A Trip To Niagara
Today we got ourselves out of the city for a trip down to Niagara to take in the wonder of the falls.
We were picked up by the coach at 8.30am and then went on another tour of the city as we drove round to pick up everyone else who was coming with us. By the time we actually got onto the expressway and headed out of Toronto it had gone 10 o’clock.
The journey down to Niagara took about an hour and a half and the road trails around the edge of Lake Ontario so you have some nice views across the lake and off into the blue horizon. On the way down we were treated to a commentary by the driver telling us all about the area.
When we eventually arrived into the town of Niagara, we drove down towards the river to get our first view of the American falls and as the coach pulled round we could see the Horseshoe Falls in the distance. Once we had parked by the visitor centre, we were allowed to wander around the top of the falls at our leisure. It was a perfect opportunity for some loads of pictures while trying to avoid the copious amounts of spray in the air.
We then went down to the dock area to board the Hornblower, the boats that takes passengers right up to the falls that has replaced the 150 year old Maid Of The Mist service. We boarded the boat, put on our ponchos and set sail towards the mouth of the falls.
As we approached the falls it got extremely noisy as all you can hear is the water crashing down 164 ft from above. It is really quite a spectacle to behold. Needless to say you do get quite wet and although you may look a bit of a dick, the ponchos do help!
After the ride, we dried off and went for a wander around the town of Niagara. For such an amazing tourist spot, it is really surprising that they haven’t made more of an effort with the town, it is quite tacky. A poor man’s Blackpool, if that is even possible!
With a spot of lunch inside us, it was time to get back onto the coach for the rest of the tour which included a trip to see a whirlpool (not even as naff as it sounds!) and then a stop off at Niagara-on-the Lake, a quaint little town which, as you might have guessed, sits on the edge of Lake Ontario.
We were given some time to wander around the town and so we did, stopping off for an ice-cream along the way. We headed down towards the lakeside and as we ate the tourist-priced ice-creams we scanned the distant horizon and could just about make out the darkened silhouette of Toronto right off in the distance!
Our final stop of the day was at a local vineyard to sample the delights of ice-wine and after this it was time to head back to Toronto.
As we’d got on well with the driver during the pick up in the morning, we asked if we could be dropped off in town and not at our hotel as we wanted to go out for something to eat and also for a recommendation of where to go. Apparently The Keg on The Esplanade was a good place to go and so we were dropped off there where we had a nice steak dinner. A fitting end to a brilliant day out!