THINKING OF YOU!!

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Awww some more...



Awww again..




cute hey




Annie's birthday!






And some more gorgeous pics..

MORE NIAGARA!

Day 214

Today we've been away for SEVEN MONTHS!!!!

Niagara Falls, Buffalo, USA

It's Day 4 of our Washington DC/Niagara Falls tour..and we're off on another day of bus riding! Arrrghhhhhhhhhhhhhh YUK. But you get that when you want to see the sights!

Firstly, this morning we hovelled around in our group, in the hotel lobby, waiting to get on the bus to head off on our Niagara Falls boat cruise! While we waited for others, thanking god it wasn't us that were late, for fear of being severely chastised, Greg and I had a coffee (US hotels all have fresh coffee brewing in the lobbies!) and just relaxed...

We didn't have breakfast because Julia said NOT TO and we couldn't be bothered getting out of bed earlier to hunt down a suitable breakfast place (Greg was going to check out breakfast because he said when the guide says NOT TO have the breakfast, it makes him more curious! But we slept in!).

After piling on the bus and hearing grumbles from the Spanish because we switched sides so we didn't have to worry about putting our seats back...we got told off on the bus microphone for changing seats, and told to change back to our original seats after we get back on the bus!

Geepers..talk about rigid!

Anyway..it was only 3 minutes until we were on there...We literally drove the bus to the other side of the border (from US to Canada) to catch the Maid of the Mist so i don't know what they were complaining about!!! I mean, a change is as good as a holiday and we were feeling quite indignant at being told off for changing seats when the seats we took, were the parents of the kid that were causing us problems! (Let them know what they're kids are like!)

Anyway...

We unloaded, scrambled about because everyone was shoving and cursing, and got to the Niagara Centre to wait for the boat..and to see more of the falls and the rapids....and to have breakfast (another bagel and cream cheese with maple syrup!).

Then we lined up at the Maid of the Mist ticket office, grabbed our blue raincoats they are famous for and so we didn't get wet from the spray of the falls when we went under them..and lined up ready to go on our cruise.
















What the blue raincoats look like!

And off we went! And...it was fantastic! Wet, but fantastic be on a boat at the base to see the Falls rolling, tumbling and thundering over and to FEEL the mist! We all got totally soaking wet!!

Some of us, (Greg) had the good sense to take their shoes off...and to roll up their jeans....but some of us (me!) got totally wet and looked like drowned rats!

But it was so much fun!

I haven't laughed like that for ages! Giggling girts we all were! Including almost drowned Greg.

Patricia, "The Lady" didn't come, and stayed on the bus, reserving our seats! hahaha

It was so much fun..reminded me of the victoria Falls again. We got really wet there from the spray too...and had to buy raincoats. Only difference in South Africa was we had to pay a fortune for the raincoats and had to have guards to accompany us!

By the way, there were two English ladies on the tour who said Zimbabwe now had eight thousand per cent inflation!!! Imagine that!!!! Magabe has truly ruined the country. Greg says there will be a civil war there before long.

The boat cruise passed too quickly. We kept our coats as souvenirs but the thought of getting back on the bus loomed up all too quickly.

But on the bus we got..and the Spanish mob didn't join us. So we had a great trip back in our comfy spacious seats because they were spacious ones and we could stretch out...We watched Oceans 11, chatted to our new friends and read our books.

We had lunch at a fast food place that sold pizza, icecream or burgers. We had burgers.

And afternoon tea/dinner was a muffin and coffee at .. you guessed it, Starbucks!

By the way, there are Starbucks Coffee places on practically every corner here in New York! ANd i love it!!! And so does Greg, especially the chocolate chip bickies!!!!

Talking about Starbucks...we had a long conversation on the bus about where Starbucks originated..i thought it was Vancouver because they seemed more rife there in 1995 when i was there, than in California when we were travelling around there....

But it seems, so we found out from a reputable source (the internet at one of the stops!) that it originated in Seattle..which probably explains the Canadian connection...Seattle is close to the western border!

Apparently there are now over 5,500 cafes around the world!!!

And to think..it only took till now for me to actually enjoy a starbucks coffee!

The little things in life seem to be the greatest pleasure at the moment. Maybe i'm becoming depraved?

At the end of the tour...as we were approaching New York City....

The TIP thing came up.

Julia said the customary thing was to pay $5 per day, per person for the driver and the guide!

Which meant Greg and i had to pay US$80! For the four days. 2 tour guides and two drivers. Who were all pretty useless.

And that was on top of the tour which cost $539! Each.

It was a stretch for us to even go on the tour, even though it included accomodation and one breakfast, and it saved us having to think and plan for four days....without having to pay $80 on top as well!

So what do good Australians do.

Decide to pay the money and be done with it. Well, in our case, to pay for the 2 days at least. The other tour guide and driver weren't there so it was only Julia and Erik we felt we had to worry about.

Patricia had her $2 ready for them.

The german girls just looked at each other with a 'no way' look.

The two English girls behind us, from the Isle of Man, were discussing it all as we were arriving...

And then the bus stopped.

The South African couple got off the bus, said thankyou and left.

Patricia's leg suddenly got better and she jumped off the bus and headed off to meet her son-in-law who was picking her up to take her to the Opera (she's 80 - i hope i'm like that at 80!)

And..then a pile of other people pushed us about as they scrambled to get off as well...we yelled thankyou as i searched my pocket for the tip and the next thing Greg had our packs out of the bus, and the bus started moving and that was that.

We were $80 richer!

Geepers....

How'd that happen?

Not sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing..but i guess it was just a thing that happened....

And apart from a few of us...we considered after, that if everyone paid what she expected, she'd be making more than any of us. There were fifty of us on the bus!

Tipping...

An incredible custom really.

Anyway...

Here we are now, at our hotel, at another airport hotel in New Jersey. We decided to get close to the airport (Newark) where we leave to go to Chicago.

We took a train here, from the biggest subway station in New York, you should see it, amazing! Cost US$15 to get to New Jersey. And then we had to take an air shuttle to Newark Airport..and rang accomodation from the hotel who sent their free shuttle bus to collect us (got it for half the price as the JFK airport hotel which we thought was cheap, but this is way cheaper!!)

And that's that...we're here for a couple of days before we head off again. Internet is for free here in the lobby! It's great! I can catch up on what's happening and maybe send a couple of emails..although, tomorrow, we'll be out most of the day. We're going to try and see a Grid Iron Game as well. Hopefully we'll even get to see a baseball game while we're here! (If we don't get to see one here, we'll hopefully see the Chicago Bulls in Chicago!)

But now, it's time for bed!

Nighties...xoxox

PS Patrica told Greg and I that everyone on the bus were calling us "The Handsome Couple!" And I said, "Oh really, why?' and she said because we always looked so happy and we were smiling all the time...

Awww....

That's us.."THE HANDSOME COUPLE!"

That means we've gotten more compliments in America than we have in any other country! And all in the space of four days! I think...America is very much like Australia...and people here appreciate what we appreciate at home!

It sounds like i'm searching for compliments hey....but it's not that at all. It's just that it was such a surprise to actually hear one that it has become very memorable!!!! (And especially when i'm feeling like junky jen at the moment! With my travel clothes, no jewellery, no makeup, no nothing! Oh dear!)

OFF TO NIAGARA FALLS, BUFFALO!

To the left you can see the Niagara Falls from the US side..on the right you can see it from the Canada side!



Day 213

Niagara Falls, Buffalo, New York State USA

Breakfast here at the Hampton Inn, New Jersey was was included in the price and was very yummy!!! We did as the ditzy tour guide said and filled up because it was going to be a long journey to Niagara.......and yes, Rob, the bagels with cream cheese (and honey) were on the menu and are my favourite!!! Funny you should mention them....we've been raving about them ourselves....especially when they are raison bagels and they toast them, ohlala!

Well, finally, after getting over the early morning shock of hearing about Mainy's death and then getting on the internet to check further about what happened (went to the perth now website) for about 10 minutes while waiting for the bus to pick us up from (which is where i wrote the last blog about him from!) I had to leave the business centre and run to the bus (typical me!) to head off to Niagara Falls.

It took AGES to get there..and we got a new guide, this time one that was more organised but who resembled a seargent major!!! OK, i'm getting fussy, the tour guides we had in Scotland and Ireland were SO good that we're now as fussy as all heck. Especially when we have to consider the 'tipping thing' here in the US!

Julia, our new guide was Spanish. And when we jumped on the bus, we found we'd joined another tour. Four people who were with us originally took off to go back to New York which left four of us from the group that went to Washington DC to go to Niagara. And we got swamped. By Spanish.

And, i have to say, not only did we get swamped, we got attacked! The couple behind us kicked the chairs we were in because they didn't like our chairs getting tilted back. But we had to because the people in front of us tilted their chairs back!

Then i could hear them whingeing in Spanish. LOUDLY. They continued this charade for the whole tour, including during the movie because they couldn't understand it!

Don't you love tours!!!

Talk about this one being the worst we've ever been on!

And long and monotonous as well.

The only redeeming factor is we met some nice people. The two Aussie women left, unfortunately...I was beginning to really befriend them! (after feeling like i was friendless!) They also paid me compliments...hehe saying i looked really nice on the second morning when i wore something less travel like on the bus!

About compliments...the ditzy tour guide told me i was beautiful!!!!! I'm sure it was because she was hunting for tips from the ones who didn't complain as much..but it was nice to hear that anyway!!! It's been so long since i've heard any compliments that to hear it twice in two days was all a bit much!

I had to have a look in the mirror at one of the stops to just check to see if they had the right person!

Not that gorgoeus Greg is not complimentary, he tells me he loves me and that i'm gorgeous and all that all the time..but i no longer get my sissy or my mum or my friends saying..'You look nice today!" or anything like that...

hahahaha...oh dear...

I sound desperate! Anyway, it was nice, after 7 months to hear someone say something nice about me!

Anyway, back to the tour, we basically, headed off at 8.30am and after passing through the norwestern sights of the upstate New York and seeing the beautiful mountains and autumn trees and didn't arrive into Niagara until 6pm!

We stopped in the midst of the rolling hills of the Finger Lakes for lunch and had a wonderful lunch!!!! We weren't prepared for that, having filled up on breakfast but for US$8 we couldn't really refuse and we thought this would be 'linner' (lunch/diner!). It was WONDERFUL! So many vegetables and salads...as well as every kind of pasta and meat including chicken, turkey, buffalo, ham, beef, lamb..the whole works. Greg had a ball....so did we all!

We rolled back to the bus after lunch..and slept all the way to Niagara...only to be woken up to check out the wine areas we passed through on the way.

Julia, the tour guide was so organised that she told us where to sit, how long we'd be, what we should eat (order the chicken, that's good, not the beef..and at one stage she said, about the breakfast, 'Do NOT order it from the hotel, it's horrible!" ).

She even announced during lunch on the PA that we had five minutes to go before the bus was leaving..there would have been literally hundreds of people in the restaurant..and she was talking to the fifty of us!

Once we arrived in Buffalo we were all dying to see the Falls so the bus driver, Erik, took us to the Observation Tower which is a 230 foot tower that looks bak towards the Falls and downstream to Rainbow Bridge.

It was spectacular to say the least!

And we saw the Falls from the same level as the top of the river flowing into them which was different.

We compared the Niagara Falls to the Victoria Falls on the Zimbabwe/Zambia border and we decided the Victoria Falls were more impressive!!!

I think it was because the Victoria Falls are in the jungle so there are huge trees everywhere..

Although both falls were thundering down and making a massive impact on us. We did get excited. You know how you do when you hear the biggest clap of lightning! That's what it's like....loud, impressive, overpowering and awesome.

We took heaps of pictures and a movie of us both showing the Falls from the Canadian side and the American side.

The one thing i didn't realise, or more like, didn't click into place, as i knew we were to take passports to get into Canada, was that Niagara Falls is right on the border of Canada and the US. IN fact, the river, Niagara River the Falls are in, is divided into two...down the middle, so each country has claim to half the river!

So, like it is with the Victoria Falls where you can see the Zimbabwean side of the falls and the Zambian side of the Falls...we had to head off to Ontario Canada to see the side of the Falls that face you.

On the American side, you can see the top of the Falls and down the falls.

And what we were to see on the Canadian side, the more spectacular side to the falls...we changed our mind about what falls were most impressive....

At that point, after taking photos at the Observation Tower we left the Falls to check in to the VERY COMFORTABLE Comfort Inn, Oh..what wonderful beds..so soft! And once again, microwave, coffee maker, fridge in the room, huge tv....

It's worth being on the tour just to be in fantastic accomodation that's for sure. I know i've said that before, but it is just great to be in a nice hotel. Of course, we enjoy it while we can..because we know it's a rarity!

The sergeant major gave us 15 minutes to check in and then demanded we meet outside at the sign, passports in tow, so we could all walk over to the falls together.

We did as we were told and met up with the whole group, apart from those who didn't have passports with them, to march off to Niagara Falls. Fancy forgetting passports, that was a requirement of the tour...

We walked about 5 minutes from our Hotel, observing all the lights and action going on in Niagara (busy place!) and approached the border and got our visas, and stamp, to enter Canada. The usual questions were asked, "How long will you be there?" (One night) "WHat is the reason for your entry?" (To see the Niagara Falls!) "Have you been to Candada before?" (Yes, in 2005).

The group separated and we all went our own ways....the township over there was so big and busy and lit up and illuminating...with people milling all about, going to dinner, the casino and basically just doing their own thing..that we got lost in the crowd and lost all the faces, thank god, because we were all rather frazzled after being on that stuffy cramped bus with whingeing Spanish! (Really, they were so loud and rude it was not funny!)

The 80 year old Australian lady we befriended and started calling 'The Lady' because she was the one that caused all the confusion when we left New York City to go to Washington DC (because she wanted to be picked up in New Jersey instead of leaving with us all) stayed at the hotel and didn't see the Falls...quite sad.

Her knee is giving her hurry curry..so she rested in her hotel room. Talk about a spritely woman tho...at her age...with a wonky knee..she's still travelling around. She told us she's in America with her kids..and they were driving from New Jersey around the state and back to New York city and she didn't want to sit in a car, all cramped up, so they put her on the bus in New Jersey instead!

I'd say the bus was just as bad!

Back to the border and Niagara Falls...

It was really weird, because on the bridge to get to the 'other side' right in the middle, was the Canadian flag on their side, and the American flag on the US side! Don't know why, but it tickled me! Got photos of the flags of course. And the streets leading to the US and to Canada. Just to add to the other 20,000 we have!

I guess for us, Australians, living in a country that is a continent all on it's own, it's just weird to think that you can just hop across a border and there you are, in another country!

Anyway...this is when the Niagara Falls came into their own.

Talk about INCREDIBLE!!!
















This is it! From the Canadian side at night. Isn't it just gorgeous???



On the Canadian side...the falls just went on and on and on....and the lights were shone on them..and they just thundered down in all their glory and just looked so majestic! We loved being there, walking along the boardwalk, getting soaking wet from the spray and just lapping up the site.

We realised why the Niagara Falls is one of the 7 natural wonders of the world. They just keep on going...and even though they are not as high as Victoria Falls, they are wider and go on forever!!!! They just really are amazing to look at.

I was so besotted by that site that i text'd Mum and Elise just to say where we were at that very moment!!!!

I was actually quite beside myself in awe of the mountains of water just pouring and thundering down into the river....

We stood at the side of the falls and did what lovers do...kissed..awwwww...how romantic. It was just the mood for it..and we we weren't the only ones...so many couples and lovers just seizing the moment!

We kept walking for the length of the Falls that we could..it just kept going on an don...and we must have walked about an hour..then came back the same way, admiring the view and finally decided at 10pm that we needed to eat!

So we went to Starbucks..and had a muffin and coffee!!!

And....weird, but the waiter there said to me, "Do ya'all ever get called Susan Sarandan?" I said...actually yes! He replied, "It's uncanny, your likeness!"

And i thought, geepers i think i just got complimented AGAIN! 3 times in 2 days!!! Then i wondered if it was a compliment...she's 10 years older than me!!! But it was funny that he said it because people have said that before..and Robby has called me LOU after Louise in the movie, "Thelma and Louise!" ever since it came out and we went to see it in 1991! (I call her Thelma!)

We got home at midnight..all excited...it was a wonderful night.

Tomrorrow..it's the 7am hotel wake up call, organised by Julia!!!