We Shuffle Off To Buffalo

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July 1 & 2, 2011

Me and Liam playing at Wendy's

We arrived at the Embassy Suites in Buffalo on July 1 (Friday) about 2 PM.  The drive from Bedford went well, Liam was fantastic!  We were able to stop at a Wendy's that had picnic tables so he could run around during lunch (and the child's meal had a Snoopy book about colors).  He fell asleep in the car after lunch, so he was able to get his nap too!

Upon arrival, we checked in and the valet unloaded our car (parking is by valet only).  Check-in was a breeze.  The hotel is gorgeous, everything is modern and new.  After we got settled in, we went to the indoor pool (Liam's first time in a chlorinated pool) and Liam loved it!  The exercise room is nice too, with treadmills, free weights and all the usual equipment.

After we had showered we ordered room service.  This leads us to the snafu list.  Before we left for the pool, we had called the front desk because the handle on the desk in our room was broken and the stub was sharp, the Air Conditioner was also broken.  They fixed both quickly, which was good but annoying.  Our room service was delicious, but as we would find is typical here, the beer was not open and there was no bottle opener so we had to call for them to open it.  We had hoped to finish our evening by ordering a movie, but that is not available at this hotel.  Our main TV complaint is that a TV Guide channel would be a very nice addition.

Relaxing in the shade with coffee at the Clarence Farm Market

We started Saturday off with the Complimentary breakfast, which is nice.  Even the eggs on the buffet were good.  Then we were off to Clarence to the Farmer's Market.  It was fun and only took about 30 minutes to get there.  We also were able to restock supplies at the Dash's Market.  After a while Liam began to tire, so we headed back to the hotel.  He fell asleep again in the car!  This time  we parked on Delaware Ave in front of the hotel for free.  We asked the maids if they could give us clean towels only so that Liam could sleep.  They said yes, but it never happened.

When Liam woke, we went to the zoo and everyone had a blast.  On the way home we tried to stop at Anchor Bar (inventor of the Buffalo Wing), but at 2 PM on a Saturday the parking lot was totally full so we got some good sandwiches at Spot Coffee shop 2 blocks north of the hotel on Delaware.

When we returned to our room there still were no towels.  So, we called again and went to the pool.  When we got to the pool there were... no towels.  We called from the pool and towels arrived at the pool in 20 minutes.  When we got to the room we had clean towels, but they hadn't taken the dirty towels (lol).

At 5:30 we decided to head down to the Manager's Reception, and are glad that we did.  It consisted off complementary unlimited alcohol, vegetables, chips (crisps), dip and salsa.  It was enough that we skipped supper due to our late lunch.  This is a great touch.  We then retired to our room for the evening.


July 7, 2011
We returned from Toronto and stayed at the Embassy Suites again.  We really enjoyed Buffalo.  We walked around downtown and then up Delaware Ave.  Buffalo has two things of cultural significance that I didn't mention earlier.  First, President McKinley was assassinated here in 1901 and there is a marker if you head north on Elmwood Ave.  Second, Ani DiFranco is from Buffalo and operates Righteous Babe Records out of the former Delaware-Asbury Methodist Church.  They renovated the church and saved it from demolition, inside they built a performance space that can accommodate over 1,000 people.  It's located about 2 blocks north of the Embassy Suites on Delaware Ave on your right.  You can hear my favorite Ani DiFranco song here, 32 Flavors.