prone to wander

back in May- which happens to be almost two whole months ago, you guys- I had the pleasure of visiting with a lot awesome people. after my sister and her boyfriend visited us here in nyc, I hopped a train up to Ontario to visit my bestie, Caitlin, who has been on this blog, oh I don't know, about a million times. 

it's become sort of a tradition for us to travel together in the spring of the year (see posts tagged "Caitlin trip" and "road trip" for our previous adventures!), but this year neither of us really had the time or the means to take a big vacation. instead, we met up in Niagara Falls, where Caitlin was attending a conference and I could easily afford the train ticket. it was just a short visit, but it was so good to see my friend!

we walked to the Falls on a particularly drizzly and somber afternoon.

it was so great to spend time with this face!

we escaped a sudden thunderstorm in Planet Hollywood, where we had noontime alcoholic beverages and Caitlin really ticked off Rocky.

since we were in "wine country" and all, we decided on a whim to take a tour of a winery in Niagara Valley. we went to Inniskillan Estate Winery, which is the largest supplier of ice wines in the world (so I guess our haphazard choice was a good one). we got a guided tour of the facilities with a little lesson on how wine was made there, particularly the ice varieties, then we had a tasting of five different wines. if I remember correctly, all of that only cost $35, and we were good 'n tipsy by the time we left, so not a bad way to spend an afternoon. the guides were really nice too.

I wore my "going to a vineyard" hat so that I would look like a lady while getting my drink on.

once Caitlin's conference was over, we bused it to Toronto for a couple days. we did some shopping and exploring and swimming in our hotel pool, but the main event once again featured alcohol (this is not making me sound so great in retrospect, but I swear, we did other things!). I discovered Urban Adventures and signed us up for the "beer makes history better" tour. it was a walking tour of the  downtown distillery district, and it was fantastic! I already left rave reviews on the website and on trip advisor, so I won't go on about it, but you guys really need to check out this tour. it was just the two of us and the guide, and we had such a good time and I actually feel like I learned a lot about beer! ok swoon over. 

our last stop on the beer tour was the Mill St. Brewery, where we decided to stay for dinner. this meal of course featured more beer, and a shot of beer schnapps to go with it, which I never knew existed. it's basically like a whiskey that makes your beer taste better. 

brewery stuff is always so shiny...

this is my favourite picture from the trip. Cait is loving that burger.

the distillery district is a really cool part of Toronto; it has fascinating history and lots of local food and drink. we also got to try sake, butter tarts, and Wayne Gretzky's wine. it's also really pretty with all the red brick and cobbled streets.

on the walk home we came across this lamp post that seemed to be needing a rest from all its hard light-shedding responsibilities... 

on my last day in Toronto (and consequently our last day together) Cait and I had a farewell lunch at the Queen Mother Cafe. it's got kind of an asian fusion-pub food thing going on, and I really enjoyed it. the food was splendid, the menu was varied, and the outdoor patio was quaint. I liked the stone-carved insects that adorned the brick walls. 

my Thai curry noodles!

so that was my little voyage back to Canada. I'm loving New York, but it was nice to do a little traveling. wanderlust hits me hard no matter where I'm living, especially if I'm missing my amazing friends even more than usual. I'm sure there will be many more adventures for us in the future. 

(we mayyy be planning some already...)

♥