NIAGARA!!!
Since I've officially been in Toronto for about a month, it finally dawned on me that I only have two weeks left here! Because of that I decided to use this Monday off to do some major sightseeing, which included Niagara Falls!!
On Sunday immediately after the show, I raced home and packed. I met my friends Emily and Jason at the car rental, and we started for the falls. The drive took a little over an hour, and when we arrived we had a little difficulty discerning which one of the FOUR Days Inns was ours. Luckily we finally figured it out, and it was only the second crappiest. The woman at the front desk took her time checking us in with her bass voice and her dirty jokes about octogenarians having sex in the rooms until we managed to escape to our room. Only to find the door unlocked, the sheets out in the hall, some rancid take-out food on the desk, and the fixtures missing from the bathroom. We had to go back and talk to our manly friend and get a new room. This one was better, although it was lacking a deadbolt and the door to the balcony wouldn't close. For sixty bucks a night for Emily and I, it was worth it.
We dropped our stuff, then met Jason to hide our valuables in the car, and took off for the Fallsview Casino. We grabbed some dinner, and then hit the slots! The casino was pretty funny, full of some serious aged gamblers, but not bad overall. You can't smoke there, which made it much better than other casinos I've been in. Canada is also, in my opinion, usually a more upscale crowd in general when you're at big events, than what I'd expect. Does that make sense? Basically, at the amusement park and the casino I didn't see any spandex or matching outfits. It took us some time to warm up, but I eventually found a machine where you got to go to a bonus round and make jewelry, and I was in heaven. Luckily we kept our eyes on our watches, and at five till ten we ran outside to catch the Sunday night Fireworks!! The weather all day was pretty overcast, so we were nervous that they'd cancel them, but luckily they went ahead. We ran down to the edge of the cliff we were on, and had an AMAZING view of the fireworks, and the Falls! At night they light them up and they change colors, and the view was Spectacular! Afterwards we headed in for a little more gambling, caught part of some hilarious band's set, and eventually headed home to our luxury suite.
On the way we stopped at my favorite, a huge 24-hour souvenir shop, where I proceeded to blow money on tacky souvenirs. We made best friends with the cashier, and goofed off checking out the weirdest things we could find. By the time we left we were exhausted, but my hands were full.
On Monday we woke up at the crack of dawn to get in line to ride the Maid of the Mist. It was still raining a bit, but it cleared up as we went along. We caught the early boat, and were lucky enough to share it with a huge group of Japanese tourists and a huge group of Irish schoolboys. It made for a funny ride. The Japanese were pretty aggressive about pushing to the edge of the boat, and we eventually just got out of their way, realizing that we could see right over their heads. The boys were all in high school, and were more concerned with ripping each other's ponchos than seeing the falls. We did our best to stay out of all the commotion, checking out the amazing sights and getting soaked the whole time.
From the Canadian side of Niagara Falls, you can see two falls. I think technically it's three, but it looks like two. One is the huge Horseshoe Falls, the Canadian falls. The other is the smaller American Falls (which I believe has a smaller piece to the right that is technically the third fall). On the Maid of the Mist, we passed by the American falls, getting close up to the giant boulders, and the miles of seagulls that hang out there. Then we headed right into the middle of the horseshoe of the Canadian falls, where we were soaked in a monsoon of mist from the power of the water. It was incredibly beautiful, and a ton of fun.
After all that excitement, which included a ton of picture-taking, we headed up the main street of downtown Niagara. It's one of the tackiest things I've ever seen, with four wax museums, a Ripley's Believe it or Not, tons of 4-D movies, and other craziness. We walked it from end to end, stopped for lunch, and then proceeded to shop. I bought more kitschy souvenirs, and we all splurged on some major fudge (which can not compare to any Michigan fudge) before continuing to sight see. As it got even sunnier we stopped for more pictures, before realizing that we had to start packing it up. We tackled as many stores and ridiculous places as we could, and then piled back into the car. On the way back to Ontario, we took a short detour to see Niagara-On-The-Lake, a quaint little town nearby. It's where the famous Shaw festival takes place, and it's famous for its Ice Wine. Ice Wine is apparently wine that can only be made in certain climates, where they pick the grapes only after they've frozen. Then when they're made into wine it's sweeter, and more concentrated, and packed into smaller bottles. Niagara-On-the-Lake was adorable, with little shops and B&Bs. I only wish we had more time!
We drove back, and returned our rental car just in time. Then I came home and took a nap! Fantastic but exhausting!!!
On Sunday immediately after the show, I raced home and packed. I met my friends Emily and Jason at the car rental, and we started for the falls. The drive took a little over an hour, and when we arrived we had a little difficulty discerning which one of the FOUR Days Inns was ours. Luckily we finally figured it out, and it was only the second crappiest. The woman at the front desk took her time checking us in with her bass voice and her dirty jokes about octogenarians having sex in the rooms until we managed to escape to our room. Only to find the door unlocked, the sheets out in the hall, some rancid take-out food on the desk, and the fixtures missing from the bathroom. We had to go back and talk to our manly friend and get a new room. This one was better, although it was lacking a deadbolt and the door to the balcony wouldn't close. For sixty bucks a night for Emily and I, it was worth it.
We dropped our stuff, then met Jason to hide our valuables in the car, and took off for the Fallsview Casino. We grabbed some dinner, and then hit the slots! The casino was pretty funny, full of some serious aged gamblers, but not bad overall. You can't smoke there, which made it much better than other casinos I've been in. Canada is also, in my opinion, usually a more upscale crowd in general when you're at big events, than what I'd expect. Does that make sense? Basically, at the amusement park and the casino I didn't see any spandex or matching outfits. It took us some time to warm up, but I eventually found a machine where you got to go to a bonus round and make jewelry, and I was in heaven. Luckily we kept our eyes on our watches, and at five till ten we ran outside to catch the Sunday night Fireworks!! The weather all day was pretty overcast, so we were nervous that they'd cancel them, but luckily they went ahead. We ran down to the edge of the cliff we were on, and had an AMAZING view of the fireworks, and the Falls! At night they light them up and they change colors, and the view was Spectacular! Afterwards we headed in for a little more gambling, caught part of some hilarious band's set, and eventually headed home to our luxury suite.
On the way we stopped at my favorite, a huge 24-hour souvenir shop, where I proceeded to blow money on tacky souvenirs. We made best friends with the cashier, and goofed off checking out the weirdest things we could find. By the time we left we were exhausted, but my hands were full.
On Monday we woke up at the crack of dawn to get in line to ride the Maid of the Mist. It was still raining a bit, but it cleared up as we went along. We caught the early boat, and were lucky enough to share it with a huge group of Japanese tourists and a huge group of Irish schoolboys. It made for a funny ride. The Japanese were pretty aggressive about pushing to the edge of the boat, and we eventually just got out of their way, realizing that we could see right over their heads. The boys were all in high school, and were more concerned with ripping each other's ponchos than seeing the falls. We did our best to stay out of all the commotion, checking out the amazing sights and getting soaked the whole time.
From the Canadian side of Niagara Falls, you can see two falls. I think technically it's three, but it looks like two. One is the huge Horseshoe Falls, the Canadian falls. The other is the smaller American Falls (which I believe has a smaller piece to the right that is technically the third fall). On the Maid of the Mist, we passed by the American falls, getting close up to the giant boulders, and the miles of seagulls that hang out there. Then we headed right into the middle of the horseshoe of the Canadian falls, where we were soaked in a monsoon of mist from the power of the water. It was incredibly beautiful, and a ton of fun.
After all that excitement, which included a ton of picture-taking, we headed up the main street of downtown Niagara. It's one of the tackiest things I've ever seen, with four wax museums, a Ripley's Believe it or Not, tons of 4-D movies, and other craziness. We walked it from end to end, stopped for lunch, and then proceeded to shop. I bought more kitschy souvenirs, and we all splurged on some major fudge (which can not compare to any Michigan fudge) before continuing to sight see. As it got even sunnier we stopped for more pictures, before realizing that we had to start packing it up. We tackled as many stores and ridiculous places as we could, and then piled back into the car. On the way back to Ontario, we took a short detour to see Niagara-On-The-Lake, a quaint little town nearby. It's where the famous Shaw festival takes place, and it's famous for its Ice Wine. Ice Wine is apparently wine that can only be made in certain climates, where they pick the grapes only after they've frozen. Then when they're made into wine it's sweeter, and more concentrated, and packed into smaller bottles. Niagara-On-the-Lake was adorable, with little shops and B&Bs. I only wish we had more time!
We drove back, and returned our rental car just in time. Then I came home and took a nap! Fantastic but exhausting!!!
posted by Beth at 10:19 PM
1 Comments:
Stop buying souvenirs! You don't have room in your luggage unless you throw out 30 of you 80 pairs of underpants. xxxooo guess who
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