The Long Weekend
Just had an extra long weekend, thanks to my classes being cancelled on friday. And since Kitty and I haven't seen each other in a long time, we decided to go to Niagara for a couple days. This was a very last minute decision, but in a way that benefitted us.
So what's the best way to find a hotel? The internet of course. One of my friends from class, Ed Chen, is very savy with using internet sites to book hotels and plane tickets. So I asked for his help. He very kindly helped me through the process and actually booked it for me. He recommended www.priceline.com, which is a bidding site. For this site, you enter in some information, like the date and location and then you bid a price you're willing to pay. You don't know in advance what hotel you'll be matched with, but you can set the number of star hotel you desire (ie 3 star or 2 star, etc). Also they will book the hotel right away and you can not cancel your reservation. You are only supposed to be allowed one bid every 72 hours, but there are ways to get around that.
Anyway, to make a long story short, we finally got a hotel for $72 American dollars at the Sheraton on the Falls. Well you may think $72 is relatively pricey, but on this site rooms at the Sheraton during the holiday were going for $300-$500! As it turns out, Sheraton on the Falls is in a prime location, right in the downtown section and the closest hotel to the falls. When we got there, we upgraded (for USD$50) to a room with a view of the Falls, fireplace and more furniture. Check out the view:
IMO, the upgrade was worth it, although USD$50 is not cheap.
So the solution of course was to go to the casino to win it back. Just kidding, I didnt' pull a Matt and come back with $700 or anything like that. Here's a shot of the new casino that just opened last month. In fact, the whole area near the new casiono is new, with new hotels and restaurants. Unfortunately, it makes the area seem really overly commercial and breaks up the natural skyline.
Well, it was really commercial/tourist to begin with, so it's not that big of a change.
The canadian side contrasts sharply when compared to the American side. The American side seems more like a National park. The areas near the falls are all treed and have grass instead of concrete and cars. I've never been on the American side, so it was a new experience for me. We walked over Rainbow bridge and passed customs on foot. They were pretty lax. It was nice to walk around around and just enjoy being there. I think the majority of our time was spent walking...we walked everywhere all day, both days.
We couldn't decide on where to go for dinner, and ended up at an Italian place. It was a really nice day, so we decided to sit on the patio. We proceeded to order our drinks and meals and got the bread (really fresh and tasty) served when all of a sudden it began to pour. A thunderstorm had arrived. The wait staff was very frazzled and we made our way into the restaurant (which luckily had more than enough seating capacity). We carried all our food/utensils/plates/drinks in ourselves and the waitress had to come find out where we had seated ourselves. But it didn't really put a damper on the meal since the interior was really nicely/elaborately decorated. I ordered a prime rib, the "gentleman's cut" and it turned out to be quite thick.
By the time dinner ended, the rain had stopped, so we were lucky. It was Canada Day so there were going to be fireworks that night. Ever get annoyed at the mass of people that you have to contend with during public events. Things like finding a spot for yourself, arriving early to get a good spot, trying not to be squeezed between too many people, parking, etc. Well instead of all that hassle, we just went up to our hotel room, flicked the switch for the fireplace, turned the lights low, pulled the loveseat up to the window and enjoyed the fireworks and view of the falls from the comfort of our room. Pretty romantic, eh?
After the fireworks, we watched as a mass of people tried to leave the area amidst a huge traffic jam. We just leisurely walked down and walked around the city. We ended up at the casino, where we gambled a little. Neither Kitty or I are big gamblers, so we basically got a very, very low amount in chips: $20 each. Haha, that is pretty pathetic. But we both ended up winning some money, which is atypical. We made our money on the chinese dice table, where it is based upon pure luck (I managed to more than double my money....hahaha). The key to gambling is knowing when to leave. I left as soon as I won a 6 to 1 combination. Oh well, no grand stories like Matt's, but I had a good time, even though we didn't stick around too long.
Anyway, here's one last pic of us and the falls.
Overall, an excellent trip. Being apart (Kitty's in TO and I'm in Waterloo) is tough sometimes, but it makes the time you are together that much sweeter.
PS Didn't go to ribfest this year, breaking a long streak...
Just had an extra long weekend, thanks to my classes being cancelled on friday. And since Kitty and I haven't seen each other in a long time, we decided to go to Niagara for a couple days. This was a very last minute decision, but in a way that benefitted us.
So what's the best way to find a hotel? The internet of course. One of my friends from class, Ed Chen, is very savy with using internet sites to book hotels and plane tickets. So I asked for his help. He very kindly helped me through the process and actually booked it for me. He recommended www.priceline.com, which is a bidding site. For this site, you enter in some information, like the date and location and then you bid a price you're willing to pay. You don't know in advance what hotel you'll be matched with, but you can set the number of star hotel you desire (ie 3 star or 2 star, etc). Also they will book the hotel right away and you can not cancel your reservation. You are only supposed to be allowed one bid every 72 hours, but there are ways to get around that.
Anyway, to make a long story short, we finally got a hotel for $72 American dollars at the Sheraton on the Falls. Well you may think $72 is relatively pricey, but on this site rooms at the Sheraton during the holiday were going for $300-$500! As it turns out, Sheraton on the Falls is in a prime location, right in the downtown section and the closest hotel to the falls. When we got there, we upgraded (for USD$50) to a room with a view of the Falls, fireplace and more furniture. Check out the view:
IMO, the upgrade was worth it, although USD$50 is not cheap.
So the solution of course was to go to the casino to win it back. Just kidding, I didnt' pull a Matt and come back with $700 or anything like that. Here's a shot of the new casino that just opened last month. In fact, the whole area near the new casiono is new, with new hotels and restaurants. Unfortunately, it makes the area seem really overly commercial and breaks up the natural skyline.
Well, it was really commercial/tourist to begin with, so it's not that big of a change.
The canadian side contrasts sharply when compared to the American side. The American side seems more like a National park. The areas near the falls are all treed and have grass instead of concrete and cars. I've never been on the American side, so it was a new experience for me. We walked over Rainbow bridge and passed customs on foot. They were pretty lax. It was nice to walk around around and just enjoy being there. I think the majority of our time was spent walking...we walked everywhere all day, both days.
We couldn't decide on where to go for dinner, and ended up at an Italian place. It was a really nice day, so we decided to sit on the patio. We proceeded to order our drinks and meals and got the bread (really fresh and tasty) served when all of a sudden it began to pour. A thunderstorm had arrived. The wait staff was very frazzled and we made our way into the restaurant (which luckily had more than enough seating capacity). We carried all our food/utensils/plates/drinks in ourselves and the waitress had to come find out where we had seated ourselves. But it didn't really put a damper on the meal since the interior was really nicely/elaborately decorated. I ordered a prime rib, the "gentleman's cut" and it turned out to be quite thick.
By the time dinner ended, the rain had stopped, so we were lucky. It was Canada Day so there were going to be fireworks that night. Ever get annoyed at the mass of people that you have to contend with during public events. Things like finding a spot for yourself, arriving early to get a good spot, trying not to be squeezed between too many people, parking, etc. Well instead of all that hassle, we just went up to our hotel room, flicked the switch for the fireplace, turned the lights low, pulled the loveseat up to the window and enjoyed the fireworks and view of the falls from the comfort of our room. Pretty romantic, eh?
After the fireworks, we watched as a mass of people tried to leave the area amidst a huge traffic jam. We just leisurely walked down and walked around the city. We ended up at the casino, where we gambled a little. Neither Kitty or I are big gamblers, so we basically got a very, very low amount in chips: $20 each. Haha, that is pretty pathetic. But we both ended up winning some money, which is atypical. We made our money on the chinese dice table, where it is based upon pure luck (I managed to more than double my money....hahaha). The key to gambling is knowing when to leave. I left as soon as I won a 6 to 1 combination. Oh well, no grand stories like Matt's, but I had a good time, even though we didn't stick around too long.
Anyway, here's one last pic of us and the falls.
Overall, an excellent trip. Being apart (Kitty's in TO and I'm in Waterloo) is tough sometimes, but it makes the time you are together that much sweeter.
PS Didn't go to ribfest this year, breaking a long streak...
posted by Nelson at 10:07 PM
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