Three showers, one naked.

Today we took a Greyhound bus tour to Niagara Falls. We were fortunate with the weather. It was very sunny and reached about 25C in the afternoon. It took a little over an hour from Toronto to the Falls. There was some chaos deciding who was going on what bus at the bus station but in the end we arrived at the falls at around midday. The surrounding town is very touristy (as you might expect), but there is no denying the beauty of the falls themselves. After the scheduled buffet lunch, we trooped down for the Maid of the Mist boat ride which takes you right up to the falls. Fortunately it wasn't terribly crowded and there was very little waiting around. Everyone was issued with, for want of a better description, a blue bin liner with a hood and a couple of sleeves. Boy did we need it. As the boat approaches the falls, it is like stepping into a shower. Anything exposed to the air got soaked! It was great fun though, and the raw power of the falls and the spray filled air was very refreshing.

After the boat ride, we had a drink overlooking the Falls, then it was back to the bus via a very pleasant walk along the sidewalk overlooking the falls. Whilst passing by the Horseshoe Falls (the Canadian part of the Niagara Falls) we received the 3rd dowsing of the day. It was well worth it though as the mist combined with the sunny weather to reward us with a splendid rainbow. Anyway, it was back on the bus and on to ..... a helicopter ride over the falls! :-) :-):-) Fanbloodytastic!! Ok, it only lasted 10 minutes, but it was very exciting and the view was absolutely amazing. I was grinning a maniac for the duration (and for about an hour afterwards). Unfortunately, Nozomi felt a bit queasy towards the end. (Bit too much like a rollercoaster for her taste). However, I would definately recommend it.

After the chopper ride, it was back on the bus where we stopped briefly to look at the whirpool. Then on to the Floral Clock (ok if you like that sort of thing). The nearby hydroelectric damn we passed was very impressive. The scale of the engineering and the forest of pylons clustered around the facility was awe inspiring in its own way. We stopped off for some wine tasting at a local vineyard. I tried the famous "Ice" wine. It is a renowned local vintage. The grapes are harvested duing frosty nights, -10C or so (hence the name). It is a pudding wine, and very sweet.

We got back to the hotel at around 7pm, and went hunting for some Chinese food. We found a place on Yonge St and discovered that the portion sizes were way more than we can handle. I am now nursing a bloated stomach and have sworn to eat nothing tomorrow.. We will see.