my feet don't want to go to sleep

The Marino’s love a destination holiday. This year we decided to visit Canada for Thanksgiving. We went the Saturday before and stayed the week to avoid the insanity that comes with travel that week. Most New Yorkers went to Niagara Falls when they were young. I had never been but love a waterfall.

We didn’t know it but they actually close tours in the winter. We were the last weekend for the ferry. The Maid of the Mist is the American side ferry and had already stopped for the year. Our tour guide took us on his last tour of the year. It was actually emotional at the end when he thanked us.

To Stay

We got an apartment with 4 bedrooms about 5 minutes from the falls. Since we were staying for the week we wanted a bit of space and with 3 adult children none of us really wanted to share a bed. This place worked well but lacked some amenities. We stayed on the Canadian side as the way the falls faced you could barely see them from the American side. Plus the American side is super seedy.

To Eat

For thanksgiving, my parents and sister actually crossed back to the US to pick up prepared dinner from Whole Foods. But we had some delicious things on the Candian side. We booked a wine tasting tour to try ice wine and see what the region had to offer.

• Vincenzo’s Cafe – this adorable coffee shop run by an old Italian man
• Kitchen76 at Two Sisters Vineyards – gorgeous place for dinner
• Caroline Cellars – great for wine tasting
• Cornerstone Estate Winery – fairly bad wines
• Newark Brewing: Bar & Restaurant – fun spot for lunch and a beer flight
• Table Rock House Restaurant – the spot for a meal looking at the falls

To Explore

Besides the falls, there is much to see and do. You can take the Whirlpool Aero Car across this big collection of water beneath the falls. It was closed when we visited due to wind speeds. Maple Leaf Place is a huge souvenir store with loads of syrup options. Also driving up to Niagara on the Lake is a cute afternoon. It is a small city with some shops to explore.

Naturally you’ll take the ferry up to the falls. The ticket will include the behind the falls access. The strength and intensity of these falls will blow your mind. It also will confuse you as the water that flows here all comes from the great lakes. It doesn’t seem possible that that much water is constantly flowing down. It was absolutely freezing in late November and we were absolutely drenched. It was worth it though. During the winter they have a festival of lights all along the park that follows the river. Watching the falls lit up and seeing all the winter lights after a delicious meal was a lovely way to spend the holidays.