Niagara

"Why should the Falls drag me down here at 5 o'clock in the morning? To show me how big they are and how small I am? To remind me that they can get along without any help? All right, so they've proved it. They've had ten thousand years to get independent. What's so wonderful about that? I suppose I could too, only it might take a little more time."

When at home, one of my favourite ways to spend an afternoon is curled up on my red couch with a box of my favourite Hope and Greenwood chocolates, watching an old film. This morning Ollie and I embarked upon a four mile walk around the East End of London, so by this afternoon we were craving some time to relax, get out the chocolates and watch Niagara. I am a real sucker for classic movies, particularly Marilyn Monroe movies but today it was especially relevant to watch as we are in the process of planning our forthcoming trip to Ontario.

Niagara is an old 1950's film noir about a bitter husband (Joseph Cotten), his unfaithful wife (Monroe) and a pair of honeymooners (Max Showalter and Jean Peters) who get caught in their web of lies and scheming behaviour. When this behaviour culminates in murder, events lead to a dramatic ending on the edge of the Falls. The film is shot mainly around horseshoe falls, shows many of the possible viewing points from the Canadian side and the rainbow-coloured night-time light show. The film was also responsible for the rise in the number of newlyweds honeymooning at the halls after its 1953 release.

I have visited Canada once before, but was not lucky enough to see the falls. I flew out with my friend Adrienne (who is, incidentally, Canadian) to see our boyfriends on one of their Stateside tours. Our time on the tour was to take us from Boston, on to Montreal, then to Toronto and finally to Detroit. The reason for us joining this part of the tour was that it incorporated Ollie's 24th birthday and allowed Adrienne to make a visit to her hometown. We were in Montreal less than twenty-four hours - just enough time to take in the Latin Quarter and a few bars. Luckily, we had a couple of days in Toronto. Ollie and I arrived and went straight for a quiet birthday lunch in 7 West and a stroll down Yonge Street, before heading back to Adrienne's native Greektown for dinner at Mezes with the band, crew and anybody else who wanted to join us. The following day we intended to go to the observation deck on the CN Tower, but it was unusually foggy so instead we took a short ferry across to Toronto Island to walk around, eat ice cream and admire the Toronto skyline.

Despite this being a short visit, I found that there was something about Toronto that I really liked. It was metropolitan, but not as crazy as New York. It was creative, but not in the air-kissing LA kind of way. Something about its understated energy just made me feel at home. This is why I am delighted to be going back there again this summer for the wedding of Adrienne and Matt. This time, however, it will not be such a short visit as Ollie and I are planning to spend between two and three weeks there. As well as the stag and hen parties (bachelor and bachelorette to our Canadian friends) and the wedding which will be taking place in the beautiful Prince Edward County, we intend to embark on a more thorough exploration of Ontario including, among other places, Niagara Falls. OK, some believe it has become nothing more than a tacky tourist destination but the fact remains that it is still a beautiful example of Mother Nature and no amount of casinos, boat tours or chain restaurants can detract from it being one of the most spectacular natural sights in the world (aside from this, tack is my guilty pleasure - Vegas, anyone?). I absolutely cannot wait to see it. Before I go, I must watch Niagara again to remind myself of how it all looked in the 1950s so that I can compare. And I truly hope they have those very fetching yellow raincoats featured in the film.