Ottawa Farewell.

Our last sightseeing day in Canada. Things to do before we start dropping the lip!!

Aim for the day was to catch a bus to the section of the Rideau Canal that is open to skaters.  We found the Bus Office in a nearby shopping precinct, with a less than efficient attendant. Despite her vague instructions, we caught the correct bus with the appropriate ticket and headed into the suburbs. Away from the city centre we started to see the familiar two-storey homes of our previous city stops.
It was fun to see the skaters in the distance and to realise that the postcards were a true indicator.

Walking to a viewing point, we watched the family groups, teenagers, competent skaters doing their thing. Dad's skating and pulling children on toboggans behind them were cute. Satisfied with our find, Chris suggested that we catch another bus and find the ice-sculptures.  Dows Lake is an obvious Ottawan playground. Large lake, paddle boats, probably skiing...but not now. Completely frozen. No sculptures either as we were a month early! Never mind, as we enjoyed the walk on the pristine snow and a peek at the preparations being made for toboggans and skaters.
The neighbourhood of Little Italy was nearby and  a walk up the street led us to Simply Biscotti. Coffee and cake. We did not want to eat too much as we had a high-tea to go to at 2.30.

Another bus back to the city. Adjacent to our apt is a modern gallery featuring contemporary art. We decided to visit before our walk to the hotel.   A beautifully designed gallery with a most appealing collection of art. Highlight was a special exhibition by a renowned industrial designer. His work ranged from chairs to cosmetic bottles to chess sets to shoes. All smooth lines. Very creative thinker.

Heather had researched before she had left Oz and had booked us into the Fairmont Hotel Laurier for High Tea. What a totally delightful way to spend our last afternoon.

Not needing a meal, Joey Rideau beckoned for one last drink. Heather wanted the recipe for the peach belini. At our table the two waitresses from earlier came over for a chat and asked whether we had made it to the canal, and of course we had. This was our 3rd visit to this lively bistro. Much to our absolute surprise, just as we were thinking of leaving, the waitresses presented us with a Farewell postcard featuring the canal, and a bottle of Maple Syrup.  An incredibly lovely gesture.

Tomorrow we start the three-plane journey home.

Boston seems so long ago. A month of new experiences in a lovely, interesting part of the world.

We have had fun in beautiful snow, but also been able to move about everyday to seek out the sights. Rain was never a problem and ice only slowed us a little.  We have ticked off our boxes.

Immense Thanks to Heather and Chris for joining me on this small adventure. It truly has been fun.

On the Rideau Canal

Dows Lake, waiting for skaters.

At Hotel Laurier

Part of the genius of Karim Rashid. Rubbish  bins!

Part of the team at Joey Rideau.

Just in the street. 

Ottawa Two and Slushy

A little more snow last night, but the temperature has skyrocketed to between 0 and 2 degrees so well-worn areas have melted and formed over-large puddles at most intersections. Another local condition.

There is a popular area of streets close by to our accomm called the Bytown Market. The aim of the morning was to suss it out. It is an area of trendy single-storey shops and specialty food places. Once again we stumbled onto a pastry/cake shop where the choice was nearly overwhelming. The three of us drank from small bowls, French-style. We were hoping for an area like the fantastic Jean-Talon market, but not to be.
Next aim was the National Art Gallery of Canada. Getting there we passed another impressive monument, this time to honour Canada's long participation in Peace-keeping forces.  The country's recognition of patriotic valour and commitment to fellow-man is heart-warming. We have also noticed a casual multi-cultural mix amongst the population. The thirteen cooks/chefs behind the "Joey Rideau" kitchen counter was prime example.

Once again, the building housing The Gallery was grand and impressive. The three of us went our separate ways and rendez-voused 2 hours later. I particularly wanted to see the subject matter of Canadian artists in comparison to what we know of European and Australian art. It reveals the history of a nation.

Tonight we had also planned to see the light show projected onto Parliament House. This began at 5.30. We filled in our time by buying a "Beaver Tail" and eating it at the cabin like the locals. The Tail is a rectangular pastry shape, elongated to look like a beaver's tail (!!!), fried,  and then topped with sugary combinations that Nth Americans seem to do so extravagantly. We opted for apple and cinnamon, aghast at someone's choice of nutella, smarties and caramel topping.

The lightshow was similar to a laser show during White Night in Melbourne. However, Melbourne could not provide me with a perfect, windless, cloudy sky above an impressive expanse of white snow as the setting. It was nearly another surreal occasion. I loved it.

Time for tea and we sacrificed JR for the ClockTower Brewery. Not as classy but it did the job. Chris was surprised that her bacon and cheese chips turned out to be crisps.  Another local quirk.

Not crisp snow anymore. 

Couldn't drink all of my bowl of chocolate. 

The Big Ben look-alike, not surprising considering the English heritage, would feature in the light show. 

Intrepid runner.

Honouring Peace-keepers. 

I was amused by the young boy who was not amused by the  Rodin sculpture. 

Fur trappers catering for the European market. 

Indulging in a Beaver Tail. 

The child was playing in the snow as if it was sand. Gentle music accompanied the show and everyone watched in silence. 

Snow Queen Ottawa One

Another day of contented grins.

Our birds-eye view his morning revealed an Ottawa blanketed in white. More gasps.  The monotone city was crisis-crossed with black stripes as the night crews ( a terminology we learned about later in the day!) had been clearing the streets and some footpaths to enable the working day to flow unheeded.

We had planned today's route from above, noting parks, lights and historic areas. Although our first destination was not far, there were too many fairytale scenes to make it a quick walk. Finally in the park, Heather saw her first- ever Totem pole.  Walked over a bridge that straddled the Rideau Canal. When fully opened the 7kms that runs through the city is the longest skating rink in the world. Today the scene from the bridge was simply very pretty. To another park where we met a fellow who was clearing the ice from the steps to an impressive War Monument. He was in for an informative chat, hence the night-crew knowledge! We passed significant monuments all day...to The Fallen, Firefighters who have lost their lives, Indigenous contributions to the development of Canada, Cooperation between Nations...all looking more poignant with their white highlights. We wandered past the 19th century solid stone public buildings, built to reflect the status of Ottawa as the capital.

On advice from the security lady in the impressive Library we embarked on a half hour walk to the Museum of Canada. This time a bridge crossing over the Ottawa River.  Must have been lunch time 'cause there were significant numbers of runners passing us! Impressive.  Also learned of the extensive logging industry in days gone by. Lumberjacks cut the timber during winter and stock-piled it here on the river. In spring they floated it downstream for milling.
Ottawa is in the province of Ontario. When you cross the river, you are back into Quebec province. On one side of the river, the English of the bilingual signs is written first, on the other side, the French is presented first.
Finally reached the museum and had a very average bite to eat. However, the museum was impressive. It actually tells of the Story of Canada and is divided into significant periods of the history. Heather and I wanted the very early time and Chris wanted the era after the English had defeated the French at Quebec.  We went down our respective curvy passageways. The presentations reflected the up-to-date methods of keeping the wandering public engaged. Very well done.

A successful visit to the gift shop followed.  Being 4.45, our emergence into the outside world was in darkness. The night was perfectly still, I could actually walk without gloves, the lights were delightful as we completed the circuit via another impressive pot-revitted iron-bridge to the city centre.  More grins.
Decided that "Joey Rideau" deserved another visit. This time our waitress was an Australian who was to return to Sydney after having used her 2x2yr visas in Canada.  She said that the 7 month winter of last year was bit trying!! In two weeks she will be warm- Sydney bound.

Back to the apt for rhubarb pie and a cuppa.

Below is a selection of photos taken by Heather and I. They reflect our day.

Outside a gallery. 

Typical street scene...Chris investigating a plaque. 

Taken from the museum 

Wonderful mural painted by an Indigenous artist in the dome of the museum foyer. 

Leaving the museum.

A perfect night for a walk. 

Hello Ottawa

From the sublime to the ridiculous comes to mind.

Crisp clear morning greeted us. Chris ventured out to buy more milk and seemed to be "out there" for awhile. She had needed to wander further than first thought and she came back with very red rosy cheeks. Still a quiet neighbourhood despite being Jan 2nd. Taxi came at 10.30. At the Gare Centrale
( railway station)we discovered further connections to the underground city network. We now feel we have seen little more of its life. 12 Midday train to Ottawa, Canada's capital. Two hours of flat agricultural country. Umpteen individual silos only a kilometre or so, or less, apart on the individual farms. Small farms! Silos to feed the animals in the large barns?? Not sure. Need to do some research.
Arrived in Ottawa just after 2pm and it seemed to have had a recent small snow fall as the snow appeared clean. Heather was in charge of this accommodation and she had a variety of instructions to follow.  Our friendly taxi driver accommodated our need for one stop to unlock the key from a container and then to drive us to the actual accomm.  It was a 20 storey high rise near the city centre.

After passing the card-sensitive security we stumbled with our cases into the apartment. A totally modern concern with panoramic corner views over the city. No cute 1930's neighbourhood here. We investigated the nooks and crannies and made a cuppa. Just looking out of the windows we could see that there was a major degree of life in the town.
Surely there would be a place close by for an aperitif.  Well, actually there was one next door. And across the road. And around the corner. And down the street. Still cautious of the slippery surfaces, we ventured into the vibrant city for a quick overview. A steady stream of people and some enticing places to explore tomorrow. We had chosen "Joey Rideau" as our first watering hole. A large corner site, glass and wooden decor, colourful paintings and modern music AND it was Happy Hour. We chose our drinks, a plate of dips and some gyoza wontons. My goodness both the dishes were yummo and Rutts enjoyed a Peach Bellini cocktail.
Little steps back to the Condo Complex ( due to the ice!!) and the fairytale-lights view from our windows.    

Hello Ottawa.      

Outside our balcony, Montreal. 

Montreal Station. 

Flat, fallow fields. 

Our mid-afternoon view at Bessinger St, Ottawa.

No cuteness here, but very nice. 

Happily joining Happy Hour. 

Montreal on the Quiet.

No frolicking in the cold for us last night so it was a relaxed rise this morning. We had read that many "things"' were closed today, so there was no rush to continue our exploring. A light fall of snow occurred overnight but fortunately it was the crunchy type and walking around was not over-stressful.
Caught the Metro to a station further into downtown hoping to discover the renowned " réseau intérieur"...underground network of passages that connects shopping, Metros, unis, office blocks and entertainment venues so that one can avoid the harshness of winter. 33kms of tunnels apparently. We say apparently, 'cause being NY Day, nearly all of it was closed off. Montréalais take their public holiday seriously and there was very little life in the city centre. Despite our best efforts and the occasional long corridor that lead to a blocked doorway, we can only imagine how 500 000 people use the network daily.
After futile wanderings, that did however reveal more of this town's unique architecture and expose some of the cities unfortunate street-dwellers, we opted for our first coffee. We believed, correctly, that hotels would offer spaces for a drink. Chose an atmospheric boutique item with a totally lovely ambiance...but horrible coffee. Did not even finish drinking it. Availed ourselves of the cosy lounge atmosphere and open-fire look-alike, but then went searching for another alternative. Lucky for us a crépe café was open and had a vacant table at lunchtime.
Suitably re-energised, we walked to Montreal's version of the London Eye and persuaded Heather to join us on the 3 revolution ride. This gave us a better picture of an overhead Montreal than the foggy lookout at the park yesterday. Shared the ride with mum and 2 daughters who had lived in Oz for 2 years.
More wanderings and monuments...even one to Horatio Nelson...later, we caught two Metros to the more commercial end of town.  Still not a lot of life, but a few more cafés open. Watched the world go by for quite a while and the lights of the city emerged, naturally, 'cause it was 4.30pm.
Returned home. Ate our Coquilles St Jacques, previously bought at the market, and also some yummy lentil soup.

Goodbye Montréal and our neighbourhood. Tomorrow Ottawa.

Putting our rubbish out like true locals.

Fun architecture.

A lonely figure. Probably surrounded by office folk in summer!

Cosy lounge, suss coffee. 

Toboggan run for the city folk. 

Adding colour to the Metro. 

Rising to great heights. 

Wandering the bowels of the city. At least  it was warm.