Toronto and Niagra Falls

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A lot of things must happen late at night in Toronto, as nothing seemed to be going down during the day. We had a lot of time to walk around here and I think this may have been to long. Went up CN Tower, which is the largest building in the world, but its’ days are numbered with Dubai about to take that honour, view was great but we were not allowed outside right up the top as it was too windy. Part of our ticket gave us a lovely little 3D ride which had something to do with a super Forest of the future. Yes the forest still gets cut down and the logs go on a long journey to the bottom. The ride moves around so you think you are taking the same path as the log, things touch you and water sprays onto your face, magical journey to where I am not sure. Interesting ride but it was a bit corny. And what it has to do with a big tower I don’t know.
The weather here has been cold, about 2 deg C most days, but the wind has been howling which has made it feel freezing.
We went to the ice hockey while here, as it is Canada’s national sport; very expensive. $100 each for a ticket and we were still in the nosebleed section. I think we will stick to the AFL. We got tickets to see the home team Toronto Maple Leafs V’s Tamper Bay (USA team). There is lots of noise and music before, during and after play, they sing the national anthem and everyone stands and sings or screams, I didn’t know if we were at a rock concert or a hockey game and then all of a sudden they started playing; no fanfare, no whistle or siren, it just started, and everyone goes quiet and they sit there like church mice, until the big screen TV tells them to make noise again. With all the stoppages of play and different things they do during the first period (game play being 20 minutes) it lasted an hour. So over all the game playing time is 60 minutes but we where there for 3 ½ hours, but it was fun and an experience. The game is not as rough as it looks on TV and think that the AFL players would kill them.
Niagara Falls we had an early start with a 2 hour drive from Toronto to the Falls. It was an all day tour at Niagara Falls which I think should have only lasted until lunch time. We spent the first part of the day taking pictures of the fall complete with a walk behind the fall because, as you guess it, the Maid of the Mist Boat was not operational as it was out of season. The best part of our walk through tour was behind the fall as we got close to the fall and felt the sprays of the water, pity the sun wasn’t out as we might have gotten a rainbow. The Falls are not as big as pictured in your mind but still magnificent seeing the power behind them. Lunch was included in this tour and was overlooking the falls how nice. For the rest of the day we were dropped off at a small town which was ½ an hour drive from Niagara Falls, the pair of us are not shopping people and couldn’t think of anything worse than being dropped off in a little town to do “2 hours” of shopping. We walked around and had a look at the small town shops which consumed of a Christmas shop, English style shops with Irish and Scottish themed fashion and expensive fur clothes. We got through the 2 hours and then made our way back to Niagara Falls where we were told we had to wait another 1 ½ for our bus to take us back to Toronto. Walking around the town of Niagara Falls was very bizarre, with casinos, haunted houses’, wax museums’ and nothing to do with water falls. Very strange town.
Goodbye to Nth America as we board the plane and fly to London and the UK.

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