Week 234 · Ottawa · Byward Market · Parliament Fireworks · Gatineau Boat
Summer in
I have never understood people talking about spending summer in Maine, Minnesota, Northern Michigan, and other places I have stereotyped as "not mountains / not beach / not hot." I get it now — it is basically a warmer version of fall, clear skies, low humidity, and if you are near water, generally spectacular.
Spent a lot of time in Ottawa this summer, but this was the first weekend where I stayed over and Sharon joined me. Perfect weather — escaped the summer monsoon of DC — and we got out on a bike ride with a group one day and a boat ride the other, then I headed to Toronto for the rest of the week. One thing about Canada that seems consistent: even when it is "crowded" it isn't crowded, and it always seems that you are walking into a great event by luck and it isn't sold out.
Ottawa's Rideau Hall is the official residence of Canada's Governor General; the Prime Minister's official residence is 24 Sussex Drive, on the same grounds. In practice, the property has seen limited use in recent years — Justin Trudeau declined to live at 24 Sussex, citing its poor condition, and stayed at Rideau Cottage on the grounds instead. The grounds are partly accessible to the public, which explains how visitors can walk on them with security concentrated only around the residences themselves. Ottawa's ByWard Market — one of Canada's oldest and largest public markets — has operated continuously since 1826. The "Mosaïcultures" sculpture garden exhibits that appear on the Gatineau side of the river are large-scale living plant sculptures; the exhibit moves to different cities across Canada and internationally.
First example of the Canada consistency — Friday night during our inbound flight delay due to monsoon, an AirBnB experience for a bike ride came up and I was able to get booked in less than 12 hours in advance. It was a good setup with a local guide who took us around parts of town I hadn't yet seen, along with a French family. Best of all was a pregnant lady whose frequent bathroom stops worked great for me — lots of pictures and Sharon made the FB page of the tour guide. But I didn't. Later we were walking on the Prime Minister's grounds pretty much by ourselves — it was only secured at the house (found out later he was staying in another house on the grounds).
We were told of a fireworks show — so we went to Byward Market for dinner. In winter it was a ghost town — now it has about 50 outdoor restaurants and bars. All look very crowded but it is usually a short wait. The waitress said the fireworks were a long walk and probably too late, and very crowded. It was a 10-minute walk — kinda crowded but not enough that we couldn't walk to a comfortable spot. Watched the best fireworks show ever, then walked out without hassle.
Then ran into the nightly laserlight show on the side of Parliament with the history of Canada. Crowded enough to make it interesting — but not overwhelming.
"Even when it is 'crowded' it isn't crowded, and it always seems that you are walking into a great event by luck and it isn't sold out. That's the Canada consistency."