May 17 – Stratford to Niagara Falls

Today we woke to a gray day, but fortunately it’s not raining.  We got ourselves ready for the day, and down to breakfast just before 9:00.  Elena and Dom, our hosts at the Birmingham Manor B&B requested that we be on time for breakfast, as they request of all their guests.  They treated us to a delicious breakfast of a fresh fruit plate, orange juice, orange and ricotta pancakes with berry compote, and "something" and rhubarb crumble, with coffee and tea, as desired.  There was another couple staying there at the same time, and between the hosting couple, and the other guests, we had some interesting conversation over breakfast.  We’d definitely stay at this B&B again, if ever in this area.  http://birminghammanor.com/

Elena Pastura & Dom Tassielli, owners of Birmingham Manor B&B in Stratford, ON.

We had a really nice drive today – not sunny, but certainly not bad for driving.  Again, the scenery was beautiful – the landscape so lush and green.  Along the way, I spotted some “minion” hay bales in a field that a farmer had created, but we were traveling too fast for me to grab my camera and get a shot, or even to tell Rick to stop for a moment so I could get my camera out…  I totally regret not going back there to get a picture, as it was sooo cute.

We got to Niagara Falls at about 2:00, and we had to drive past the falls, first and foremost, as it was my first time experiencing Niagara Falls.  So by the time we took a little drive, we got to our hotel, Sheraton On The Falls at about 3:00.  We checked in and were given a double-queen room on the 3^rd floor for one night.  We could have remained in that room for the duration of our stay, but we were promised a two-floor suite on a higher floor with a king bed, if we wanted to move.  We indicated that we’d definitely change rooms when the suite came available tomorrow.

Once we got checked in, we went to the Hard Rock Café in the adjoining complex, for a late lunch.

We then decided to go for a walk down to the falls…  What an experience!  I was amazed and impressed and awestruck, and more…  The force and the magnitude of the falls overwhelm me.

We walked along from the Sheraton to the Canadian falls, and then we warmed up in the Table Rock Welcome Centre with a cup of Timmy’s hot chocolate and a doughnut before we headed on our walk back to the hotel.  Because of our late lunch and snack of hot chocolate and doughnuts, we weren't very hungry for dinner, so instead had a snack/dinner of nachos at Ruby Tuesday’s, at about 9:00.  Then we went back to the hotel, and soon after turned in for the night.

Mileage to date: 5,371 kms.
Gas in Niagara Falls, NY: $3.88/gal = $1.128/litre Cdn