Niagara....falls

It’s been a hectic week as I recently returned from a conference in Niagara Falls, which included a much too short visit with friends in Toronto. That was a welcome bonus and the highlight of the trip.

While the conference was good, the down time between meetings, seminars and listening to keynote speakers was a let down. Yes, I did the Maid of the Mist tour – it’s a given when in Niagara Falls - and it was great.

What was truly surprising and very disappointing was just tacky and dirty the place has become. I was there twenty years ago and boy has the place changed – not the Falls of course, which are magnificent, but the region close to it.

The place was dirty and wall-to-wall with cheap souvenir shops and what seemed to be an endless number of wax museums. Throw in bars that appeared to allow 14 year olds to get in and you have tacky redefined. And if you travel a kilometre of two you’ll find yourself in the seedy underbelly of Niagara Falls. It’s not a place you’d want to travel alone late at night.

One delegate at the conference whose spoke French, but is working to improve her English, said one new English word she learned was "tacky". It really is a place to avoid. So if you find yourself in the Niagara area, visit the Falls and then stick to the areas like Niagara-on-the-Lake and take in the tours of the vineyards. Beautiful country and far from tacky.