Blogs from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, North America - page 4

Another long day, but mostly on my feet and not in the car at all. As with yesterday, I think I’ll let the photos do most of the talking. My day consisted of visiting places that were within walking distance of my Jail Hostel, which is pretty ideally located. If you don’t have a lot of money and don’t mind sleeping in a very small room with no a/c, then I would highly recommend this place. Do bring ear plugs, because I’ve found out why I stopped staying in hostels (as a general rule) a few years back – unlike dorms or even most apartments, people in hostels have no sense of other people’s sensitivities. So they talk at all hours of the night or slam doors. They’re just inconsiderate, and I have to assume it’s ... read more

Geo: 45.4214, -75.6919Today was another travel day. We left the hotel in Edmundston (just over the border from Madawaska, Maine) at 8:45 AM and 64 degrees and headed west toward the Saint Lawrence Seaway. We had eight hours of traveling to do to make it to Ottawa in time for Beamer's dinner hour. Fortunately, we gained an hour when we drove back into the eastern time zone, and it served us well, because we hit a couple of pockets of traffic in Montreal and Ottawa. But we landed within reason of our goal and Beamer did not complain.Oh, remember the fly? As soon as we got into the car this morning, guess what? He was still there. He spent the night in the car and was ready to travel with us again this morning. Well…I wasn't ... read more

For my upcoming trip, instead of sending emails, I decided to write a blog (inspired by my lovely niece Lyla). Since I am new at this, I thought I would test it by beginning with my pre-trip preparations. Time has gone by so fast, here we are 1 1/2 weeks before departure and I feel there is sooo much to do. The trip has been booked since Sept 2015. All last minute details are arranged thanks to my dear sister and travel planner extraordinaire J. The airline tickets have been bought. Passport is still good for another 2 years. Got some local currency, which meant one trip to the currency exchange place. So what’s left? Packing. This is probably the most stressful for me. Never know what to bring and I bring toooo much. This time ... read more

YOW. An acronym to strike fear into the hearts of the easily bored. Ottawa International Airport, please arrive three hours early so we can bleed off some of your vacation dollars before you even get to where your're going. Susan kindly drove us to the airport and we enjoyed looking at the snow and ice covering everything, knowing that there's a good chance that this is the end of this winter for us. So a bite at D'Arcy McGee's while we give posting to the blog a whirl. And photos. Got to test photos. We are vibrating with excitement as we are about to leave on the biggest trip of our lives. The scope and breadth of this tour is far beyond anything we've done before. We are looking forward to new experiences, sights, sounds and ... read more

Ottawa's residents may be forgiven for thinking that their city is nearly smothered in officialdom. In addition to the Federal government and its National Capital Commission, the Province of Ontario also has certain offices there, and of course the City itself provides for numerous administrative functions. On top of that, many of the 130 countries with which Canada maintains diplomatic relations have embassies ... some simple, others impressive ... as well as some pretty elegant separate ambassadorial residences. The result is that "official" buildings in Canada's capital present a very eclectic mix of styles. At Confederation in 1867 it was imagined that Parliament Hill would be large enough to accommodate all the government offices the country would ever need. But as “Parkinson’s Law” came into play, federal departments and agencies have mushroomed over the years, and ... read more