USA

After packing our bags (which we are not enjoying doing everyday!) we checked out of our hostel and headed to downtown Toronto to visit the CN Tower one of the largest towers in all of north america which offers great views of the city. It also has a glass floor in one area where you are able to see directly beneath you. Very scary! We took some obligatory photographs and then we decided to end our stay in Toronto with a fairwell lunch at the top of the CN Tower. It was a lovely lunch with a beautiful view and a nice way to farewell the city.

We returned to collect our bags and then headed to the bus station to catch our bus back to Buffalo. The bus ride seemed to go forever and as we approached the border we were told that we would need to exit the bus at the border and go through customs. Well this wasn´t such an issue as we had already done this on our way to Canada but as we approached the customs officer we noticed that everybody was having their bags inspected and we were most horrified as we didnt really pack our bags so much as throw everything inside and then sit on our bags until we were able to close them! So you can imagine what lay inside! Not only that but Kylie had packed the remaining washing powder which is stored in zip lock bags on the top of her bag and lets just say that the amound left was not alot and looked rather suspicous! However we were very charming to the officers and managed to lift our bags onto the bench where they were inspecting the bags but we think the officers took pity on us when they looked at us struggling with this two huge oversized, massively bulging bags that completely filled the expander zip to breaking point and told us that they didnt need to see inside the bag (more luck for them really cause it really wasnt pretty and would have taken hours to do back up) and so we ended up being the only people on the entire bus who did not have their bags inspected and the rest of the people on the bus we not to impressed!

We arrived at our hostel in one piece and caught the tram back to the hostel from the bus station mostly cause we were too lazy to lug our bags down the street but also because it was free to the stop outside our hostel. We ended the night with some pizza and went to bed early to go to the airport the next morning although our plans were rudely interupted but an elderly woman who was staying at the hostel who is quite possibly the loudest snorer in the world. At 11pm when we still could not sleep we got up and went to watch some television until about 1am when we returned and braved it out until 6am for the bus to the airport. Oh what a night!

Today was a very busy day for us as we went to Niagara Falls! We made the hour long local bus trip to the American side of the falls and upon arrival we went up to the viewing tower to view the America Falls and part of Niagara Falls. It was absolutely spectacular although slightly different to what we expected as the falls seperate the two cities of Niagara - one American, the other Candadian so either side of the falls is crowded with buildings all offering amazing views.

After catching the Shuttle bus to the Island where we were able to go down to the observation deck of the America Falls. NOrmally the decks are quite close to the falls but being winter they remove some of the decks because of the weather but we still managed to get wet in the spray which was really what the experience was about and we were both relieved we didn't have to wear the little bright yellow ponchos that is norma during the summertime.

After visiting the Falls we ventured over to the American viewing platform of Niagara Falls. The view was amazing and you got a real sense of how powerful the falls really are. The falls had a massive mist rising from the centre of the river below so we were not able to see a complete view of the horseshoe shape but we definately got the idea!

We then walked across the Canada bridge to the Canadian side of the falls an the view of the falls was absolutely spectacular. After going through customs we saw the view of the America Falls from the Canada side and honestly the view is so much better from the Canadian side. You view the falls directly face on whereas on the American side you look back on the falls so it is harder to view them in their entirity. As it was getting dark we decided against walking up to the Niagara viewing platform mostl because the mist was incedable and bloced out most of the falls making it hard to see the Horsehoe shape. We decided instead toget some dinner and then comeback to see the falls at night.

The view in the evening was amazing and we were both so glad that we saw the falls at night. The horsehoe falls were a little har to see - again due to the mist - but the America Falls were breathtaking. Unfortuently as it was so dark our photo didn't turn out as we had hoped but the experience was unforgettable.

After crossing back over the bridge to the American side we vetured back to Buffalo for some much earned sleep!

This morning was an eary morning as we caught a shuttle to the airport at 6.30am. After having a few problems checking out of the hostel we managed to arrive safely at the airport where we then boarded our flight to Buffalo and arrived in the town just on dusk. The hostel was really friendly and were so helpful and full of information, but being a sunday in down town Buffalo we were a little light on entertainment so the helpful staff suggested joining the Library for $1 and enjoying free unlimited internet. Downtown Buffalo is more of a Financial District so on weekends it is dead quiet and that is not an exaggration. We probably saw maybe 3 or 4 other people on our way to the Library. The main street is closed to traffic as there is a tram that runs along the street so there really isnt any need for people to be in the streets on a sunday afternoon. We spent the remainer of the afternoon in the Library.

As we wandered back down the empty streets towards our hostel we stopped at TGI Fridays for dinner and tested out the local delicacy - Buffalo Wings. They were a little different to what we expected but we managed to clean of our plates before heading back to the hostel for an early night as we prepared for tomorrow - Niagara Falls!

Today was a rather slow morning as we wound up our time in Chicago. We spent the day visiting the Lincoln Park area which we discovered was close to our hostel. It was a lovely area full of shops and restraunts and we found a wonderful internet cafe with full faciltites where we were able to catch up on the website and keep informed of our travels.

We ended the day having dinner in a typical American style diner where we enjoyed good old American burgers before heading back to our hostel for bed and the glorious task of packing!

This morning we went to the John Hancock Observatory and rose to the 94th floor for a wonderful view of the city. We took an audio tour and learnt some very interesting information about the city and it's attractions. After the observatory we had lunch at the cheesecake factory but ended up not having any cheesecake as we were both so full even though we shared a meal! As the cheesecake shop was on the magnificent mile we once again headed up and down the street enjoying the sights and doing an awful lot of window shopping. We spent the remainder of the afternoon shopping and then went to see a movie "The Pursuit of Happyness" starring Will Smith and his 7 year old son playing the other lead role.