Buffalo Getaway – Day 1

Michael and I decided to take a getaway to Buffalo for our 32nd wedding anniversary which falls on the solstice. I was here four years ago with my eldest son to visit the Martin House. I blogged about it here and here.

Last time I stayed downtown at the Hyatt, but this time we are staying at Hotel Henry. I learned about it on twitter when a couple of the people I follow posted pictures of the beautiful hallway shown below.

From the website: “Widely considered to be one of Buffalo’s most important and beautiful buildings, construction on the 145-year-old Richardson Olmsted Campus began in 1872 and opened in 1880 as the state-of-the-art Buffalo State Asylum for the Insane. Hotel Henry is the first phase and 1/3 of the redevelopment of the Richardson Olmsted Campus.”

We crossed at the Rainbow Bridge, but there were no rainbows today. There was no line at all to enter the US.

You can tell you’ve entered the US by the way they hang their traffic lights. I only see them like this at home during construction.

I generally think of Canada as a more progressive country than the US, but shortly after crossing into the US we encountered a bike lane. It turned into a multi-use path running along the river, that, I believe went all the way into Buffalo.

We have a lovely room with a ceiling that is probably 18-20 feet high.

It was raining heavily, so after settling in, we explored the extensive building.

There are many places to sit – rooms and nooks.

There is art displayed throughout the hotel.

This is the restaurant where we had dinner, at the hotel, in the hallways on the second floor, called 100 Acres. The name pays homage to the original acreage once reserved for agrarian use on the Richardson Olmsted Campus, 

We ordered from the Prix Fixe menu. The portions were small, but sufficient, and the flavours were excellent.

We went for a post-prandial walk. I took my DSLR and tripod. I haven’t used it for ages, as for daily use, I use my cell phone, and on my bike trips, I use a point and shoot.

This is a small part of the un-refurbished section.