Niagara Falls tour day - lots pics and videos

Today we are off to Niagara Falls. After getting up and packing up for the day we set out to eat brunch. We located our meet pick up spot for the tour then ate at a nearby food court in the TD Center. Chicken souvlaki was enjoyed. Seeing we had time we enjoyed some sunshine in a courtyard then searched out the stock market only to find it moved to a new building and it was not interactive as the internet says. We were back close to our hotel so stopped for a bathroom break and set out again to look. Around the old block we see out our window. It turns out it is a first women lawyer hall. We looped north for a bit then made our way back south looping back to the courtyard where an Indigenous dance was happing at noon then to the meet spot early at 12:30 so grabbed a cold brew and Tim bits for the bus tour.

The tour bus arrived at designated 12:45 with us boarding, getting our seats and soon under way. Of course there were a few more pick ups along the way and various stops. Our driver Patrick (whose brother lives in Carstairs owning Villa Maria- only Italian restaurant) was very informative over the whole day. He gave loads of details about Toronto and all the places between.

There are a series of locks to get around the falls, here is one

Wayne Gretsky winery

What a beautiful area Niagara on the lakes area is… who knew. We had only a short stop in the one little town but it looked fabulous in the whole area. 

worlds smallest chapel

is on the market grounds, S bought fresh strawberries to enjoy on the ride

Another stop at a little church, a floral clock, maple syrup tasting, and the whirlpool before we arrived at Niagara Falls.

When we arrived at Niagra Falls it was not as high as we both imagined but it was more “real”. We walked from the table top area along the wall first. Here are a few video views of the falls.

 

video of a maid in the mist going into the falls

 We then took our boat ride. This is a guaranteed wet adventure but very invigorating. Very hard to photograph or video while in a deluge of water but I got some ;)

getting wet video

Back on land we made our way up to the busy action packed Clifton hill  area. 

Our first stop was at a Niagra brewing for happy hour seeing it was now 7 pm. Chips, pick and guacamole were enjoyed then we made our way up the hill to see all the attractions, can you find S in the pic?

 We made our way back to the distillery beside the beer brewery and had delicious ribs with a couple cocktails.

It was now almost 9:30 so back down the hill to check out the falls lit in lights and wait for the fireworks at 10. They were 5 minutes of pretty blasts. A quick stop at the bathroom then back on the bus for a very fast and rough ride tack to the city. We left at 10:15 and were dropped back at the meeting spot at 11:30. A quick walk to our hotel just up the street, a shower and relaxing in the comfy bed were next in order. The blue jays were playing in Chicago and in extra innings, The game went to the 12 inning before they lost by 1

fireworks video for you

Sheraton Hotel - excellent location, central to everything, great view of the city on north side

     - comfy beds and pillows, 2 bottles of water perfect for daily tours

Zoom Tour -  pros ; Patrick very informative, the bus was a nice size, comfortable seats

    Cons ; roads are rough in spots, a/c not able to keep up with doors left open at stops being at 30+ day