Advertisement
Published: October 2nd 2010
Edit Blog Post
Niagara Falls
Horseshoe Falls in Niagara Falls. Two-thirds of the falls is located in Canada with the other third being in the US. If I learn anything from this road trip, then it would be to book my hostel accommodation in advance … well not too far in advance. Some may call it tardiness but I prefer to call it “travel flexibility”. In the end I got stuck with a bunk in the Downtowner Inn.
Despite the excellent looking exterior this stink-hole ticked all the boxes for dodgy accommodation - flame retardant mattresses (they must rent beds to pyromaniacs in the off season), filthy floors, shoddy exposed electrics that would make Mike Holmes have an epileptic fit, bunk beds built out of plastic straws and don’t forget the bugs. My travel motto has always been “It’s just a place to sleep, so I’m not fazed.” I think my motto is now “It’s just a place to sleep, so I’m not fazed unless it’s an utter dump filled with society’s dregs”.
Unfortunately for me, the bad weather from Alberta followed me across into Ontario. Since I wasn’t fond of my cell in the asylum, I made an effort to get out and walk around regardless of weather conditions outside.
After two nights in Toronto, I headed down to Niagara Falls for some
sightseeing. The plan was to stay for two nights but an Alice In Chains concert in Toronto changed things up a bit. There’s actually quite a lot to see in Niagara - wine tours, hikes, jet boat rides etc. - but since I was only in town for the day I concentrated on viewing the falls.
After taking as many shots as possible from the security of dry land I hopped onto one of the "Maids of the Mist" for a closer view. Even though you’re given a blue poncho, you still end up getting soaked. I figured I was better off hiding my camera under the plastic and copping the full brunt of the spray. How often do you get to say that you took a shower in Niagara Falls?
Here’s a little tip for future travellers out there. Don’t be deceived by the little old ladies in the blue ponchos. These assassins in disguise are surprisingly good at throwing their elbows around. I don’t know how many shots I caught in my ribs as they pushed their way through to get a photo for the grandkids.
I caught the bus back up to Toronto the
Niagara Falls
The Rainbow Bridge in Niagara Falls, Ontario.The bridge connects the cities of Niagara Falls, New York (to the right) and Niagara Falls, Ontario (to the left). next day for the Alice In Chains concert. Even with the delays out of Niagara , and the traffic jam into downtown, I was still able to collect my ticket with a handful of minutes to spare - talk about cutting it tight.
I spent the following day taking photos around downtown before catching the bus across to Ottawa and Montreal. I came close to missing my bus out to Ottawa after snapping the key to my storage locker. I guess three months of eating canned tuna and instant Ramen noodles have turned me into Popeye. I’m sure there’s CCTV footage of me shaking the lockers like a crazy gorilla.
More photos from
Niagara Falls and
Toronto can be found by clicking the links. Click
here for the full "Road Trip 2010" album (as of this post). I will be converting and uploading some videos - these should be up by the next update.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.08s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 8; qc: 24; dbt: 0.0296s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb