Beau chapeau

I'm happy to say  I did manage to find a couple hours to do a little exploring of Niagara-on-the-Lake while I was there.

First, let me say,  I actually know the town very well.  I was a journalist in the area for a couple of years, and covered lots of events and goings on. But I've never had time to experience it purely for pleasure.

We were staying at the Pillar and Post Hotel, which is just a short walk from the main town centre, so I set off on foot

The pic is a little blurry, but that's what most of my walk looked like.... a beautiful street lined with huge, old trees. How old...?

Well, just look at the size of that maple leaf (with my dainty size 7 foot for scale). NotL seems to be having a better fall experience than we are, though it's just a 40 minute drive from home.

 Just look at that pretty oak tree.
And the main street is just as lovely...

And lots of great little stores tucked into all those pretty buildings.

I didn't go in this one (it looked like clothing far too costly for my budget) but I loved that name.
My main destination was a little different..

A fantastic little hat shop called Beau Chapeau. I've known of it's existence for years but have never made it in. The hat selection is amazing.... with most well out of my price range (like $300-400 for a hat)

But I found this sweet little cloche that was much more reasonable, so naturally it followed me home.

After that it was a quick stop here to get Dave a little souvenir, then lunch is a lovely Irish pub (haddock and chips!)

And back to the hotel (which is lovely in itself, so it's not too terrible being cooped up)

But now I'm happy to be hatted and home with my little fur babies, where I belong!