Ottawa Tulip Festival

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I have always wanted to go to Ottawa to see the spring Tulip Festival. Since we hadn't been able to skate on the canal this winter, this was to be our weekend in Ottawa instead. The tulip tradition started after the second world war when the Dutch royal family gave Canada 100,000 tulips as a thank you for sheltering part of its royal family during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands during the war.

It had been cold and rainy all week in St. Raymond, but luckily when we arrived in Ottawa it was very nice. Saturday was actually quite hot. In talking to the locals I guess it was pretty much their first hot weekend too. We stayed right down town in the Cartier Place suite Hotel. It was a great price and perfect for families. 2 blocks to the canal, walking distance to Parliament Hill, a one bedroom apartment with full kitchen, plus an outdoor playground and indoor pool for the kids. The decor was definitely dated, but at $109 a night it was a good deal.

On Saturday we first spent some pool time, then headed out to Major Hill Park, across the canal from the Parliament Buildings. This is one of the main Tulip Festival Sites. There actually weren't a huge number of tulips in this park, but all the entertainment was here. There was an international stage of ethnic dancers all day long, as well as a food booths from some of the represented countries. Kind of like a very mini Heritage Days from back in Edmonton. We had a couple different dishes to whet our palette for getting back home for Heritage Days in August. There was a big Lego tent for the kids and they had fun making Lego creations. Around the park, as well as the real flowers, they had large fiberglass tulips that had been decorated by various companies and groups - like the cows that Edmonton had done several years ago. The lilacs were also blooming and their fragrance was beautiful. In the evening we headed over to Gatineau for dinner at Claude's uncle and aunt's house. They had a new daschound puppy, Porto, that the boys loved.

Sunday was overcast. In the morning we walked over to the market. since it was so early in the season it was smaller than usual but still fun to explore. Paul and I had a Beaver Tail (Marc was sleeping). There was a street performer that had all sorts of music instruments set up for the kids to play along. both boys had great fun with him. We thought we would never leave his spot. We had lunch in one of the indoor booths at the market.
After market we headed out bike to Dow's Lake to see the main tulip display. Being overcast the temperature was quite comfortable. It was a little over 5 km one way, along the canal. The trip was beautiful as there were many fragrant lilac bushes and other flowring shrubs along the way, and even a few kayaks in the canal. When we arrived at the lake we were very happy we hadn't drove. The amount of cars and people was amazing. I think the whole city was at the lake. Even navigating the bike path was challenging because there were so many people walking along it. We locked up our bikes and walked around the tulip beds. They were beautiful. They plant over 300,000 tulips at Dow Lake and over 1 million in total through the city and Gatineau. There were large beds of so many different types and colors of tulips. Needless to say, I took many pictures. The ones here are just a sampling. That evening we went to an Indian buffet that we had discovered was just a couple blocks away. When we went to head out, the overcast had turned to downpouring rain so we were glad we weren't going very far. The dinner was quite good. Not quite as good as New Asian Village back in Edmonton, but probably the closest yet.

Monday morning we met an old University friend of mine for breakfast. It was great to see Dave and have a bit of time to catch up. After check out, we walked back to Parliament Hill to show Paul the Parliament buildings and the locks at the canal. Just as we arrived at Parliament, there were many people gathered up near one side. We went to check it out. Just as we arrived, they started the canon salute. It was deaffening. I think most people didn't realize how loud it would be as everyone was recoiling backwards and covering their ears. Marc was asleep and didn't even wake up! Both boys thought the locks were neat. Unfortunately there weren't any small boats coming through so we couldn't show them how the locks move the boats up the canal. Marc was quite keen to walk across the lock gates, but Paul definitely took some coaxing. By this time it was about 1 pm and time to hit the road. We still had a 5 hr drive ahead of us. It was a good weekend for all of us.

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Photos

Paul with the EB Eddy matchstick tulip
There were many decorated fiberglass tulips throughout the site.

Huge bed of tulips.
Note the crowds in the background.