Tag Archives: ontario

Day 7 – Niagara Falls, ON

We caught a coach early for a trip to Niagara Falls. The coach driver was weird and spoke like a robot.

The falls simply are beautiful. We boarded one of the many Maids of the Mist, armed with plastic poncho. It was at this level where you appreciated the power of this natural wonder, always at its mercy if you’re to dare being irresponsible.

From there we headed on to Niagara-on-the-Lake, a quaint tourist village. We sat down at a restaurant, choosing quantity over quality. Mitch ordered a large salad – it was horrendously big. I can’t even remember what I had. All I can see in my memory is that huge salad. Then we went wine tasting. I have no interest in wine at all but hey, free booze. We tried some of the famous ice wine… pas pour moi I have to say!

Back in Toronto, we explored the shopping delights of Yonge St and the Eaton Centre. We then had a lovely dinner at the Three Brewers, drinking from 1 ltr tankards. Brilliant.

Day 6 – Toronto

Our trip was on a tight budget, but the Fairmont Royal York hotel offered us a deal we couldn’t refuse. So we stayed there. What should have been a pleasant experience, our first night there was pretty awful. We were checked in to a smoking room (didn’t even know these still existed in developed countries?), and couldn’t be moved until the next day. The bedding and our clothes stank of cigarettes. For a non smoker, it’s pretty offensive.

We woke up early and visited the CN Tower. The views were spectacular. We couldn’t afford the rotating restaurant, but there is one directly underneath which is really good value considering you’re in one of Canada’s most famous landmarks. We had a beautiful burger with maple bacon as we looked out on Toronto.

As we descended, we took a look round the Toronto Blue Jays shop and around the Rogers Centre stadium.

Had a lovely ride on the small, quaint subway system, the TTC, which still use coin tokens. It’s cute, in a non-condescending way. And some of the old signage is just gorgeous.

We looked around The Bay department store, and some old senile lady clocked us, with the opening gambit “you boys are handsome”. She didn’t hold back her inquisitive thoughts on our origins, either (we both look quite tanned!). And she said we had cute feet. This woman told us her story. She’s from Cornwall, of French ancestry, and moved to Toronto when she was young. We then excused ourselves quickly and found haven at Starbucks.

And then who should walk in… the crazy old lady. I proceed to bury my head in a TTC map waiting for her departure.

In a nod to our previous destination, I purchased a Double Gulp Mountain Dew along with some Twinkies (found it very hard to find those in NY!). And in true class, proceeded to the front desk with Double Gulp in hand, and complained about our room. It worked!