Ever flown in one of these before? Well we hadn't, until today :) Video here of us taking off, or lifting off, or whatever it's called a helicopter.

Of the many things Kristina managed to hook us up with for our time in Canada, the coolest would have to be this 20-minute helicopter tour over the small town of Gananoque and the adjacent Thousand Islands archipelago which straddles the Canadian-United States border. There are 1,864 islands in total, stretching for about 50 miles (80km) along the Saint Lawrence River.

The islands are actually the worn-down tops of ancient mountains, and vary in size from the big one here to smaller islands occupied by a single residence. The smallest island of the lot supports just one tree and two shrubs hehe.

That down there is Boldt Castle, on the US side of the border. We'll be doing another (free) boat cruise out to see this tomorrow so I'll bang on about it then.

Our road trips are awesome! ;)

Anyway, after all that fun, we found our cute little accommodation for the night in Gananoque, and went for a wander.

Gananoque is home to about 5,200 according to the sign at the town's border, and looks like any other suburban Canadian town we've been passing through recently.

As cute as the town is, the only thing that really draws the tourists here is the Thousand Islands.

And that was that for another day :)

Our view over breakfast this morning.

The little inn we were staying at has been here for about a century, and the walls have these framed receipts, cheques, and photos from way back in the day. Interesting stuff!

Anyway, I mentioned yesterday that we'd be doing a boat cruise through the Thousand Islands today, and here's that boat, and here's Kristina driving it hehe.

Yesterday we saw the islands from the sky, and today we saw them from sea level. Quick recap: there are 1864 islands in the archipelago straddling the Canada-United States border, stretching for about 50 miles (80km) along the Saint Lawrence River. Many of the islands are inhabited - some barely large enough to support just a single residence. The residences have no direct connection to the mainland except by boat, and given the river pretty much freezes solid in winter, these homes are occupied during the warmer months only.

Big island in the background, tiny island in the foreground. And yes that is a little house on there, complete with potted plants. Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home, apparently.

This is more like it!

This here is purported to be the smallest international bridge in the world, according to local tour operators, but according to Wikipedia that's a load of crap :) The story goes that the island on the left is in Canada while the smaller one on the right is in the United States, and these folk can prepare their dinner in Canada and eat it in the US. However, both islands are in fact in Canada - the border is about 140 metres out of shot to the right.

When I was kid I remember absolutely loving Thousand Island dressing, and I did wonder today if it perhaps originated from this area. Well no one seems to know for sure - the stories behind the condiment's history differ wildly, but regardless the local tourist shops milk it for all it's worth.

The biggest tourist attraction in the islands, besides the islands themselves, is Boldt Castle here on Heart Island. George Boldt, general manager of the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York, and his family would stay on the island during the summer months. Then in 1900, Boldt launched an ambitious construction campaign to build a six-story "castle" as a present to his wife, one of the largest private homes in America. However, construction of the castle ceased abruptly in 1904 after the death of Boldt's wife. Fast forward 73 years and the island was acquired by the Thousand Islands Bridge Authority for one dollar, and they went on to spend some $15 million for restoration and improvements with work continuing annually, funded by revenues obtained from the castle's operation as a tourist attraction.

Would have been a nice front entrance to come home to.

The island also has its own power house, originally built to hold a generator to supply the island with... power, but is now basically a museum of the castle's construction.

So, after a fun afternoon cruising through the islands, followed by three hours in the car, we're now in Toronto - Canada's largest city and our final stop in the country until we cross into western Canada in about a month and a half.

Bit of a gloomy morning with rain forecasted throughout the day, though it seemed to miss us completely, which is nice.

We're staying in the heart of Downtown Toronto, complete with grazing cows hehe. I'm not sure what they're all about, except they've been here since 1985. Anyway, with umbrellas ready to go, we spent the day exploring the area.

So a bit about Toronto. It's the result of several amalgamations of adjacent municipalities over time, the latest in 1998, and is now Canada's largest and most populous city with 2.6 million calling it home. Toronto is Canada's commercial capital and, as seems to be case for most of Canada's major cities, it consistently ranks highly in various quality of life/living surveys. When I was living in the UK and was toying with the idea of later relocating to Canada, Toronto was one of two cities I was considering (the other being Vancouver). I eventually ended up in New York anyway so it didn't matter :) By the way, the bloody big thing on the right is the CN Tower - the tallest free-standing structure in the Western Hemisphere. More on that tomorrow.

If anything has been blaringly obvious to me during our time in Canada it's that cycling is huge here, but not with this guy. This is former Toronto mayor Rob Ford, famous for being the subject of a number of personal controversies and legal proceedings during his time in office, including public drunkenness, drinking and driving, and smoking crack cocaine hehe. He was also very outspoken about his contempt for cyclists, and was once quoted as saying "The cyclists are a pain in the ass to the motorists." As Mayor he opposed the installation of bike lanes and had others removed.

Toronto is one of the very few cities in North America (and the only city in Canada) to retain its streetcars. I'm guessing Rob Ford was ok with them, even though they're also a bit of a pain in the ass for motorists, because their tracks are notorious for jamming bike wheels and sending cyclists flying off their bikes.

While wandering round we called into St. Lawrence Market for lunch, founded in 1803 and named the world's best food market by National Geographic in 2012. We just had some fruit so I couldn't really comment on that claim :)

Nearby is the historic Distillery District, containing numerous cafes, restaurants, and shops housed within heritage buildings of the former Gooderham and Worts Distillery, once the largest distiller of alcoholic beverages in Canada.

The Gooderham and Worts Distillery was founded in 1832 and was bought out in later years by a competitor before being closed in 1990. What's left is the largest collection of Victorian-era industrial architecture in North America. Goody.

Back in Downtown we have Old City Hall...

...and right next door we have the 'new' City Hall, though 50 years old now. Toronto is currently hosting the Pan Am Games so there's a bit of random entertainment going here right now.

Toronto is plonked on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario, and later in the day we took the short ferry ride out to the Toronto Islands - a chain of small islands located just offshore from the city centre. The islands are a popular recreational destination, and are home to a small residential community (of mostly weirdoes).

The islands comprise the largest urban car-free community in North America, so cycling and walking are the primary modes of transport. As a result, this is a typical street.

I can't seem to find any information on how many folk permanently reside out here, but their homes range from neat and tidy...

...to unkempt, beat up, and falling apart hehe.

We had dinner at this little place hiding in the trees, situated beside this long wooden boardwalk overlooking Lake Ontario. If you head far enough in that general direction, you'll eventually end up in New York State. The lack of vehicular traffic makes the islands a calm and almost tranquil little spot, if not for the damn bugs constantly trying to eat you.

The view looking back towards Downtown Toronto. Those bugs had a fucking feast while I was working on this shot!

First order of business today, apart from Kristina going shopping and me going back out to the Toronto Islands to get the shot on the left, was going up the CN Tower, to look at things back down on the ground. Standing 1,815 feet (553m) tall, the tower was completed in 1976 as a TV and radio communication platform to serve the Toronto area, at which time it became the world's tallest free-standing structure and world's tallest tower. It held both records for 34 years until the completion of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai (which we've also been up) in 2010. Today it is now the third-tallest tower in the world, and remains the tallest free-standing structure in the Western Hemisphere. The shot on the right is overlooking Downtown Toronto, which apparently has the third-most skyscrapers in North America exceeding 656 feet (200m) in height, behind New York City and Chicago respectively.

The tower has two observation areas: the one we're in at 1,122 feet (342m) in the air, and one at 1,465 feet (447m), for an extra fee of course. On the left is looking northwest over the city; centre is the Toronto Islands; right is looking southwest in the direction we'll be driving out tomorrow, with the Rogers Centre stadium directly below.

Glass floor, looking 342m straight down. It took a lot of coercion to get Kristina on here hehe.

Selfie!

My lunch - something of a tower itself, with the view of Downtown in the background.

Later in the day we packed up the car and drove all of two miles north to the neighbourhood of Yorkville, well known for its shopping. It reminded us of New York's Fifth Avenue and Upper East Side.

And these are our quarters for the night hehe - a very fancy affair that Kristina tried to hook us up with for our entire stay here, but could only squeeze one free night out of them. Given the average room goes for $500 a night I'm not surprised, but we'll take it!

The hallways are covered with photos of rock stars, actors and other celebrities who I assume have stayed here at some point. We've got Mick Jagger opposite our door, and Kristina spotted Scott Speedman staying in the room three doors down from us. I'd never heard of him, but he's best known for starring in some girly TV drama.

Elsewhere in the hotel we have a swimming pool with a fire place...

...and a "healing salt cave", which is basically a cold room filled with salt imported from Poland that you sit around in for a while, and it, umm, 'heals' you, or some bullshit. Whatever - I'm off to enjoy the hot tub in our bathroom now :) Tomorrow we have a six-hour drive back into the US (officially this time - we've actually crossed the border three times since entering Canada) and down to stay with Kristina's college buddy for a few days, and punish her washing machine.

This is how we road trip!

After a week and a half in Canada, we started the drive back to the US via Niagara Falls - my third visit here hehe. Niagara Falls straddles the Canada-United States border, and is a collective name for three separate waterfalls: the American Falls and the Bridal Veil Falls in the shot on the left, and the massive Horseshoe Falls in the shots centre and right. The combined falls form the highest flow rate of any waterfall in the world. The best views are from here on the Canadian side, and last time I was on this side it was the middle of winter and much of it was frozen solid, which is also an impressive sight!

The mist pouring off the falls thoroughly coats everything, and everybody hehe. The hard life of a photographer :)

From there it was the usual 20 questions at the border crossing, and then a long drive down to Pennsylvania to stay with Kristina's mate in Pittsburgh for a couple days.