Going to Canada and America

[foxo]

I’m going to Canada and America for the first time in September to see Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson and John Mellencamp. A friend and his wife are going, I’d had maybe one too many gin and tonics last night and bought a ticket without giving it much thought. Sod it, it’s near my birthday anyway!

Partly looking to share my good news but also find out what’s worth doing around Buffalo? I assume I’ll need to fly into New York City from UK (edit now flying to Toronto) so will most likely spend a few nights there but haven’t got as far as researching much yet. I’ll be looking to do this on a lower budget than would be ideal as I’m buying a house soon but don’t want to go all that way without cramming in some activities and sightseeing.

Edit: my friend is staying in Toronto and says it’s easier to get to Buffalo from there than NYC so I might be going to Canada too (you can tell I didn’t give this much thought last night…)

[RJVB]

Buffalo is just across the border from the Canadian side of the Niagara falls, so there's that to do (probably one of nature's equivalents to a concert of the guys you're going to listen to).

Toronto was a wonderful place the times I was there, but last time was '85 so it might have changed just a tad. It used to be a stand-in for NYC in TV series that somehow couldn't be filmed there (but I remember it as a lot cleaner...) and it had the highest tower in the world for a while. Ottawa was cute (but that's a memory from even longer ago) because it looks/ed so British. If you're a nature lover and have the time I'd go visit the Laurentides too.

I don't know if there's still any real advantage of flying into Canada as far as customs hassles at the airport go but for you it'd be flying into another common-wealth country (right?) so there's that. Be sure to prepare the land-border crossing though (but I'm sure someone here can tell you all about that).

[foxo]

Cheers RJVB! I just bought flights to Toronto there as I saw them at a very good price, going for five nights. Might stay in Buffalo the night of the concert, might just get lift back to Canada with friend if possible. So my thread title should really be Going to Canada, apologies!

[RJVB]

Originally Posted by foxo

So my thread title should really be Going to Canada, apologies!

No need to apologise to me, that alternative title sounds much better to me

(BTW and for no particular reason: I apparently own something like a square foot of peaty Scotland )

[fazool]

duplicate post

[fazool]

Originally Posted by foxo

I’m going to Canada and America for the first time in September to see Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson and John Mellencamp. A friend and his wife are going, I’d had maybe one too many gin and tonics last night and bought a ticket without giving it much thought. Sod it, it’s near my birthday anyway!

Partly looking to share my good news but also find out what’s worth doing around Buffalo? I assume I’ll need to fly into New York City from UK (edit now flying to Toronto) so will most likely spend a few nights there but haven’t got as far as researching much yet....)

I'm in Buffalo and can help you quite a bit.

I used to host a lot of visitors including many, many from Europe.

So here is a quick note and Ill send you a PM with my private email address

Buffalo was a fabulously wealthy city from about 1850-1940. It was the first city in the world with electricity. We had the Erie Barge Canal so about 200,000 ships went through Buffalo as we were the most westerly inland shipping port.

Because of that there was a tremendous building boom and we are a famous spot for art deco architecture. We had two US presidents from Buffalo and our parks were designed by the Frederick Law Olmstead who designed Central Park and Washington DC.

We also have Niagara Falls - one of the seven natural wonders of the world and (back then) a huge tourist and wedding destination

So, the benefits of Buffalo were:
- Major international border
- Huge shipping port and Great Lakes access
- Niagara Falls tourism
- Electricity
- Tons of museums and schools

Buffalo was a booming town. From 1950-2010 the economy did poorly when the Erie Barge canal stopped shipments and the largest manufacturer moved out. But from 2010 to now, the city has undergone a major revitalization and is thriving again.

We are a very small city but, because of our history, we have big city amenities (like one of the worlds best modern art museums, incredible parks, waterfront,. many universities, world-class philharmonic orchestra, natural wonder of the world, famous architecture (7 frank lloyd wright houses) etc.

Our largest suburb has also been rated many times by the FBI as the safest town in America. So its a really good place. It's also full of gorgeous quaint little towns.

When I travel from Europe its much easier to fly through Toronto which is about 90 minutes away. TO is a big airport and the flights are direct. We have a very new beautiful airport (ranked best small city airport in America) but not many direct flights because we are small.

Things to do include:

- Visit Niagara Falls of course
- See the Albright Knox art gallery
- Tour downtown architecture & waterfront Barge Canal historic sites
- See Old Fort Niagara
- Dinner and drinks in Ellicottville or East Aurora

Ill send you a PM

[foxo]

Thanks very much fazool for your great advice! I got your PM - will email you soon thanks.

[Glennwillow]

Congrats on your upcoming trip, Neil. Sounds like Fazool has got you covered!

- Glenn

[Talk2Me]

Originally Posted by foxo

Cheers RJVB! I just bought flights to Toronto there as I saw them at a very good price, going for five nights. Might stay in Buffalo the night of the concert, might just get lift back to Canada with friend if possible. So my thread title should really be Going to Canada, apologies!

Ummmm...Canada is actually in "America" (so is Mexico) so you're OK either way. Have a fun trip.

[foxo]

Originally Posted by Talk2Me

Ummmm...Canada is actually in "America" (so is Mexico actually) so you're OK either way. Have a fun trip.

I think if most people say they’re going to America it’s well understood to mean the USA, not the continent of North America. My thread title was previously just “Going to America” before I edited it.

[Talk2Me]

Originally Posted by foxo

I think if most people say they’re going to America it’s well understood to mean the USA, not the continent of North America. My thread title was previously just “Going to America” before I edited it.

That's funny as I discuss this all the time with people from the USA, Canada and Mexico. "Most people" from the USA say "America" and mean their country but plenty of people from Canada tell me they live in America (some include the North part as well). The best is when I tell people I live in "the United States" and the Mexicans tell me they did when they lived South of the border. "The United States of Mexico" (which it is). I think that's funny. More so than when they say they want to emigrate via Baja California to "Norte Mexico" (a.k.a. the State of California, USA).

[frankmcr]

Originally Posted by foxo

I think if most people say they’re going to America it’s well understood to mean the USA, not the continent of North America. My thread title was previously just “Going to America” before I edited it.

I believe Canadians would like it better (while you're in Canada) if you refer to this country as "the US" or "the States", rather than as "America".

Just as a matter of politeness, not PC stuff.

Otherwise is sort of like referring to Billy Connolly as "an English comedian".

[foxo]

Originally Posted by frankmcr

I believe Canadians would like it better (while you're in Canada) if you refer to this country as "the US" or "the States", rather than as "America".

Just as a matter of politeness, not PC stuff.

Otherwise is sort of like referring to Billy Connolly as "an English comedian".

I wasn’t aware of the etiquette around this. I’m not convinced it’s the same as calling Billy Connolly English as that would just be factually incorrect (whereas British wouldn’t be). But thanks for your advice.

[frankmcr]

Originally Posted by foxo

I wasn’t aware of the etiquette around this. I’m not convinced it’s the same as calling Billy Connolly English as that would just be factually incorrect (whereas British wouldn’t be). But thanks for your advice.

It's pretty common for people outside the UK to refer to Scottish, Welsh, Northern Irish, and even Irish (like U2, at least in their early days) celebrities as "English". Factual correctness doesn't enter into it.

[fazool]

I grew up (literally, not figuratively) with Canada on one side and the USA on the other side. Before tightened borders we would cross the border daily just to go to a bar, restaurant or shop. My radio stations were all half Canadian, etcetera. I grew up about as bi-cultural as you can get (in this example). We all had friends and coworkers that lived or worked across the borders.

I have never once heard of Canadians saying they live in America.

The phrase "America" is understood to mean the "United States of America".

I would let our Canadian members opine but I think Canadians are very proud of their country and would never say they are from "America".