Travel Diaries: Niagara Falls

I'm super excited to be writing my very first travel post on this blog! I don't get to travel too much anymore since school has become so crazy busy. So naturally, I was beyond excited when I got a spare weekend to travel to Niagara Falls with my family. I've been to Niagara so many times since that was my family go-to destination during my middle school and high school years. However, I was surprised that I actually had a great time and really enjoyed my visit to Niagara despite having been there loads of times before. The falls are just breathtaking each and every time I visit. The picture above was taken on the Maid of the Mist that takes you directly to the falls. So beautiful.

We left Pittsburgh on Saturday morning and reached Niagara after a 5-hour car ride. We got to our hotel, the Comfort Inn Suites, around 3pm. I had driven the entire journey, so naturally I needed a little refreshing before exploring. After washing my face and putting on some makeup, we headed out to Clifton Hill. We went on the Sky Wheel, which was a really nice experience. Even my mom and dad, who are both scared of heights, joined my brother and I on the Sky Wheel! It was a bit scary at first, but the view of the falls was really nice. It was just a really good experience, and one that we hadn't done before on our previous trips to Niagara. 

Here are some pictures from the Sky Wheel:

We walked around Clifton Hill a bit more, and made our way down to the falls which were a bit of a walk from the bottom of the Hill. Really gorgeous, but super duper cold since it was the evening by the time we got down there. For dinner, we went to Rainforest Cafe, which has a really nice tropical forest feel and has really delicious food. Really fun experience.

After dinner, we retreated back to our hotel for the night. My brother and I went down to the drugstore a few blocks from our hotel, the Shopper's Drug Mart (the Canadian version of CVS). I was hoping to find some makeup to try, but they didn't really have anything I couldn't find in Ulta here. 

The next day was reserved for the Falls. We went on the Maid of the Mist (now called the Hornblower, actually) which is one of the most fun experiences in Niagara Falls. Got super wet, but it was so refreshing! We also walked around the Falls as well and snapped many photos. We then drove to Niagara On The Lake, the lakeside "suburb" of Niagara. On the way, we stopped at Southbrook Winery and I picked up a bottle of Framboise Wine, a raspberry-flavored wine. We got to taste a few types of wine, and that one was by far my favorite. I think it will be a nice treat on weekends after a rough week, plus a nice little memoir from the Falls. My mom picked up a bottle of dessert wine as a little treat for herself. Niagara On The Lake was a gorgeous view, but there were so many dragonflies around, oh my goodness! Kind of dulled the experience, but it was still breathtaking nonetheless. 

We actually didn't spend that much time at Niagara On The Lake. We stopped for a few minutes for the view, but then we decided to continue our drive up north to Mississuaga for some Indian food. It was a much longer journey than we anticipated! It took about an hour to drive there, but it was a really nice drive. The roads were open, wide, and empty. The views were spectacular as well. We ate Indian food for dinner and then went to an Indian supermarket to pick up some snacks and delicacies for back home. We also stopped at Shopper's Drug Mart since I wanted to bring back some Cadbury chocolates for myself. By the time we got back to our hotel that night, it was 10pm and we were all beat. 

We woke up the next morning, our last day of the trip. It was a lazy morning. We ate breakfast, relaxed by the pool, and walked a little bit down Clifton Hill. We stopped at Tim Horton's after breakfast for some coffee and croissants. 

We then decided to leave for back home early since we all had work the next morning and my brother had school. We stopped at a Duty Free shop before crossing the border back to America, and I picked up a little birthday treat for myself (post coming up soon!). We then drove back home with a stop at Chipotle in Erie for dinner.

Overall, it was a really really really fun trip! Even though I've been to Niagara Falls a billion times, I still have fun every single time I go. The views are just so breathtaking and there's so much to do there. It's a really beautiful spot and the views never cease to amaze me. I'm actually quite sad to be back home, but I'm already looking forward to our next family vacation. I absolutely loved the time I got to spend with my family after such a long time. This year has just been so crazy busy, it was so nice to have a week to relax and spend with loved ones, and to get away from Pittsburgh!