Earlier this year I went Buffalo, USA. I visited with my friend Emily who grew up there. People questioned why I wanted to go at the coldest time. Last November the city was hit with 7 feet of snow and roads were closed for days.
I can't fathom what 7 feet of snow looks like let alone feels like. I grew up watching a lot of American TV in a hot country so winter in Buffalo intrigued me.
Prepared for below-freezing temperatures, I carried in my backpack (yes, I travel light and cheap) my warmest clothes. Emily said that Uggs were not going to cut it in Buffalo and I need snow boots. My boots were Uggs but they were made of leather and had heavy duty tread soles. I wore them anyway and they were serviceable although covered in road salt after NYC.
I flew to NYC and took a flight the next morning to Buffalo. I watched the skyline go from NYC...
To Buffalo. I had arrived to an extreme winter. Emily's mom said the air makes her face hurt and she was right, it was that cold!
I was picked up at the airport and we went to Tim Hortons. It's a tradition from now on that when I land in a place with Tim Hortons, it has to be my first stop. Emily said they put crack in everything. I'd say that's probably not true. But I've found their hot chocolates, coffee (ask for a "double-double", double sugar and cream) and doughnuts are euphoria inducing.
From inside I watched many cars, nay-trucks pass the drive through. An odd man in the restaurant gave us each a piece of gum as if it was the right thing to do. I'm sure he meant well so we thanked him and binned the gum after he left.
Emily and her Mom knew I liked thrifting so they took me to a huge store where I found a bunch of retro memorabilia.
They say everything is big in the US. The cars are big, the roads are big-you get the picture. In Buffalo everything is spaced far away so life is difficult without your own car. Shops are usually in centers with massive car parks. It is easier to drive across the road to get another store than to walk.
The roadside advertisements are giant, 8/10 times they are for collision or medical malpractice lawsuits. Never in another country have I seen such blatant readiness to sue.
Even the chunks of ice that fall from rooftops (eeek!) are big.
The morning ritual in Buffalo. Start the car, turn on the heat, go back in the house and after 10 minutes, scrape ice off the windows. It's not light work-this scraper broke.
If you want to party in town, you need transport like this because "in town" is a 20 minute drive down the motorway through a blizzard. We went on a pub crawl and this was our limo for six hours. It was practical for a large group because cabs are expensive and not easy to get in Buffalo. The driver said this was his job for the past 20-odd years.
There was a frozen stream and nature reserve behind the house we stayed in. It was incredible to see real wildlife in suburbia. Everyday we came home to deer hanging out in the backyard. In the mornings wild turkeys compete for food left outside for squirrels.
I was at first alarmed to hear the sound of bulldozers approaching the house but they were actually snowploughs clearing the streets. School starts and finishes early to coincide with the clear roads. Sometimes schools are closed due to heavy snow.
The day before we had to go NYC, there was a blizzard warning. The NYC transit system was shut down and people even stockpiled on food and water. Buffalonians see warnings like this many times over and Emily said the shut down is likely to be cancelled. It was, but we were still lucky to be taking the train because flights were delayed.
The train was like how I imagined it to be from the movies. It was 5.30am and we waited in the freezing darkness from a ground level platform. A train pulls up with a blazing headlight and mist of unsettled snow.
A train conductor carries our suitcases onboard for us because we have to climb up steps to get on. After settling into my seat, I put on my sleeping mask and earplugs and try to catch up on sleep.
That was until the conductor starts making loud and rolling announcements like he was at a motor derby: "The next stop will be Amsterdam, ladies and gentlemen! That's Amsterdam, AMSTER-SLAMMED!"
The sun rose over icy Eerie Canal.
This is what frozen New York State looks like.
One of the many different bridges along the Hudson River.
An other-worldly shot of a boathouse. There's a container ship in the distance.
We arrived in NYC Penn Station at 1pm, ready to take on the next part of our US holiday.
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