Canada: Ottawa, Part 2 (Friday 8th - Monday 11th August)

---

My second stay coincided with the weekend, so Samantha took the opportunity to take me out and show me her favourite places in the city. On the Friday night that I got in from Toronto we went out to a magazine launch at a coffee shop just down the road from Samantha's place which was converted into a cocktail bar and which hosted a number of local bands. Daytimes during the weekend were spent exploring the city and its museums and galleries - the National Gallery Canada in particular has a fantastic art collection for a town of Ottawa's size. Over the weekend Samantha's boyfriend Mark visited and we all went out for a pizza dinner (including, yes, mozarella cheeseballs served in a shoe) and then to watch a punk show at a local bar that specialises in pinball machines and wonderfully dated arcade games like Pacman - much fun was had drinking Canadian ale and indulging in the Star Wars and Metallica pinball machines in between bands.

---