Overview

Continued from the previous post↓

The travel diary continues. I went to Ithaca.
Even if you know where Niagara Falls and New York are, I bet many readers of Mirori-HP don't know Ithaca. Ithaca is the name of a city in the Finger Lakes region, a rural area in New York State. The most famous thing there is probably Cornell University.

I'll write more about the Finger Lakes region and Cornell University below.

Wandering Around the Finger Lakes Region

This is sudden, but hamburgers at American McDonald's are not especially big. This↓ is a Big Mac, but it is not especially big. It may disappoint you, so please do not expect too much.

This↓ is the real I LOVE NEW YORK, located in New York State. The lake in the background is Seneca Lake, one of the Finger Lakes.

This↓ is Seneca Lake.

Now let me explain the Finger Lakes. Well, I think the quickest way is just to look at the map below↓. There are these long, narrow lakes lined up like fingers, so this area is called the Finger Lakes.

By the way, this is Geneva, a town on the shore of Seneca Lake.

Now then, this↓ is Taughannock Falls. It is a waterfall near Cayuga Lake, which lies east of Seneca Lake. Very cool. Also, for privacy reasons, my face is covered by Lord Golden Mask.

Taughannock Falls is in a state park. There is a light forest trail there, and it is fun to walk around. The mountains, river, and waterfall reminded me of Aomori, my spiritual hometown.

Wandering Around Near Cornell University

This↓ is the hotel where we stayed this time.

It was called Best Western University Inn. It was a one-story building, fairly inexpensive, had a nice interior, and even allowed pets to stay. ...It was the best hotel I stayed at during my time in America.

This↓ is a slope called Libe Slope, and the Cornell University buildings above it. It seems there are student dorms below the slope, and lots of students were climbing up here on their way to class. Looks rough. Cornell University is a famous private university. On the East Coast, there is a group of famous private universities called the Ivy League, and Cornell is one of them. In Japanese terms, maybe it is something like "MARCH"? Of course, "Ivy" means the plant, so the name suggests old, traditional universities with ivy-covered buildings.

This↓ is the view of Ithaca from the top of Libe Slope. ...Wide. The lake you can see in the distance on the right is Cayuga Lake. This was the first place during my trip to America where I felt "all the stress of daily life stop mattering." It was a memorable place where I got to feel one part of what makes travel so good.

This↓ is the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, near Libe Slope. The person at the front desk here was incredibly kind. After hearing my clumsy English, they spoke very slowly and clearly for me. They were the MVP of kind Americans on this trip.

This↓ was my favorite work at the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art. It looked beautiful, kind of like it was going "uju"...

When you get closer, you can see that it is an artwork built from many nails. This was so good. I loved it.

This↓ is Cornell University's "Walk Like a Penguin" sign. Cute. This area has many gorges and many walking paths. I found this penguin sign in one of those places.

Bonus

Best Western University Inn had a microwave, so I chose some American-looking frozen food for dinner. Chicken wings (Buffalo-style flavor) and mac and cheese.

Buffalo-style is insanely spicy. I chose it because it was named after Buffalo, a city around this area, so I thought it felt very American. But for me, the spiciness was completely unacceptable. I washed the surface with water before eating it. Mac and cheese is a dish kind of like macaroni covered in cheese, and it is fairly famous in America. This one is tasty.

This↓ is another entry in Midori-san's pin badge collection. A Cornell University emblem badge. The NEW YORK badge is not from Ithaca, because I bought it at Yankee Stadium, but this trip was in New York State, so I included it here.