I finally stepped into Canada for the first time on May 22. But before that, I flew into Buffalo Airport in the morning, rented a car and drove towards the Albright-Knox Art Gallery. It was unfortunately closed for a week due to the bad economy. My eyes, however, caught the greenish roofs of the Buffalo State Asylum for the Insane and I walked towards it, passing by The University at Buffalo. The Asylum was situated on a big compound and it was quite a walk just to cover half of the estate.
Next, I headed to the Forest Lawn Cemetery and Crematory, designed after Père-Lachais, the world's most famous cemetery which was established in Paris in 1804. Père-Lachais balanced art and nature, where civilization did not disturb the grandeur of the romantic setting. I am somehow drawn to the serenity I felt at cemeteries. Most of the tombstones were elaborately decorated and grand like the one on the left with Roman columns. It was interesting to learn how Americans remember their loved ones.
After my moment of peace at the cemetery, I headed towards Buffalo Downtown for an architectural tour. I was surprised to see many interesting facades and historical buildings in Buffalo. The Main Street with the light rail reminded me of Lexington Market area in Baltimore. Traveling on the light rail is free on Downtown's above ground section. I also drove to the Basilica of Our Lady of Victory in Lackawanna which was impressive with its sheer size and splendor.
Around 10pm, I drove back to Buffalo Airport to pick up my two traveling companions, Guanglan and Ana, who flew in from Boston. Thereafter, we headed to our lodging in Canada and were excited since it was our first in this country.
The next day, we began with a trip to Niagara Falls where we took the Maid of the Mist which brought us close to the American and Bridal Veil Falls. I presumed that the horsepower of the boat was super-duper strong since we were stationary at the middle of the Horseshoe Falls, experiencing the mist and sound of the roaring falls. Here I was posing with the American and Bridal Veil Falls in the background after the misty ride. The water temperature was still very cold.
The area around Niagara Falls was full of attractions for kids and families, such as arcades, museums, casinos etc. While heading towards Niagara-on-the-lake in the north, we went along the wine route for wine tasting at various wineries. I do not like wine in general but now I am an ice wine convert. It is a type of dessert wine produced from grapes that have been frozen while still on the vine during winter. The frozen grapes had a more concentrated sugar content which give ice wine its characteristic sweetness.
At Niagara-on-the-lake, we could see in the distant the skyscraper outlines of Toronto from the lake. We did some shopping where I bought fridge magnets and the famous Canadian maple syrup. After dinner, we headed back to Niagara Falls as there was illumination of the Niagara Falls at night. I took several pictures of various illuminations and my favorite was the pure white illumination of the American Falls. I had to improvise by placing my camera on the fence while exposing for 1.3 seconds.
On Sunday, May 26, we left for Toronto to visit Chris and Judice who were at the University of Toronto. They played host and showed us around. Ana joked that she was definitely with Singaporeans since all we did was ate at different restaurants. We also went up to the CN Tower where you could stare down to the ground from 342 m (1,122 ft) through a glass floor. It was scary initially to stand on the glass floor. The wait to the top of the Skypod was very long as there was only one elevator in service. From there, I took aerial pictures of Toronto, covering almost 360 degree.
The next day, we visited Casa Loma (Spanish for House on the Hill), a museum converted from a neo-romantic castle, with elegantly decorated suites, secret passageways, and stately towers. I purposely took a shot of the castle hidden by trees to give the effect of a secret castle in fairy tales. Our next itinerary was the University of Toronto where Chris is currently pursuing his Ph.D. The school buildings reminded me of Hogwarts of Harry Potter. I was thinking this ancient design would not fit into Singapore University context.
On our final day, we bade farewell to our gracious hosts and went to The Cave of the Winds which was on the US side. This was where you could get real close to the Bridal Veil Falls along a wooden footpath and staircases. My poncho got ripped when I went under the falls. The air around the area was smelly because of seagull poo and many seagulls were nestling at the cliff. Just look out for aerial poo bomb when they fly over you because birds cannot control their bladders.
Buffalo, NY pictures.
Niagara Falls pictures.
Toronto pictures.
No comments:
Post a Comment