I love my hometown. It wasn’t always that way. There was a time when I used to joke to people that Troy, NY was my Bedford Falls…I was born and raised there, and when I became of an age where I could theoretically choose to quit town and boldly go where no Mandy had gone before I ultimately chose to attend a punchy little all-women’s college nestled in downtown instead. I chose Russell Sage College not because it was close to home because—believe me—I would have given anything to escape at that point but because I took a formal tour of campus, spent a day with some very cool folks, and genuinely fell in love with the place. Best College Ever, btw. Well…if you’re a girl, anyway. Or a male theater major, but that’s another story.
At any rate, it was at this point that I began joking to several of my friends and professors that Troy was my personal Bedford Falls; I would tell them laughingly that I was born there, raised there, stayed there, and would in all likelihood die there. But lucky for me, like Jimmy Stewart of It’s a Wonderful Life, I grew to love the place and now I’m having a hard time picturing being anywhere else. My husband, who has lived in Troy his whole life as well (which is a great deal longer than my own life, I might add) likes to tell outsiders that Troy is undergoing its “Renaissance.” Its an apt description. So much has been done just over the last few years, much of it sponsored by the Troy Business Improvement District. We have one of the best Farmer’s Markets around, a wealth of fantastic restaurants and bars, an antique district, food festivals, block-parties, a marina, etc, etc.
Last Fall I had a free afternoon so I took a walk through the downtown area and took some pictures.
Troy is a very walkable city, and it has a lot of old-world charm
Not to mention the swankiest Wine Bar
And Russell Sage College
There’s no place like Home.
mandymelodies.com 
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