O Canada!

North America » Canada » Ontario » Ottawa
September 2nd 2009

Published: September 2nd 2009

Ottawa, Ontario
8.31.09

We arrived in Ottawa, Ontario (Canada) on 8.29.09. What a pleasant city! Our first impression of Canadians was our shuttle driver; she had a thick accent and was uniquely friendly. A frequent visitor to the states, she really could be hired by the city of Boston or state of California to consult for their economic development team. “I have flown over Nebraska a few times,” she said in response to our state of residence. No matter where you are it seems as though Nebraska is a flyover state.

The hotel room was, uh, clean. Way too many floral designs. We settled in.

For Susanne and I this was the beginning of our big adventure! We were also quite isolated. Dave and Evelyn (our friends who got married yesterday in Ottawa) had placed us in a hotel on the outskirts of town. I immediately got a little stir crazy and began to pace around in our hotel room. We were in another country and had no way to get around! I walked/ran about a quarter of a mile in either direction on the highway in front of our hotel. Nothing in eyesight to eat, and we were starving.

As it turns out my pacing on the highway paid off. The nice lady who picked us up from the airport offered to drive us to a local restaurant—probably to prevent me from walking out into traffic! We ended up at a pizzeria. Decent food, good service, but high prices. I only embarrassed myself once. I asked for a local brew. She said we have Canadian, Coors, etc. “What is Canadian?” I asked. She returned with, “are you American?” The gig was up.

We only saw a little bit of the city before the wedding. We took a cab to the Canadian Parliament. Very gothic, very beautiful (we will share pictures). We walked along the grounds for about an hour, took pictures, and were educated by a local about human rights abuses in China. Interesting that he is allowed to put his banners in the ground right in front of the main Parliament building. In my experience in the US, you CANNOT put banners within a half-mile or so of the US Capital. Even at the Nebraska State Capital you are not allowed to stake signs into the ground.

The wedding itself was great! I was immediately enlisted to assist with running the music for the service! Stress! That meant I had to get the prelude, bridal procession, and recession EXACTLY right with only minutes of preparation. It was a personal and beautiful wedding, with the loveliest food ever to be served at a wedding. We had appetizers of spinach and artichoke dip, samosas, and veggies. This was followed by a palate-cleansing “vegetable shooter,” (pureed spinach?), and a green salad. For the main course, we consumed vegetable rotollo and Portobello ravioli. The second palate-cleanser was shaved ice with strawberries and grapefruit. The desert was a pastry filo, powdered sugar and berries. At 10:30 PM guests were served a snack of cake and brie with candied pecans. Sure beats many a NE wedding’s paper plate buffet of pulled pork!

Nebraska did represent well, however, with progressive political talk, Nebraska bands (such as Bright Eyes and the Faint), the best Best Man/DJ ever, Orange Bike Photography, and some slanky dance moves. Dave lip-synced some 80’s hip-hop and Evelyn lead her women on the dace floor in an aerobics routine—literally (she is an aerobics instructor, eh). We may not be bilingual (as many Canadians are), but we know how to rock. The night ended with a circle of friends singing Piano Man around the new bride and groom. Great times and memories. Good luck to Dave and Evelyn, and if anyone needs a Best Man/DJ, Rehwaldt is internationally known for what he does.

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