Several months ago, in anticipation of Cindy’s
sixty-second birthday, I asked her where she would like to celebrate. I thought she might choose Paris or Milan or
a cruise but instead she surprised me by saying Buffalo! She had always wanted to see Niagara Falls,
so I started planning for a four-day romp in Western New York.
We flew to Buffalo on Saturday and surprisingly the little
United Express puddle jumper had a first class and we were upgraded, so the
trip started off swell with lovely cocktails as we winged our way north. We
landed in a lot of rain and were soon in a taxi taking us to the Embassy Suites
Hotel. I had tried to book a suite at the Hyatt but there was a very large
convention of Veterans taking part in the Golden Games, some sort of sporting
activity event. They filled all the
rooms at the Hyatt so I thought I would try Embassy Suites. We were very
quickly impressed with the lovely service upon arrival and the very, very large
set of rooms that we were given. We
settled in and went down for the Manager’s Reception, a free event for all
guests that features lousy wine, never-before-heard-of Scotch and what looked
like the remains of food. Seems we got
there for the last half hour of a two-hour event and the locusts had decimated
whatever food there had been. I have
never seen so many tattoos on so many overweight people wearing muscle shirts,
and don’t get me started on the men!
As the crowds disappeared when they closed the bar, Cindy
and I remained to finish our cocktails and plan dinner. It was still raining
and the hotel did have a restaurant, but we were on the fence about a hotel
restaurant. Cindy noticed one of the
people helping with the tables had shoes with the heels on springs. They looked
like circus shoes so we said hello and asked about the shoes. Turns out that he
was the chef from the kitchen, Travis by name, and he told us all about how
comfortable the shoes were (
Z-Coil Pain Relief Footware).
We asked about anything special for dinner and got to talking and he realized
we knew something about food. He said to go right into the dining room and he
would take care of everything, and he did.
It was a lovely meal with complementary starters that included little
spoons of Caprese salad, a little bowl of hot clams in a lovely broth, and some
shrimp in a bleu cheese sauce. Next came
a veal chop for me that was just lovely and a delicious spinach salad with
grilled shrimp for Cindy. We are not
dessert people as a rule but out came Travis bearing three wonderfully fresh
desserts with berries and chocolate and whatever, since I can’t remember everything
on the dish. I do remember that we ended up having cognac at the bar and
thinking that Buffalo is really cool.
The next morning we wandered around downtown and we were
struck by all the people in wild costumes and colorful hair. Turns out it was the
final parade of Gay Pride Week, and what a parade it was. That afternoon we walked to a fabulous Sunday
matinee orchestra concert – the Buffalo Philharmonic conducted by JoAnn
Falletta. We got there early enough to hear the conductor’s pre-concert
talk – she was marvelous – and the actual concert of all Italian music was
excellent. Starting with Monteverdi and some Renaissance-era drumming
(very cool) and ending with “Prologue in Heaven” by Boito – we hadn’t heard of
that one but it included a “thunder machine” in the percussion section for the
wrath of god bits. The star of the show was a young violinist who’d been
called in about a week ago to substitute for the scheduled soloist on the
Paganini Concerto No. 1. Cindy had heard that piece a hundred times but
she had never “watched” it – oh my, the technical difficulty is jaw-dropping.
The soloist (Rachel Lee) was so good that the audience clapped after the
first movement because they were so impressed, not because they didn’t know any
better.
Kleinhans Hall, built
in 1940, is absolutely marvelous, designed by Eliel and Eero Saarinen (father
and son); we’d only heard of Eero until now since he did Dulles Airport some 50
years ago. (Actually one of us knows
Eero because he’s often in crossword puzzles.)
That night we were stymied as to where to eat since
Sundays are slow in Buffalo. We ended up in a steak house where the food was
very good but oh my, the prices. Those just
made it not as enjoyable as it could have been.
We ended the evening again at the hotel bar, which took some of the
sting off the evening meal.
On Monday, June 3
rd, we went to Niagara Falls for
the actual day of Cindy’s birthday. Getting there was almost as interesting as
the falls. Seems that no one at the front desk of the hotel really knew
anything about public transportation, but after a lot of hits and misses, we
figured out where and when to get on the #40 bus. It took us from downtown Buffalo to the Niagara
Falls Tourist Center for only $2 for Cindy and $1 for me! A taxi would have been $70 so we felt
virtuous. The falls are fabulous, simply stunning, so beautiful and so
impressive. We walked across to the
Canadian side and stood transfixed on the Rainbow Bridge as we looked and
listened to the falls. We had seen the mist of the falls from the bus when we
were still ten miles away but to be right there was breathtaking. We took
the boat called
Maid of the Mist,
which takes you practically under the falls where the roar is so strong you
can’t talk – they give you slickers so that you don’t get wet. Right;
everyone gets soaked! It was great fun and afterwards we met some Toronto
friends for lunch – for them it was a 2-hour drive. Niagara, Canada (the
town) is TACKY but everything else around there is wonderful, including the
giant Ferris wheel, (Niagara SkyWheel) which
gives you extra-special views of the falls.
Buffalo is surprisingly interesting – beautiful
architecture at every
turn. Unfortunately it’s been dying for years due to a lack of industry
(jobs) – the population has gone from 570,000 in 1929 to 270,000 today.
We toured
City Hall, which was
built in 1929 and is filled with wonderful art as well amazing artistic detail
on every wall and ceiling. Even the elevators are gorgeous inside –
inlaid wood and brass.
We saved our best dining experience for our last night.
Our dear friend, JJ Boissier, a Buffalo native, told us not to miss
Rue
Franklin. Oh my goodness, are
we glad we didn’t. From the moment you walk in you feel like you have left
Buffalo at the door and entered a warm, relaxed French Auberge. We had a table that looked onto an exquisite
garden and enjoyed our
coupes de
Champagne as we read the menu and listened to our waiter explain specials
and standards. It was a memorable meal
and culinary experience that truly was the highlight of our dining adventures,
and we had many, including
Buffalo Wings, Beef on Weck and a
Chicken Sausage
sandwich that would knock your socks off.
 |
| Cindy's B-day Flowers from her Mom |
Now it is back to the garden, walking and running off the
lovely meals and enjoying the quietude of Charles Town.
Best to all, Cindy and William
