Ottawa

The first places I seem to be visiting is bars, not sure why, maybe the coaches here are driving me to drink. But I headed to a bar in the Byward Market for something to eat and a Canadian beer. And I got a bargain too, free beer apparently I’d been ignored for so long that they decided to not charge me - result!


The next day I went for a wander around Ottawa  in the direction of Parliament. On the way there is the very large war memorial and tomb of the unknown soldier, plus the Valiants. The Valiants are a number of statues to various Canadians who have done something memorial for their country, mainly in war time. So pilots shot down, nurses working to save lives etc.

Parliament itself is, surprisingly, open to the public, who wander the grounds freely admiring the many statues, the cat sanctuary and of course views over the Ottawa river. People can also take advantage of the free guided tours of bits of Parliament, plus go up the Peace Tower and visit the Memorial Chamber. By the time I’d been up the tower and in the chamber, my tour had left, so much for the guard saying I had plenty of time. But I didn’t fancy queuing again, outside, for another hour or more to get another ticket. It was cold!

So in search of somewhere warm, I went to the National Gallery. Outside there is a huge sculpture of a spider, called ‘Maman’. Ottawa actually has many public pieces of art and a walking tour that allows you to visit them all. Maman and Nature Girls were my favourites of the ones I saw - the Nature Girls had fantastic red shoes! 

But warmth and culture beckoned inside the gallery. Unfortunately the Indigenous art section was tiny, which was a disappointment, unless yet again I missed something. But I was hoping for more. I liked the Canadian artists section, especially Tom Tomson from the Group of Seven and E J Hughes. For me it was more interesting that the International art section as it introduced me to lots of artists I’ve not come across before. The Gallery also has a complete chapel inside it - it was moved from it’s original spot to a place within the gallery to preserve it. It was a bit bizarre finding it in an art gallery, but a good place to sit and relax.

Opposite the Gallery is the Notre Dame Cathedral - the oldest surviving church in Ottawa and a national historic monument. It has an amazing blue ceiling with gold stars, which for me was the best bit.

On my final day I decided to do even more culture and visit the Museum of Civilization, which is over the river in Gatineau. So I headed down the Rideau Canal locks, then over the Alexandra Bridge to the museum. I enjoyed the First People’s Hall and the Canada Hall as it explained about the First People of Canada and things like why totem poles had particular designs, how they lived etc and also the effects of settlers on their lands. And how things have changed over the years, especially recently where their rights have increased etc. I sort of strolled quickly through the Face to Face section about various bigwigs of Canada and avoided the Queen’s postal section, until I couldn’t find my way out and ended up in there, with still no escape.

Eventually I found the exit and walked along the riverside to the Pont de Portage and back into Ottawa. On the riverside there is a walkway, bikeway etc and it being Thanksgiving it was very quiet, so I had it mainly to myself and a chipmunk! Never having seen one before and as I’m not going to be seeing a moose or polar bear, a chipmunk beats them all.

I headed back to the centre of town, past the supreme court and various other big buildings to the Byward market. The hostel, fortunately, is right next to the market, so it was a good place to get cheap, good food. The French boulangerie sold amazing pain au chocolat, which became my breakfast along with a cup of coffee and their rolls (with free butter!) went towards my dinner. Byward market also has a Beavertail stall, a speciality of Ottawa, so I had to try one. And it was lovely - warm, which was perfect on a cold day, sweet and not really healthy, what more could one ask for? I had the traditional version, with cinnamon sugar, a beavertail is a pastry in case anyone was curious!

Next stop: Quebec City