A Day at Niagara Falls

   The skies were cloudy here during the eclipse on Monday but I did catch a glimpse through the clouds as the moon crept across the sun. It was eerily dark though, for a few minutes.

   I had an early start on Wednesday, joining a group for a day trip to the Niagara region. The bus left at 8:15 and we arrived at our first stop by 10:30. It was the Reif Winery, one of several in the region, where we had a tour of the winery followed by a tasting experience. Their star was an ice wine that we all enjoyed (even managed an extra taste) before hitting the store to pick up some bottles.

 

The tasting room. We tried a reisling and a red wine, followed by the sweet ice wine. It's made from grapes that are left on the vine through the first frost which concentrates the flavour.

  Our next stop was at the restaurant where we were to eat lunch. It's right by the Falls so we had a few minutes to take in the view with quite a crowd of other tourists still here after arriving on Monday to view the eclipse. We also had front row seats while we ate lunch! The meal was very tasty, a delicious sunchoke soup followed by a fish course and apple crumble and coffee for dessert. The sunchoke soup was a new experience for most of us, seemingly made from Jerusalem artichokes which are an unusual vegetable here. 

 Very impressive, standing right at the lip of the Falls - and very loud!

The interior of the restaurant with windows overlooking the Falls.

There was quite a bit of spray today but these hardy souls were pretty close to the base of the falls and needed slickers to stay dry.

    After lunch, our next stop was a Butterfly Conservatory where I enjoyed not only the exotic butterflies but also the gorgeous tropical plants. The feeding stations were the best place to take photos.

 

The Lollipop Plant

       Back on the bus and our last stop was another winery where we had 4 tastings and time to shop again.  Then we headed home.

    I have to admit to snoozing most of the way home but, all in all, it was quite the outing. However, it took its toll and I was early to bed and slept like a log!