A Day in Ottawa

My latest project is almost complete.  The client went live and to celebrate, they had a team dinner...in Ottawa.  I was invited to go so I accepted...even thought it meant two flight connections and ten hours in travel time...each way.  I could have gotten to London faster.  But the dinner wasn't in London.  It was in Ottawa.

This is the first time I've been to Canada since the pandemic.  I was very nervous about the rules and the forms you had to fill out.  Plane travel has been relaxed a bit in the U.S but not so much in Canada. Plus, I had to go through Toronto, both ways!  Going through the Toronto airport is hectic on a good day but on the edges of a pandemic and with ongoing construction...I didn't know what to expect.  So I filled out all the paperwork, packed a bunch of masks and headed out.

My route to Ottawa was from Dallas to Atlanta, Atlanta to Toronto and then Toronto to Ottawa.  My layover in Atlanta was causing me heartburn.  Only 30 minutes to get from one end of the airport to the other.  If my flight out of Dallas was even five minutes late, I'd be stranded somewhere. 

Instead, everything went smoothly.  I got to my hotel in Ottawa at 2 am local time and crashed.  The only flight that was delayed was the last one and with no flight to catch at the other end, who cared?

I've never been to Ottawa, which is the capital of Canada.  Canada's Washington, D.C., if you will. Ottawa is in the province of Ontario and was founded in 1826 as Bytown.  It was incorporated as Ottawa in 1855.  It was selected as the capital by Queen Victoria in 1857. 

I had a couple of hours in the morning so I went walking.

This is St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church.  It was built in 1828 for the Scottish and Irish laborers that were working on the Rideau Canal.  I wanted to go inside but not enough time.  Then I saw turret-like structures and thought, "Castle!".  So I headed in that direction and forgot about the church.

As I was walking, I turned to my right and saw this reflection.  I thought it was so cool!

It's the Confederation Building.  It was built between 1927 and 1932 and houses government offices for ministers and members of Parliament.  This is the start of what's called Parliament Hill.

This is East Block.  It also houses offices for some of the parliamentarians.

This is the Centre Block.  It's the main building and contains the original House of Commons and Senate Chambers.  The Tower in the middle that looks a little "Big Ben" like is the Peace Tower.  

Can't have a blog without a crazy selfie.

The National War Memorial.  It's called The Response.

The Rideau Canal and the Chateau Laurier Hotel.

This is a series of locks along the Rideau Canal that moves watercraft into the Ottawa River.  The canal will take you from the Ottawa River to Lake Ontario.  The locks were built back in 1826 for this specific reason.  There's a whole guide on how you can take this route to Lake Ontario and where to stop along the way.

Further down, the locks were cranked open by hand.  There were people down there actually turning the crank as the gates of the lock opened just a little to allow the water to fill that section of the lock.  I could have sat there all day just watching!

The Ottawa River.  The bridge is the Alexandra Bridge which is one of many that cross the river.  I really need to go back and spend more time.  It was about this time that my friend, Terri Lynn, texted me and reminded me that it was time for lunch.  So I hiked over to her hotel and met her at the mall.  That's where we met up with our other friend, Leanne.

For lunch we went to Ahora.  It was a cool little place that had Mexican food.  Being from Texas, I'm always interested in checking out the interpretation of Mexican food in other countries.  I got the quesadillas supreme which had chicken, beans, rice, cheese and guacamole.  It was pretty good.

Beaver Tails.  I heard about this place when I was in Toronto but never got there.  They make a pastry that's flat like a beaver tail and then they put stuff on it like apple pie filling or bananas and nutella.  If I hadn't just eaten I would have tried one.  Next time I go back, I'm getting one!

Me, Terri Lynn and Leanne.  Just walking around the ByWard Market.

ByWard Market is this cool area of town where they have a farmers market where you can get fresh fruit.  There are restaurants and shops.  

We ended up at the Aulde Dubliner & Pour House for refreshments.  Terri Lynn got this drink called the Hairy Larry Caesar.  This looked like it was a meal!  The garnish was bacon, cheese, olives and a pickle.  It even came with a short beer.  

We hung out there until we had to scramble back to the hotel to shower and change for dinner.  It was a place called the Metropolitan.  The food was great and the company better.  We all got to meet in person!  Definitely made that worth the trip.

The Project Imagine Dream Team: In the back: Arman, Jimmy, Ali, Wayne, Patricia, Colin, Peter, Paul, Brendan, Joe.  Second row: Sarah, Monica, Camille, Leanne, Daniela, Paul, Sue, Jessica, Chelsea, Linda, Jacqui, Katie, Judith, Lynne, Rory and Adrian.  Front row: Tiana, David, Me and Terri Lynn.  Missing: Brian.