This past summer, my family and I took a quick (ha!) road trip up to visit Niagra. We drove up from D.C. and arrived at one of the most stunning sights I have seen. As we were approaching Niagra by car I could see a vast cloud of mist which, from a distance, looked like smoke. After we parked, we purchased our tickets. As we made our way through the park I could hear so clearly the thundering Falls. Then we turned a corner and, volia! There it was–the view you see in the picture above. It was magnificent.
One of the first things I noticed, and was not expecting, was how colorful the water was. It was a beautiful turquoise blue/green. The water flows from the Great Lakes: Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. Niagra Falls lies on the border between Canada and the U.S. (we soon learned the Canadian side is much more impressive than the U.S. side.) And the Falls are actually a combination of three waterfalls: American Falls, Bridal Veil Falls, and the Horseshoe Falls (the largest of them all).
We boarded the Maid of the Mist, which takes you right up to all three of the Falls. By the time we approached the Horseshoe Falls, we were drenched! The Maid of the Mist gets right up to the base of the Falls, and the water pounding down is so loud that you can’t talk. We all stood there in our blue ponchos in the mist, soaking our iphones (or iPads if you were like the group of guys standing behind me) to snap pictures as fast as we could. The Falls did not disappoint.
Every night they have a light show on the Falls from the Canadian side. It was so colorful and looked very magical, but it was very crowded. The strangest part on the New York side of Niagra was how Indian everything was. It was so unexpected. The New York side had an Indian restaurant or shop (or wedding) around every corner.
We did make it over to the Canadian side too. We visited a quaint town called Niagra on the Lake. It had a very British vibe to it. Flowers on every corner of every building (sort of reminded me of the pubs in London) and cute shops and cafes. And, of course, it as all situated on a lake. The houses on the Canadian side were beautiful too, waterfront houses backing up to farmland.
We found an adorable coffee shop called the Orange Cat, pictured below.
We also found a great breakfast place that was located in what used to be someone’s home. The tables each looked different and the kitchen was open (we were actually in a home) and the food was delicious–I ordered French toast which is my favorite.
On our last day, we decided to drive up from Niagra to Toronto. Only about a two hour drive. But it was a WET, very wet, and chilly day heading up there. Now, I am sure Toronto is a wonderful city with a lot to do. But we did not have a plan, since we drove up spontaneously, and so we wandered around looking for something to eat for a very long time. We covered most of the city by foot, but since it was so rainy, we were unable to really enjoy it.
We did end up at a bar/restaurant called The Loose Moose about two blocks from where we initially parked our car. We learned our lesson for not planning that day out more carefully, but it is a funny memory to look back on now that we are dry and fed.
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[…] British Columbia. This was only my second time visiting Canada; a few summers ago I went to Niagra Falls and Toronto. I have always wanted to see the western side of Canada, so I was excited to visit even if just for […]