Back in the fall of 2017, I visited my old house mate and friend Sam in Canada and we embarked on a little adventure across Ontario and Quebec stopping off at many places. I have already written a few blogs on some of these places, so check them out. Another one of those places I visited was Niagara Falls, and it was a truly a magnificent place. We stayed in Niagara Falls for three nights and three nights was not enough. Niagara Falls was my favourite place I visited whilst in Canada. Niagara FallsSituated between the Canadian Province of Ontario and the US State New York and is connected by the Peace Bridge crossing. In total three waterfalls make up Niagara Falls. The largest being The Horseshoe falls, because of its Horseshoe shape, and this is the absolute beauty. Two smaller waterfalls also make up Niagara Falls, which are The American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls, which lie on the United States Side. It’s the larger of the three falls that we call The Horseshoe Falls that people come from all over the globe to see, and the Canadian side offer the best views. The American side you have to settle for a viewing platform to view The Horseshoe falls, which let’s face it, probably isn’t the best. The town of Niagara Falls has a lot more to offer than this waterfall. It’s a major tourist destination that has observation towers, casinos, theatres, mini golf, amusement arcades, museums, indoor waterparks and theatres. With colourful billboards and advertisements it has that Las Vegas feel to it. My time in Niagara Falls![]() So back to our stay, the one thing you notice straight away when you’re in Niagara Falls, is sound. You can hear the crashing of the water, from almost anywhere in the town. We were lucky to have three glorious day of weather which made out stay all the more enjoyable. Our first day we explored the town, had a walk down to the waterfalls them self, and I could have just sat there and watched it all day, it was mesmerising, watching the water flowing over the falls and crashing down. Another fond memory of the falls was feeling the vibration on the ground from the water crashing over the edge, as well as the damp haze you can feel in the air next to waterfall. The damp haze was just perfect in the heat. Right next to the falls is a small visitor centre called Grandview Market Place, which houses a restaurant and a bar, we stopped of here for a beer to refresh and relax. Whilst this was little on the pricey side, the view from the large windows were something you would expect to see on a postcard. We then decided to head for some food, and there is something for everyone, from steak houses, to Chinese, Indians, Italians there is everything. Our evening ended with a visit to Ripley’s Believe it or Not and a game of mini golf on a dinosaur themed golf course. For those who may not have heard about Ripley’s it is a museum showcases wired and strange facts, and it’s a decent enough place to visit. There is also one situated in Copenhagen, if your ever in Denmark. Our second day we decided that we would do the Hornblower Niagara Cruise. This a boat that takes you right up to the waterfall in the lower part of Niagara Falls, and you get full close up view of the water crashing into Niagara River. The tour lasts around twenty minutes and costs around thirty Canadian Dollars (Twenty Pounds). Travelling almost underneath the fall your provided with a red poncho, and trust me you need it, as you will be soaked by the end of the twenty minutes. For those who know who Horsey Hilda is, even she has experienced Niagara Falls. The day was scorcher, so that soaking of the falls, was just perfect. It was an amazing experience and I would I highly recommend it to anyone. There is also a cruise called Maid of The Mist, which operates from the American Side, so if you’re in Canada make sure you book the Hornblower. From there we met up with Leah one of Sam’s friends, who subsequently became my friend. With the temperature hitting nearly thirty degree’s and clear blue skies, we decided its perfect weather to have drinks. Niagara Falls is lucky enough to have a Hard Rock Café, and this was where we headed, with live music the atmosphere was simply great, the singers knew how to work the crowd and had everyone up dancing and singing, asking where people were from the asked me and when I said England, she sang Like A Virgin by Madonna for me. They were a great duo act and sat listening to them having a beer was just perfect. After a few afternoon drinks, some food we were back at our Motel, where we were heading out for drinks the night. But first we were going to pay the Casino a visit. I set myself a limit of Forty Dollars for the Casino, as I did not want to spend a fortune. Whilst getting ready one memorable moment I will never forget is when Leah picked up some of money and made it rain. We still laugh at that now whenever we mention it. Our Casino stop was to Falls View Casino. For anyone visiting Niagara Falls, I would recommend a visit, with hundreds of machines, gaming tables its great just to even walk around and embrace the atmosphere. We then headed out to explore some of the bars around Niagara Falls and it was a thoroughly enjoyable evening, sports bars to Karaoke bars. The next day was our visit to Niagara On the Lake for our wine tour, keep your eyes posted for some future blogs, which I’ll write, but I have supplied the link for you to have a read of their website. Three days not long enough to explore Niagara Falls, with so much to do, we were spoilt for choice. Everyone we come across whilst were out exploring Niagara Falls were so friendly, I remember going into a shop one morning to pick up a couple of things, and the lady extremely pleasant and welcoming. One final thing that I loved about Niagara Falls; is the way The Horseshoe Falls lights up on a night time. My final night in Niagara Falls, Sam opted for an early night, so I headed down to take in the atmosphere. Lit up with array of colours, listening to the sound and feeling the light haze of the waterfalls was just the icing on the cake and what away to end my time in Niagara Falls. The nostalgic feeling is something I will treasure for the rest of my life, and if you’re in Niagara Falls, get yourself down on a night-time, you are in for a treat. Its magical
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My recent vacation to Canada for Christmas and New Year, I chose to fly with KLM, not only were they the cheapest option, but listening to feedback from friends who have flown with KLM, I decided to give them a try. I have previously flown with many other major airlines in my time, including British Airways, Air Canada, Aer Lingus, Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) as well many smaller airlines, including Easy Jet, Jet 2, Norwegian Air and Thomas Cook Airlines. Out of all these I have too rate my flight experience with KLM as one the best, and I would highly recommend them to anyone.
Connecting through Amsterdam is straight forwards, once you disembark the flight you find yourself in departures, all you simply need to do is, find a transfer kiosk, scan your boarding pass and check your self in on the self-service screen. No going through passport control, no queueing to go through security, just a couple of touches of a screen and you finalise your connection, then you can explore Schiphol if you have the time. Fast forward six-hours I’m now boarding my flight to Toronto. ![]() I flew on a Boeing 777-200 and choose an Economy Comfort seat, Seat 10K, and I could not have picked a better seat. Basically this is an Economy seat, that has more leg room, more recline and situated at the front of Economy, and my seat was also an extra leg room seat. Once again staff were extremely friendly, professional and attentive. Food was as you expect from an Airline, I had chicken and rice, which was tasty and a lot better than what British Airways serve. As with all Long-Haul flights, there is a vast array of in-flight entertainment. Flying with a foreign airline was I was pleasantly surprised with the choice of British TV shows and New release movies that were available to watch. I managed to watch Sing, A Quiet Place and The Meg, which passed the time nicely. Again with complimentary service, your spoiled for choice and having a few Heineken, with made the flight all that more comfortable. The duration of the flight was smooth, with the occasional turbulence, which is common on most transatlantic flights. All in all a pleasant flight. ![]() My return flight, from Toronto to Amsterdam was faultless and the service from the crew exceeded my expectations, not because they did anything extraordinary but because of extra little touched from one of the flight crew. My flight was on board a 747-400. I’ve always wanted to fly on the queen of the sky, and been a bit of an aviation geek, these Jumbo Jets, just look stunning. Again I flew in Economy and booked an Economy Comfort seats, had their own little cabin at the front of the aircraft, with the rest of Economy behind us. The section had about 10 rows of 5 seats, so giving the size of a 747, it was a relatively small section, which was fantastic as we had our own personal space. ![]() We only had one cabin crew in our section, she was extremely polite, and I had opportunity to talk to her whilst everyone was boarding, asking what I had done in Canada and where I was from, she addressed me as Mr Cheek, which I would have been happy with James, but that was the level of professionalism she maintained by addressing me by Mr Cheek. While speaking to me, she had a handheld device and told my I may be in luck and would a full row to myself, but no sooner she said that, thing changed, and mother and daughter sat next to me. Once boarding had complete, she asked the mother and daughter if they would like to move a few rows back, to their own row, they took that opportunity, leaving me with a full row to myself. She come back down to my row, saying make yourself comfortable now, you can even lie down and have a sleep and if you need anything just press your buzzer. Perfect. During the flight she came up a couple of times checking I was comfortable and if I needed anything, likewise with everyone else in our section of the plane. Before landing into Amsterdam she wished the lady in front good luck for her interviews, which they had been discussing, then passed me and wished me a safe flight onwards to Newcastle. It’s the little things like that, that make all the difference, and been in that small cabin space you got that extra personal service. We had a rough landing into Amsterdam, which is common with the strong winds they get around the airport, but the Captains handled the landing perfectly and got us down on the ground in once piece. It was just a perfect flight experience and one best flight experiences I have ever had.
My final flight from Amsterdam to Newcastle was on board an Embraer, a much smaller plane with a seating configuration of 2-2. Once again cabin crew polite and pleasant and the flight was extremely smooth. At this point the jet lag must have kicked in as I remember the cabin crew waking me up, for when we came into land in Newcastle. |
James CMy name is James, I'm from Newcastle UK, and wanting to share my travel experiences with everyone Archives
February 2020
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