New York City & Niagara Falls Canada July 1-5, 2010

[JoanieBlon]

After our exhilarating cruise on the Maid of the Mist, Mike and I just wandered around, taking in the views and people watching. The two waterfalls constantly command your attention, no matter where you are. People seem mesmerized by the power of all that water cascading down with such force.

The entire time we were in Niagara Falls, the weather was absolutely glorious! Clear, blue skies with warm temperatures and gentle, refreshing breezes.



The lovely Queen Victoria Park runs along the Niagara Parkway and River Road which are adjacent to the Niagara River Recreation Trail on the bluffs overlooking the gorge and the falls.

The Skylon Tower dominates the skyline from many angles.







The flowers in the park were beautiful and well cared for.





Here you can see the lovely decorative wall and fence that runs along the Recreation Trail. There were plenty of benches so you could sit and rest, if you wanted to. A number of families took advantage of the nice lawns by having picnic lunches.



This is the Niagara Skywheel ~ which reminded me of The London Eye. I didn’t get to go on this ride this visit, but hope to go the next time we come to Niagara Falls.



The lamp posts along the walkways had beautiful hanging baskets.



Here’s a shot of the Fallsview Casino.



The statue of Nikola Tesla, who, with George Westinghouse, built the first hydroelectric power plant at Niagara Falls. Tesla is standing atop an AC motor, which he invented. The statue overlooks the Canadian Falls.

Nikola Tesla designed the first hydroelectric power plant at Niagara Falls, New York which started producing electrical power in 1895. This was the beginning of the electrification of the United States and the rest of the world. Today, Tesla's AC electricity is lighting and powering the globe. Nikola Tesla is the genius who lit the world.

Now, the inventor of alternating current has a permanent tribute overlooking the Horseshoe Falls at Niagara Falls, Canadian side.
As a boy, Tesla saw a picture of Niagara Falls and told his uncle in Lika, Croatia, that he wanted to put a wheel under the falls to harness the power of the moving water.

This great monument of Nikola Tesla at Niagara Falls, Canadian side, is one of the greatest recognitions of Nikola Tesla's work. Tesla designed the first hydro-electric power plant at Niagara Falls and with George Westinghouse started the electrification of the world. This monument is built in one of the most beautiful and most important places in the world.

I could not get over the diversity of nationalities and dress that we saw during our visit to Niagara Falls! In all of the places we’ve visited ~ New York City, San Francisco, London, Athens, Barcelona, Chicago ~ NONE had the obvious mix of visitors that we saw here. There were MANY Indians in traditional saris, bus loads of Chinese tourists coming to play in the casinos, orthodox Jews with long prayers curls and their traditional black hats, Amish, Mennonites, Moslems ~ even some wearing full veiled, black burkas and black gloves to cover their hands.

Here’s an Amish family enjoying the view of the falls.



This young Amish couple had a small child with them.







I have never seen full burkas outside of Egypt and Morocco ~ and even there, they're not that common.



Mike and I had lunch at Edgewaters Tap & Grill, which was set in Queen Victoria Park, directly across from the American Falls with a commanding view of Horseshoe Falls as well. This lovely restaurant had open air dining under a striped awning. The mist, which would blow over from the falls, was quite refreshing ~ the effect was almost like the mister fans that you find at some outdoor venues. At times, the heavy mist almost had the appearance of rain.

Mike and I enjoyed our lunch so much, that we decided to return the following night for dinner and made reservations as we left. The menu items were quite innovative and well prepared. The prices were VERY reasonable, considering the location!

Here’s the restaurant from the street. We dined on the upper level. The lower level has an international buffet.



Here’s the view from our table when we were here for dinner. I had ordered a “flight” of martinis. You can see the “Tidy Bowl” blue one still in the glass. The martinis all had Niagara Falls themed names.



Next ~ RAINBOWS!

[JoanieBlon]

Niagara Falls is a great location for rainbows (or solar bows) as sunshine reflects off the mist from the Falls and delights our many visitors with a beautiful show of colours. Over one hundred years ago, Niagara Falls was also one of the best locations in the world to view night rainbows or lunar bows - a rainbow created by the light of the moon shining on the mist created by the Falls.

When lunar bows were last reported in the mid-1860s, the phenomenon was described as pale in comparison to the daytime rainbows, consisting of just three ghostly arches. They were best seen when the moon was full and high and the sky clear of clouds. One of the best locations to view this phenomenon was Luna Island (apparently so named because of the lunar bow) on the American side of the river. Luna Island is accessible via a pedestrian bridge from Goat Island and divides the American and Bridal Veil Falls.

A few references to early lunar bows are noteworthy. The Niagara Gazette, in describing the tightrope walk of Signor Farini, wrote “it was worthy of note that during the trip over and back a beautiful Lunar Bow hung over him, its end reaching the water, some fifty feet each side of his cable. He may claim it was as a bow of promise - as a happy augury of success?”

Another article written for the Niagara Gazette, July 16, 1856, stated “the Maid of the Mist will make trips in the evening when the weather is suitable, for the purpose of taking those who wish to view the Lunar Bow.”

Unfortunately, it is not likely a lunar bow will appear today, for a few different reasons. Firstly, the Falls have been illuminated each night since 1925. Since the 1950s, less water has been going over the Falls during the evenings, as much of Niagara’s water is diverted to produce electricity, creating less mist for the moonlight to reflect on. And finally, the night skies over Niagara are not as dark as years ago, due to the bright lights of the cities of Niagara Falls Ontario and New York.

Although lunar bows are no longer visible, rainbows make regular appearances throughout the year, in the late afternoon of sunny days.

Here are some of the rainbows we were treated to on Saturday and Sunday afternoon....









In the photo below, you can see the puddles of water that accumulate on the sidewalks from the mist.



Wonder if there IS a "Pot of Gold" down there?







The other end of the rainbow ~ over the American Falls.





On several occasions, we were able to see double rainbows appearing out of the mist.






Niagara Falls is a magical place!

[Life is a beach]

Joanie,

Glad you liked the visit to the Falls. My bad for not saying in my first post how much I am enjoying your TR to the Falls.

Ontario, and Toronto in particular, is very much a multi-ethnic province and city respectively. Makes it all very unique! Hope you have more TR to come.
Regards

[JoanieBlon]

Originally Posted by Life is a beach

Joanie,

Glad you liked the visit to the Falls. My bad for not saying in my first post how much I am enjoying your TR to the Falls.

Ontario, and Toronto in particular, is very much a multi-ethnic province and city respectively. Makes it all very unique! Hope you have more TR to come.
Regards

LIAB ~ Glad you're enjoying my trip report! Inspite of some problems, Mike and I enjoyed our visit there and want to return again ~ during the week in the winter ~ to get another perspective on the area. Being from Florida, we enjoy taking brief "winter" get-aways.

I'll be posting a bit more ~ some information and photos about the Fallsview Casino ~ and then the wine tour that we took on Sunday, July 4th.

Your Niagara photos are really nice. I've had some issues with the quality of some of the photos I've been posting here, but decided to just put them up. This trip was the first time out with a new camera, and I also had some difficult things to deal with ~ night exposure of fireworks through glass, cascading water and mist... My husband is always after me about my "crooked" photos, but I'm just too lazy to fix them for a trip report.

We haven't been to Toronto yet, but I've heard that it truly is a multi-ethnic city.

[Rissask]

Great photos.....I loved New York, especially walking around Little Italy.

Btw- The Keg is not by any means a limited locale steakhouse- there are Kegs everywhere. (I hate them, actually ...they always cook my steak far too rare!) And no, it's not a Canadian rule to cook burger's well-done! Not sure what that was all about?

[JoanieBlon]

Originally Posted by Rissask

Great photos.....I loved New York, especially walking around Little Italy.

Btw- The Keg is not by any means a limited locale steakhouse- there are Kegs everywhere. (I hate them, actually ...they always cook my steak far too rare!) And no, it's not a Canadian rule to cook burger's well-done! Not sure what that was all about?

Actually we were walking around Greenwich Village ~ the old "beatnik" Mecca...and hangout for the 60s folksingers ~ such as the young Bob Dylan. A street in Greenwich Village is pictured on his album, "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan." Doesn't look as pretty in the winter!

For over 100 years, this small area below 14th Street and west of Broadway has been a Mecca to the creative, rebellious and Bohemian. Although today no starving artists could afford to live here, the vibe still lingers and the beat goes on.

Little Italy is located a few blocks south and east of Greenwich Village, but the style of the buildings is similar.

I had NO idea there were so many Keg Steakhouses! I just went to their website and saw that they are even in the USA. I personally thought they were kind of pricey for what you get. I'm not partial to ANY steakhouse, but what makes this particular one special is the VIEW while you are dining. NO OTHER PLACE like it!

[daydreamer]

Joanie,

I'm really enjoying your TR. I was looking forward to this. Great pictures, as always. Niagara Falls (Canadian side) was my favorite place to vacation with my late husband, Scott. Your TR and pics bring back many great memories. Thanks for taking the time to post.

[JoanieBlon]

Originally Posted by daydreamer

Joanie,

I'm really enjoying your TR. I was looking forward to this. Great pictures, as always. Niagara Falls (Canadian side) was my favorite place to vacation with my late husband, Scott. Your TR and pics bring back many great memories. Thanks for taking the time to post.

I'm so glad that I'm able to bring back some pleasant memories for you....

[daydreamer]

I forgot to mention, we always made the drive there in October. The fall foliage was amazing! I would highly suggest going during that season sometime.

[Life is a beach]

Unless a restaurant in Ontario is willing to risk a lawsuit they must cook your burgers until they are cooked in the middle. No more medium etc.. Gray is what you get.

Hope this helps.

LIAB

Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care - Public Information - Public - Food Safety - Safe Food Handling

MOHLTC - Handle Food Safely

[Rissask]

Huh, I did not know that! Apparently it only applies to burgers and not steaks? Since you can certainly get a blue steak everywhere, out West anyway
....strange!

Originally Posted by JoanieBlon

Actually we were walking around Greenwich Village ~ the old "beatnik" Mecca...and hangout for the 60s folksingers ~ such as the young Bob Dylan. A street in Greenwich Village is pictured on his album, "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan." Doesn't look as pretty in the winter!





Little Italy is located a few blocks south and east of Greenwich Village, but the style of the buildings is similar.

I had NO idea there were so many Keg Steakhouses! I just went to their website and saw that they are even in the USA. I personally thought they were kind of pricey for what you get. I'm not partial to ANY steakhouse, but what makes this particular one special is the VIEW while you are dining. NO OTHER PLACE like it!

Gorgeous view, for sure.

I guess I saw the Italian restaurants and assumed it was Little Italy! Never made it to Greenwich....I sadly didn't get to spend as much time wandering around NYC as I would have liked. I was staying with friends on Long Island and we only came in twice. Beautiful city, though.

(Joanie, we leave for Zihua Saturday, to stay at the Brisas del Mar ....I was drooling over your trip report again last night! Thanks again for all that work you did on it. Can't wait!)

[JoanieBlon]

After Mike and I had our delicious lunch on Saturday afternoon at the Edgewater Tap & Grill, we decided to head up towards the gorge area of the river that we had seen from the train when we arrived on Friday afternoon.

That was quite a distance away, and Mike’s feet are always an issue for long walks, so we hailed a taxi that drove us up River Road. We had the driver let us out by the railway bridge, and we started walking along.

We hadn’t gone too far when we surprised to see a Buddhist Temple. The gates of the compound were open, and so we decided to go in and check out all the interesting looking statuary we could plainly see from the street.

It turned out that this place is the Ten Thousand Buddhas Sarira Stupa (also known as the Cham Shan Temple).


Here are some of the photos we took around the area.



The compound from the street.



It looked as if some of the stone carving was actually being done on site. There was still building going on in the corners of the 3 acre property. I believe that the upper stories of the main Temple building may have monks' quarters.





Notice the offerings of coins by the left foot.



This large bell reminded me of one at the Byodo-In Temple on Oahu, Hawaii.



A corresponding large drum.



There are many depictions of Buddha on the grounds.





I loved the colorful lanterns and flags.



Because it was a weekend during the Summer, the Temple was open for tours, which we didn't do. Notice the neon "Open" sign in the window. There was a sign requesting that no photos be taken inside.







I believe that this plant is a lotus.





This pagoda is covered with tiny Buddhas.

The swastika (Sanskrit svastika, "all is well") is a cross with four arms of equal length, with the ends of each arm bent at a right angle. Sometimes dots are added between each arm.

The swastika is an ancient symbol found worldwide, but it is especially common in India. It can be seen in the art of the Egyptians, Romans, Greeks, Celts, Native Americans, and Persians as well Hindus, Jains and Buddhists.

The swastika's Indian name comes the Sanskrit word svasti, meaning good fortune, luck and well being.

In Hinduism, the right-hand (clockwise) swastika is a symbol of the sun and the god Vishnu, while the left-hand (counterclockwise) swastika represents Kali and magic. The Buddhist swastika is almost always clockwise, while the swastika adopted by the Nazis (many of whom had occult interests) is counterclockwise.

In Buddhism, the swastika signifies auspiciousness and good fortune as well as the Buddha's footprints and the Buddha's heart. The swastika is said to contain the whole mind of the Buddha and can often be found imprinted on the chest, feet or palms of Buddha images. It is also the first of the 65 auspicious symbols on the footprint of the Buddha.

The swastika has also often been used to mark the beginning of Buddhist texts. In China and Japan, the Buddhist swastika was seen as a symbol of plurality, eternity, abundance, prosperity and long life.

The swastika is used as an auspicious mark on Buddhist temples and is especially common in Korea. It can often be seen on the decorative borders around paintings, altar cloths and banners. In Tibetan Buddhism, it is also used as a clothing decoration.

A carved stone railing adorned with swastikas and dragons.





Who would have thought that there would be such a magnificent Buddhist Temple in Niagara Falls!

[Life is a beach]

Hi Rissask,
Yes, you can still get steaks cooked/grilled to personal preference.

I think the issue is more with ground meat as that allows surface bacteria (which is usually killed off when doing say a nice rib eye on the grill... mmmm hungry now) to be mixed in along with air. Thus providing a great opportunity for bacteria to exist and thrive really well in the ground meat. That bacteria can really party should the ground meat not be stored at the proper temperature. Then if improperly cooked that pesky bacteria deep within that mouth watering (I did say I was hungry...mmmm) burger is not killed off either. It is still possible to enjoy a nice juicy burger as long as the cook/chef or home bbq person knows what they are doing.

I think I gotta go grab a nice cold Canadian and fire up the bbq. Ooops, too early to eat, but not to early for a cold one.

Regards
LIAB

[JoanieBlon]

Originally Posted by Life is a beach

It is still possible to enjoy a nice juicy burger as long as the cook/chef or home bbq person knows what they are doing. Regards LIAB

I've had plenty of well-done burgers that tasted really good and didn't have the consistency of a hockey puck. However, the one that was served to me at the Tony Roma's in Niagara Falls was also like it was petrified. I wondered if they had cooked up a bunch of them ahead of time and kept them in a bain marie under a heat lamp. The one that was served to me was absolutely YUCK.

[daydreamer]

Joanie, I saw that Buddhist Temple many times from the road - but I didn't know what it was. I wonder what it looks like inside?