Niagara Falls and more - Canada - Part 3

From Toronto we were off to Niagara Falls, but we made two other stops.

First in Mississauga. I really like the name of this place and  don't know why, but according to the Wikipedia it comes from the Anishinaabe word Misi-zaagiing which means "[Those at the] Great River-mouth."

Unfortunately, it was pouring with rain that day, so we didn't want to hang around for too long, but I enjoyed the work of Chinese architect Yansong Ma - "Absolute World" (completed in 2011) - two condo towers near Square One Shopping Centre. I have read that because of the building's curves the residents call the first tower "Marilyn" in honour of Marilyn Monroe.
It was so foggy that my photo wouldn't do justice to the building's architecture, so I am using one from the internet.

  

Instead of just driving directly south on our way to Niagara Falls, we decided to see more of the coast and visited a town called Niagara-on-the-Lake, our second stop.

But before we got there we stopped in a small town - Grimsby to eat something and discovered NYF / New York Fries - Canadian franchise restaurant. I am not a big fan of fast food restaurants, but I will say it, this was tasty and different. We don't have this franchise in Chicagoland.

It was still raining, but we were so glad that we took this detour. What a charming historic town with Georgian and Neo-Classical homes and shops. This region is just beautiful! You can take Niagara Parkway, a scenic road that runs along Niagara River. It begins at Fort Erie and ends at Fort George which is southeast from Niagara-on-the-Lake.

Nice place to eat is Epicurean restaurant (see picture below)

Niagara-on-the-Lake

There are many attractions along the river including Whirlpool Rapids.

 

In the late afternoon we finally reached Niagara Falls.

The Falls are amazing and the town itself is amazingly kitschy, but you can't help yourself, you have to see it :-)

We were also lucky to be at the right time at the right place. You can witness SKYWALK, a rope walking performance of 68 year old Jay Cochrane, when you look up in the sky in the evening. Unbelievable!

You have to watch this video to understand. By the way, he talks to the crowds as he walks...like he is just sitting in his living room.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQMAGPMGtoo

We enjoyed our time in Canada so much and would love to see more of this beautiful country in the future.

In my next post I will tell you how we got back home...