Niagara Falls was an amazing trip and I'd definitely recommend the journey to anyone. The view and the nature are amazing. I could have sat there all day and sketched/painted/taken photographs. But there were problems with Niagara. (Sorry, Niagara, I really do love you, really...) It's just that it is so commercial there. There are arcades, noises that aren't quite in keeping with the natural beauty. The restaurants and hotels are huge and the expense is crazy. There's even a tourism tax in the area. Not cool, Niagara.
So, after seeing the falls and doing a bit of wandering, we ran out of things to do. You know, things that wouldn't break the bank. Thankfully, we had a great hotel staff member who took it upon herself to tell us of the other delights in the local areas. There are hiking trails, winerys and amazing shopping facilities just down the road from Niagara itself. It's less commerical and more...serene. There are few glaring lights and obnoxious noises in Niagara-on-the-Lake and it's amazing. The drive up there was fantastic, there were so many wonderful photographs to be had and the day we visited the sun even came out to bless us with its' presence.
We decided to visit a few wineries on the way out. Starting with a big name place. We hated it. My recommendation: go to the smaller places along the way, they're the best. We stopped at the Ice House on the outskirts of NOL and the service and fun of the wine tasting session impressed even my parents (who are hard folks to impress - in a good way). The owner pulled out tasting platters and ice wine slushies, wines, cocktail mixes ... it was fantastic and definitely worth the time stopping off at one last place.
Did you know the ice wine grapes are picked after the temperature drops below freezing? So, that syrupy liquid is from people going out in minus crazy numbers and picking tiny grapes from vines! We bought a few bottles for a special occasion and we'll probably break into them over Christmas.
The few days we spent in the Niagara region was short. A longer stay would have been perfect, albeit expensive, but it was worth the 7 hours of driving, the traffic in Toronto and the sheer exhaustion once we reached home.
Places to check out:
- The Floral Clock
- The Rapids
- Souvenir City
- The Ice House
- All of the shops in Niagara on the Lake
-pictures edited with actions from lieveheersbeestje
