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Our lunch hour stop and tour of Niagara on the Lake was very pleasant. Would have been more so if it weren't for all the tourists ;-^
— Florence T Lyon (@FloTLyon) September 14, 2013
After our busy half-day on Niagara on the Lake, some of us looked forward to an afternoon nap in our large hotel beds (our own beds). We were unsuccessful due to other noisy guests, other people's children running and shouting on the same floor.
I enjoyed a relaxing soak in the tub in my personal room and planned to get some beauty rest. Considering the circumstances, I did the best with what I had.
After a few hours, the group gathered in the hotel lobby, all in time for the bus trip for dinner at Niagara Falls. The drive there was not very long. As we entered the tourist area, things picked up with signs and attractions.
Our driver skillfully navigated the busy streets. There were tourists everywhere. Go figure! We drove down a side road to turn around and make an easier approach to the tourist centre parking lot.
To my left, I caught sight of a lovely, calm looking estate above us, on the hill. It was the Mount Carmel Spiritual Centre. Its serenity appealed to me in contrast to what we came through and were about to dive into. I had no time to take photographs but its presence was ingrained in my short term memory.
We disembarked the bus and I escorted my 89 year-old friend along with a helpful gentleman who sped things up by pushing her on her walker as she sat with her feet slightly raised. Woo hoo! We ladies then gracefully weaved our way through the crowd to an elevator in order to meet our group on the second floor. Our large restaurant table had a great view of the falls. Our servers were
polite, energetic and very accommodating. Those of us who chose the
Prime Rib menu item were intrigued at our server's statement that it would only be
cooked to Chef's medium.
As we chatted and waited for dinner, I took photographs through the windows.
Niagara Falls is a marvelous sight of geology, the power of water and natural formations.
So many tourists!
I was impressed and entertained by my dining companions' travel stories about places far and wide. They provided me with encouragement, future inspiration and curiosity. Palm trees in Ireland? What?
When dinner arrived, the Chef's medium prime rib turned out to be rare. I did my best to chew and swallow while listening to my dinner companions. The Shiraz I ordered with my meal did not help with enjoyment and digestion. My head was throbbing. Then came a dessert of Tiramisu, berries and chocolate sauce. It was divine although I had visions of the gluttonous restaurant scene from Monty Python's Meaning of Life. I became tired of sitting and eating. I just wanted to go for a 30 minute walk. I did my cautious best regardless.
After we finished dinner, I suggested to my older friend that we get a head start back to the bus. A few gentlemen obliged with accompanying her while I skipped off to take some night time photos of the falls.
The tourist attractions were lit up. I caught a shot of the Fallsview Casino and the Skylon Tower. The Seneca Casino was flashing its electric colours like a whore in an attempt to lure gamblers across the river. I did not feel compelled to take a photograph. Casinos and their like do not appeal to me.
We felt the chill of the night air as we waited for our bus to pull up. Many of us were ready for the comfort of our hotel beds.
The ride back was colourful and over-stimulating. At least I was in the safety of the tour bus. I thought about all the electrical power that goes into these lights, machines and attractions. Could it be better used elsewhere?
I am happy that I got to see the falls in their majesty and splendor. It's one of those things to check off a list and be contented to say "Yes, I was there." In the back of my mind, I was still thinking of that peaceful looking place on the hill.
I am glad you read this far. Stay tuned for Day 3's travel log, more wine tour notes and photographs.
This is a continuation from Wine Country Tour Day 1. Day 2 brought an early rise and roll call for boarding the bus on a Saturday morning. We had places to go and wines to taste. Our first stop was to be the Niagara College Canada winery and teaching school. Since we were a bit early, our tour guide decided we could take a drive to the Welland Canal Centre, St. Catharines.
We saw no ships coming through the locks. Sigh...
Since we only had 15 minutes to walk around and take pictures, I did not have time to defy the instructions on this sign.
I only had enough time to snap a photo of this historical plaque.
I did not have time to enter the visitor centre or gift shop.
Here's a tip: When taking part in organized tours, it is important to know the rules and customs. If one is late reaching the bus AND is the last one boarding, one will experience the "applause of shame". It only happened to me once. Finally, it was time to drive back to Niagara College Canada winery and teaching school.
Notice the selection of cheese boards in the gift shop!
V is for Vidal.
Netting is for protecting the red grapes. Little birds find them ever so tasty.
Thank goodness for natural pest control.
In the cellars we encountered barrels and vats of recent years' projects.
We were eventually led to the special room which had been set up for our wine tasting session.
I found the NCC to be one of the best tours of the entire weekend. It was interesting to see the students taking part in conducting the tours and wine tasting events. It was encouraging to hear that one of the requirements to qualify for the program was to have a passion for wine.
I really enjoyed their white, red and icewine. I am acquiring a taste for icewine.
Did you know that no wine may use the term “Icewine” on its label unless it is certified by VQA Ontario? Take that, Champagne.
I enjoyed the wines so much that I purchased two bottles of each. I figured that it would be a good gesture to support the college and bring back gifts for friends. Next, we drove to the quaint and picturesque Niagara on the Lake. Our guide told us we had free time to walk around, shop and grab lunch. She gave us a firm deadline for returning to the bus. Sorry, I have no pictures of NOTL. I had a tasty lunch though then picked up chocolatey gifts for the kids. It would have been a more enjoyable visit if there weren't so many tourists ;o^ Next, we boarded the bus and headed for a tour of the Trius Winery at Hillebrand.
This is the Red room.
This is the sparkling white room where we were told not to touch any bottles. This wall of bottles is stacked six deep.
Another cellar with more barrels.
I thought the cement egg shaped barrels were very interesting.
Only one person tripped while navigating the stone steps back to the surface. We next were led to a special room for another wine tasting session. All I can remember is that the wines were very tasty and that I was getting tired. We soon wobbled back to the bus and returned to our St. Catharines hotel for a rest and time to freshen up for dinner.
It was a long day and was not yet over. Next I will share pictures and memories from our visit to Niagara Falls.
You are cordially invited to read the first of a few posts describing my experiences on an Ontario wine country tour this past weekend. My objectives for this tour:
Test out my travel legs (in preparation for longer, more distant adventures);
Post something interesting in this blog that people would read and comment on.
I planned to take photographs with my iPad Mini and Tweet under my pen name of Florence T Lyon. I sure got a lot of photos but had difficulty with Twitter updates via the hotel wifi.
Twas either the hotel wifi or Twitter choked when I attempted to tweet more status pics of the #tour. No, it wasn't due to XSF #wine tasting
— Florence T Lyon (@FloTLyon) September 16, 2013
I met about 18 other people on the bus. I can only remember about half of the names.
Although I was offered a seat at the front with the highway activity within feet from view, I gracefully declined and moved back to the mid-section, staking out two free seats.
I think I was the third youngest person in the group. There were a lot of retired couples travelling together. There were also a gaggle of elderly women who had either taken this tour before or had been on many other tours to interesting places. I befriended a near-ninety year-old dear who relied a lot on her walker. I soon became her travelling companion and fetcher of things by foot.
The lengthy ride down along the north shore of Lake Ontario was broken up with pit stops, coffee breaks, stretch breaks and more pit stops. We were also treated to an on-board viewing of Julie & Julia. I found it appropriate for the dining part of our tour and very, very entertaining. Bon appétit! On Friday evening, after settling in to our rooms and freshening up, we attended a pairing dinner with wines brought in from Peller Estates.
When we arrived at the hotel's banquet room in our dressy attire, we were greeted with glasses of French Cross Pino Grigio Sparkler. That's one way of describing a bubbly white wine without infringing on the Champagne trademark.Tasty!
Next we had delicious dishes served with the Family Series Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Merlot. For a red wine, I found the latter went very well with the main dish.
The tasty dessert of Cherries Jubilee in a Phylio Cup with fresh black pepper and vanilla bean ice cream was paired with a Late Harvest Vidal. I really enjoyed it.
This was only the second wine and food pairing dinner I attended in the past year. It was very enjoyable and I have made notes on my menu copy for wines to purchase when I returned home.
There was only one complaint: We could have used some light exercise to move our bodies, to help digestion before and after dessert. Someone suggested line dancing. Of course that would require physical coordination. We concluded that after a few glasses of wine, it may have been a difficult feat! Thanks for reading this far. Watch for the Day 2 post of the wine country tour.
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I have returned from an Ontario wine country tour.
It involved three days and two nights of dining, wining and winding our way through Niagara on the Lake, Niagara Falls and Prince Edward County. Soon I will post a wee travel log and selected photographs. While I recuperate and get caught up on tasks around le petit apartement, please enjoy this plump bunch of Vidal grapes.
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