A day trip to Niagara Falls

Cows at the Dominion Centre

Hi there folks! Time for another update on my adventures in Canada. So this post takes us on a day trip to the amazing Niagara Falls. I started my morning rather early, as I had to head down into Toronto to meet the bus. Taking a backpack, I packed a trusty book and some headphones to keep me somewhat entertained for the hour long commute to the city. I had 45 minutes to spare in Toronto, so I ended up checking out one of the many subways in the city. Simply awesome. I chilled out in the Dominion Centre and found some cool cows just chilling on the grass. Next time I'm down town I really want to check out more of the city and see more cool art like that. So I met the tour guide on York Street and he called me over shouting "Aussie! Aussie! Aussie!". What sort of Aussie could refuse such a call so of course I replied with "OI! OI! OI!". Upon boarding the bus I got straight into cracking jokes with the driver and was instantly branded as the "character / comedian". We collected everyone and made our way west of Toronto. The bus was almost full with a good mix of nationalities, a few Aussies, lots of Brits, a few Americans and some Israeli's. Our trip along the 401 took us up and over the Niagara River, past Hamilton (known as the Armpit of Southern Ontario - it's very much like Port Kembla or Newcastle back home - coal and steel works pretty much. The smell was pretty horrid.

George Shaw and I posing for photos

Brock Monument

Anyway the start of our actual day trip was a private wine tasting at Pilliteri Wines. We sampled their reisling and their red called Straight Up. Both were nice and available for sale at the LCBO (Liquor Control Board of Ontario - aka bottle-o). For $2 I tasted the fantastic Ice Wine. This wine is made during the winter from a special process where the grapes are frozen - they extract the juice and make this amazingly awesome sweet desert wine. One small bottle of Ice Wine sets you back $20 minimum. For one bottle of Ice Wine you could have made 12 bottles of normal wine. The wine itself though is extremely sweet - so you would only want a drop for desert.

Niagara Whirlpool

After this we made our way to the little village of Niagara on the Lake. This town is very much like Beechworth for those Victorians out there or Montville for the Queenslanders. Ma and Pa stores, all art and craft stuff which didn't really interest me, but the coffee shop made an insane Kahlua infused cafe Mocha. Let's just say it was interesting to say the least. The town is known for the Royal George Theatre. It is named after George Bernard Shaw who was a recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1925. I had a photo with the guy - he didn't say much though. Once we finished up here we headed off to Niagara Falls. The trip took us along the picturesque Niagara Park way. The architecture is heavily influenced by British Colonialism and was simply amazing. On our way through here we also passed Fort George which is the historic battle field of the war with America in 1812. The British won the war and thus Niagara was a British Colony, followed 50 years later with the founding of Canada as a country (if my memory serves me well!). We drove up the statue where the Major-General Isaac Brock is interned underneath the statue. His imposing figure is set atop of the statue pointing at the across the Niagara River to America as a warning never to invade again. After this brief stop we headed to the Niagara Whirlpool. What makes this whirlpool unique is that is the worlds largest natural whirlpool. We had the opportunity to take some photos however didn't have the chance to ride the cable car over the whirlpool.

On the Maid of Mist - Canadian Falls

It was now time to head to Niagara Falls and ride the famous Maid of Mist. We donned on our awesome blue ponchos and jumped aboard the ferry. I headed up the front of the boat where one was guaranteed to get the most wet from the falls - in fact my shoes where soaked by the end of the ride! First stop was the American Falls which are not as impressive as the Canadian Falls, but still, very cool at the same time. After a good five minutes here of catching the mist off the fall we made our way over to the horseshoe falls which was simply amazing. The amount of water that goes over the falls just blows your mind away. The noise is intense too, and the mist is much crazier than the American Falls. I captured some good shots and in the process had to take off my sunglasses as not only where they fogging up but also covered in a crazy amount of mist. I would definitely recommend anyone to do this. It's a must do while on the east side of Canada!

Me with the American Falls

After this we had some free time to explore the city of Niagara Falls or to walk some more of the Niagara Parkway to get a closer view of the Canadian Falls. We walked about half way up before we decided to check out the city.... which was far from impressive, in fact it was like walking into side-show alley. It was an instant put off walking up Clifton Hill. It was like everything was an amusement park, and it just seemed dirty and grimy. I ended up finding the "Outback" steak house and grill and once for an Aussie going to and Australian themed bar... it was pretty pathetic. Nothing but burgers for lunch... I mean come on - I can go to any pub in Australia and get a steak, salad and chips but this was just boring. Anyway the football was on and I watched a the first half of the Spain / Portugal game.
A few more photos down by the falls and it was time to head back into Toronto. All in all it was an awesome day and I'd recommend the company I toured with to anyone. The driver was hilarious and he definitely made this a tour I wont forget any time soon. You can find their details at the bottom of this blog.
Well that's really about it for now - it's Canada Day this weekend so we're heading into Toronto on Sunday to check out more of the city and to catch a Blue Jays game! Hope you all have an awesome weekend and I'll update you again real soon!
~Matty

Niagara and Toronto Day Tours
http://www.niagaratorontotours.com/

Panorama of both falls - American on the left, Canadian on the right

Another panorama of the falls.