Today we spent largely relaxing and looking around Toronto. Nothing more strenuous than lunch in the old distillery district followed by a visit to St Lawrence market to secure the 'fixings'for tonight's dinner.
The weather is glorious, although that view isn't unanamous as some amongst us are finding it a bit too humid. The contrast between when I was here in January and now is nothing less than startling. Then it was bleak and freezing and everyone was huddling indoors out of the inclement weather. The exact opposite is the case now, with what appears to be half the populace either eating outdoors or simply strolling around enjoying the weather.
Yesterday we went to Niagara Falls. The morning started with the Maid of the Mist boat ride - the photo below shows the boat in under the Horseshoe Falls, which is the Canadian part of Niagara Falls.
It was hard not to think how much benefit just one day's flow over the falls would do for our rivers! The place was pretty busy but not as crowded as I had feared. Actually they are pretty good at managing big numbers of people. Kate and I visited the falls in January and not surprisingly there weren't many people about then, nor was there the amount of water cascading over the falls. I tried to replicate the photo I took in January when it was SO cold. This time we had a frozen yogurt for lunch, the last time we had soup and we didn't know whether to eat it or put our hands in it!
Later in the afternoon we had a wander around Niagara on the Lake, a very pretty and well-preserved town just down from the Falls. There were many beautiful old buildings, such the Prince Edward Hotel below. It was, of course absolutely swamped with tourists and I fail to comprehend how the locals put up with their town being over-run for the entire summer.
Since the Niagara region is a renowned wine-growing area we managed to sample a little of their wares. The reds, or at least what was passed off as cab sav was pretty ordinary, however the whites were OK.
The most famous wine from this area is the Ice Wine, which is a desert wine and is very nice.
Kate knocked up yet another very passable feed for tea, so another very successful day was had by all!
Peace, man. That was an excellent effort, Murray. A for effort, or should that be an E? Anyway, we are pleased to hear that you are all having such an interesting, educative and informative time as well as having a lot of fun and enjoyment. Regards to all, love from us to you. Rock on. Gordon and Pat.
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