In our latest escape from NYC, my husband and I ventured up to Niagara Falls & Toronto over the July 4th holiday week. Neither of us had visited previously, and NF seemed like one of those “classic Americana” things we needed to cross off of the list. We flew into Buffalo early on the 4th and made the drive to the Canadian side of the falls. We watched Nik Wallenda cross the falls via high wire a few weeks ago via TV, so it was particularly interesting to now experience the falls in person.
The NF area was – to put it politely – “over-commercialized” (my co-worker prefers the adjective "trashy"). It’s a bit of a shame, as the falls themselves are immense and majestic, but the surrounding area is full of casinos, Ripley’s establishments, and copious amounts of bars/pancake houses. We partook of the classic tourist activities with the Maid of the Mist boatride (cool, but a bit expensive for a 15-min soaking) and the Journey Behind the Falls (uber expensive way to look through a port hole at a gray mist which my husband described as “the backside of water.”)
Nonetheless, we enjoyed seeing the falls, and spent dinner in the rotating dining room of the Skylon Tower to celebrate our fourth anniversary while enjoying the evening fireworks over the falls.
Check out the rainbow on the falls in the below pics!
On the 5th we spent some time hiking along the Niagara river itself, downstream from the falls in a nearby park. The trail was only 2 or 3 miles, but it was neat to experience the incredible current/rapids of the river while walking through the gorge’s woods.
From there we went on to the Butterfly Conservatory. Again, in our opinion overpriced, but an interesting room full of various butterfly species flying around the open space.
We left for Toronto, after a brief stop at the Hamilton Botanical Gardens, and arrived in the evening. Toronto is an interesting city. Without the land-locked limitations of NYC, it is considerably more spread out but retains an artsy sub-culture.
We spent three days in Toronto, and highlights of the city included a 4-hour bike tour with Toronto Bicycle Tours. Chris and I were the only ones who had signed up for the tour, so we had a private tour with the guide, Rick, who was excellently informative. The day was crazy hot, but the tour was a great way to see most of Toronto and learn about the city’s varied history. The tour is the one of the most popular Toronto activities on TripAdvisor, and it’s well-deserved!
We also went on the Edge Walk adventure at the CN Tower. The world’s tallest tower, CN stands 1,815 ft tall and allows for views of 100 miles on a clear day. The Edge Walk experience allows you to walk along the top of the tower’s restaurant… outside! Complete with jumpsuit, harness, and safety lines, we walked the perimeter of the tower on a grate that allowed you to look down. Alllllll the way down. Sweeping panorama views of Toronto and Lake Ontario made the experience unforgettable… though the initial moment where you do “toes over Toronto” (i.e. shimmy your feet to the edge of the grate so your toes are off the grate and hanging over Toronto while you lean over the Edge – relying on your safety line – also definitely get the heartbeat going).
Absolutely gorgeous photos! You've made it seem like paradise :-)
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