So, today I was fortunate enough to get to see another wonder of the world and it was pretty amazing.
I thought about going on my own but catching the bus and doing a tour were roughly the same so I figured why both worrying about catching the right bus when I can get a tour and have the day planned for me? As it is I'm incredibly glad I booked a tour!
I got picked up from my hotel around 9, and then it was a relatively short drive to the Falls! (about an hour and a half, maybe 2 hours)
The falls were not quite what I was expecting. But then I didn't know what to expect!
You hear so much about the falls and in person they were pretty amazing!
They fall in a sudden and incredibly dramatic horseshoe ring and create an super dense mist!
The Hornblower (the boat I was to get later) heading towards the falls!
And the Maid of the Mist. It's a shame I couldn't get this iconic boat but its currently only running from the USA side of the river and its only got a month or so to go before its officially retired
After hopping back on the bus, and chatting to the guy sat next to me (Johnny) we were driven down to the base of the falls and we jumped on the Ferry! It felt a little like you were going on a roller coaster, we all got wristbands and had to queue up and go in an elevator. And we all got photos of us taken before we jumped on the boat
Oh, and we got those incredibly beautiful plastic ponchos..
The American Falls!
This was pretty much all my camera could manage on the boat! It was crazy! And the americans were all cheering as we road the waves and got DRENCHED!
Everyone said you just got a little wet… A LITTLE wet?!
It was pretty funny seeing everyone's reactions though
I'm incredibly glad I did the boat ride as it was really so much fun! Despite dripping after
(I was also incredibly glad I wore waterproof mascara…)
Then we had an hour or so to walk around the town that is nestled next to the ferry landing station, and it definitely wasn't what I was expecting!
It was just like a theme park or a mini vegas… it was strange! But it was interesting to see how much tourism has obviously impacted the town!
After grabbing lunch with Johnny (and having to run back to the bus since we were late) we set off again to another sightseeing spot
The weather wasn't too happy though so the bus gave us all more ponchos!
We nicknamed ourselves the poncho tour as we all looked ridiculous
The whirlpool itself was actually surprisingly impressive. I'd heard a few people say they weren't impressed, and obviously after the magnitude and splendour of Niagara Falls they aren't all that, but they're still a nice stop off
After running out and taking some photos of the whirlpool we all ran back to the bus so we could get on to Niagara on the Lake. It's a really cute and quaint town that I'm sure would have been lovely to stroll around in warmer weather. As it was we sort of just did a lap stopping in a few shops for samples (feel margarita and ice cream samples are good no matter the weather!)
Saw a woman rolling cigars!
its funny actually as me and Johnny were talking about the lack of Starbucks and how it was a nice change since they really are everywhere in North America, and how it's nice the town is so big on preserving the local shops etc we turn around and see this! I guess Starbuck really are everywhere
we also stopped by a pub that's supposed to be haunted. They have to keep the union jack flying other wise the ghost gets grumpy apparently..
I had to take a photo of this shop!
Then it was onto Niagara Teaching Winery to try some of the local 'ice wine'. It was actually really interesting to learn about how it's made, they have to wait until the grapes are completely frozen on the vine before picking and then since al the water is frozen they tend to only get a drop or two from each grape. That all means that it takes 10-20 times more grapes to make a bottle of ice wine compared to your usual table wine.
The result is an incredibly sweet and unique wine that was simply delicious!
We got to sample three different wines and I couldn't resist buying a bottle to bring back with me so I could let you try some!
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