We arrived three days ago and our plan was to stay two nights, but we liked it so much we decided to stay an extra night!

Night at Parliament Hill

The experience of Ottawa has far exceeded both our expectations. Perhaps that's because we actually didn't think much about what the city could be like before we arrived here. Yes, it is the capital and yes, we knew that there would be Parliament Hill, government buildings and museums, but beyond that, we simply didn't know much about the city.

To our surprise we find the city very nice. Perhaps it's because it has a very distinct European feel to it and maybe that stirs emotions of familiarity in both of us? Or perhaps it is the blend of old buildings, nice restuarants, the mix of French and English and a very welcoming atmosphere? Or perhaps, and probably most likely, it is a combination of all those things!

When we arrived at our hotel and checked in, Robert left the car at the curb. While we were standing at reception we saw a parking attendant approach our car. Robert leaped out to avoid getting a ticket, but ready to fight if she had already given him one. There is something about Robert and parking tickets that just do not go together. Sure, nobody likes to get a ticket, but Robert for some reason has stronger than usual negative feelings against parking attendants (and law enforcement in general).

The poor parking attendent was a lady and she handed him a ticket when he approached her. Victoria, from observing from the hotel reception could see the smoke coming out of Robert's ears and thought that 'this is definitely not a good start on our stay in Ottawa...' However, something strange happened after that. Robert's body language displayed that he was upset... but suddenly he reached out and gave the lady a hug!!!! Victoria thought that this might be it.. he has gone completely mad over the rage of a ticket... or he is trying to strangle the poor lady.... It turned out that the parking lady had seen him coming out of the hotel but since she had started to issue the ticket she just finished it by entering $0 where the amount of the fine is usually displayed! Thank goodness!!!

After the little 'incident' that ended well, everything else has been very pleasant. Even though it is almost November and rainy and grey, the city has still managed to make a good impression on us. We have wandered down to Byward Market with excellent resturants and enjoyed good food, wine and desserts! Our visit to Parliament Hill was interesting and informative. Victoria got to see the centre of power in the capital for the first time as a fairly recent Canadian citizen and we went on a good and informative tour of the government building. Unfortunately we didn't get to see the House of Commons and watch the question period with the Prime Minister as they were full for the day. Apparently you can get in by writing to your MP, but we didn't know that beforehand, and Victoria was very embarrassed admitting she isn't even sure who her MP is.....

Parliament buildings

The second day we went to the War museum which was excellent and LARGE. After four hours we started to skip sections to finish. It was very well done and the exhibitions were excellent. It was also very empty. Not many tourists at all which we later understood was due to the fact that part of the museum staff was on strike and encouraged the public not to visit the museum and to not to cross the picket line. Somehow we missed that so we'll just claim ignorance...

Victoria got her swimming itch satisfied by being invited by an old swimming friend of hers from British Columbia who now lives (and swims) in Ottawa. An early 6:30am start and 3,000 meters of really hard swimming has satisfied the swimming need for the next few days!

Victoria and the Rideau Canal