Canada: Ottawa, Part 1

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At five nights in total, I spent quite a lot of time staying in the nation's capital, Ottawa, at my friend Samantha's flat, but my time was split due to an invitation from Samantha's boyfriend to see a Japanese band I really like (called Boris) in his own city, Toronto. My first two nights in Ottawa were fairly quiet and were spent exploring and recovering after a hectic few days at Osheaga. These photos are from my explorations of the centre of town - it is where the country's parliament is located, so that's what the grandiose 19th-century buildings in the photo album are. The city is beautifully green for a capital, and Samantha and I went on a great bike ride along the Rideau canal there (which turns into an enormous open-air skating rink in winter). Other highlights included meeting Samantha's friendly Couchsurfing-host neighbour Dean, who we spent a couple of evenings conversing with over green tea, and discovering Beaver Tails - a tasty Canadian speciality that is, surprisingly, veggie-friendly! (Look them up on Google if you don't buy it...)

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