Our Trip: Sunday And Then Home

I'm happy we decided to stay through Sunday because we got a chance to do some fun things and to spend time with A and her husband. After breakfast, K and I went to do some sightseeing. I wanted to take pictures of the valley, or gorge, and he wanted pics of the nearby hydro and bridges. (I know, I know--BORING!)

In the afternoon we went with A and A ( A's husband) to the Butterfly Conservatory. Sounds really nerdy, doesn't it? But I have to say, it very possibly was the highlight of the trip! (Other than the wedding, of course.) The conservatory is a big building which has a fake rainforest in it. There are many plants and trees and free-flying through the whole place are thousands of butterflies. There are butterflies of every shape, size, and color imaginable. It really was neat to be walking through and have the little critters fly around--and land--on you. I was really skeptical as to how I was going to hold up there, as I am extremely bug-phobic, but I loved every minute. I could have stayed there for days just watching the butterflies and snapping pictures.

After dropping A and A off--they were going to take the "Walk Behind the Falls"--K and I decided to walk from our hotel down to the edge of the Falls. This was going to be the last chance to get pics of the Falls, and I was determined to do it! We then went back to our room with the thoughts of making it an early night.

We decided to eat at the T.G.I. Fridays that was there in the hotel. K had a couple of bottles of beer, I had a daiquiri, we had potato skins, K had a steak, and I had chicken fingers. And for that, we paid $103CAN. Just a little bit pricey! I swear, anyone with a bad heart better never go to Canada and buy anything! I almost had a stroke when I saw the bill--K went a little white, himself.

Again, talking about the cost of things in Canada: I'm amazed at the amount of taxes and fees that were charged for EVERYTHING. We ONLY paid two different taxes for what we bought at WalMart. For the hotel bill--the room, phone calls, and valet parking--there were three taxes/fees per day, or phone call. Then, at T.G.I. Fridays, there were FOUR different taxes we had to pay! $16.08 of the $103 was for taxes! And WE complain about taxes in this country. There is one tax--the Goods & Services Tax--that you can be reimbursed for if you are not a citizen of Canada. At least in some instances. Basically, it is a tax on EVERYTHING you buy there, but in the case of the tax on a hotel room, for instance, you can get your money back if you ask for it. In our case, it will be about $30, so I have to send in the application tomorrow to get that back. Better in MY pocket than in theirs!

One thing we didn't get to do while we were there was to tour some of the wineries in the area. I had NO idea that the area surrounding Niagara Falls was laden with wineries! We noticed a lot of them as we were driving into the city and then when we drove to the chapel there were many, many signs pointing to wineries. I found that very interesting--something I never knew before.

Another thing I would have loved to do was go into the Buddhist temple that was at the edge of the Falls. We drove past it quite a few times--A and A's hotel was right next to it--and it was just gorgeous. It really did seem to be out of place when you saw it there in the middle of tourist-trap country! (The non-Asian Buddhist monk that we saw eating a plate of celery in our hotel lobby was also surprising to me!)

K went to sleep around 9:00PM on Sunday and I packed, showered, and got a couple of hours of sleep. We left Niagara Falls at 4:30AM on Monday. This gave us a chance to get through the big cities--Hamilton, St. Catherines, etc.--before rush hour started. Thank goodness. We were home by 4:00PM.

We had a nice time and I'm happy we were able to make the trip. I don't really know if I want to go back to Canada any time soon, but it is a possibility. There were other cities that would have been fun to explore, but I don't know if I can afford going there too often! :)

And this concludes our trip. I probably won't be posting about it anymore. Unless I post some pictures, that is.