well, we have returned and we had a blast.
The trip up was pretty good. we stopped on the US side (at about four thirty am) and spent the ( remainder of the )night in a clean but somewhat seedy hotel. For seventy a night what do u want? The owner is a guy from India and he son told us , that the place was only open in the summer months,with the winter being totally dead.
We got a shuttle and crossed the rainbow bridge by foot. sure as hell beats waiting in traffic in a car.The customs took about five minutes.I even learned that you only need your green card , and a passport is for flying.Damn wanted a stamp in the passport. The guy told us that he doesn't do that
Our hotel , the Best and western was reasonable priced (The misses got us a deal )and well kept.whats more important , we were almost directly in the center of everything. we could walk down a massive hill to the Falls and those attractions or ten or fifteen walk to Clifton hill and its attractions.Everyone accepts US dollars , though you get change in Canadian coins.
There are four major "things to do" when it comes to the Falls.
1) "Maid of the Mist" boat ride.
This is the highlight of the whole thing. Basically you ride a boat (with a provided blue poncho ) into the falls themselves. It was a relief too as we were there on a ninety degree day.Takes about half and hour to forty minutes.Expect to be sopping wet.if you go up top its even worse or better , depending on your view.
Bloody great !
2) Niagra's fury . This is basically a 360 surround view , theater experience , complete with fake snow , water and wind.yet another poncho provided.
3) Journey behind the Falls . This is where you get as humanly close to the falls as possible. you descend in a lift and precede through a set of tunnels out to a viewing platform , that is placed next to the falls.plenty of spray and wet water , makes this ye another yellow poncho experience.pretty awesome.
4)White water walks . To be honest these last three are sort of time related.meaning that you had to be be at the gate , by a certian time. we decide to forgo the last one , since supper seemed much more preferable at that time.
Best to buy a two day pass and chose which two days to do all the attractions. Doesn't have to be consecutive. costs about $36 or something.
We had a few days so we didn't rush but you can really do the whole thing in one day.
Clifton Hill is for all intensive purposes an amusement park , confined into buildings on each side of the street.. If you buy a pass (well worth it) you get quite a few attractions for half price. the The Niagara SkyWheel is a must see , the view is simply divine. plenty of other things to keep you busy as well. The mini golf was excellent. Funniest thing was sharing an elevator with SpongeBob SquarePants as we entered by mistake. Got a pic on the Camera on my cell phone to prove it as well.
Toronto is beautiful,and I learned the local pronounce it , torono or something like that with out the T.
Duty free is always well worth it and the liquor supplies got a huge refill. $12 for a bottle of Smirnoff is a steal.plenty reasonable prices for whiskeys too.
Funny thing happened at the border , as we were clearing customs . Replying to the Officer's question to the purpose of the trip, The wife answered that its was kind of like a second honeymoon or so on. To which he asked how was it? I replied 'Great , but was sorry to inform him , that the Canadian side of the falls was just so much better" He smiled " That's true , but you go there to look and come here to spend, your money" and he was right.
Things in Canada are expensive and the taxes are 13% or more. yet despite this , the place is beautiful and the people we met couldn't have been nicer.
So add this to your bucket list as a must do!