After visiting both Iguazu Falls in South America and Victoria Falls in Southern Africa, I have now finally made it to Niagara Falls a few hours from NYC. The biggest hurdle to visiting Niagara was that most of my friends made the trip as kids, but luckily my dear friend Norm was up for the adventure. We dubbed this our honeymoon and rented Marilyn Monroe's classic "Niagara" for the road.
A one hour flight to Buffalo and a 40 minute cab ride to Canada was all it took to get the perfect view of Niagara Falls. We went all out with a top floor, balcony room at the Sheraton-on-the-Falls. The view of the American Falls was spectacular! The Canadian, or Horseshoe Falls, was shrouded in mist most of the time, but lovely just the same.
Norm and I spent a sunny day walking all around, behind and in the falls. The only view we missed was from a barrel going over, and we saw a video of that. The area surrounding the American Falls is a state park, the most visited in the nation, and it is truly the best way to enjoy the area. We heard that the town nearby was sad and not worth stopping so we didn't. The Canadian side boasts the best views of both falls and the cheesy but fun attractions of the Maid of the Mist, and the exhilarating Journey Behind the Falls. Unfortunately, the Canadian side hotels and restaurants are frighteningly touristy. At least we were treated to perfect views during all our meals. Our favorite dinner was in the new Niagara Fallsview Casino. While we didn't hit the jackpot gambling, we did at Noir 17 with an amazing meal and beautifully paired wines.
On Sunday we headed a half hour north along the river to Niagara-on-the-Lake, called "the prettiest town in Canada." It's indeed adorable. Our walk around Lake Ontario with a view of Toronto was amazing. The real attraction here is the local wine country and their specialty, Vidal Icewine. We visited Peller Estates and were treated to a behind the scenes tour and tasting. We could hardly carry all our Icewine purchases! We also stopped at Reif Estate Winery on the way back to the falls and add more bottles to our collection.
Niagara Falls Honeymoon--check! Next stop Angel Falls...Anyone want to go to Venezuela?
