My German roomate the previous night warned me to beware of the tour guide that talked too much his name was......
So many photos to select and upload.
The day tour started off with a stop to Souvenir City - tacky tacky tacky - basically this was a 15 min toilet stop before Niagara Falls and maybe a quick drink snack or gift stop and first prefalls photo opportunity of the "gorge" and river below and the tee pee or barrel over Niagara Falls photo - maybe a little unnecessary.
Next stop America Falls Canada Falls and of course Niagara Falls. Our tour guide advised us of our options - a $5 ride up on the sky railway with really good views of the falls although it looks like the views aren't that spectacular and the other option of the Journey Behind the Scenes a series of underground tunnels under the falls.
The bus was a full bus today apparently for quite some time and I sat with a fellow Toronto HI hosteller. We did the Journey Behind the Scenes and it was freezing down in the tunnels under the falls!
We then took a walk all along the street and tooks hundreds of photos of the falls. Wow what a sight - the sun even came out. All up we only had 2 hours at the falls which was not enough time to see or do everything. We avoided the tacky shopping and entertainment area of Niagara Falls but when it came to lunch there was not enough time therefore we opted for Tim Hortons in the last half hour of our time at Niagara Falls but it was taking an awful long time for the queue to move. I opted for the quick option of a cheese croissant whereas the German couple on the same day tour from the same hostel opted for a chicken sandwich which would take longer to prepare. We were fast running out of time to get back to the bus by 2.59 pm (I think it was) as it was a tight itinerary and the bus does not wait for late comers we were all warned and we would have to taxi it back from Niagara to Toronto if we missed the bus. We had 5 minutes to get back to the bus pick up point and we arrived just before the bus arrived - there's that "German Efficiency" again!!!
Next stop was Niagara on the Lake - the prettiest town in the Niagara region. Here we only had about 30 - 40 minutes. You really need a few days to take in all this town has to offer. It was recommended that we take a brisk walk down to the "lakeside"
After a toliet stop we took a walk down to the "lakeside" and along the main street of the town before heading back to the bus which returned and parked outside the theatre of the town.
Our final stop before returning to Toronto and included in our Niagara Falls day trip was a quick wine tasting stop at Niagara Wine Education Centre.
This was not a vinyard tour just a tasting of white, red and ice wine .
I wasn't keen on the white or red wines preferring the non alcoholic grape juice offered to kids, under aged young adults and non drinkers on the day tour. The icewine as usual was delicious. I don't think you can produce a bad red or white icewine due to the sugar content. It can only be called icewine if the grapes are picked off the vine at -8 degrees. If they are not at this temperature the wine produced is considered late harvest and not icewine. It takes approximately 4 bunches of hand picked frozen grapes to produce one drop of nectar to produce icewine hence the hefty price tag per bottle. We then had an opportunity to purchase the wines we had just tasted. I ended up purchasing a bottle of chilled non alcoholic grape juice which cost me CAN$5.
Back on the bus again to head back to Toronto. We were all tired by now. There were several drop off points around downtown Toronto therefore I asked the tour guide if he was stopping anywhere near the art gallery as my fellow hosteller and I were going straight to the Art Gallery as it was Wednesday night free entry from 6 pm to 9 pm.
We decided to get off at the main drop off point in downtown Toronto Yonge & Dundas and walked to the Art Gallery (AGO) (about a 30 minute walk from the HI Toronto) . It was going to be a long night.
It was great timing as we had around 3 hours or so to look around the Art Gallery. Why can't I remember much about what I saw at the art gallery except for exhibition of the boats made out of thongs that kids played with in the ocean. Must be too tired.
We stayed at the Art Gallery until almost 9 pm closing time, had a look at the art galley shop before walking back to the hostel.
By the time I got back I had a quick snack met my new roommates, planning of tomorrow's activities as I had a full day in Toronto and did my laundry. I needed my laundry to dry before I packed and knew it would take 2 days for all my woollen clothes to dry. There was quite a lot of clothing that could not be placed in the dryer as well so these needed time to air dry.
Finally asleep by 1.30 am in the morning.
End of night 2 day 1 in Toronto.
Tomorrow a sleep in pancakes and St Lawerance Markets, a visit to the closest supermarket (Metro) on Front Street and ferry to Toronto Islands.
Photos from tacky Souvenir City
Photos of the 3 falls at Niagara Falls and our talkative tour guide
Photos of Journey Behind the Falls from the tunnels under the falls
Photos of the town of Niagara on the Lake
Still to be uploaded
Photos of Red, White and Ice Wine tastings @ Winery School in Niagara region
Still to be uploaded
Apologies no photos of Niagara on The Park The Wine Education Centrre or AGO in Toronto survived. 2 cheeky photos were posted on facebook I believe - one of icewine sampling and the other of me trying to climb over the wall at Niagara Falls.
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