The Lively Capital Ottawa-Gatineau

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When we arrived in Ottawa we took a quick drive through downtown and we were really impressed with what we saw. Many would expect a nation’s capital to be somewhat uninteresting but Canada has done well and proved themselves to be another exception. The city was very clean, modern and enticing with the skyline being dominated with neo-gothic buildings and natural beauty abounding with the picturesque Rideau Canal. Mishka & Martin had stayed with us in Australia and now we were very much looking forward to being hosted by them. As it was nearly sunset time when we arrived at their house they whisked us up to a lookout in the Gatineau National Park. The view was amazing and had it not been for the fading light and rapidly cooling temperatures we would have liked to of stayed longer. For dinner we devoured an amazing meal of roast bear (yes, the grizzly kind) and vegetables cooked by Mishka. It was another first for us and we found the meat to be very flavoursome and tender, you barely needed a knife. With a good night’s sleep behind us we set off to explore. Firstly we took a very insightful and interesting guided tour of the parliament building including going up the peace tower to take in the view of the city. On the way to the Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography (which wasn’t open) we passed the ‘locks’ of the Rideau Canal. These series of ‘locks’ allowed boats to be elevated to the water level of the canal. Very impressive for the times in which they were created. Then we continued on to the Byward Markets which unfortunately weren’t all that they were cracked up to be. After a lunch of not too much for what you pay for we did happen upon a fantastic patisserie which made it all better with their scrumptious pastries. After a bit of shopping where Hayley bought a scarf to protect her from the increasingly cold weather we took a stroll along the Rideau Canal. The canal was actually man made back in the 1820’s for military purposes to link the Ottawa River and Lake Ontario. That evening we met up back at the markets with Mishka & Martin to go on ‘Ghosts Of The Gallows’ tour through the old Ottawa Jail which is also currently the HI Hostel. It was reasonably priced so it wasn’t a bad bang for your buck and provided moderate thrills and chills! On our way around town we passed the masses of supporters of the various Canadian political parties. The primary candidates were about to have one of their pre-election debates. With the commotion of the crowd, you could swear that there was a rock star about to arrive, but no, just a few politicians. Crazy Eh!!!!!!

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