NIAGARA TOURIST: IT'S ALL ABOUT THE 'SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS' IN NIAGARA FALLS

Kristi and George
Our partners in crime

My sister and her beau just arrived home from a 5-star Carribean Cruise. That reminded me how much I needed a vacation. It also reminded me that I was not in a position to take a vacation at the moment.

The obligatory shot in front of the casino

WAIT! Not so fast! The great thing about living in the Niagara area is that you can be a Niagara Tourist anytime you need to recharge. So-that is exactly what I did. First I found an deal on a hotel room at the Niagara Fallsview Casino. Well, actually I found a free room which doesn't happen everyday. Then I found four free concert tickets to the Spirit of Christmas at the Avalon Ballroom in the Fallsview Casino. What I couldn't find was a free restaurant for the four of us so we decided to bring our own food to the hotel room and eat before the dinner. In some circles that might sound 'downright cheap'. In our circle, we refer to this as 'downright cheap'. Everyone showed up at the room at 7:00 and the feast got underway. The menu consisted of a roast and au jus in the crockpot, Kaiser rolls, lots of toppings for the roast and buns, potato salad and of course banana cake. We liked the 'in room' dining as we could talk as loud as we wanted, had the best 'fallsview' seats in the house and drink and food refills were free free free! I think the casino discourages this practice because they make sure that they put a bathroom scale in every hotel room.

The show 'The Spirit of Christmas' was a musical review and it really did put us girls into the mood for Christmas. The very scantily dressed chorus line put the men into the mood as well, however not the Christmas mood that we were feeling.

I managed to snap this one with
my blackberry before getting caught

Taking pictures at these shows is strictly forbidden and it's always somewhat of a thrill to try and snap one quickly before the 'photo cops' come with their hand held beacons, trying to scope out the offending shutter bug. We were in the 17th row which by all means was good except that the guy in front of me had an extraordinarily tall head which blocked my unobstructed view. I was forced to bob my head back and forth from left to right so that I cold see at least half the stage at any given moment. All in all, with tickets starting at 20$ a piece, it was a great show with some fantastic acts, dancing and voices. For more information on the Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort, click on the link.

NOTE TO THE GENTLEMEN: We ladies understand that it may be hard not to gaugle at the 'can can' girls that are wearing next to nothing. Just to be on the safe side, you should turn to your date no less than four times throughout the performance and gazing into her eyes, say "Have I told you yet how beautiful you look this evening."

Some of our view from the room
at the Fallsview Casino Resort

After the show we headed back to the room for a nightcap, a great view of the lights on the Falls from out window and then in true middle-aged rebellion, we passed around the smoke free electronic cigarette that I had picked up at a truck stop a while back. GOOD STUFF!!

Tony and I woke up to the best view of the falls early in the morning. The water was low, as they were diverting much of it for hydro electric power and the mist was think but it certainly made us feel like we were on vacation.

Our neighbour John 'Hippi' Ediger
was in the band

On Saturday night we also attended a local Christmas Concert at St. Ann's Church on Desson Avenue in Niagara Falls. Put on by 'Curtains Up! Productions', it was a dinner and full night of homegrown entertainment. Proceeds from the event went to help numerous worthwhile local charities including Bethlehem Place, ARID, GNGH Palliative Care, Osteoporosis Society and more. Our neighbour was playing bass in the band. We hardly recognized him with his tux on, until we got closer and realized that he forget to wear his shoes.

There sure is some great talent out there, ready to get you into the "Spirit of Christmas".

Let me know if you have attended or will be attending any great Christmas concerts in the area or if you're planning to play 'Niagara Tourist' anytime soon. I will post the events on the new event page!