5th day of our mini-moon (September 21, 2006)

We had a quick McDonald's sausage McMuffin and orange juice because we wanted to make sure that we won't get trapped in the huge Toronto traffic. At 11:00am we were checked out and after a while, we got our Sebring Chrysler in dark blue from Budget Rent-A-Car. Niagara-on-the-Lake, here we come!!! ;)

We drove the QEW highway and it was seamless. It was a clear, quite sunny day and we had SunChips on the way to our 'honeymoon' destination. ;) We passed by Oakville - and we will make sure to stop by next time as we were quite nervous we would get lost - that we just stuck it out in the QEW to get to the Niagara region.

On the way to Niagara, you can definitely see the vast expanse of Lake Ontario - and yes, it's a REAL lake - not man-made! :) Getting into the main avenues, you'll see lots of vineyards - from small players to big world-class ones and B&I were both getting just so thrilled to finally get into the honeymoon mode! :) Relaxing, laid back but absolutely stunning and charming - that's how we can describe the beautiful Niagara Peninsula.

At about 1pm, we finally reached 85 Melville St. - our next home for the next 2 nights will be Harbour House Hotel. Rated #1 in the Tripadvisor.com for it's boutique style hotel, we were very certain that we are getting our money's worth when a very helpful staff greeted us and showed us our room.

We were billeted in the 2nd floor's corner room (Room 203) - overlooking the small marina and we have the jetted tub! How divine!!!!! What equally stunned us was the tons of freebies waiting for us by the small nook: two bottled water (that are replensihed every afternoon), a package of freshly made chocolate chip cookies with a welcome note from the General Manager, a cute stationery as a keepsake (only, they spelled B's name wrong, lol) and a box of heavenly truffle!!! WOW!!! Loved everything in it! :)

Every 4:00pm, there is a free wine tasting on the foyer. Wine and cheese galore while for the 'dry' folks, they can feast on other freshly made goodies - and so, it worked perfectly for us. I was sampling the brie and the sauvignon blanc while B ate the cookies. lol We happened to meet an older couple from the US who was very gracious and friendly and was chatting us up because they learned that we're honeymoon-ing. ;) Then, the gentleman told B, "Oh, she's (me!) lovely! Is she Hawaiian?!?! :) (hahahaha) To which, B said - no, my wife is Filipina! ;)

On our first night, we had a fantabulous dinner at Charles Inn. It was stately and definitely a gourmand's delight. We were chauffered to Charles Inn and were treated to a 3-course meal. And wow - what a course! B was very awed and was gushing after he looked around and realized that we're the only "young" people in the crowd. :) He kept telling me how he can get used to this, soft music, awesome interior and a candlelit, delicious food. That time, we knew we need to go back to NOTL again! ;) We were served Peller Estates riesling for our Nova Scotia scallops, lamb (for me) and AAA beef (for B), and berry cheesecake (for me) and chocolate souffle (for B). Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh - that's the life!!!! :)

We dipped into our jetted tub after dinner using Judith Jackson spa toiletries, sipping our chocolate afterwards, watching this Irish flick before we hit the sack. Tomorrow is another packed day!!! ;)

To view our Day 5 pictures, click this:

http://good-times.webshots.com/album/555496758SAhPTB