The day before yesterday, we got the train to Niagara Falls.
There are two stations, one on either side of the gorge; we got off on the
Canadian side. After checking in at the B&B we were
staying at, we walked down to the Falls, descended an elevator, and walked out
right underneath the giant horseshoe-shaped fall itself. No wonder they gave us
a plastic raincoat on the way down, there’s a LOT of water going down this
thing, and as soon as the wind changes, it’s all over you. The water falls with
so much violence that a mist is raised way up into the sky from the foot of the
falls – when the wind is still, it looks like clouds rising from the surface of
the earth, and when you’re standing away from the falls, the mist lands like rain. It
feels so much like rain that we hadn’t noticed it had actually started to rain
while we were there, and we got a bit wet. But apart from the thunderstorm in
NYC a week and a half ago and a wet day in Jasper about a month ago (have we
really been travelling this long?), I think it might be the first serious rain
(i.e. more than a sprinkle) we’ve encounted.
Yesterday was spent exploring much of the area. We went on
the ‘Maid of the Mist’ cruise which isn’t really a cruise, but is actually a
boat that goes right out into the middle of the falls, so that you’re right in
the middle of the aforementioned mist. Watching these boats the day before, I’d
thought it would be a turbulent experience, but it was rather quite serene: the
violence of the fall cancelled out on either side of the boat, if that makes
sense. Again, it felt like it was pouring down with rain, but it was just the
mist from the fall. I tried to take photographs but they look horribly grey - a function of the amount of moisture involved, as well as the lens misting up. We also walked along the rapids a bit further downstream
from the fall, and visited a butterfly conservatory that was so peaceful I
could have stayed there all day. Actually, that’s a great word for yesterday –
peaceful. And on the train trip up from Manhattan the day before yesterday, I
looked at the sky as if I hadn’t seen it properly for about a week and a half
(which actually felt to be the case). But not only the sky, but the land –
seeing greenery, and experiencing space, felt quite different from the concrete
claustrophobia of the previous week and a half.
So last night we got the train up to Toronto. Train from
Niagara went along the lakefront, where there are a number of seriously heavy
manufacturing concerns no doubt pumping crap straight into the lake. Things
were different in the 1950s, weren’t they? Got to the station, piled into a
cab, and ended up at the B&B we’re staying at. For the first time on this
trip, we’re a bit away from the CBD and in a not very good part of the town.
The B&B itself is quite pretty and we’re very comfortable (Cathy reclines
in the bath as I type), and the street we’re on is quite pretty, but the main
roads surrounding this area aren’t so good. We’re in the insane part of town –
no, seriously; people talk to themselves, and (even more disconcertingly) laugh
along with themselves, but this morning we walked into the CBD (only a 15
minute walk or so) and I admit to being a bit surprised. I thought Toronto was
the most populous city in Canada but if today’s impression of the city is
anything to go by, it has really let itself go.
But on the upside, we went to the Art Gallery of Ontario and
discovered Ian Baxter& (the ampersand is not a typo). Look him up <http://www.ago.net/theandman>.
I’d never heard of him before but the exhibition was probably the best I’d ever
seen of an artist I’d previously not heard of, and I wish I’d hung onto a few
old cathode-ray televisions because something of his on display gave me a
brilliant idea. I’ll be looking into his stuff more when we get back. Following
this, we saw an exhibition of photography by Berenice Abbott <http://www.ago.net/berenice-abbott-photographs>
who photographed New York City in the 1930s, amongst a bunch of other things.
Very impressive. We then walked to the Kensington markets where we ate lunch,
then ended up playing chess and enjoying the sun at a rooftop bar in the middle
of the CBD. Might go out tonight, might not; will play it by ear.
Hope everyone at home is well and happy. Thinking of you
all.
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