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Published: August 20th 2013
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We decided that given all of the capital cities in the world we've been to, it was a bit strange that we had never been to our own. So on our way back from Montreal we stopped in Ottawa for three nights and had a great mini holiday being proper tourists for the first time so far on this trip.
We stayed at the Albert at Bay Hotel right downtown, booked through Ottawa Tourism in a promo they had where if you book two nights in a hotel, the third night is free (thanks to Mr. Munn for the tip!). Perfect! Best part was the full kitchen, which meant we got to make our own yummy breakfasts every morning.
Shane and I wandered around all of the main sights in town and managed to get in three tours: Supreme Court of Canada, Parliament, and the Mint. We walked the Canal, saw the rather elaborate changing of the guard (I say too long, Shane says not), walked around the Glebe, Byward Market (or 'marché By' as I found out it's called by the French locals), the Chateau, etc. We were so sore after the first proper day of walking around,
it was a bit depressing to realize how out-of-shape our walking feet are. It dawned on us how much one does not walk when you are back visiting family and have a car to go everywhere!
Despite our fabulous days, it was really our nights that were the highlight of our time in Ottawa, as each night was the chance to visit with some great people! Our first night we drove out to a beautiful suburban neighbourhood and had an amazing dinner with our friend Kevin. Now Kevin (and his wife Susan) are friends of Mom's that we met in Antigua last year. Susan was unfortunately (for us, not her) in Antigua when we were visiting so Kevin was the host with most that evening! We had a fabulous salmon meal and even talked Kevin into serving us a salmon appetizer, once we learned he had some his brother in Tofino smoked himself. Yum!! A taste of home. It was a great night filled with laughs that has been one of our favourites so far on this trip.
On our second night in Ottawa we had a lovely tour and dinner with my old friend from grad school,
Brinda. She took us around parts of downtown and told us loads of interesting things about Ottawa and its buildings. She treated us to a fantastic dinner and we got all caught up on the years it had been since we've seen her. How I miss having her positivity in my daily life!
Our last night in Ottawa was unexpectedly fun as my cousin Amanda was in town from Montreal for one night with her boyfriend Luca. We had a yummy Italian dinner al fresco in the marché By with them and watched a pretty cool light show on Parliament Hill afterwards. What a treat!
Finally, we have to say that one of the top highlights of our short time in Ottawa was an amazing Mexican lunch in the Glebe. You know those moments that are just perfect in every way? We had one of those in Ottawa, and it's no surprise knowing Shane and I that it's food-related. Here's hoping for many more in the months to come!
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terry clarke
non-member comment
Great you guys
Shane It's great to see that you are both still enjoy travelling ad I'm enjoying following your travels round the globe. Regards to you both. Terry