mybigadventures.com

We bought megabus tickets online yesterday to go to Niagara falls today. We were booked on the 9.30 coach leaving from the bus terminal which is just a few minutes away from the hotel, so we had plenty of time to go to Starbucks in the morning for some breakfast before setting off. The coach took just under 2 hours to get to the station in Niagara and once there the bus and train stations are almost 3 miles away from the falls themselves. There are buses that ferry people back and firth and a number of taxis lined up outside the station to make the short trip - as it was a cooler day, we decided to make the walk. It took a little over half an hour and we stopped at a shop enroute to buy tickets for the Hornblower ferries that you can catch to ride up to the falls. Buying the tickets meant we skipped the queues and before we knew it, we were on a ferry heading into the mist, with our red ponchos doing some work to keep us dry. The ferry is brilliant and definitely worth getting tickets for, giving you a very different view of the falls to the one you get from the path.

Back on dry land we spent some time taking in the view, it really is pretty spectacular, and I can understand why the falls are best viewed from the Canadian side as they face Canada whereas they can only be seen from the top on the American side. We had dinner at Wendys and also had a trip in the big wheel again getting some pretty wonderful views from the top of the wheel. Late in the afernoon, we walked along the path to the edge of the main falls, you could see the ferrys bobbing in the mist below and you could also see a rainbow spanning the bottom of the falls, it was absolutely amazing. 

With some time to spare before the coach back to Toronto, we decided to walk back to the staion rather than catching the bus. Arring at the station early we asked about getting onto an earlier bus and ended up walking straight onto the one that had just arrived. Feeling very tired we ordered Dominos to the room and spent some time going through photos and updating the blog and journal before bed. 

We made a start today at Starbucks for a spot of breakfast, they had run out of the breakfast rolls we were after but ended up with an 'everything bagel' each and a cup of tea. Whilst there, we made use of the WiFi to download some local maps of the areas we're visiting as it turns out that our mobile data doesnt work here. We also picked up a paper map from the hotel and headed out for a bit of an explore. Our first destination was Ripleys Aquarium which is rated one of the top attractions in Toronto, so we went to see what all the fuss was about. We bought tickets on the way in although it turns out it can be a little cheaper if you book, you can also buy an adventure card that covers some of the other attractions in Toronto, but we gave it a miss.

The aquarium was really quite good with a particularly good moving travelator that took you around and then through the main tank in a series of glass roofed tunnels. Besides the huge range of fish, there were sharks, mantarays and turtles all swiming above and around us. It was really impressive. Heading back outside into what turned out to be a very bright sunny day we headed around to have a look at the CN tower which is next door. There was a long queue and we decided to give it a miss, at least for now anyway. Instead we had a wander around a number of old trains that you can wander around that are part of the exhibit by the train museum. We didn't go to the museum but did have a walk around the trains that were out, spotting a number of black squirrels that seemed to be residents in the area.

We had some lunch at a nearby Subway before visiting the Steam Whistle Brewery which is also located in the old train sheds close to the train museum. We went on the brewery tour which was fairly short but included a couple of beers to sample before having a sit in the beer garden. As the afternoon was getting on a bit we headed back to the hotel for a short rest before heading out once more for dinner. We ended up at a British pub for dinner, with each of us ordering the Sunday roast beef dinner off the specials board. Perfect!

The summer came around as quickly as ever this year and with just a couple of weeks to go before the end of term we actually managed to book a holiday. In fact not just any holiday, but a Canadian and American adventure no less. So after a few end of term drinks on Friday we were off on Saturday morning for the airport, first stop Toronto! The flight was fairly standard with a decent selection of films to help pass the time, and before we knew it, we had arrived. Getting through the airport was an absolute doddle and after our cases were amongst the first off the plane, we were quickly on our way. We caught the train into the central station which is only a 25 minute ride and $12 each from Pearson airport. After a short subway ride we were at the hotel about an hour after landing.

The hotel is located in downtown Toronto and pretty close to a range of places to eat and a short walk from Starbucks which should sort us out for breakfast. By the time we checked in it was about 4.30pm and so we spent a bit of time slobbing about before heading out for a bite to eat at a nearby Dennys. The food was nice but there was food left as the portions were massive. We were starting to feel pretty tired as jet lag was starting to catch up with us so we headed back to the hotel, going to bed about 7.30pm local time which is 12.30am back home in the UK. Tomorrow we'll have an explore and no doubt take a few photos!