Anna's Adventures

Might I say that this is the cutest, picturesque town I’ve ever been to! It’s like setting foot right onto a Hallmark movie scene. During our trip to Niagara Falls, we decided to take the bus and spend the day exploring Niagara on the Lake, otherwise known as NOTL. The bus ride was around 30ish minutes making this the perfect day trip spot. I wish I had more time to visit during our trip but, that just means I’ll have to come back!

our day trip to notl:

Like I previously mentioned, we started the day by hopping on the bus from Niagara Falls, Canada. Luckily for us there was a bus stop right near our hotel, so we didn’t have to walk far to be picked up. We also booked the Niagara Falls “Wonder Pass” which included free transportation on the bus. Otherwise, I want to say the shuttle was around $10-$12 per person.

The bus was a little crowded but we were able to get on. By the time we made a few stops, the crowd did thin out. The biggest drop off was at the Amtrak Station! Overall the bus ride was around 30 minutes long, so not too bad at all. The bus doesn’t actually take you into the city but it drops you off pretty close. We got off the bus at Fort George, and they had restrooms and little office that you could ask questions if needed. The walk into town is about 7ish minutes and it is paved the whole way!

Our first stop in Niagara on the Lake was to grab some coffee! We chose Balzac’s Coffee Roasters and we were not disappointed. The cafe itself was super cute, and trendy! Right up my alley. I saw Fritters on the Lake out of the corner of my eye. Mainly because I was distracted by this sweet little family that was just raving over their ice cream and apple fritters. So naturally, our next stop was Fritters on the Lake. If I could mail some of these fritters to myself right now I would! They were that delicious! We chose cinnamon sugar & caramel sauce as our toppings, and enjoyed the fritters with our coffee on a patio outside of the shop.

Once we finished up we decided to walk to Queen’s Royal Park to dip our feet in water. Well….when we got there the water was closed due to high levels of bacteria. We definitely did not anticipate that so we ended up just hanging around the park to people watch, and to take some photos. Queen’s Royal Park was a cool place to see the Niagara River, and you could see downtown Toronto in the distance!

Since we knew we were spending the day in Niagara on the Lake, we made a reservation for afternoon tea at The Drawing Room at the Prince of Wales Hotel. My goodness you guys, this place was like a fairytale! The hotel was immaculately decorated, and the old school vibe was picture perfect. Inside the drawing room was very themed including the wait staff’s attire. No detail was overlooked! The afternoon tea included a tea of choice, finger sandwiches, and pastries. I don’t remember what tea my husband ordered, but I picked the peaches & cream tea and I loved it!

After we stuffed our faces with all the delightful pastries and scones, we needed to take a walk before heading back to the shuttle. We shopped along Queen Street, and picked up some goodies at Greaves Jams & Marmalades. This was the cutest shop with homemade jams and jellies. I’d say this is was the perfect souvenir for our trip. I did some retail therapy at a local gift shop nearby. I can’t remember the name of the store but it was filled with merchandise with “Niagara on the Lake” on it. I picked a baseball hat, and sweatshirt.

We were just about to head out for the day until we ran across Budapest Bakeshop, and they were advertising chimney cakes…. Now you’re probably like me and thinking what the heck is a chimney cake?! It’s basically a cake shaped like a chimney. HA! We ordered one to-go and headed back to the bus stop. We thought we were going to wait to eat the cake once we got on the bus but we just couldn’t help ourselves and decided to do a little taste test. We were in heaven after one bite! You got to choose the filling, and we picked the walnut cheesecake spread and I think we made the best choice.

MUST SEE: NIAGARA ON THE LAKE

• Greaves Jams & Marmalades
• Queen’s Royal Park

MUST EAT: NIAGARA ON THE LAKE

• The Drawing Room at the Prince of Wales Hotel
• Balzac’s Coffee Roasters
• Fritters on the Lake
• Budapest Bakeshop