I arrived in Buffalo safe and sound, and we stayed downtown at the Embassy Suites. There aren’t a ton of options in downtown Buffalo, but the Embassy Suites was a newer hotel, close to Shea’s and plus, Hilton points. Overall it was a decent hotel, but the room service food could have been better.
I woke up early on Friday and went to the coffee shop across the street, Spot Coffee.
It’s rare that I order coffee these days, but today it was chilly and I felt like a mocha latte. It was really good and the coffee shop was large, with lots of tables and free wifi. I stayed there and got through some emails while I enjoyed my coffee.
After coffee I met up with my coworker, Ashley, as we had some big plans to try wings at Anchor Bar and go to Niagara Falls. First stop, Anchor Bar. I will compare the wings in Buffalo in my next post.
Back story: when Ashley asked what I wanted for my birthday, I told her the only thing I wanted was to go on the Maid of the Mist Niagara Falls boat tour, as I had never been to the falls. So, after getting lunch at Anchor Bar, it was time to head to Niagara Falls. It was a quick drive, maybe 30 minutes from Buffalo and parking was easy (though there was a small toll to get there, maybe $1.00?).
We arrived at Maid of the Mist and it was time to set sail. In addition to the boat ride, Maid of the Mist also included a view from the observation deck and a snazzy poncho, which was greatly appreciated as we were pelted with mist.
Niagara Falls is one of the Seven Wonders of the World (though I could never confirm that, just a lot of people kept saying that, but in my opinion rightfully so). I can’t even explain how beautiful it was, so instead I’ll just post a lot of pictures. Fun Fact: Niagara Falls is made up of three falls, American Falls, Bridal Veil Falls, and the largest falls, Horseshoe Falls.
We decided not to walk under a portion of the falls, as it was really wet and chilly. But I did snap a pic of Rainbow Bridge and the fall foliage.
On the way back from Duff’s, we asked our driver to take us to a happening spot near our hotel. He took us to Chippewa Street, which really was happening – sort of. It seemed every club had a line and the bouncers were patting people down and cops were everywhere – kind of like 1st Avenue in Belltown. We ended up at a wine bar that seemed pretty relaxed, Bacchus. We ordered bubbly (of course).After going out for bubbly, we went back to the hotel bar for a nightcap. There were a few weddings happening, so they kept the bar open late that night and served bubbly in splits, so that was a bonus. Then it was time to go to bed to get ready for our concert the next day.
Our show was at Shea’s Performing Arts Center. I guess the story is this place was built in one year and one day and opened in 1926. I was told that it was destined to be a parking lot, but a group came together to restore it. It is a beautiful theater and still has a theater organ that is still in use.
