Fall-tastic!

Part Five - December 26th & 27th - Christmas 2019 - Canada

No sooner was Christmas over than we headed north on a grand sightseeing expedition, stopping en route at Junius for refreshments. 

With temperatures hovering around ten degrees Centigrade, the snow had melted leaving the landscape looking rather winter weary, with damp dead grass and bare trees. Few places look at their best at this time of year, unless their minor imperfections are hidden beneath a covering of snow.

We crossed the border into Canada and headed for the tourist mecca of Niagara - a town geared towards the bright lights, burger bars and slot machines of tourism. 

Having found a suitable parking space we set off to be stunned by the incredible sight and sound of vast amounts of water flowing over a cliff. We knew it would be impressive, but nothing had really prepared us for how absolutely magnificent it was. Moisture hung heavy in the air from the spray and there was a constant roar of water cascading over the falls. 

We paused to take a photo of the KHT posing with these colour-changing wings.

Crowds jostled politely for the best camera angles. As soon as someone moved on, having taken a thousand impressive shots, their place was seamlessly taken by another, equally keen to acquire incriminating evidence of their visit to upload to social media. Dusk fell and massive floodlights illuminated the whole area.

We were booked into the Embassy Suites hotel, which seemed to have sufficient accommodation to accommodate a whole town. Once we had unloaded our cases from the car, the keys were handed over and the car whisked away to some mystery location. 

Having checked in we made our way to the floor where our room was situated. The view did not disappoint!

Later we went out to eat in a bar situated a couple of miles away from the falls, more the sort of place where local locals gather than the noisy places closer to the falls. A minibus took us to a carpark a few blocks away to collect our car. As we drove around the town we were struck by the towering developments interspersed with older, sometimes almost derelict homes.

Later we returned to our suite to watch the apparently endless loop of water flowing over the waterfall far below. I think we were only on about the 10th floor of this towering block

Next morning we had to be up bright and early to beat the worst of the queues for breakfast. The view from the dining area was absolutely stunning

Most people were in family groups, so the tables for two remained unoccupied, allowing us an uninterrupted view of the falls. As we left the dining area the queue zigzagged across the waiting area, and we were very glad that we got up early and avoided a long and frustrating wait.

Having checked out of the hotel we headed along the river, stoping to appreciate views of the turbulent waters below

At one view point we discovered a plaque to Hudson Taylor marking the beginning of mission to China.

We continued our way along the river towards Niagara on the Lake, enjoying views across Lake Ontario.

We had come expecting snow, but the temperatures were well above freezing, which was a nice surprise.

Niagara on the lake was a pleasant little town with a good selection of gift shops, where we did our Christmas shopping - having decided that family back home would get souvenirs of our trip - even if it meant that they all got an 'I Love New York' t-shirt each. Despite the temptations of this window Dawn did not get a Canadian cow as a Christmas present...

Next stop was Tim Horton's, which appeared to be located in a residential district. Having never visited a branch of this Canadian chain it seemed an opportune moment to do so. As it was past lunchtime we selected snacks from the menu to accompany our drinks and sat back to watch Canadian adverts - everything is a novelty at the first encounter. The humour of the staff behind the counter just made the visit even more entertaining.

Late afternoon we headed back over the border, getting grilled by the guard on the checkpoint, who wanted to know how long we had been in Canada, where we had stayed and other details of our trip that I can no longer recall.

We then headed to the American side of the falls for more sightseeing. The boats only run in the warmer months, but we were able to go on to the viewing platform normally reserved for poncho coated thrill seekers and see the falls from the other side. The noise and movement of water were mesmerising.

Abi used a telescope to get a closer view of the falls. The hotel we stayed in is the one partly hidden by Paul - to the right of the building that resembles a rattle...

We wandered further up river, admiring the path of the unsuspecting river just before it encountered the falls. By now it was getting rather gloomy so we headed by to the car and the drive back to Hamilton.