So did my first journey on the street car (tram to us Brits) today to get to the train station for the train to Niagara Falls. the sun is shining and it looks like it's going to be a beautiful day. Train journey was uneventful and when I arrived in Niagara Falls I decided to walk the 4kms from the station up to the falls so i could see the river approach. It was so lovely, the road runs along the course of the river so you can look down the slope and see it gradually getting more and more turbulent. There are actually two sets of falls, the American falls and the Niagara Falls (I never knew that) and they both look amazing :o) I went on the maid of the mist boat ride and was very impressed, the power of the water falling creates a great rain storm and there is loads of noise and it is a true awe inspiring sight - loved it, everyone should go.
Then i wandered around the town a bit and was really surprised to see that there are so many casinos and entertainment places, there is one street that is like a mini Las Vegas with loads of flashing lights and arcades and stuff and big Planet Hollywood and Hard Rock Cafe places - really had no idea it would be like that. They also had a big wheel a bit liek the London Eye but not as impressive at all.
I then decided that I wanted to go to the Botanical Gardens and Butterfly house and as the weather was so beautiful I decided I walk there. Now I know a lot of you will think this madness but it was 9kms (Yes I already knew this) but it was actually brilliant cos I followed the course of the river the whole way and passed loads of people out walking dogs, cycling etc and they were all so friendly it was fantastic. The Butterfly house and gardens were also really impressive but I didn't have enough time as I needed to get back to the train. So walked back to the station (I think by the end of the day I worked out I walked about 24kms in total - and felt really good about it) Backat the station the train was delayed because US customs decided to do a full check on the US side of the border and then the Canadians decided to do the same - in the end the train left an hour and three quaters late!!!!! I was sitting next to this really nice German guy on the way back and we chatted fo rthe whole journey which stopped me thinking about how tired I was and how late it was too!
Was completely knackered when I got back and couldn't face packing or getting up at the crack of dawn to catch the train. Hannah and Monika were both pleading with me to stay and I have been having such a great time - anyway to cut a long story short after a lot of hysterical laughing and running around like big kids trying to get internet access (it was midnight at this point) I cancelled my train ticket and booked a flight for Thursday afternoon. Now I'm sure a lot of you at this point will be saying "but wasn't the whole point to see Canada from a train etc....." and yes it was but it's also about having fun and being spontaneous and at 1.00 am it seemed like the best decision in the world to stay a couple more days :o)
