Chasing Waterfalls – Day 2

I had been sleeping in stops and starts during the night. By 04:00, I had given up. I got up and had a shower. This simple act could have so easily derailed this trip. The bathroom set up was a shallow tub with a shower overhead.  This is not my favourite set up at the best of times. There was no nonslip coating in the tub nor was there a nonslip mat. Unlike Graham the evening before, I had no issue getting hot water. Indeed, I had too much of a good thing. Initially the water temperature was very pleasant, but it got progressively hotter and as I was rinsing off the shampoo, it got too hot for my liking. Once the shampoo was rinsed off, I decided to try to turn down the temperature. I had to move closer to the tap to accomplish this and in the process, I slipped, fell backwards out of the tub, and hit my head on the shelf below the sink. Graham woke up and asked if I was OK. I was initially stunned, but sat up once the original shock had passed. I was bleeding a little, but after a short while, this seemed to stop. I got up very carefully and apart from the area that I had hit smarting a little, I felt fine. I washed off the rest of the soap, dried and then I headed back to bed for a bit. When I woke up again, there was a little blood on the pillows. I was not sure if the cut had started to bleed again or if there was some blood stuck to my hair which got transferred. In any case, there was not a lot of blood, and it was not bleeding at that time. I figured that I would be OK.

Graham was awake as well. The pool opens at 06:00 and we decided to go for a swim. When we got there, we were the only people in the pool area, but it looked like we started a trend. Soon, it was surprisingly busy for that early in the morning. The pool was a lovely temperature. We swam for a while and then spent some time in the hot tub.  Once we started to get a bit too hot, we got showered and changed. We took our swim stuff back to the room and then we went downstairs for breakfast.

We had continental breakfast included. This was served at the marketplace. This was a combination of a coffee shop, a grab and go area and a buffet. They had a great spread. Graham started with some fruit. He then had some mini pastries and a donut followed by cold cuts, cheese, tomato, cucumber, and bread. He also had some coffee and grapefruit juice. I started with tinned pears and mandarin oranges and some granola with sliced almonds. I also had a Boston cream and a cinnamon donut. I followed this some cheese , sausage, and boiled eggs as well as a roll with peanut butter. This little lot was washed down by some coffee and orange juice.

After breakfast, we still had some time until we were due to be picked up for our tour. We headed back to room and had some downtime. About 30 minutes before the start of the tour we headed downstairs. As we stepped outside, a coach pulled up. I checked if this was our coach, but it was not. Ours however arrived not long afterwards. We had to wait for a while for everybody to arrive. We had two more pick-ups to do. Once everybody was on the bus, we got a bit of a guided tour of Toronto as we were leaving the city. Toronto is an amazing city. I think I still prefer Vancouver, but I would put Toronto above New York. 

Traffic was pretty bad again until we left the city. Then we had a clear run. Our guide pointed out various things on the way. The closer we got to Niagara, the greener things got. The trees in Toronto were still bare, but around Niagara, the trees were green, and we were treated to plenty of cherry blossoms.

Our first stop was the Niagara College Teaching Winery. Most of the wine that is produced in Canada comes from the Niagara region. We passed a lot of different wineries. Niagara College Teaching Winery has a visitor centre. We learned a bit about the facility and the wines they make there. One of their specialties is ice wine. There are only three countries in the world that produce ice wine: Germany, Austria, and Canada. Ice-wine is a tricky proposition. The grapes are harvested when they are frozen. If the frost does not come early enough, the grapes just rot on the vines. However, if they do freeze, the result is a very sweet and highly concentrated grape juice, which is then turned into dessert wine. I have had German ice wine in the past and I am quite partial to the stuff. I had heard that Canadian ice wine is even better, but this rarely appears outside Canada and if it does, it is crazy expensive. We had a wine tasting and I was thrilled when of the wines we got to sample was ice wine. 

We got to taste three different wines. The first one was a Chardonnay. I am at best indifferent to this particular wine. Some of it is entirely drinkable and some is truly horrible, but it is not something I gravitate towards. This one was actually quite nice. The second was a red wine blend. Red wines as a rule are not my friend as they can trigger migraines. However, I am usually OK with high quality and organic wines. I decided to take my chances. I really liked this one. It was very mellow, and it did not give me a sore head. Then came the highlight of the tasting – the ice wine. This was everything I hoped for. They make ice wine from a variety of grapes there and the one we got to sample was a Riesling ice wine. When Graham had tried some ice wine in Germany, he was not too keen, but he liked this one. We still had two nights in Toronto, and I decided to get some wine to enjoy. I did get a bottle of the Riesling ice wine. This was at the more expensive end of the ice-wines they had available to buy, but it was still half in Canadian Dollars than what I had seen Canadian ice wine going for in Pounds if you can actually get it. I also picked up a bottle of a Gewürztraminer and Riesling blend. I love both grape varieties, but it would never have occurred to me that they would work together. I also managed to pick up a corkscrew as the ice wine came with a cork.

After the tasting and when the shopping was done, we still had a bit of time until we needed to be back on the coach. I used the bathroom at the visitor centre and then we headed out into the vineyard. It was a bit blustery out there and we ended up staying close to the building. The view was still stunning, and they had a garden area with all kinds of flowers near the visitor centre. A few minutes before we were due back on the coach, we cut through the visitor centre to get back to the coach. One family was slightly late, but soon we were all back on the coach and on our way to Niagara Falls.

On the short drive, our guide Nicki pointed out the bridges that lead across the border into the USA. I got the distinct feeling that this traffic is fairly one-sided at the moment with people from the USA coming into Canada rather than the other way round. Soon we arrived at Niagara Falls. Graham had warned me that the town that is near the falls is essentially Las Vegas with a lot of water. He was not wrong. I was not exactly taken with this. That soon changed when I got my first look at the falls. We initially saw the falls on the USA side, and this was spectacular enough. However, the Canadian falls are truly breathtaking. 

Our first destination was the Table Rock Centre. This is a visitor centre complex right by the falls that is home to a food court, a restaurant, a shop, and the Journey Behind The Falls attraction. Later this year, it will also be home to a flying theatre attraction. We had lunch included at the Table Rock Restaurant. The restaurant is overlooking the falls. The food was not too shabby either. We ended up sitting with a lady from Dublin who was also spending a few days in Toronto before flying to Vancouver for an Alaska cruise. Lunch was a set menu. Everybody got a gorgeous cream of chicken soup and some herby rolls as a starter. We then had a choice between chicken, fish, or a vegetarian main course. Graham had the cod with lemon dill sauce, mashed potato, and green beans. I had chicken with garlic jus, mashed potato, and green beans. A soft drink was included with the meal Graham stuck with water, but I had a Coke. Dessert was apple crumble. I had about half of this and then I was stuffed. Graham finished his.

While we were having lunch, Nicki came round with our Journey behind the Falls tickets. During the summer months, they include a boat tour. Normally the boat tours start on 1st May, but some years it is earlier and some years it is later. As things at been unseasonably warm in Niagara in the run up to our trip, I had been quietly optimistic that the boat would be up and running. However, the week before we flew to Canada, floating ice the size of double decker buses had been coming over the falls. Rather than bringing the boat tours forward, they pushed them back.

The advantage of this was that we did not have to go very far. We just had to go down one level and walk to the other end of the building to check in for Journey behind the Falls. As we had our tickets already, we could head straight in. We had a photo taken against a green screen. Then we were given a disposable poncho and sent to the elevator. The access to the 130-year-old tunnels is 125 feet below the visitor centre. The first tunnel we got to led to a two-level observation platform. We had a look at the upper level. I was joking that I was having my fourth shower of the day. The ponchos prevented us getting soaked, but I could actually see very little as water covered my glasses. I figured I could save myself the stairs to the lower level as I would not be able to see anything anyway. Instead, we retraced our steps and headed down the second tunnel. This leads to two portals that are looking out over the bottom of two different areas of the falls. At least you could keep out of the way of the mist there. However, visibility was rather limited. I was in two minds about this attraction. When I worked as a travel agent, I booked this hundreds of times. I kind of doubted the wisdom of this. On the positive side, it is fairly inexpensive, and I have to admit witnessing the roar and sheer power of the falls is impressive. However, the very limited visibility is a deal breaker for me. I can imagine that during the winter when the falls are frozen, this would be a very cool thing to do.

We retraced our steps to the elevator. One was ready to go. We had a look at the photos, and I rather liked them. We did purchase them. We got two physical prints as well as the corresponding digital downloads. We quickly used the bathroom, and I had a look at the shop. I was tempted by a Spirit Jersey. However, at CAD120, it was rather expensive. I think I may have been tempted if it had been a Niagara Falls Spirit Jersey, but it just said Canada. I passed.  We then headed outside. 

We still had a couple of hours left to explore. We took our time walking along the promenade stopping often to enjoy the ever-changing views of the falls. We saw a lot of different birds in the process. I also got my wish. I had wondered ahead of the trip if I would get to see a rainbow at Niagara Falls. Graham had teased me that I was being greedy. I did get my wish when we had covered about one third of the distance we were going to walk. I was quite surprised about to location of the rainbow though. I had imagined it to be above the falls, but it was actually near the bottom. It did make sense as most of the mist was there. I was happy that I got to see a rainbow at Niagara Falls. In the end it was not just one rainbow, but we saw a number of them.

When people mention Niagara Falls, I think most people who have not seen this themselves think it is just one big waterfall. That was certainly the impression that I was under. I knew that there is a US and Canadian side of the Niagara Falls, but I kind of assumed they were just different perspectives of the same falls. This is not the case. There are actually three. There is a medium sized fall and the very small Bridal Falls that are on the US side. Then there are the Horseshoe Falls, which are on the Canadian side and are by far the largest of the three. Although we spent most of our time admiring the Horseshoe Falls, we did follow the promenade until we were opposite the two waterfalls on the US side and got a clear look of them. There was a little park opposite the US falls, and we sat down there for a while enjoying the resident birds, the glorious weather, and our surroundings. As an added bonus, at that point the promenade has a little outcrop, which meant that I had a clear view across the whole of the Horseshoe Falls. From the rest of the promenade, you could only see parts of this.

Once we started to get a bit hot, we started to head back towards the Table Rock Centre. Every few steps, a new rainbow seemed to appear. They were all different colours and sizes. I even got a double rainbow. I took a lot of photos. My favourite was just past the Table Rock Centre where you could see where the water was coming from. 

It was still a little before our meeting time, but not enough to do anything else. We headed towards the bus station. We did not really expect that our coach would already be there, but I saw a coach at the far side that I thought could be ours. I decided to check this out while Graham found a seat at the other end. It was indeed our bus. I tried to attract Graham’s attention across the bus station, but he did not see me. I figured that he would work out that it was our bus if I did not come back and got on. He joined me shortly afterwards. Most people returned in time or slightly earlier. However, the family that had be late for pick up and then again at the winery were late again, but at least not by much.

We had one more stop before returning to Toronto. On the way, Nicki pointed out various landmarks. There were some places that I would have loved to have a quick photo stop like the whirlpool and the floral clock. However, there was not enough time. At least our driver took a very slight detour so that we got to have a closer look at the floral clock. We had agreed that we needed to come back to Niagara for at least a couple of days at some point in the future. We will make sure we visit those places then.

Our final stop of the day was Niagara-on-the-Lake. Niagara-on-the-Lake sits on the shores of Lake Ontario, at the mouth of the Niagara River. It’s known for its wineries and the summer Shaw Festival, a series of theatre productions. The flower-filled, tree-lined old town features 19th-century buildings. It is often described as the prettiest town in Ontario. This was new to Graham, too. When he spent some time in Toronto and Niagara in 2015, he had run out of time and did not get the chance to visit. All the various tour descriptions that included Niagara-on-the-Lake made it sound like this magical place. I was really excited to see this. My enthusiasm was somewhat diminished when I realised that we would get dropped off somewhere at the outskirts of the town. We then had the choice of either walking or taking a shuttle into town. The long travel day the day before plus us waking up so early that morning was starting to take its toll. Graham was quite happy to just sit on a bench where we were dropped off. I was not completely opposed to this idea either. However, up to this point, I had not been able to get any Canadian Dollars, and I needed some tip money. There was also the draw of what Nicki had described as the best ice cream we have ever tasted.

We set off in the direction that Nicki had pointed out. Initially the walk was pretty boring, but it soon improved. Niagara-on-the-Lake is kind of strange. It looks like a giant Hallmark movie set that is completely removed from reality. Apart from people from our tour, there did not seem to be anybody around. A lot of the shops, cafes, bars, and restaurants were closed. It kind of had the feel of a ghost town. I supposed this town is very much a tourist destination and the tourist season had not really started. The shop selling the ice cream was open. I had some pistachio almond ice cream in a waffle cone. Don’t get me wrong. It was nice enough. However, it was not the best ice cream I have ever had, and I don’t think it would even made my top 10.

Graham was not in the mood for ice cream, but he was quite happy to sit on a bench outside the ice cream shop. I had asked Nicki if there was a cash machine anywhere nearby. She checked with the people in the shop and advised me that there was a bank a couple of blocks further along. I left Graham to enjoy the sunshine and went to find the bank. 

It did not take me long to get there. That was where the good news ended. I tried to get cash and there were three options – chequing, savings or credit card. I have a visa debit card that is attached to what they call a chequing account in Canada. Where I have to choose an account type, sometimes this works and sometimes I need to select credit card. I tried chequing account first and had no joy. I tried credit card and that was not any better. At this stage, I decided to check with somebody who works at the bank. After waiting for ages to speak to somebody, I then found out that they were not on the Visa network. I could not believe my ears. I mean this was Canada and I was in one of the most touristy places in Ontario. It just seemed very strange. Then I remembered that I had the same issue last year with a cash machine in Gastown in Vancouver that just did not work for me and thought that this was the same bank. Again, Gastown is a very touristy area.

I headed back to meet up with Graham and then we headed back to the coach. We still had enough time to use the bathroom before we had to be back on the coach. This time everybody was back on time, and we started our drive back to Toronto. Initially we drove through a very pretty area with a lot of wineries, but soon there was just open land and the road. We soon fell asleep. By the time I was awake again, we were nearly back in Toronto. Traffic was horrendous. There were a hockey match and a baseball game that evening. Still, eventually we made it into the downtown area and to the first drop off. Two thirds of all people got off there. We were next and it only took a further 10 minutes until we were back at our hotel. Despite all the traffic, we still got back to the hotel about 45 minutes earlier than I had anticipated.

We headed back to our room to drop off our stuff. I put the wine into our mini fridge. I took one of my tablets and then we headed out for dinner. I had spotted a couple of weeks earlier that there was a Denny’s not too far from our hotel. This was where we went for dinner that day. I had worked out via Google Maps how to get there. Graham has a certain disdain for Google Maps and decided to find his own route. It did not take long to get there. Denny’s was relatively empty. Graham had iced tea, and I had some Coke. He had chicken fried steak with fries and garlic bread. I had Sirloin steak which came with a choice of two sides. I went with baked macaroni cheese, and tomato soup. It also came with some garlic bread. We both agreed that it was not quite as nice as we are used to, but it was still pleasant enough.

Once we had paid, we headed back to the hotel. Graham suggested that we should try my route and then grudgingly had to agree that it was slightly shorter. When we got back to the hotel, we just relaxed and had a glass of the Riesling Gewürztraminer blend each. The rest we kept for the next day. When we had finished our wine, we got ready for bed and went to sleep straightaway.