We were supposed to be resting at Bruce Beach, but Yanmei has wanted to go to Montreal for a while. I have also never been to Montreal, so we decided to take a few days and do another road trip. And since it is on the way, why not visit Ottawa too? So Tuesday we drove from Bruce Beach to Ottawa and stayed at an Airbnb.
I picked the Airbnb and I thought the location was great, walking distance to parliament hill. We arrived fairly late but went out for a walk around the city and along Rideau canal. Yanmei liked the smaller city atmosphere, not too crowded, fresher air, green parks, etc.
We heard there was a light show at the parliament at 10pm, but after driving all day and walking around a lot we were too tired and went back to our room to sleep.
The next morning we got up early to go to the parliament to get tickets for the free tours. We got there at 8:30am (ticket office opens at 9) and there was already a huge line. I waited in line while Yanmei looked around.
Finally, after nearly 1.5 hours we got tickets to the 10am tour. As we walked over to the tour starting spot, the “changing of the guard” ceremony started.
We didn't get to watch the whole thing because our tour was starting, but we inadvertently got front row position while they marched past.
The tour was pretty good. It was a relatively small group, maybe 15 people. I thought the guide kept to the interesting high lights.
After we finished our tour we did a bit more walking.
It already felt like a long day, but it was only about 2pm when we left for Montreal. Fortunately, Montreal is only about 2 hours drive from Ottawa. We probably should have planned on another day in Ottawa, because there was lots of stuff we didn't see, but maybe we can come back another time. Also a lot of stuff was under construction/maintenance, I guess so everything with be in top shape for the 150th anniversary next year.
We finally made it to Montreal and charged up at a supercharger.
After a short rest in our Montreal Airbnb, we went out for dinner. Yanmei wanted to try oysters, so she is getting more adventurous (she had one, then let me eat the rest).
Long day!
-David
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