I was in Paul’s hometown of Buffalo last week. This was my third visit (the first time being last September), and this time we were there to attend his cousin’s wedding. (After we left Buffalo, we went to Portland, Oregon to attend a second wedding. More on that trip later.)

This photo of us was taken at the reception:

(See that nice suit and dress? We used them for both weddings. Paul and I refuse to travel with anything other than carry-on luggage. No baggage fees or waiting in long lines for us!)

Since we were off work the week between the two weddings, we were able to spend more time in Buffalo than we did for last year’s visits. Since I knew we’d have a few days to fill, I made a list of places I wanted to see and Paul, once again, made an excellent tour guide. Here are some of the things we saw and did:

• Watched the Bills game at Pearl Street Grill and Brewery, then walked around the Buffalo Naval Park. It was close to 5pm so we didn’t pay to take the official tour, but there were a lot of ships to be seen for free.

• Walked the Bird Island Pier on a blustery, rainy day (not the best option, but it was our last full day in town and I wanted to check it out). It doesn’t actually go anywhere — once you reach the stopping point, you have to turn around and backtrack to return to your destination — but it’s still pretty cool. Unfortunately for Paul, he was stuck wrestling with a temperamental umbrella.

• Explored the recently redeveloped Larkin District. They hosted a weekly concert series there over the summer, but it ended a few weeks before our visit. Too bad! I would have liked to check it out. Next year for sure.

• We went to Mutual Riverfront Park (just opened in June 2012), which has a great view of several nearby grain elevators.

Paul and I ignored a “No Trespassing” sign and walked a bit closer to the grain elevators than we were supposed to. We didn’t spot another soul during our walk though, and I was able to take a photo of Paul standing up close and personal with one of them (this is actually one of the smaller grain elevators compared to some of the others!).

• Traversed downtown Buffalo’s Main Street, a car-free area for pedestrians and Metro only. Buffalo has a metro rail system, but there’s only one line that travels a 6.4-mile section of Main Street, from the downtown area to the south campus of the University at Buffalo in the northeast corner of the city. I’ve never been on it (something else to add to my list for the next trip!).

• We also came across all kinds of random Buffalo in the city. Like these:

(Note: Many more photos can be found in my Buffalo photoset on Flickr.)

We also did some things that don’t have accompanying photos:

• Took a long walk down Hertel Avenue.

• Explored Elmwood Village (this included stopping for a glass of wine at O3 Organic Cafe, checking out the goods at Lexington Co-operative Market, and consuming a fabulous dinner at Toro).

• Salivated over the locally-sourced goods at Five Points Bakery, where I purchased some cookies and a loaf of cinnamon/raisin bread for Paul’s parents.

• Scouted out the location of the Massachusetts Avenue Project, a productive urban garden formed from vacant housing lots that gets fresh produce into the hands of local residents.

Verdict? A fabulous, fun trip. I can’t wait to go back!