In June, my wife & I will be heading out to Vermont for a family gathering. We've decided to leave a bit early and drive through Canada (from Chicago) on the way, and visit Ottawa. So, I have some questions:

1. Where to stay? We're thinking of using hotwire.com to keep down costs. For those of you unfamiliar with it, hotwire is a service where you pick the date of your stay, and the area you want to stay in, and it gives you various options, but doesn't let you know which hotels they turn out to be until you book them.

Generally, it works out very nice. For instance, we used it to book a hotel for my cousin's wedding this autumn in Boston. We got a really cheap rate at what turned out to be a Sheraton.

Anyway, Hotwire lists 4 different neighborhoods in Ottawa:

Downtown:
http://kamilewicz.org/albums/misc/ottawaDowntownOttawa.gif

Hull:
http://kamilewicz.org/albums/misc/ottawaHull.gif

Ottawa East:
http://kamilewicz.org/albums/misc/ottawaOttawaEast.gif

Ottawa West:
http://kamilewicz.org/albums/misc/ottawaOttawaWest.gif

Should we pick any of these areas over the others? Should we avoid any in particular?


2. What to do? We are visiting Ottawa both because we've never been there before and it seems a neat place to visit, and also to possibly check it out as a potential place to move in a few years. So, amongst the things in which we're interested:


Usual touristy stuff, but especially stuff you can't find in other cities (like not "regular" art museums, for instance).
We like low-key pubs, coffeeshops & used bookstores.
Good places to people-watch.
Related to the possibility of moving to Ottawa, and the fact that we'll have a car, are there particular residential areas, even suburbs, we should look at?


3. Where to eat? We like a wide range of foods, but would also like to keep costs down. What is recommended?


Thanks in advance.... :)

Ottawa East and Ottawa West both sound so romantic. It will be a hard decision.

Ottowa West

Ping MapleLeafs....he lives in Ottawa and should be able to help you out.

Oh my, where to begin.

I implore you to stay away from Hull. It is a terrible place. Imagine all the filth and potholes of the poorest American city, but served up with the delightful attitude you'd expect from people who mistakenly believe they are french. Stay far, far away. In fact, if you find yourself considering a trip to Hull please call me so I can locate you, knock you out and handcuff you to a lamp post until you change your mind.

It looks like Ottawa East on your map is actually Orleans, which is a nice enough place as long as you're comparing it directly to Hull. Otherwise, it's not worth visiting.

Ottawa West is Kanata, where the rich folks live -- much of the wealth from the high-tech bubble was deposited there, so it's much nicer than the east end. You can even drive out to the middle of nowhere to see the Corel Centre, a major pro sports venue that was brilliantly constructed in the middle of a farmer's field with only one main road access point. So if you're not going to stay downtown, this is the area to stay in.

That said, I'm not sure why you wouldn't say downtown. I doubt it's much pricier than the west end, so my recommendation would be to stay downtown. You'll be close to everything.

(And I mean everything. Ottawa is a small city. Hotwire seems to be implying that Ottawa is some sprawling metropolis with west and east ends, but really everything is downtown. Orleans and Kanata are nice places, but not really part of Ottawa. In fact, until recently Ottawa itself was a small city surrounded by smaller cities, but since then we've amalgamated to form one not-quite-as-small city. Nobody in Ottawa fully realized this until the buses went on strike a few years ago and we all discovered that we could just walk to our jobs on the other side of the city in 15 minutes.)

In terms of places to scout out as a potential destination for a move, have a look at Barrhaven. It's consider west end, but is slightly further south than Kanata. It's the spot that everyone is moving to these days (me and the Mrs included), so housing prices are rising. But it's a growing community, and is only 15 minutes away from downtown.

In terms of what to do, you can't spit in Ottawa without hitting a museum of some sort (although I don't recommend it, there's probably a bylaw). We also have an improbably high number of Irish-style pubs. Once you know where you're staying, I'd be glad to recommend specific spots.

And on an unrelated note, I've lived in Ottawa for over ten years and I have never heard of Highway 9. I'd stay away from it, it sounds like a scam to me.

would second the "stay away from Hull" sentiment. It's not even called Hull anymore, though, right? So, stay away from Hull or whatever it's called now.

Ottawa has the beautiful parliament buildings which may be more of a "drive by and look at them" than go inside and tour them thing, but it's been a LONG time. The Rideau canal is pretty cool - it's nice to walk them and check out the locks. There also is (was?) a pretty cool farmer's market thing that we liked quite a bit (unless some old guy has taken it out since then). like ML says, these are all pretty much "downtown".

btw, I think I used to live in that farmer's field where the Corel Centre was built.

There's a Currency museum on Sparks street (downtown), if you like looking at money.

The Parliament buildings are worth a look. The Rideau canal is very close by. They were built about 1830, and the locks are still opened and closed manually.

If you like the outdoors, Gatineau Park (on the Quebec side, near the city of Hull, now called Gatineau) is nice. There's lots of hiking trails plus swimming spots.

Walking along the Ottawa river behind the Parliament buildings has a great view.

If you're looking for a place to live, the southern part of Ottawa is also nice. It's just now being built-up.

btw, my memory of food in Ottawa and the surrounding areas is not a good one, but I would assume that that has changed since I was there (early 80s). When we first moved up there, we couldn't even find a decent pizza place, which was pretty disturbing to me.

Thanks everyone for your helpful ideas. I'm still chuckling at Maple Leafs' post. :) I'll try and book something downtown and report back so we can talk about places to eat & drink.

Thanks again. I'm really looking forward to this trip! :)

would second the "stay away from Hull" sentiment. It's not even called Hull anymore, though, right? So, stay away from Hull or whatever it's called now.
It's now called Gatineau. People in Hull feel very strongly that you have to call it Gatineau and get very irritated when you don't, so everyone in Ottawa still calls it Hull.

I went there for a conference last year and I can mostly concur with the negativity about Hull. It wasn't so much hostile Quebecers or being a scumpit or anything like that. It's just that there is absolutely nothing to do on that side of the river besides Gatineau Park (which I didn't experience, but hear it's nice) and the Museum of Civilization (then again I'm a history buff, so it interested me). Everything else is just large governmental monolithic buildings mostly built in that crappy modernist style from the 1970s or so.

In that regard, stay downtown. Everything's walking distance except for perhaps the Glebe area which is a bit of a hike from the river (I speak as one accustomed to moving about freely in a car, so natives may think I'm talking out of my @$$). The other places I went to were Parliament Hill (nice, picturesque, looks just like you think imporant Canadian government buildings would look), the Rideau Mall, and (crap, the name's left me at the moment) the nice Market area near said mall. As part of the conference, we also got to take a bus tour of the city, which gave a nice overview of just about everything. In case you run into trouble, it isn't difficult to find the US Embassy. It's the fortress disguised as a modern office building a couple of blocks from the river. I noticed an interesting security feature in that one of the cross streets that runs to the face of the building is forcibly zig-zagged around some concrete pillars. I'm assuming that's to prevent a suicide car bomber from getting up a head of speed to try to hit the building. But, I digress.

It's now called Gatineau. People in Hull feel very strongly that you have to call it Gatineau and get very irritated when you don't, so everyone in Ottawa still calls it Hull.

Actually, when I was there, I thought I heard both sides of the river were considering fracturing back down again. At least in the area I was, which was more in the core of Hull, they seemed to be more identifed with Hull even though all the street signs read Gatineau.

In case you run into trouble, it isn't difficult to find the US Embassy. It's the fortress disguised as a modern office building a couple of blocks from the river. I noticed an interesting security feature in that one of the cross streets that runs to the face of the building is forcibly zig-zagged around some concrete pillars. I'm assuming that's to prevent a suicide car bomber from getting up a head of speed to try to hit the building. But, I digress.

I'll digress a bit more - the US Embassy that I remember was right across from Parliament Hill, and was a smaller building (compared to the monstrosity I saw when I googled it). At least I think it was the Embassy - we watched Canada Day fireworks from it's roof one year

ML....Why the hell do you live there????

I implore you to stay away from Hull. It is a terrible place. Imagine all the filth and potholes of the poorest American city, but served up with the delightful attitude you'd expect from people who mistakenly believe they are french. Stay far, far away. In fact, if you find yourself considering a trip to Hull please call me so I can locate you, knock you out and handcuff you to a lamp post until you change your mind.

wow, sure hope it's not how I come accross around here :(

Gotta agree with the potholes comment though...

FM

I think he's making a distinction between actual French like yourself and a bunch of poseurs who still haven't accepted that their side lost the French and Indian War nearly three centuries ago. Essentially, those who side with the Bloc every election.

well, I'm one of the poseurs, as you call them, also sometimes referred to as French Canadians :D I simply live a few hundred miles away from Hull/Gatineau/whatchamacallit...

FM

ahh, I see you added the Bloc in there, I AM NOT WITH THE BLOC*, maybe that clears me then... :D

*bunch of freaking idiots who went to Ottawa supposedly to make a difference on a one term thing and have been there for 12 years now, sigh...

FM

Froggy...you ever go to that casino in Hull...is it as nice as people say it is?

ML....Why the hell do you live there????
I moved here over ten years ago to go to university. That's where I met Mrs. Leafs, who is a local. Then we got married. The end.

But I still consider myself "from Toronto". I end up having a lot of conversations that go like this:

Someone: Where are you from?
Me: I'm from Toronto, but right now I live in Ottawa.
Someone: How long have you been in Ottawa?
Me: Oh man, it's got to be ten, maybe twelve...
Someone: Weeks?
Me: Years.
Someone: So... you're from Ottawa.
(long pause)
Me: (Sucker punch)

Froggy...you ever go to that casino in Hull...is it as nice as people say it is?
can't help ya, never been to Hull, much less the casino. Hear it's nice though.

Been to Ottawa once, but on a very short business trip, kind of round trip from Montreal in one day...

FM

We also plan to visit Toronto in the future, both because we want to, but also as a potential moving location. However, since flights from Chicago to Toronto are routinely cheap, but the same is not true for Chicago -> Ottawa, we decided to hit Ottawa this time as we were driving out.

ahh, I see you added the Bloc in there, I AM NOT WITH THE BLOC*, maybe that clears me then... :D

*bunch of freaking idiots who went to Ottawa supposedly to make a difference on a one term thing and have been there for 12 years now, sigh...

FM

That was the point of the correction. I knew there would be some Quebecers who would object to what I said and I also know that a lot of the Quebecers who annoy the rest of the Canadians are ardent Bloc supporters. I knew several Quebecers who felt they would have left the province had the independence vote succeeded back in the mid 90s.

can't help ya, never been to Hull, much less the casino. Hear it's nice though. It actually is nice. Not as nice as the one in Montreal, but not bad. However, the slots are very tight and the dealers aren't especially friendly.

I moved here over ten years ago to go to university. That's where I met Mrs. Leafs, who is a local. Then we got married. The end.

But I still consider myself "from Toronto". I end up having a lot of conversations that go like this:

KERRY FRASER: Where are you from?
Me: I'm from Toronto, but right now I live in Ottawa.
KERRY FRASER: How long have you been in Ottawa?
Me: Oh man, it's got to be ten, maybe twelve...
KERRY FRASER: Weeks?
Me: Years.
KERRY FRASER: So... you're from Ottawa.
(long pause)
Me:Nice call M'fer (Sucker punch)

Fixed that for you :)

KERRY FRASER: Whe...
Me:Nice call M'fer (Sucker punch)

Fixed that for you :)
Fixed it for you.

Grew up in Ottawa...born in Edmonton...moved to Ottawa when I was 4...moved back to Edmonton after 20 years or so in Ottawa...and still call Ottawa home. Mom and dad still live there as does my little brother.

My folks live a stone's throw from the airport (dad was in the Air Force and my folks bought a place close to the base he worked at) in a community called Hunt Club...nice part of town for the most part. It's at the southeast corner of town. My little brother just filled out paperwork for a house he's buying southeast of the city in Leitrum...very similar to what ML is talking about with Barrhaven...15 minutes from downtown. I've also got very good friends who just recently bought in Barhaven and they love it so far...so, south (Barrhaven is probably more south than west) and southeast are both booming right now and are still affordable.

But, by the sounds of it, you aren't the 'burbs type of people and you'd probably rather live in the Glebe or the Sandy Hill area. The Glebe is one of the older parts of town with beautiful old school houses in a community filled with quirky coffee shops and little pubs. Sandy Hill is nestled in along with the University of Ottawa (one of two large universities in Ottawa) and offers a lot of the same things as the Glebe in terms of things to do and see. Both are close to the Rideau Canal and relatively close to downtown...5 minute drive if that. But, for a nice place in these parts of town you are going to pay top dollar.

As for your trip, where to stay? Downtown, definitely. You'll pay more, but it's worth it by far. Downtown is always a great place to be whether it be for a night on the town or a lazy Sunday afternoon. You'll be within walking distance (or a short bus ride) to most of the of the major tourist attractions...Parliament Hill...Chateau Laurier...National Gallery of Canada...Museum of Civilization...Rideau Canal...Ottawa River...Rideau Centre...Byward Market. There are many more...

Things to do while your in town...well, where to start?? Parliament Hill is a must and they have daily tours that are pretty cool and are rather inexpensive. Catch the Changing of the Guard down there as well...usually runs around 10-11am every morning during the summer months. Since you'll be there in June, a boat tour on the Rideau Canal is another must. A nice leisurely stroll down the canal with a guide to tell you all about it all the while enjoying a lot of beautiful scenery. There are also guided boat tours on the Ottawa River and they are a little longer and pricier but also very nice. If you go down to Dows Lake (essentially part of the canal) you can rent paddle boats or canoes and you can spend the day navigating the canal that way. Somebody mentioned Gatineau Park already, but for hiking and biking, you can't beat it. My little brother and I used to routinely pack our bikes up and head there for the day. Mooney's Bay/Hog's Back Park are right next to each other and are both great places to spend a nice sunny day. Mooney's Bay is a beach/park that is always hopping with people on those hot, humid days common for Ottawa in June and Hog's Back Park right across the road features a little waterfall and a great park with nice walking trails and several great places for an afternoon picnic. The Ottawa Renegades will be playing by then, I believe...they are Ottawa's Canadian Football League team and play out of Frank Clair Stadium (I used to work there when I was a teenager) in the Glebe. Always a good time. There is lots of other stuff to do and check out...here's a link to a pretty good site that should be able to help you get started but not the end all, be all:

http://www.ottawakiosk.com/

If you are looking for coffeshops, pubs, and the like, as I mentioned before, the Glebe and Bank Street (Bank Street goes west through the heart of the Glebe and ends at Parliament Hill) are great places for things like that. The Byward Market is another place you'll want to check out as well, lots of little, odd places in and around there. The Preston Street area is also another good place for little coffeeshops and deli's...it's in Little Italy. Actually, another nice neighbourhood called Island Park isn't far from there and would be another very nice place to live, but again, costly.

Where to eat...hmmm...what do you like?? If you are looking for patios...the Canal Ritz is a great place (litterally ON the canal not far from the football stadium but is a very classy joint...more like a "terrace" than a patio)...Mexicali Rosa's at Dows Lake (mexican food that is decent and affordable with a great patio where you can enjoy a beer and a view). If you looking for good italian food, a small place, not far from where I grew up, called Flying Piggy's...it is fantastic food and not going to cost you an arm and a leg. Don't let the name throw you!! Other favorites of mine include Mother Tucker's Marketplace (a buffet style place with really great food right downtown...I know several of the managers, too...make up some story about how you knew me in school or something and you may get a free drink or something...LOL!! or not), Big Daddy's Crab Shack on Elgin Street (great seafood with a lot of different stuff, too is really hopping on most nights), and Lone Star Texas Grill (there are a couple of them, but my favorite is on Baseline Road and get the blackened chicken...MMMMMM!!!!).

Hope this helped and if you have any questions, let me know...more than happy to pimp O-Town!!

PS...I'd give maps.google.com a whirl...great maps with a lot of landmarks already referenced.

Try some of the local food - beavertails and poutine.

Since I'm using hotwire.com, I can't really check the hotel's full amenities before I book. One thing I'm interested in, since we're driving, is the parking.

In Chicago, parking downtown for a few days is likely to end up being several hundred dollars. Is it similar in Ottawa?

Since I'm using hotwire.com, I can't really check the hotel's full amenities before I book. One thing I'm interested in, since we're driving, is the parking.

In Chicago, parking downtown for a few days is likely to end up being several hundred dollars. Is it similar in Ottawa?

Not even close...heck, the hotel may even have free parking included...but, at worst, it'll run you $20 bucks a day. If you park your car and walk/bus it, it should be cheaper.

Cool, thanks. We plan to keep the car parked and walk around town while we're there. The only time we wouldn't is if we want to drive to some of the suburban neighborhoods that have been mentioned.

Update: We're staying at the Novotel Ottawa, on 33 Nicholas Street. It's not greatly exciting, but the price was good, and it appears to be in the heart of downtown.

Thanks for all the wonderful advice. If anyone has any other comments on places to eat/drink and/or stuff to see, I'd greatly appreciate it. We'll be in town from 11-14 June (leaving very early on the 14th).

Any idea, by the way, how long it'd take to get to Burlington, Vermont? And what the best route would be?

Was it neccesary to put Canada in brackets, i mean, dont people know that Ottawa is in Canada?

Update: We're staying at the Novotel Ottawa, on 33 Nicholas Street. It's not greatly exciting, but the price was good, and it appears to be in the heart of downtown.

Thanks for all the wonderful advice. If anyone has any other comments on places to eat/drink and/or stuff to see, I'd greatly appreciate it. We'll be in town from 11-14 June (leaving very early on the 14th).

Any idea, by the way, how long it'd take to get to Burlington, Vermont? And what the best route would be?

The location of that hotel is PERFECT!!! You can just leave the car parked all day and pretty much walk anywhere and see something worth seeing. Enjoy.

And as for getting to Burlington...I just typed in the address of your hotel and Burlington, Vermont and this is what maps.google.ca spit out:

Directions (http://maps.google.ca/maps?saddr=33+Nicholas+Street,+Ottawa,+ON&daddr=burlington,+vermont&hl=en)

Have a safe trip and be sure and let us know what you think of Ottawa.

Was it neccesary to put Canada in brackets, i mean, dont people know that Ottawa is in Canada?
People in Kansas don't...

http://www.ottawa.edu/kansashome.htm

Was it neccesary to put Canada in brackets, i mean, dont people know that Ottawa is in Canada?

I figured that if I didn't, some smartass would say "Ottawa, Illinois? Why would you want to go there?" :)

I live in Ottawa Co., Oklahoma, if that helps.

I live in Ottawa Co., Oklahoma, if that helps.
Location: Miami, Oklahoma
What, did Oklahoma just run out of town names? Was everything taken by the time you guys got around to naming your towns?

What, did Oklahoma just run out of town names? Was everything taken by the time you guys got around to naming your towns? Miami is the name of a tribe of Native Americans, iirc. Hence Miami University in Oxford, Oh. The Great and Little Miami Rivers in southwestern Ohio.

Correct, finkenst.

When it comes to Americans and their knowledge of geography, well...let's just be sure about it, shall we? If a fair percentage of Americans struggle to place the United States on a map, then they'll sure as hell struggle with whether Ottawa is the capital of Canada.

The city of Ottawa (Canada) is named from the Ottawa River, which Ottawa is situated next to.
The Ottawa river is named from the Ottawa Indian tribe which used the river to trade furs with the French. The Ottawa tribe, however, actually lived west of the Ottawa river i.e. they only used the river as a transport route.
Plus, I believe, the Ottawa tribe moved (or were moved) further west. I forget exactly when but it was in the 17 or 18 hundreds.
So, this is one reason why there are several places named Ottawa which are not close to each other geographically.

So, the trip is almost here! We're leaving early Saturday morning and hope to arrive by early evening.

I'm looking on-line for places to grab dinner on Saturday night, given that we'll be tired and all.

We're staying basically in the Market area, which I hear is very busy at that time. Does anyone have any suggestions for a good, (relatively) peaceful place within walking distance (we're not afraid of walking a ways)? I think we'd prefer simple and relatively inexpensive food. Ideally a good pub that won't be too loud and boisterous at that time, or outrageously smoky (I know, I ask a lot).

I think we'd prefer simple and relatively inexpensive food.

You're in Canada, man. Just about everything qualifies as relatively inexpensive. ;)

1 USD is now about .88 CAD at the moment. No longer as cheap as it was.

Every bar/restaurant in Ottawa is smoke-free.

Every bar/restaurant in Ottawa is smoke-free.

Woah. :eek:

Hey, if you (or anyone else) has a chance, could you comment on these places:

Kettleman's Bagel Company
Chez Lucien
Snug Pub
Heart & Crowne Pub

The Swan on the Rideau
The Old Mill at Ashton

These two interest me because they're supposed to be 'English-style' pubs. Given the time the two of us spent in England, we're always into trying places like these out. Unfortunately, I've had no luck in finding The Old Mill, which is supposedly at 113 Old Mill Road in Ashton. :(

Clocktower
Cock & Lion Ale House & Pub
Courtyard Restaurant
May's Garden Restaurant
Mezzaluna Cafe
Black Bear Pub
The Royal Oak (Bank & Gloucester)

If you like English (and Irish) style pubs, there are plenty in Ottawa. Heart & Crowne is a good one, but it will be busy on a Saturday night -- if it's too crowded, The Brig is nearby and is also good. Cock&Lion is good, as is the Clocktower although it's a little more out of your way. Darcy McGee's is also very popular -- it's on the corner of Elgin and Spark (the pedestrian mall street), and is a big hangout of the political bigshots.

The Royal Oak is a chain up here... it's pretty good. The Bank + Gloucester location is quite nice, but whatever you do, do not get confused and head a few blocks south on to Bank and Sommerset -- there's another Royal Oak there, and it's awful. We've been smoke free for three years and the air is still blue in that place.

When my wife and I lived down town we were fond of the Fox and the Feather/Swagman Jack's (two halves of the same place), as well as Woody's. Both are on Elgin. I'd recommend either if you happen to be in the area, although I don't think I'd go out of my way for them.

How was the trip??

Pretty good. I should post a summary soon (about to head out the door, right now).

Just make sure that this document is well hidden when you enter the country.http://www.glasnost.de/hist/usa/1935invasion.html

Yeah, so, I'm a bit late in updating this thread with a summary of how our trip went.... :o

It was good! Now settle down, as this'll be a bit long.

We drove from Chicago to Ottawa on the Saturday, which wasn't as bad as it could have been. On the way through we drove past Toronto, which will be the destination for a future trip. Toronto looks huge!

Anyway, driving up to Ottawa from Toronto is pretty interesting. You're on a highway, then take a turn onto another highway. This highway kind of leaves civilization behind. You're driving through thick stands of trees. Eventually a few houses appear, and then *bam* the outskirts of the city and you're there.

Coming from America, it seemed to me that Ottawa didn't have a lot of sprawl. While the city extends out a good bit to the west and south, it's still "city", and lacks that kind of "generic subdivision" mess of American suburbia. Having said that, the only part that did look like that was the (relatively) new suburb of Kanata & environs, which is even further to the west.

Arriving Saturday night, we got into our hotel, which astute reader will remember was the Novotel Ottawa, located basically in the Downtown/Market area. If you're travelling to Ottawa, this seems like a good area to stay in, as it's central to pretty much everything, and the Market itself is interesting. If you look at the Hotwire maps in my very first post, I'll have to agree with those who said staying anywhere but the "Downtown" region doesn't make a lot of sense. Ottawa West requires you to take a car/bus to get to anything and Ottawa East is Orleans, which is a bit rundown (more on that later), and isn't close to much. We didn't, alas, go to Hull/Gatineau, so I'll defer to Ottawa residents on that one.

On Saturday night, after depositing our belongings in the hotel room, we headed out to find some dinner.

OK, brief digression. Besides asking here, it was difficult to find a central location on the web for decent guidance on where to eat. In the end I settled on a website called the Restaurant Thing (http://www.stevex.org/restaurants/default.aspx) which, while not perfect, does a pretty good job of aggregating the comments/ratings of regular people who've visited various restaurants in Ottawa. After our trip, I even added some comments of my own!

By the way, here's a map. Our hotel was #20:

http://www.ottawakiosk.com/hotel_area_map_april.gif

So, food. I didn't have any specifics for Saturday night, so figured we'd just walk up towards Parliament and see what was open around there. That's when we learned our first fact about downtown Ottawa: it's dead on Saturday night. It actually reminded me of parts of Chicago's Loop, which empty out around 5-7 PM and get very, very quiet, and are also quiet on the weekend.

We walked along the Sparks St. Mall the entire way, and found little that was either a) open or b) looked remotely appetizing. Somewhat disappointed, we decided to keep walking. I figured it wouldn't be too difficult to walk all the way to Little Italy (which is, on the map, just off the map to the West), and see if something was open there.

Unfortunately, we got about halfway from the end of the Sparks St. Mall to Little Italy when it started raining. We lacked umbrellas or raingear. So we hid in a bus shelter for a while until it faded to a light drizzle. We ventured out again and made it to the heart of Little Italy, which centers around Preston Street.

At this point I'd like to reiterate something Maple Leafs said - it's actually pretty easy to walk around Ottawa. Were it not from the rain, the walk from our hotel to Little Italy would probably have taken only about an hour or so. Not a big deal.

Sadly, our dinner experience was not a good one. We picked an establishment that looked good and prosperous, and ended up being bitterly disappointed. I won't belabor the point, but if you're interested, you can read my review here (http://www.stevex.org/restaurants/ShowRestaurant.aspx?ID=565).

Sunday was a much better day. After getting up kind of late (all that driving on Saturday made me sleepy), we headed out to the National Gallery of Canada (http://www.national.gallery.ca/125/). On the way we passed by the U.S. Embassy, which really is a must see, because it's basically built like a modern-day fortress, hunkered down against the elements, as if expecting to be stormed by angry Canadians at any moment. :)

The National Gallery was great. Although we spent all of our time just on the "Canadian Art" floor, that alone was worth it. The exhibits run the gamut from 19th-century landscapes all the way to modern abstraction, so you pretty much have your pick, based on your taste. Anyway, good collections, and a pretty decent museum for anyone who likes to take a gander at art. There's also a pretty cool section of the museum for kids that has stuff for them to play with, but also people to keep them entertained. If we had kids, that would have been huge, and the parents who were there seemed very, very happy with the whole situation.

After the National Gallery we headed down into the Byward Market to grab some lunch. I'll be honest here - I was disappointed by the Market. Like most places of this "type" (Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco springs to mind), what used to be an authentic market area has been crowded in by shops of either the tacky or riotiously expensive type, and, inexplicably, Irish Pubs. The Canadian government's proclivity to drop 60s/70s-style concrete chunks of buildings into areas like this hasn't helped things either. But I'll talk more about the Market later.

We skirted the north side of the Market and grabbed lunch at Chez Lucien (http://www.stevex.org/restaurants/ShowRestaurant.aspx?id=929). The link has my review. Good place, and very pleasant, which was so nice after the adventures of the previous night.

After lunch we spent the rest of the afternoon just wandering around that part of Ottawa, all the way to the river to the east (see map above, above St. Patrick St.). We popped into a few interesting shops, and mostly just checked out the area, taking it easy, which was nice. In one instance we popped into a bookstore, which was cool because it had a cat in residence which was the spitting image of a cat my folks used to own which recently died.

Returning to our hotel after a day spent wandering, we headed out for dinner. This evening I had a plan. We had heard that there were good English-style (not Irish-style) pubs in Ottawa. Since we met in England and lived there for years, we occasionally crave the English pub experience. Let's face it, you can't get warm beer just anywhere! :D

Thus we went to The Old Mill at Ashton (http://www.stevex.org/restaurants/ShowRestaurant.aspx?id=322). Now this wasn't in Ottawa, but in a tiny village about 45 minutes to the west. Driving there is how we got to see Kanata (from the highway) and get some impressions of that part of the area. Ashton itself, and the surrounding area, was very rural and very pleasant. My review of the place is in the link above, but let me say that it was just excellent. After dinner we walked around the village and then headed back into Ottawa. It was turning out to be a very nice trip indeed.

We weren't quite tired on the drive back, so decided to drive around some areas. We headed east from downtown to the Sussex Drive/Rockcliffe area, which is apparently where all the bigwigs live. Map here. (http://www.ottawakiosk.com/map7.html) A very pleasant neighborhood, with beautiful houses and a really nice residential feel. After poking through that neighborhood, we decided to drive out on Rockcliffe Parkway, which is supposed to be a nice drive, and it was. It was so nice, in fact, that we ended up way out of the city to the East (way past the Aviation museum) and ended up coming back through Orleans to central Ottawa.

On Monday, our last day in Ottawa, our definite plan was to get a tour of Parliament. First we hit up the Agora Cafe & Bookstore (http://www.sfuo.ca/agora/agora/index.en.html) for simple breakfast stuff, and, after lounging for a while, headed over to Parliament to see about a tour. Turns out there are several tours of the various sections of Parliament, and they take off pretty regularly. We got a reservation for one, and killed the hour we had to wait by walking around the grounds themselves.

The grounds are cool, and the view from the hill over the river to Hull/Gatineau is exceptional. From here you can also get a good look at the Canadian Museum of Civilization (http://www.ottawakiosk.com/civilization.html), which is either a cool or weird looking building, depending on your point of view.

The tour of Parliament itself was well worth it (well, it was free). The building is interesting to look at inside, and the history given by the guide was pretty fascinating. After the tour you can go up to the bell tower, which offers very good views of the entire city, and I do recommend that highly.

After the tour, we decided to hit the Byward Market for real, and do a bit of shopping. My previous disparagements aside, on weekdays you can have some fun in the actual "market" parts of the Market. There's a wide variety of stuff on sale, both in stalls and in micro-storefronts, from flowers to various kinds of cheese.

So, after spending the afternoon wandering around aimlessly, we spruced back up and headed out for dinner. For dinner, we went to a place called Sweetgrass Aboriginal Bistro (http://www.stevex.org/restaurants/ShowRestaurant.aspx?id=654), which bills itself as a place that features "native" foods and dishes. It was fantastic. See the link for more of my comments. Basically they use ingredients and preparations common more to the "native" people of Canada. As such, my main course, for instance, was an Elk Steak that was really impressive.

And that's about it. On Tuesday we left for Vermont.

If I was to go back, I'd definitely visit the Museum of Civilization, about which I continue to hear good things. We also didn't visit the area of town called the Glebe, which does sound interesting as a residential/commercial area, with more eccentric shops and tree-lined streets. I also believe it's possible to rent kayaks/canoes/boats at some point on the Rideau Canal, and if we had had more time, I think we would have done that as well.

All in all a pretty good visit. I'd like to thank everyone here who gave advice on what to see/do and where to stay! :D

Thanks for the update!! ;)

How was the weather while you were there?? I only ask because my folks have said that it has probably been the hottest summer they can remember...that would be at least 30 years.

Yeah, it was really hot: 90s fahrenheit & very humid.

Yikes!!

Heh. Brought back a lot of memories of my trip there on business (though family tagged along for some leisure activities as well). We didn't have a car, so we mostly did what we could by foot, bus, or taxi.

You mentioned that you disappear into the wilderness for a while between Toronto and Ottawa. Having flown into Ottawa, I can vouch for this because once you leave Toronto, there's just nothing out there besides the occasional criss-crossing country road when you're looking down from 30,000 feet. My wife and I were commenting on just how empty and remote it was as we flew over it.

Did they finish the renovations on the library at the back of Parliament? My timing was a little unfortunate as they had the entire library under wraps while I was there, somewhat disrupting the view of the rest of the parliament buildings from the Gatineau side of the river.

Did they finish the renovations on the library at the back of Parliament? My timing was a little unfortunate as they had the entire library under wraps while I was there, somewhat disrupting the view of the rest of the parliament buildings from the Gatineau side of the river.

No, it's still under construction.

No, it's still under construction.

It's a few million $ over-budget and late.

You mentioned that you disappear into the wilderness for a while between Toronto and Ottawa.

Actually, the highway from the 401 to Ottawa used to be an old and windy two-lane highway up until about 8 or 9 years ago. With the new highway, chops off about 30 minutes especially on those Sunday nights on a long weekend with all the campers and tent trailors!!!