Yesterday morning, I left Gina’s house at 7:45, shortly after she went to work. It was a cloudy day again, but it didn’t rain. I rode my bike on the Tonawanda rails to trails bike path to North Tonawanda and stopped at Figmor restaurant for an omelette. It was perfectly made and filled me up.
Google Maps somehow wanted me to ride on the shoulder and not the trail that’s parallel to the road. The bike trail must be new because I didn’t see it on Google Maps. I was lucky the shoulder was wide enough for me to ride on.
Soon, I arrived in Niagara Falls. I walked my bike along the Niagara Falls State Park and took many photos.
When I was crossing the Rainbow Bridge to Canada, the price to get across the bridge was one US dollar or one Canadian dollar for bicycles. I was glad to have brought about seven Canadian dollars and paid in Canadian currency. I was surprised the price wasn’t higher when using Canadian money since the exchange rate is $1 USD to $1.38 CAD.
I had no issue with Canadian immigration. The guy asked me how much money is in my checking account, how long will I stay in Canada, where I'm going, and if I carry any weapons.
Niagara Falls is better on the Canada side so I took many photos of the falls from there before started riding again toward St. Catharines, where I’ll be staying with a Couchsurfing host.
I had my first meal in Canada at Pho 18, a Vietnamese restaurant in Thorold where I had a delicious bowl of pho.
After lunch, I cycled all the way to St. Catharines and arrived at 1:30 PM. I had ridden 34.4 miles.
My current plan is to go to Toronto, then head east to Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City, and Halifax. If there’s enough room in the ferry going to Newfoundland and Labrador then I’ll go to St. Johns. I’ll be taking a flight from either Halifax or St. Johns to Europe then continue cycle east.
Joe is my host. He has traveled extensively and has been to 101 countries. He’s hosted about 400 people on Couchsurfing. I was glad he was able to host me.
After taking a shower, I walked with Joe to FreshCo, a supermarket nearby, and I purchased a few things. The prices are cheaper than US. Then adding the favorable exchange rate it’s even cheaper than I expected.
After coming back from the grocery store, Joe made some pierogies for dinner and we ate in his backyard. I soon went to sleep before the sunset again.
This morning, I woke up at 5:30. Joe had bought me a box of maple crème cookies, as he does for all his guests. I will eat some of that this morning before I ride about 40 miles to Hamilton today.
 |
| The perfect omelette at Figmor restaurant |
 |
| A bike trail and a bike path |
 |
| Getting into Niagara Falls. |
 |
| Niagara Falls on the American side |
 |
| Crossing the Rainbow Bridge to Canada. |
 |
| Niagara Falls on the Canadian side |
 |
| Mandatory selfie |
 |
| One of the falls |
 |
| The more impressive fall |
 |
| Riding through a tunnel. |
 |
| A large bowl of pho at Pho 18 |
 |
| Joe's favorite mural by his house |
 |
| My Couchsurfing host Joe |
 |
| Maple creme cookies, a gift from Joe |
St. Catherine's is really a lovely town. I am considering migrating to there to get away from the calamity of the US.
ReplyDeleteYou should! It's a small town though. You might consider Hamilton, which is closer to Toronto and a little bigger.
DeleteI thought you were traveling West across Canada.
ReplyDeleteI changed my mind. I might catch more tailwind if I go east.
DeleteGotta try those maple crème cookies! They sound delicious!
ReplyDeleteThey are OK.
Delete