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"A wondrous dream came into being..."

barbie on 2005-06-27T04:31:48

Today was a trip to the Niagara Falls. The falls themselves are very impressive and worthwhile seeing. If you want to be hand held do the organised trip, otherwise I recommend doing it yourself by Greyhound and shuttle bus, and a bit of shank's pony. Incidentally the Greyhound buses put our own National Express to shame. The journey from Toronto to Niagara Falls, is roughly the same as from Birmingham to London in the UK time wise. However, upon arriving at Niagara Falls, I felt refreshed, relaxed and raring to go. The seats are so comfortable, you've got plenty of room move and most of all there's aircon.

I did the Maid of the Mist trip, and was planning to do at least the Journey Behind The Falls, but decided the boat ride and looking from the edge was enough. Spent most of the day wandering around, popping into the odd gift shop to buy a few postcards and souvenirs for the family back home. The weather was fantastic, and with the spray from the falls to keep the edge off the heat, it was very enjoyable day.

Once back in Toronto, I took a walk up to the parliment building to get my pilgramage shots in. It's quite an impressive building, and according to the plaque has quite a controversial history. Next was a long walk down College Street to find Alex's Bar. I had been lead to believe that that was the name of the bar, but on turning up at 580A College Street discovered a place called The Orbit Room. It looked shut anyway, but I guessed Alex's Bar had either shutdown or moved on. Found another local bar serving Guinness so it wasn't a total disappointment. Having got back to the hotel, I checked up to find that I had got the right place, and there was a gig on tonight, but I'd arrived too early! If only I'd gone back after the Guinness. Maybe later in the week.

Tired now after all the walking, and the conference starts tomorrow. Should be good to catch up with a few people. But sleep beckons.

Touristy

Beatnik on 2005-06-27T10:46:52

There are 2 other attractions you can do in Niagara falls.. One is called the Spanish Aerocart. It's basically a cable cart that brings you over the whirlpool a few miles down the niagara. There a is a CW/CCW thing that has to do with the hydro plant downstream. The other thing to see is a walk along the river (IIRC called Great Gorge Adventure), between the falls and the spanish aerocart. It tells you a bit of history about people that tried going down the falls in barrels, boats, sheets of ice, etc. It's quite relaxing. Also, there is a small, european style village a few miles north of the falls, aptly called Niagara-on-the-lake, which has the oldest pharmacy in Canada, eh.

The only places I remember from Toronto are the CN tower and the city hall (old and new one, IIRC).

Re:Touristy

barbie on 2005-06-27T11:19:44

I ran out of time to do the cable car over the whirlpool. I didn't realise that the shuttle bus takes you there first, then does a round trip. It would have taken too long to do that and get the next shuttke bus back. Maybe next time.

The Rush connections are keeping me happy though ;)