What an interesting couple of days we've had. I'm writing this from the home of Katie and Dan Lorts in Troy, Michigan, near Cranbrook School (a 350-acre wonderland), and about 15 miles north of Detroit. Since I last blogged we have had our final overnight bus trip (huzzah!), hired a car (free upgrade!) and eaten lots of chicken (chicken!).
We had to check out of the hostel in Buffalo at 10.30 am on Wednesday morning, and so we decided (over a cup of the best damn hot chocolate in the state) to go on a historic walking tour of Downtown Buffalo, see some amazing architecture, and then explore the Allbright-Knox Art Museum. The walking tour was fascinating. Buffalo has a reputation for being a bit run down (indeed, we were there at the same time as the National Preservation Conference), and there are about 20,000 empty homes in the city, but hidden about the place are architectural gems. We saw the world's first tall office block, complete with large floor mosaics and gold-leaf elevators, and climbed to the top of City Hall, which truly is one of the finest art-deco buildings in the world.
We ended up in Elmwood Village, the artsy boho area of the city, and had a delicious lunch in a European cafe (when in Rome...) before heading up to the Allbright-Knox. Half the gallery was shut for installation, but we managed to see an original Renoir, Monet, Warhol, Lichtenstein... It was incredible. We even saw that self-portrait of Frida Kahlo with a monkey. Worth it. We'd heard a rumour that the Anchor Bar was the place to go for dinner, so we headed back towards Main Street (via Riley Street) and entered the 'Home of the Buffalo Chicken Wing'. Turns out the Anchor Bar is one of the most famous in America, and you can't not have a plate of spicy wings, celery and bleu cheese, which we shared while watching another Ice Hockey game. The bar itself is great, and the walls are plastered with signed photographs from famous visitors such as Frank Sinatra and the Everly Brothers, but the highlight for us was meeting some really nice people up at the bar, some of whom were in town for the Preservation Conference, and whom we're already in contact with. Fascinating place. If ever you're in Buffalo, head to the Anchor Bar. Or Pearl Street Grill, both are amazing.
Overnight Greyhound bus brought us to Detroit, via Cleveland (tick Ohio off the list), and we managed to work our way up the famous Woodward Avenue to our rental place. Sadly, they didn't have the car we booked... so they gave us a free upgrade. A 2011 Hyundai Sonata, very nice indeed. Has the looks of a BMW with the efficiency of a Ford Mondeo. Very, very nice.
We're about to head up to Cranbrook School itself, meeting up with Katie between her lessons this afternoon (she's a teacher there), and we'll also explore the campus. It's a truly remarkable place, one of the largest private schools in America, and I'm sure we'll have plenty more to say about it in the next post!
Ciao ciao,
Chris and Charlie
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