Our Honeymoon in Canada - Ontario
We flew from London Heathrow to Toronto with Air Canada and was pleasantly surprised with the comfort even in Economy and then upon arrival, grabbed a taxi to check into our hotel, the Eaton Chelsea Hotel.
The city itself was really unique and the visitor map is divided into zones. These zones include 'Old Town', 'The Entertainment District', 'The Waterfront', Downtown Yonge' and more and help visitors to find specific attractions that may be of interest like St Lawrence Market or the CN Tower. Now to say my poor husband isn't a fan of heights, he still came with me all the way up to the Look Out Level - 1136ft up!
We also celebrated my birthday at the revolving restaurant in the CN Tower. In my opinion this was one of the greatest experiences because our entrance to the CN Tower was included in the meal cost and meant that we got to enjoy some fine dining with the most breath-taking views as the restaurant slowly revolved giving us 360 degree views of the city and beyond. It's almost essential to pre-book this experience but with a very user-friendly website, this was easily done.
We also took a harbour cruise to see the islands just off the city's harbour. The guide was incredibly knowledgeable and it was lovely to see just how different life can be. You can choose the metropolitan city life or locals can buy a boat and live afloat but within 30minutes of all the cities facilities.
After our stay in the city, we hired a car and drove towards Niagara to see Niagara Falls. Once you are away from the city limits, you hit Ontario's wine lands - fields as far as the eye can see growing grapes and every other road sign pointed to a winery! I was in heaven!
Once we got closer to Niagara, we made a slight error, and ended up crossing the one-way bridge (that our Sat Nav had indicated as the way to the 'Destination Niagara' visitor centre) and ended up and the U.S. Border Control! Not quite what we had in mind. The agents there weren't best pleased with us but it was clearly a mistake that visitors had made in the past. We explained we had no intention to enter the United States and wanted to return to Canada. Sadly just putting the car in reverse was not an option. After a few suspicious stares and a short wait in their holding area, we were allowed to turn around and re-join the Canadians (phew)! The border control agent on the Canadian side was much friendlier and with a quick check of our passports we were through.
Following that and a quick argument with the Sat Nav, we found the Niagara visitor centre (called 'Table Rock Welcome' for anyone planning a trip!) and arrived at one of the world's most infamous natural wonders, Niagara Falls.
To finally see the falls after nearly 18 months of dreaming and looking at photos was incredible. We did all of the local tours but my absolute favourite was - as they rightly call it "The Experience You'll Never Forget", the Hornblower Cruise. Now most people know this mini-cruise as the "Maid of the Mist" and they aren't wrong, just slightly out of date. The Maid of the Mist formally ran on both sides of the border but is now only on the U.S. side; with Hornblower cruises now operating on the Canadian side. It is still the same experience but on newer more modern vessels but being completely honest, it's where it takes you that makes the experience - right into the mist of the thundering falls. Prepare to get a bit soggy! But don't worry, there are a few lovely cafes where you can dry off afterwards.
After we'd see all there was to see, we headed out of Niagara 9sacrificing the Niagara view room at one of the local hotels) for the beautiful town of Niagara-on-the-lake and given the chance I would do it again. The town was stunning, like stepping back in time and although a little quiet because their season tends to kick off a little later in the summer, the hospitality and the local restaurant we went to was fantastic and our hotel, the Pillar & Post in was wonderful.
I hope to return in the near future to see more of Ontario.