The Scenic Route

Ok, so I had to go into Ottawa yesterday to get my workpermit stamped. The trip came on a bit suddenly (an appointment freed up for Weds. morning) so my Dad and I decided to drive up and stay the night. Wow, what a fantastic drive, I recommend to anyone visiting Canada to drive through Highway 401 east towards the capital. I think being in a very cramped city like London for a while I have gotten to appreciate vast open spaces more and more, and the vast spaces on the route were incredibly pretty to say the least. Lots of trees surrounded us, a few farms here and there.

Ottawa itself is a very nice looking city, and beautiful in the summertime when its not frozen over. I have been there many times when I was in high school and university, and always liked the place. Its got a cosmopolitan feel to it, although its population and size is relatively small. The Parliament buildings, the grand Laurier Hotel, The National Gallery (which all overlook the Rideau River) are great looking, and the market area is full of life. I found even the people seemed much more relaxed and a bit European in their behaviour. Probably due to a combination of it being close to the french Quebec border, the vast amount of diplomats and their families living there and two universities located in the city, not to mention plenty of lawyers and politicians. If I were to ever live anywhere in Canada, I think Ottawa may just be the place. I kinda fell in love with the city a bit this time around, and I was only there for a day.

As a sidenote, the travel with my Dad was surprisingly pleasent, we had a good time, we spoke about a lot of things (I even admitted to having smoked cigarettes during my university time). The only downside is that I unwittingly booked the hotel close to Bank Street, just around the corner from a couple of gay bars. It was really weird, I walked out on the street and my sixth sense told me I was in a gay area, only to see a rainbow flag flapping in the distance. Nice. Thats still an aspect of the city that I shall explore at another time.