came about when the then-governor Nelson Rockefeller was embarassed by the condition of that part of town while escorting Queen Juliana of the Netherlands around the city on a royal visit. At the time the area of 98 acres (~40 hectares) was populated by about seven thousand immigrants, African-Americans and elderly people living in rooming houses. It was what we might nowadays call a vibrant inner-urban community but was at that time seen as a rather scruffy and seedy low-income neighbourhood.

So the government seized the land, moved the residents on, and built a selection of huge brutalist office and other buildings for civil servants to work in, and so that future governors would not have to look at real people’s lives.

They are pretty impressive buildings though.

Empire State Plaza looking south-west. Could you say they have an edifice complex?

Cultural Education Centre seen from the far side of the I Love NY sign

At the very south-eastern edge of the Plaza is the Cultural Education Centre of New York State. It sounds like something that ideologically unsound Russians would have been sent to during the Communist era, but actually holds the New York State Museum (as well as the NY State Education Department offices). We spent a pleasant hour or two looking through the displays, including a major exhibition on the building and operation of the Erie Canal, the express railroad of its day.

Cultural Education Centre seen across the reflecting pools in the centre of the plaza

Also at the Museum is a beautifully restored early-1900s carousel. It was a Saturday afternoon in summer but no-one was about, the carousel sitting sad and lonely on its terrace.

Mr Cow in front of the Capitol building seen from the south-east

A view of the Capitol gardens and statuary, this time without Mr Cow hogging the shot

Just across from the Capitol building is the city hall

View down State St towards the Hudson River. The building at centre shot is the administration building for the State Universities of New York system, which has 65 campuses across the state. And yet none of them make it into the world’s top 100*.

* Not to brag, but our alma mater is in the top 100. Okay, a bit of a brag

For dinner that night we chose Emmanuel Thai, a little hole-in-the-wall place in downtown. Don’t get me wrong, I love American food. But ten days on the road of fried chicken, burgers, Philly cheesesteak and barbeque … it was a real pleasure to get some zingy fresh South-East Asian flavours for a change. And, luckily for us, Thai restaurants you can find almost everywhere.

Steamed chicken and shrimp wontons with a vinegar and soy dipping sauce

Crying Tiger salad, grilled beef with green and red onions, lettuce, ground rice and a lemon juice dressing

Roast duck with a tangy tamarind sauce and fresh vegetables

It was all delicious, I am very glad to say. Our taste buds reignited, we hied off back to our hotel to sleep the last sleep of our road trip.

Tomorrow we have two diner meals in one day!, and see the Hudson River from a train.