Celebrating Aurelia's 60th - August 2-7, 2023
The Skinny
Wednesday, August 2
RDU-Toronto
Drive to Buffalo
Smoke's Poutine for lunch - as recommended by Time Out
Stop at Fort Niagara
Dinner - Inizio (Italian) on Elmwood Street
Janie & Dan arrive late (delayed flight)
Thursday, August 3
Tour Buffalo, AKG Museum (new wing opened that day)
Gabriels Gate for lunch to get Buffalo Wings & Poutine
Frank Loyd Wright - Darwin Martin House tour
Drive around Silo City area
Then on to Darwin Martin Lake House also by Frank Loyd Wright
Birthday Dinner at Hutches
Friday, August 4
Niagara Falls - Canadian side - Niagara City Tours Boat tour
Drive Canadian side along Niagara River to Niagara on the Lake (NOTL)
Stop on way - Hike Niagara Glen Trail - Niagara Glen Nature Reserve - a few miles north of the falls and Whirlpool Rapids
Walk along waterfront of Niagara on the Lake
Beer at Niagara on the Lake (NOTL) Country Club (oldest golf club in North America!)
Dinner at 11th Post on Queen
Saturday, August 5
Bikes from hotel to Fort George
Along riverside bikeway to Two Sisters for lunch
Bike to Inniskillin Winery to try Ice Wine
Bike to Wayne Gretzky Estates
Back to 124 on Queen
Pre theater dinner - Zees
Shaw Theater for show
Sunday, August 6
Drive to Toronto in morning
Hop On/Hop Off - Bus Tour
St. Lawrence Market
Lunch on waterfront - Amsterdam Brewhouse
Dan & Janie depart for airport
Walk to Kensington Market area
Spa/Pool at Ritz Carlton
Dinner at EPOCH Bar and Kitchen Terrace in hotel
The Meat on the Bones
Wednesday, August 2
Flew out of Raleigh on Air Canada to Toronto even though our destination was Buffalo, NY, but rental car and international different drop offs made it much cheaper to rent and return to the same place. Plus it’s a direct flight from Raleigh vs not to Buffalo.
Got the car and headed out to Buffalo (approx 1.5 hrs max) on the Queen’s Highway of course, with quick pit stop in St. Catharine’s for a poutine snack at Smoke’s Poutine as recommended by Time Out for best poutine, even though it’s basically a Canadian fast food chain.
We entered the US and decided to tour the Niagara State Parks starting with Fort Niagara at the top of the Niagara River mouth in to Lake Ontario. Significant history associated with this area as it was THE trade route to the midland western America territory. Whoever controlled this area controlled the shipping routes from the Atlantic through the St. Lawrence River through the Great Lakes. Starting with the French in 1650s to the Brits in the 1750s to the US in 1796 bouncing back and forth until the War of 1812 when the US finally beat the Brits at Fort George and Fort Mississauga. There are numerous forts along the St. Lawrence and Niagara rivers and Great Lakes until the Erie Canal changed it all. All very interesting if that’s your sort of thing.
Worked our way down the Niagara Scenic Highway into the town of Niagara Falls which is dilapidated and depressed at least until you get closer to the falls, but still not much better. Onward to Buffalo and arrived at the Curtiss Hotel in downtown Buffalo. Considered the best hotel in Buffalo, it is well located and quite nice, but a bit of a swing and a miss in decor. Maybe it’s meant to be from the gilded age or art deco age…sorta a combo of both? Anyway, rooms are quite nice and very tech up to date, though decor is not my taste and a bit too dark for me. Great beds and divine sheets for good sleeping!
Sellers flight was very delayed, so we punted on our plans to have Buffalo wings at the Anchor Bar or Duff’s and instead headed to Inizio Italian restaurant on Elmwood, a trendy, restaurant heavy area as recommended by a local friend. All pasta homemade and it was delish.
Thursday, August 3 (the Big 60)
Sellers made it at 1 am so we took the car to let them sleep in while we explored before picking them up. We drove down Delaware Ave or “Millionaires Row” from the turn of the century business magnates’ mansions and on through some of the lovely neighborhoods all with pretty and historic homes before stopping at the Albright-Knox Art Museum/Gallery. Nature before culture, we took a walk through Delaware Park, designed by Frederick Law Olmstead, so culture and history surrounded us.
After, we crossed the street to the spectacular AKG which had cool looking buildings, amazing collections of old and new art, plus fun designed for the whole family. We really lucked out cause the brand new wing opened that day concentrating on modern art from the last 20 years. Big, funky and fun, it’s an amazing space. A must.
The other very nice hotel recommended is the Richardson Hotel which is in the HUGE historic Buffalo State Asylum for the Insane. We cruised in to check it out and it is massive and frankly a bit creepy with its Victorian/gothic look. Stay in town IMO.
Making up for last night, we went to Gabriel’s Gate for wings and yes, poutine as recommended by another Buffalo local friend. Gotta do it and it was delish, but once is enough. Hurried over for our 2pm tix to the Darwin Martin home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1903. One of his earliest and maybe first large home commission, it is fascinating and a highlight. Also a must.
After our tour, we went to check out the Kayak Granary Canyon tours, but lots of wind and already having seen them on Highway 5 driveby, we cruised the waterfront, learned about the Erie Canal and drove down the Lake Erie coast out of town to see the other Martin summer home called Graycliff also designed by Wright. Fun to see the coastline along the way and on Thursday nights, the house was having a market, live music, and food vendors on the grounds with the house open for self-guided tours. Interesting to see the location and the house which was 23 years hence from their in-town home. Sadly they only used it for a few yrs before they lost all their money in the 1929 stock market crash.
Dinner was at Hutch’s which was on every list and friend’s recommendations list for the big birthday. It’s a traditional menu and loud inside, but we scored a table outside and had an excellent celebration meal. What a day!
Friday, August 4th
Niagara Falls, here we come! As everyone will tell you, go straight to the Canadian side because that’s the best view for the Horseshoe Falls which are the main attraction, though the American falls on the US side are no doubt impressive as well, but you can see them all from the Canadian side. We pre-booked tix on the Niagara City Tours boat. The US boat tour, Maiden of the Mist, does the same, but if you want to be on the Canadian side as we did, then do this tour. Word to the wise, book as early as possible because traffic and crowds are immense.
Note: if this is a family trip with kiddies, it is a great trip with TONS to do if you want the full experience: tours behind the falls, light shows at night, zip lines, jet boats, helicopter tours, aero tram, etc. For the adults, the Underground Railroad museum (on the US side) is supposed to be quite good and of course, there are casinos on both sides. The whole place is a scene and the people watching is incredible. It is Myrtle Beach and Atlantic City wrapped into one. But a bucket list thing. The Falls are amazing.
The boat trip is a blast, though fast, and equipped with your poncho and maybe take flip flops, you don’t really get that wet and even up front. Amazing views!! After, be sure to go to the top of the Falls to look over. Stunningly gorgeous. LOVED the entire experience.
Grabbed a Subway sammy and headed north to our ultimate destination, the town of Niagara-on-the-Lake. There are 50 miles of Niagara River greenways from the Falls to NOTL and similar on the US side. Most of the Niagara River Gorge north of the Falls are state parks on both sides with good hiking for all ages. We went to the Botanical Gardens parking area and hiked down into the gorge to the river for a great 2-mile-ish trek on the Main Loop Trail. There are lots of options for hikes along the way from short hikes, flat hikes and longer 5 miles hikes. The river is exhilarating to see.
Afterwards hiking, we pulled into NOTL which is about max 30 mins from the Falls by way of the Niagara Scenic Parkway. Always flanked by the River on our right, we passed lots of vineyards along the way as the Niagara Peninsula is Canada’s Napa Valley. We checked into 124 on Queen Hotel and Spa in the heart of town. But then again, everything is in the heart of town as it is a small and totally charming hamlet at the mouth of the Niagara River and Lake Ontario. Newly renovated, 124 is modern and fresh, and has whatever you need including two restaurants and free bikes, plus the spa and small gym. Apparently the town shuts down in November through April so the high season is busy and you pay the price for it. There are plenty of hotels, B&B’s and AirBnB’s. The other nice hotel is the Prince of Wales which is a historic, grand dame, Victorian style building with heavy decor to match. Not for us. The Shaw Hotel looked like a good option also seemingly updated.
We decided to cruise the town, but avoided the crowded main drag of Queen St with its gift and fudge shops. (Unbeknownst to us, it was a Canadian Long wkd with Monday as the holiday, so it would be crowded anyway, but maybe was more so as a result.) Everything is quaint, lush and very tasteful. We walked to the small park along the river and in doing, passed the NOTL Golf Course, which is the oldest course in North America and open to the public for play as well as drinks and dining. We walked back, snagged a riverside table and enjoyed a Great Lakes beer. Another highlight. After, we quickly visited the nearby Fort Mississauga.
Dinner was across the street from the hotel at 11th Post, which is the in-town restaurant for Two Sisters winery. We got a table on the porch and had a delightful evening. What a day!
Saturday, August 5th
Cruised town for breakfast and saw a number and variety of places before landing on the bakery and smoothie spot called Niagara Juice Co. Tried to get a tee time for late afternoon, which we could (dirt cheap btw) but would seriously squeeze our theater plans, so….Met the Sellers and got 4 bikes from the hotel and set off for the Niagara Parkway Rec Greenway. Oh and btw, it’s flat and goes by a number of stops and vineyards. BUT wanted to tour Ft. George first which is right on the edge of town and the beginning of the Greenway. Lucky us, the British Militia Redcoats were having their daily re-enactment of flag raising, musket firings, and other events if you wanted to stick around along with the regular tour. Totally interesting esp in comparison to and in conjunction with Ft. Niagara.
After our history lesson, we biked in and out 10 miles before heading back to Two Sisters Vineyard and our lunch reservation at their very popular restaurant Kitchen 76. Delish and authentic Italian fare outdoors and by the vineyards. (The rose and sparkling rose were excellent!! Their best IMO.) Super fun boozy lunch…but not too boozy since we were getting back on bikes. Biked the long way back around the area to try some other vineyards including Inniskillin Wines, known for the region’s famed Ice Wine (Google it…) and on to Wayne Gretsky’s Estate, which is the opposite of Two Sisters in atmosphere - more of a brewery feel capitalizing on The Great One’s brand name with wine, beer and spirits and lots of gift store items.
Once back in town, we chilled before our night at the famed George Bernard Shaw Summer Theater Festival to see Sondheim’s musical “Gypsy.” The Festival is so well known it now runs March to November with 3-5 plays running at any given time throughout. (Our seat mates have been coming for over 25 years on the same wkd and go to 5 plays in two days.) First though, dinner at Zee’s Restaurant. Porch side again, it was delightful and handy as it is right across from the theaters.
The theater itself was pretty and reminiscent of some of the smaller Broadway venues. The actors, orchestra, etc were all very impressive. (We did have an unintended intermission with a false fire alarm…) Another fantastic day!
Sunday, August 6th
Not finished yet! Up and at’em to glimpse Toronto before the Sellers catch their flight. About 1.5 hrs from NOTL to Toronto, the skyline is filled with modern and glass apt buildings as we drove into the city to the Ritz-Carlton by the CN building, waterfront and Rogers Stadium, home of the Blue Jays baseball team.
We decided the best way to see the most of the city in a short amount of time was the Hop On Hop Off bus. Usually a good bet, this one lacked as our tour guide had a thick accent (Toronto is known for its international diversity and has the largest Indian population outside of India) and she was difficult to understand. But we got a good overview from the rooftop of the bus and could follow enough to know the different areas and neighborhoods.
We hopped off at the famed St. Lawrence Market, which is a HUGE indoor market with food shops and some scattered restaurants. It is something to see, but chaotic and overwhelming, so we spilt to visit the waterfront. Time was short and lunch was calling, so we found the Amsterdam Brewhouse, a perfect outside spot by the Lake. (Try the brisket.)
After biding the Sellers so long, we decided to punt on the CN tower since the next available reservation was late (book ahead) and decided to walk up to Chinatown and Kensington Market, which by the way is not a “market” per se, but rather an area full of shops. Chinatown is huge and busy on a Sunday afternoon, esp given the holiday wkd. Bordering it is the Kensington Market area which was packed with a very diverse/random population of goth/boho/hippie sorts and shops. Def something to see.
We hopped an Uber and went back to the waterfront to catch a water taxi to the Islands, which according to “Time Out,” “Centre Island is the most popular, but Ward’s Island is far prettier…” Buy tix ahead. But alas, the lines were endless and we gave up being tour-ons and headed for the hotel. We also canceled our dinner rezzie at Alouette, visited the spa area and opted to eat at the Ritz’ EPOCH Bar + Kitchen Terrace restaurant which was excellent with a relaxed and comfy outdoor terrace.
There is lots to do in this very international city, but we were satisfied (other than maybe visiting the Islands) to have gotten a good feel for it.
Monday, August 7th
And home we go….
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