Ottawa

Ottawa is a beautiful city, green like Canberra but instead of the lake, this capital city is landmarked by the Ottawa River and the Rideau Canal which dominate the city in a remarkable way.  Cycling along the canal is a must and we enjoyed our 8 kms ride dowtown from where we are staying.  We are once again enjoying the warm hospitality of people we met, albeit briefly in a Florida state park where we exchanged some meaningful words, email addresses and an invitation to stay.  

First the architecture in this lovely stately city.  The city core is blessed with substantial architecture trimmed by the confluence of the Ottawa and Rideau Rivers and edged by the Rideau Canal.

The castle-like Chateau Laurier hotel is a major downtown landmark.  It is actually one of a chain of hotels from the railroad days, of which the Hotel Frontenac in Quebec City is another.

The stately neo-Gothic Parliament Buildings has a generous amount of green space around it in spite of being in the heart of the city.   There are free 20 minute tours run frequently and the tour is very enjoyable.  Make sure you go right up to the top of the Peace Tower where you see a magnificent view of the city.  There is also a free tour of Rideau Hall the Governor General's residence available but there was some event on this morning so we missed that.

The interior of the building is all hand-carved limestone and sandstone.

The entry to the Parliamentary Library with its beautiful wood  and wrought iron door.  Sadly, the library was the one place we were asked not to take photographs.

The dome of the library taken from the tower.

General view of the city and the river.

Another view of the Chateau Laurier.

We visited the headquarters of the Canadian Mounted Police and watched some practice with the most beautiful horses.  There is a show they put on with musical accompaniment and full dress for the mounties but we will not have time for that unfortunately.

Andrew and Linda our great Ottawa hosts.  We found we have many interests in common as well as RVing and travelling.  We had a really good time in their company.  They are vegans and I am half convinced to try it out.  We shared a couple of meals to which I contributed my own vegan recipes.