When we collected the car the owner and his son stood talking to us asking us about our travels. Dan senior and Dan junior (just so American and exactly how they introduced themselves to us) suggested that we head to Thousand Islands and Alexandria Bay which they thought were the most beautiful parts of New York State. As these were sort of on our route we decided to do just that. With no further car problems we hitched up, said our thank you to the Camping World staff, and we were out of there and on our way again. Thousand Islands is right on the border with Canada but we didn't cross, but stayed on the U.S. side of the river as we were not in the mood for border problems. Unfortunately it was raining and nor we weren't quite in the mood for taking a boat trip in the drizzly rain. From what I have read, and the short time we spent in Alexandria Bay and the fact that there were lots of holidaymakers around, I am sure it is a lovely place to stay. After checking out the wharf and town and seeing Boldt Castle on an island in the bay we continued on a short way and found a lovely camping area overlooking the river. Saturday morning we continued on this time heading to the area called "Adirondack" which is in the mountain area of New York State where there are numerous lakes. We hadn't planned on staying but the area was so nice we just had too. We booked into Fish Creek Pond Campground which is part of the National Park at Saranac Lake and we were lucky enough to have a site right on the lake front. The campground was clearly very popular with something like 350 sites but they were spread right around the edge of two large adjoining lakes and off into the forested areas as well. For a National Park the camp was very well serviced with individual camp fire pits and outdoor tables, toilets, water, rubbish collection but no power or sewerage hook ups. One of the interesting things is that domestic pets are allowed in National Parks as long as they are on a leash, and it seemed that every camper had a dog! Sunday morning we had a tremendous thunder storm, something we have had quite a few of. We were so pleased that we had left the car connected to the van which made for an easy pack up. We headed to Lake Placid, just three quarters an hour or so away. Lake Placid hosted two Olympic Winter Games - the first in 1932 and the second in 1980. It was a very busy shopping strip full of eateries and lots of people out enjoying the sun. It was a challenge to find a car park where we fitted with the caravan on, but we did and could have a look around. We visited the Olympic Museum and also the two ice skating rinks, the first from 1932 and the second from 1980 where the events were held. These rinks are both still used regularly and just on the previous night there had been an ice skating event - sorry we missed it. We didn't miss the eateries though! In the distance in the horizon we could see the very high ski jumps so we had to check them out. Luck was definitely on our side this time. We were invited to go part way down the stairs so we had a better view to see a 19 year old professional perform a jump - we didn't turn down that chance. It was certainly impressive. Time to continue on - we had a border crossing to do and we had had experience with those before. My mind was going through "what food do we have on board". We eventually arrived at the USA / Canadian border and queued for about three quarters of an hour with many other vehicles as it was late Sunday afternoon. This time we were fine - a cheery welcome to Canada and a stamp in the passports and we were on our way. Perhaps it is only entering into the USA which is a problem, or an over zealous government employee last time. The city of Montreal is close to the border and we booked into a camp ground for a couple of nights on the outskirts of the city. Next day our plan to take public transport into the city didn't eventuate - it was going to be ninety minutes on the bus, no trains nearby, and only twenty minutes by car. The car won out, and much to Pete's frustration he endured both Gypsy (our GPS) and my help to drive into the city. Luck was with us, we found a two hour car park on the street beside the Notre Dame. The car parks are numbered and by entering your car park number into any other parking machine you punch in your car park number and can pay for extended parking. We stayed in the same park all day just swiping the credit card as we got close to time. Great system - no rushing to get back to your metre to pay again. The Notre Dame Basilica is a classic masterpiece. It was built between 1824 and 1829 and the paintings and sculptures and numerous stained-glass windows tell the Biblical story and history of the parish. We have visited many, many churches during this trip and many other trips but they are always a draw card for tourists. We are no different so joined the queue, paid our $5 entry each and we weren't disappointed. We knew that Quebec was French speaking but we were quite surprised at how little English was available. The road signs and signs in the camping ground were all in French only. Fortunately the road signs also have the highway numbers, and show pictures of a gas pump, picnic tables etc. We rely on Gypsy (GPS) and pictures if looking for gas etc. We wandered down to the Montreal waterfront and then the Old Town in Montreal and decided that people watching from our outdoor restaurant table was a very enjoyable way to experience Montreal. I am always amazed at the footwear that some women wear when they know they are going to old town areas with cobblestone streets. Watching them struggling as they walk even looks painful. These streets are certainly not wheelchair or stroller friendly. I had heard of the underground pedestrian network which is some 32 kilometres of underground tunnels under the central city. There are some 2,000 shops and restaurants, ten major hotels, museums, theatres and a university on this network and I was keen to see it. I have to say we were quite disappointed. It was difficult to find (any signage was only in French), but eventually a kind man in a hairdressers assisted us and we found ourselves in amongst the shops. It seemed more like being in an underground railway station. Of course walking in subways in all directions we soon found ourselves very disorientated. Eventually we made our way back up to the street level then the challenge was to find our way back to the car. Over an hour later, with the help (and sometimes unhelpful) advice from people we eventually got back to the Notre Dame and our car. To say that was difficult is an understatement. Exhausted, we decided to return to the caravan and call it a day. Certainly not the best touring day we have had. We had another city visit just a couple of days later - this time Quebec City. A helpful couple camped near us advised us to get a ferry from Levi's (where we were staying) into Quebec City. The ferry was a challenge to find (no where on line could we find the actual address of the terminal and the people didn't know it) but eventually after a few false starts and a couple of 'phone calls we made it to the terminal. The ferry ride was only a few minutes across the St Lawrence River and berthed in the old town just below the funicular. This was perfect and we enjoyed wandering around the old town before taking the funicular to the top. Being in Quebec is just like being in Paris, much more than Montreal is. We loved it. Again lunching in the main square, watching the street theatre, was really enjoyable and it would be very easy to sit for hours. However we wanted to see other sights so walked off our lunch. I will leave it to the photos to tell their story. Leaving Quebec we decided to take the lesser road which follows the St Lawrence River than take the highway. This route is called the Navigators Route and all the way along there are holiday homes, farms and fishing ports. The farms were really interesting. Of course the animals are all housed due to the severity of the winters and it seemed that the animals mostly remain in the sheds during the summer too. We left the river at Riviera du Loop (such an interesting name) to commence our trip eastwards. Other than when we have decided to take the lesser roads we have been travelling on dual highways of at least four lanes. The majority are in excellent condition but sometimes the surfaces are quite rough and we assume that they get broken up during the winter with the snow ploughs working. Would love to visit, just for a day or so, to see the area completely covered in snow, and the rivers frozen over with the ice breakers working but that's not going to happen so we just have to rely on pictures and imagine it.