So we have made it to Toronto in one piece, and the last stage of our journey. The last bit of the drive around the edge of the great lakes probably was the most tedious, but we had been told that it would be, by several Canadians. The drive around the northern edge of Lake Superior is listed by lonely planet as one of the most spectacular drives in the world, unfortunately the rain that we had at Thunder Bay continued and the road and lake were bathed in mist for most of the journey. One much appreciated highlight was the sighting of a moose on the side of the road, having a drink. So we risked causing an accident, pulled onto the hard shoulder and patiently waited for him to pose for us, and yes they are big!

We stopped at Sault Ste Marie (pron; soo san muree) for a walk around. A lovely city on the coast of Lake Huron that grew due to the large locks that allow ocean going vessels to get into Lake Superior enroute to Thunder Bay. The Soo, as it is known to the locals, is also right on the border with the USA, where there is another Sault Ste Marie. We were able to look across the narrow stretch of water to Michigan, U.S.A.

We then spent a few nights at Niagara-on-the-Lake, so that we could go and visit those water falls nearby. We have seen a lot of impressive waterfalls on our travels, but we definitely saved the grand daddy of them all until last. They are certainly very large. The Niagara Peninsula has a fairly new circular cycle path, so we were able to hire bikes for a couple of days and cycle the 10km from our campsite to the city of Niagara where the main attractions are. The city pass allows us to immerse ourselves in the whole tourist experience; Maid of the mist, Journey behind the falls, White water walk, Imax film, Niagara hydro-electric power plant and "Niagara, the fury" (a virtual reality 'ride'- the least impressive). Incidentally Eric was in a porn film once called "Inch of Fury"! Anyway, moving on, it was a real treat after several days of endless driving to leave the camper in the same place for 3 nights. Eric spent the whole of the visit to the falls comparing the American and Canadian side, pointing out how much better the views from the Canadian side are. The Clifton Hill area of the city is a cross between Las Vegas and Blackpool, not to our taste but you could stay here for a week and you would never be short of things to do.

Enroute to Toronto we stopped at the Welland Canal visitor centre and watched some freighters going down the staircase of locks between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. The canal bypasses the Niagara river (and of course the falls) to make the last link in the St Lawrence Seaway. Whilst it is not as busy as it has been in the past, this is still an important transport link for Canada carrying grain and fossil fuels from the central Canadian provinces.

We returned our campervan to the depot on the outskirts of Toronto, where we had the first of our two Phileaus Fogg moments, by returning it a day early. However, when we told the rental people about a few minor problems that we had had; the toilet sink did not work, the front fell off of the bath room cabinet, a broken drawer and the visit from the mouse (accompanied by photos!) they refunded us the day. The mouse in particular freaked the lady behind the desk out. She told us that it would cost CAD$75 to get a cab from where we were into the city centre, so we enquired about a bus. They knew of a bus route on the main road near the depot that would connect us to one that would take us to the city centre,and she said that the bus was due to pass at about 11:00am that morning and to just flag it down as the driver was a regular customer of theirs. So we sat on the corner with our luggage and duly waited. A little after 11, sure enough, a bus matching the description came down the road, so we jumped up and waved our hands in the air frantically. As it came closer we realised that it was 'out of service'. The driver did stop, to see if he could help us. When we explained our problem he offered us a lift to a bus stop that would connect with the Toronto subway. Abby enquired about the fare and he said 'don't worry, I took this job about 6 months ago because I like talking to people, so it will relieve the boredom if I have someone to chat with for part of my journey'. We are not sure if that would have ever happened in the UK. So we got into Toronto for under CAD$10 between us.

Our arrival in Toronto was on the Friday after Michael Jackson died. There was a summer festival in Dundas square, near our hotel, in the middle of the city. Nearly every day there was some free entertainment; A Bangra band (from Birmingham UK funnily enough), the Canadian speed texting championships (!)," The Man who Knew Too Much" with Doris Day and James Stewart in the outdoor cinema, and local DJ's put together a tribute to Michael Jackson. Whilst we appreciate that similar things were happening in cities all over the world, it was quite a priviledge to be present at such a time. Whatever you might think of Mr Jackson the fanclub with posters and candles, the size of the crowd, the spontaneous dancing made it all quite an emotional experience. All in all it has been a good time to visit. This past week has been gay pride week, culminating in the parade on Sunday. Gay pride is a big deal in Toronto attracting 1 million vistitors for the day. Canada is considered a very tolerant country, it was the 4th country in the world to legalize same sex marriage and Toronto was the first place to enact the law. The parade was like a massive carnival with every local employer sponsoring a float to illustrate their support for LGBT (lesbial, gay, bisexual and transgender) from the subway system to television and newspapers as well as several political parties. Apart from that it felt a bit like freshers week at university where you could join clubs and societies for; gay hockey or rugby, a whole gay soccer league, lesbian lindy hop, the lesbian and gay chorus, gay rodeo or square dancing or even gay naturists. We went to one of the 8 stages and watched some 80's bands; Cutting Crew, Wang Chung and ABC all for free. There were some outrageous outfits and as the drink started to flow we left when the party appeared to be beginning as we were not sure what was going to happen next. The 1st of July was Canada Day, a bank holiday. Down at the harbour front there was lots of stalls, buskers, free maple leaf flags, free samples, etc.