Map from The Great Circle Mapper

Had pancakes and bacon - a typical American meal - for breakfast. I was given a plate with three tubs of syrup and six packets of butter and thought I will never need all that - then my plate arrived. American pancakes are like what we would call Scotch Pancakes but, like most things in America, a lot bigger. Each one is about the size of a saucer/small plate. I was very full by the time I had finished!

I then went to buy a charger for my 'phone as my 240V one won't work. Then we went back to the hotel room and watched the news of more bomb attatcks in London, luckily no one seems to have been killed this time. Why does Islam seem to be the only religion in the world that produces suicide bombers? In the first few centuries of Christianity the church had problems with everyone wanting to be martyrs, but they didn't kill other people at the same time. The nutcase Christian fundamentalists that go round blowing up abortion clinics aren't suicide bombers.

We then had a limo transfer to the airport, checked in fine, on to a flight an hour earlier than the one we were booked on. We then had to go through security. Our bags went through the scanner and then we had to be body scanned and have our bags searched.

It feels a bit intrusive when someone is poking through your wash bag and I must remember not to wear an underwired bra when flying in future!

So, some final thoughts on New York. I like it more now than when I first arrived. I don't think being here in a heatwave helped. However, I do find it a bit noisy and crowded. I am sure people don't need to use car horns as much as they do. The roads are so crowded that you see emergency services stuck in traffic jams when trying to answer emergency calls. I have also been surprised by the number of street stalls there are, one every few yards.

Not a lot to say about the two short flights, got a drink and pretzels on one and just a drink on the other.

We and our luggage all managed to arrive in Buffalo without any problems. We then had a short wait for the transfer to Niagara. This was in a minibus, there were only three passengers, us and a guy from Bermuda going to a friends funeral. A car in front of us on the road seemed to be having a few problems and at one point bounced of the central reservation but we got to the border with no problems. Passports were checked and we had a bit of a grilling from the border guard before being let through.

Our accommodation here is somewhat different to New York. We have our own room in the Rainbow Falls Hostel. It has a bunk bed with a double bed on the bottom and a single on top. Toilets and bathrooms are sown the brightly painted corridor. There is no air conditioning and the weather is still very hot. After checking in we headed into town in search of food. Round the hostel is very quiet,it was nice to be able to walk along and heat the crickets rather than car horns. We then got offered a lift on the Magical Mystery bus, which belongs to the hostel. It is an old school bus which has been given a 60's hippy style make over. Once we had been dropped in the centre of town we quickly found a bar for some beers and food.

Canadian beer is still lager but much better than the American stuff, it has taste and flavour. For dinner Andrew had a huge pizza some of which was put into a box for us to bring back. I had a steak and cheese sandwich with fries and despite not having eaten since breakfast still didn't manage to eat it all.

After that we walked down to the falls.

The centre of Niagara reminds me of an English seaside resort. Gaudy neon signs, ghost trains, fun houses and amusement arcades as well as crazy golf and sweet shops - just like Bridlington. The falls looked beautiful. The lighting effects make the water look like a rainbow of different colours. We then walked back along the river to the hostel which takes about 20mins. Once away from the centre Niagara is very quiet and peaceful. The houses all seem to be mainly wooden - clapboard I think. They have very large verandas and are only two stories high - very different to New York.

Will have to get up early to phone the Australian High Commission.

Day 3    Day 5