CANADA AND NIAGARA FALLS

It took about 8 hours from NJ to get there. To be honest, I wasn't too inspired by the drive. Maybe it's pretty in late spring or early summer but it wasn't for our trip. About twenty minutes before arriving into Canada, I inquired about using our phones there. Not good timing, considering that our GPS wasn't loaded with Canadian locations and we were afraid that the Int'l rates on our phone would be high so I hurried up and downloaded a map to my iPhone and we put all phones on airplane mode. We made it to Rainbow Bridge to go through customs. We picked the slowest line. I was throwing a tantrum and should of been punished. The average car time was 5-7 minutes and, of course, it took us about 2 minutes. Hey, with about 10 cars in front of us, that could be up to 70 minutes! Once we crossed, I pulled my phone map out and guided my husband to our hotel. I hate to say it but the Canadian side is much nicer than the American side along the river by the Falls. Stay in a hotel that overlooks the Horseshoe Falls on the Canadian side, it is well worth the view. I found a wonderful package on Travelzoo for the Marriott Fallsview Hotel and Spa. Plan to pay $25 or more for hotel parking, and there's no getting around that unless you park at the Casino garage for $5 a day and check on your car daily. It's about a 10 minute walk from the Fallsview hotels. We did valet at the hotel because it cost the same as self park (+tip). Here is our room view.

There are high and low trails to walk along the river. It is very clean. We walked them a couple of times. The American falls are about a 1/3 of the size of the Canadian falls. Once you near the Canadian falls by the river, you start to feel the mist and wonder if it is sprinkling but the sun is out and there are no rain clouds.
The area was extremely diverse. There were people from all around the world speaking many different languages and often in their traditional attire representing their culture or religious beliefs. There is a beautiful visitor's center with a food court, some little shops and kiosks to book different activities. We wanted to do the "Maid of the Mist" but she didn't open for another month so I was bummed. Instead, we did "Journey Behind the Falls" and walked through the cave like hallways behind the Falls and looked through the openings. Here is one of the pictures.

It was cool, damp, and loud down there but very thrilling.
We had a concierge in our lobby and she also had a variety of activities to discuss or book with guests. We spoke with her about the ice wineries and booked some tastings in the nearby city of Niagara On The Lake (on Lake Ontario). We took the scenic river drive and it was beautiful. The wineries are everywhere and reminded me of living near Napa/Sonoma; well, maybe a little. I just had to check out this ICE WINE that my mom keeps telling me about! We made it through our whites and reds and finally onto the Ice Wine, which is higher in sugar and considered a dessert wine. They pick the grapes frozen and at this point the sugar content is much higher when fermented. I am not much of a "sweet" person when it comes to cocktails so for me, I could enjoy a couple of sips but that's all. We did buy our favorites and then made our way to Lake Ontario for some cool views and drove around the historic downtown. We ate lunch and walked around. Here is a picture of Starbuck's and is an example of the character presented in these downtown stores.

I think my husband tried to use one of our debit cards and it was rejected, which, again, reminded me I didn't call our banks. At least our trusty USAA credit card worked and in these parts, most places take USD! So, once we made it back to the hotel to get on wifi, I made the changes online. The funny part is, I remind people to make copies of their passports, call the bank, photo copy credit card numbers, write down bank numbers, find out the transaction fees, check into wifi access or phone/text/data Int'l roaming charges and phone plans and guess what? I didn't do any of these things. I was laughing at myself and glad we weren't too far from home!
We were able to make a tribute to my mother's family. My grandfather is buried here and I was able to visit his grave site and the house my mom grew up in and eat at some of the restaruants they remembered.

There is a lot to do here. You could easily stay for a week but plan on spending more $$ than planned. Visit tripadvisor for restaurant and activity ideas. The restaurants in the "tourist" areas are limited and we heard people saying that the food wasn't very good. We took advice from the concierge desk and front desk employees and were pleased with their recommendations. We didn't get to the Casino or the shopping or the area with Planet Hollywood and the Ferris Wheel. There is also a butterfly conservatory, a Fort along the river, cable cars that cross the river and many scenic viewing areas and walking/biking paths.
We were going to head to Toronto, which we could see across Lake Ontario, which would take about 90 minutes to get there but we opted to stay in our area this time. We'll take a cruise to the New England/Canada area from one of the NE ports in the fall or next summer and get a chance to see more of Canada!

It was a wonderful trip and we are glad we were able to visit one of Earth's magnificient wonders.

Check out my Facebook page for more pictures.