I live in Skaneateles, one of the Fingerlake towns. It is definitely a place to see, not only for great food, wine (Anyela's winery) but scenery to die for.
The weather in May is across the board. One year it snowed on Mother's day. But generally speaking, our early may is about a month behind weather closer to NYC. I am from CT and May here always feels like April to me. Temps will most likely be in the 60's, but to us that is shorts weather.
While in my town, you should definitely eat at Joelle's French Bistro. It is newer than the restaurants here, but absolutely memorable. If you like fish fry, Doug's fish fry is very famous in these parts (lines can be long, though).
Best of all, at least to me, the fingerlakes area is home to quite a few of us CFers and I'd love to host a get together at my home.
Jo (btw, I lived in Windermere for three years before moving to Skaneateles)

When I lived in Dunkirk, NY I use to do my grocery and wine shopping in Buffalo. Make sure you check out one of the Wegman's grocery stores. There are a number of locations, but 9 years ago my favourite was the one on Alberta street, just off of Sheridan, in behind the Boulevard Mall. And if you like wine Premiere Wines and the Premiere Gourmet store are two others stops I would make. Next door to each other on Delaware Avenue.

There use to be a wonderful little Indian Curry restaurant on Sheridan (The Taste of India) that we tried to get to about once a week. We moved back here in 2001 so I'm not sure if that restaurant is still there.

Ann

yep, I'm here - a little over an hour south of Buffalo...heading to the grocery store and will post in a little bit...I'll be thinking while I shop.

But I'll say - weather wise? It's pretty unpredictable in May - LOL. I've seen snow and 80 degrees...both are unusual, though.

I'll be back!

Stacy

Oh and craftyrn is nearer the Finger Lakes than I am! She will have some great info from there - I will try to alert her to the thread, OK?

Ann, aren't you going to suggest a Ted's hot dog? LOL

Booberry (Becky) is in that area.

I was going to mention Booberry, but I have not seen or heard from her in ages. In September, she e-mailed me when we were trying to go visit her, but we never heard back from her. I suspect she is beau-coup busy.

Booberry lives in my town. I'll check in with her.
Jo

Stacy, funny you should mention Ted's Hot Dogs. Moe mentioned Ted's just the other day. Wished we had one here or in Victoria. LOL!

Ann

Ok. Well, here is my two cents. And I don't really go into Buffalo all that often. Not sure what your priorities are - but the Anchor Bar is the original creator of Buffalo Wings. It's a neat little place with some memorabilia - nothing fancy. Great wings and a "historical" thing...I'd have to go if I was visiting Buffalo for the first time...unless we didn't like wings...

http://www.anchorbar.com/original.php

We also like Chef's - an Italian place - also not too fancy - notorious for their spaghetti parmesan - spaghetti with a thick layer of gooey melted cheese on top. It's always busy. It's near the HSBC arena where the Buffalo Sabres play and lots of concerts.

http://www.ilovechefs.com/history.php

Phyllis philodendron lives right up there and could probably give you more insight into the city.

If you're into American History - you could go to the Wilcox mansion - the site of Theodore Roosevelt's inauguration after McKinley was shot.

As far as Niagara Falls goes, you will definitely want to cross the border here to see the the falls from Canada - it is much much better and you just have to - to get the full effect. If you stay in Canada, try to get a room with a view of the Canadian Falls, and high enough up so that you can see the lights at night, and the fireworks if you're there on a Fri or Sun (I think?). Will suggests that you stay at the Hilton because he loves the pool and they have a rockin slide! :-) Once we even had a room where we sat in our jacuzzi tub which opened into the main part of our room, and we put the baby (!) to sleep and watched the fireworks from there...being such a honeymoon hot spot there are all kinds of cool rooms. Just be sure to get up high enough and be sure that it's a full view of the Canadian Falls.

I can't tell you anywhere nice to eat in NF, since we never stray from the hotel slide, the arcade and all the crazy kid stuff on Clifton Hill. It's the land of glow mini golf, wax museums, ripley's believe it or not, you get the idea...So for culture - someone else will have to chime in - LOL!

I'll keep thinking and will check back in to see if you have more questions. I will try to email Diane, too.

Stacy

Stacy, thanks for the tips on NF! Didn't know that NF has turned into such a commercialized, touristy place. I thought they try to keep it more natural and less developed like at the Grand Canyon

Any suggestions for what to do in Canada?

We do love historical sites, nature, farms, wineries/cideries, etc.

Hi! I'm still around, although it's been a while. I wish I could tell you I've been on some amazing culinary adventure, but that would be fiction. I'm sorry we couldn't catch up in September, Sherry. Things are always busy when you don't want them to be!

I agree with Jo. Skaneateles is a great place to be a tourist. It's 3 lakes over from Seneca going East(Seneca, Cayuga, Oswasco, Skaneateles). It's right on a main route (Rt 20.) Doug's Fish Fry is great. Personally, I'll take Italian over French food any day. Rosalie's is a great place to waste time and money if you like Italian food. Also stop at the Rhubarb in town. It has lots of fun foodie gadgets. Both are on Route 20.

Well, two days and a wake up! We're really excited to be getting away for a little while. The weather looks great (60s high and 40s low), although a little rainy for a few days. As long as I can get some good pics, I'm a happy camper.

We're staying at the Sheridan on the Canadian side for the first half and then staying in a Holiday Inn in Elmira, NY (under Lake Seneca) for the rest. LOVE Hotwire.com....got some great deals!

Ironically, Bon Appetit had an article about things to do & eat in the Niagra/Buffalo/Canada area in this month's issue. Score!

We really don't have an official itinerary per say, but here are some places we'd like to check out: The Corning Museum of Glass, Watkins Glen State Park (has 19 waterfalls!), Chenung Valley (where Mark Twain's study & home are located), Letchworth State Park ("Grand Canyon" of the East).

And of course the wineries & Niagra!!! We also heard the Lilac Festival is going on in Rochester while we're going to be up there and we may venture to check that out.

Can't wait! Thanks for all the suggestions! We're flying in and out of Buffalo, so hopefully we can stop by some of the places you all recommended.

It looks like you have some excellent things planned out. And I hope the weather cooperates! You get wet at the falls anyway from the mist. LOL.

Corning is great - you will enjoy the glass museum - and the main street is lined with great little shops and wonderful places to eat. Be sure to check out the surroundings.

Have fun!

When we stayed on the Canadian side of the Falls we ate in the revolving restaurant at the top of some big thing. I dunno, can't remember but it is the only revolving restaurant there. The food was not memorable, but the view was! One of the coolest things we did, besides the ride on the "Maid of the Mist."

Hey gardengrl --

I don't know how I missed the first time you posted this! I live just outside of Ithaca, on the way to Elmira. I agree with Stacy that the glass museum is a total treat, and the historic district there in Elmira is cute with galleries and antique shops... If you're here on a Saturday, the Ithaca farmers market is a real treat -- in a beautiful open-air building right on lake Cayuga, there is usually live music, as well as lots of yummy food vendors selling food for lunch there... This weekend is also the Ithaca book sale, happening right near the farmers market -- a HUGE library book sale with over 200,000 books...

Have a great trip and I can't wait to hear about your adventures!
Emily