ottawa

And now... Ottawa.

Ottawa seemed like a weird choice to me at first, but Robbie spent quite a bit of time here as a missionary and claimed it was beautiful and we couldn't miss it. Good call, Robbie—because I loved Ottawa! It reminds me a little bit of DC. The main draw, really, is that it's the capital of Canada. Other than that it's just a pretty place with random statues all over. 

When we drove into Ottawa (about two hours west of Montreal), it was overcast and drizzling. And then it turned into a full-blown downpour for most of the afternoon. So we spent most of the evening in the mall attached to our hotel and then attempting sight-seeing, but we were both wet and miserable after an hour or so and decided to head back to the hotel and enjoy the best thing about staying in hotels—cable TV and a hot tub.

Ottawa redeemed itself the next day, though. It was clear and sunny—perfect for a bike ride (Bixi strikes again!), though it was a touch too humid for me. There's a nice canal and bike path that runs through town, so we rode around for a few hours and enjoyed the sun. In the winter, the canal freezes over and people ice skate to work! That kills me. Quebec province is across the river so we rode around over there for a bit too.

We headed into Parliament to poke around, which was really nice. We went up into the Peace Tower, where the clock and carillon bells are, and you get a great view of the city. There's also a memorial room for the Canadian soldiers who have fought and died in various wars. I'm currently obsessed with Maisie Dobbs and Downton Abbey and I always get a little teary when I see remembrances of World War I. I feel like US history doesn't talk much about WWI but the European and Canadian tributes are really nice. In the memorial room they have books with the soldiers' names and they change the pages every day so that everyone can be honored.

(This one's for Granny Babs, who loves this poem)

We ended the day with a great picnic over at the Arboretum before we headed back to Montreal. Robbie has a good long-term memory and remembered an awesome Italian deli with amazing pasta and sandwiches (map here), so we grabbed our food and sat over by the water and defended our food from the ducks. Too close, ducks.

 

I totally recommend Ottawa to anyone who is visiting the great white north. If only for the reason that their grocery store chain is called Loblaws: