moresueandstevestravels: OTTAWA

Sir William Laurier, Canadian Prime Minister 1896-1911, said he 'found it hard to say anything good' about Ottawa. We couldn't have disagreed with him more. Ottawa is charming: small enough to be inviting and accessible, yet big enough to offer plenty of interest.

Plan a Visit

GETTING THERE:

The Caravan tour dropped us off at Boston Airport on 8 October and, after a few hours to look around Boston again (this time in brilliant sunshine and warmth) we flew in a VERY small plane to Ottawa where we picked up a car and drove to Sue's cousin Jackie's house.

Jackie had given us brilliant directions from the airport but, of course, we got lost and had to be helped out by a friendly passing taxi driver who took pity on us.

Jackie and her husband Jim were to be our hosts until the day after Canadian Thanksgiving.

OTTAWA'S HISTORY:

The one-time hunting ground of the Algonkian-speaking Outaouais, Ottawa 's first recorded European visitor was Samuel de Champlain in 1613 who stayed only briefly to watch his aboriginal guides make offerings of tobacco to the misty falls. Although the Ottawa river later became a major transportation route there was no permanent settlement of note until 1800 Philomen Wright set up Wrightstown which he subsequently renamed Hull - now called Gatineau - ( after his parents' birthplace). Hull flourished but it was not until the completion of the Rideau Canal in 1826, linking the site of present-day Ottawa to Kingston and the St Lawrence river, that development took off on the other (Ottawa) side of the river.
The canal builders were under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel John By who named the new settlement Bytown. In 1855, in an attempt to shed its reputation as a town of drunkenness and violence, and in a bid to become capital of the Province of Canada, Bytown re-christened itself Ottawa. Two years later Queen Victoria granted their request, allegedly after looking at some romantic landscape paintings of the Ottawa area.
Ottawa remained a workaday town until the late 1940s when Paris city planner Jacques Greber was commissioned to beautify the city. Today it is a lively cosmopolitan city of around 1 million inhabitants where walking around you are as likely to hear French spoken as English.

Parliament Buildings

Located on a 50 m. hill high above the Ottawa river, the Parliament buildings, begun in 1859 and 70 years in the making, have been described by the travel writer Jan Morris as 'a stupendous splodge of Victoriana'. Partly destroyed in a fire in 1916, they have been restored to their former splendour, distinctly reminiscent of Westminster in both style and position, but didn't overawe the original workmen who urinated on the copper roof to speed up its oxidation!

The first day we visited we weren't able to get inside the debating chambers as there was a State Visit by the Finnish President that day. We were amazed at how little obvious security there was, though: very different to in the UK.

The next day we did manage to go into the public gallery of the House of Commons, where they were debating adopting a European protocol on cyber-crime. It was very reminiscent of Westminster with the Speaker in his chair and the government and opposition benches facing one another. There were only a handful of MPs in the chamber too. Of course, we were not allowed to take any photos there. We could, however, take pictures of the Rotunda, very reminiscent of the Lobby in Westminster, though smaller, and used for a similar purpose of collaring MPs to persuade them to change their opinions.

Across the road from Parliament are some impressive government buildings

Fairmont Chateau Laurier Hotel:

Opened in 1912 and built by a railroad company, this replica of a French chateau dominates downtown Ottawa, located at the foot of Parliament Hill.

It's a beautiful building and has obviously greatly influenced the style of many neighbouring buildings that were erected later.

We had to have a look inside:

We didn't get to see any of the 'large rooms with high ceilings, decorated with Louis XV-style reproductions'.

That Finnish delegation was here too

but again no sign of security as we wandered the corridors with our cameras!

Rideau Canal

Built in the mid 19th century, the canal travels through lakes and canals from Ottawa to the city of Kingston. In the city, though once used for shipping, it is now a recreational area. (In winter it turns into the city's skating rink!)


Locks in summer

Bytown Museum

East of Parliament Hill and beside the Rideau canal, is Ottawa's oldest building (1827) which houses the Bytown Museum.

In 1826 it was the HQ of Colonel John By, the officer in charge of building the canal, and was used to store military equipment and cash. It is now a local history museum.

Major's Hill:

On the east side of the Rideau Canal is a pleasant green space

where Colonel By

decided to build his house.

Lots of black (!) squirrels here.

Canadian War Museum

Housed in a striking modern building, the museum looks at how Canada's military history has shaped the nation and its people.Exhibits range from the earliest wars fought on Canadian soil between the French and the British, to the American invasion of 1812, and Canada'a role in the 2 World Wars.

We heard from Jackie that Bobby, Sue's Canadian cousin Carolyn's son, had raved about the Otto Dix exhibition here, so we made a special visit ..... only to find the exhibition finished at the end of September. Grrrrrrr.

Byward Market:

Since the 1840s Byward Market has been the centre for farm produce in Ottawa. Byward Market Building is something of an institution in Ottawa.

We obviously chose a popular place for lunch.

With all this garlic we felt we could have been in France.

Poutine ( fries covered in gravy and cheese curds) is a Quebec staple, but Beavertails

offers a flat, deep-fried dough sprinkled with all sorts of sweet toppings.

Laurier House

We walked from Byward Market to Laurier House, a Victorian town house built in 1878. It served as the chief residence of 2 notable Canadian Prime Ministers: Sir Wilfred Laurier (PM 1896-1911) and William Lyon Mackenzie King (PM 1921-1930 and 1935-1948).

As well as being Canada's longest-serving PM, King is also remembered for his tortuous use of language that obscured his lack of substantive policies ( as illustrated in 1939 by his most famous line: 'not necessarily conscription, but conscription if necessary'), and for his eccentricity. He regularly held seances to tap the advice of great dead Canadians, including Laurier , who allegedly communicated to him through his pet dog!

Cathedrale Notre-Dame:

This neo-Gothic Catholic cathedral , with twin silver spires, was completed in 1890.

Inside it features a spectacular Gothic style ceiling.

National Gallery of Canada:

Opened in 1988, and one of the three largest museums in the country, the National gallery of Canada is a pink granite and glass edifice housing Canada's impressive collection of over 25,000 national and international paintings.

The sculpture of the giant spider - incongruously entitled 'Maman' - was erected in 2005.

Steve seemed to take such a liking to it ....

......he couldn't have been proposing marriage??

Musee Canadien des Civilisations:

We took the river taxi

to the far side of the Alexandra Bridge

where the museum's curvy limestone contours are supposed to represent the rocky sweep of the Canadian shield.

Outside was an exhibition of some interesting statues, including ones representing 'Woman'

and 'The Family'.

Thanksgiving:

When we had contacted Jackie last year about our trip she had said we must stay with her for Thanksgiving. At that point we didn't even realise Canadians had a Thanksgiving. Nothing to do with the (later) American version, Canadian Thanksgiving is more what we Brits would recognise as Harvest, where everyone brings something, complete with an enormous turkey dinner and pumpkin pie!