Hi folks:
Thought you might be interested in this account of our visit to Niagara Falls .. if you are thinking of going there yourselves. There are many interesting tours and memorable places - so take your camera!
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My cousin and his wife arrived on the 11th. I met them at Pearson International (Toronto, Canada) and took them to the Town & Country Restaurant for the buffet there, while we waited for the evening traffic to calm down. It was a miserable evening, pouring with rain. The Town & Country is on the east side of the Dixon Road. It has a really excellent buffet. If you are not so hungry, you could visit the Swiss Chalet Chicken Villa, or the oriental restaurant, which are in the same mall.
I had borrowed a futon from my niece for my guests. Futons are so useful. The futon was easy to assemble and my neighbour helped me to get the mattress in from the car..
We had all decided to visit Niagara Falls and had booked (after consulting the Internet) at Days’ Inn. There are some good sites for hotels at the end of this page.
While waiting for my guests at Pearson International, I had found a map of Niagara Falls and interesting places to visit. That came in useful. My cousin had also a "TripTik" from the CAA.
On the way there we went to see the Welland Canal locks. They have built a big restaurant and visitors’ centre since I was there (Good heavens - that was about ten years' ago. How time flies!).
We all had a very good couple of days. On the way the weather improved and then was very pleasant. On the first evening we took the shuttle bus down the hill and watched the coloured lights on the falls. The Days Inn there was excellent - I had a good room with a lovely view. There was an indoor pool. My cousin and his wife had a jacuzzi in their room. I paid Canadian$52.10. with the C.A.R.P.. discount. For the two of them it was only $52.10 (it certainly pays to have someone to share). Of course it came to $59 with all the taxes. they enjoyed the falls very much.
At Day’s Inn we decided to arrange a tour with the service provided in the front foyer. They wanted $80.00. However, they then said it had to be cash in USA$ and would not accept Canadian credit cards - which I would not have used anyway because of the excessive exchange rates charged on cards. We then were told that there is a new "people mover" bus service there now, which only costs $3.00. for the day. The bus does a continual circuit of all the places of interest along the Niagara Falls tourist area. So, instead of $80. We only paid $3! We decided against the Maid of the Mist and under-the-falls tours, but we went to the whirlpool (and my cousin went on the Aerocar), rapids and butterfly/botanical gardens.
At the end of the 13th I drove them back to Guelph. We stopped for supper at a Holiday Inn and had a nice steak for Canadian$9.00. each. Unfortunately my cousin fell asleep and I missed my turning, so we came back via Milton and the 401! (Actually, it wouldn't have made any difference what my cousin had said. The road sign at the turning says to Hamilton and Burlington - no mention of Guelph. So I would have missed it anyway. It's confusing alright). We were back by 8 p.m. and a friend came to collect them to begin their journey to Timmins.