Canada Day Five - Last day in Ottawa

What a great night! I just had the best time with a very good friend! It was the perfect way to end our time in Ottawa. But I am getting a little ahead of myself... 

Due to poor planning and the fear of inclement weather, we were unable to go to the Natural History museum today because it is closed on Mondays. So instead we went to Canada's National Art Gallery. The museum was beautiful, with a huge sweeping entry leading to a lobby with tall glass ceilings. 

Walking into the National Gallery

National Gallery lobby

The first floor was all Canadian, from very early indigenous art to modern. It was all very interesting but I'm afraid I wasn't able to fully appreciate it as most of time in the museum was spent following after Christian. I've yet to find an art museum that is built for children, especially the active types, and this one was particularly difficult. Why do they build museums with such loud floors and echoing rooms and then expect everyone to be so silent? Christian wasn't being bad, and he was trying to appreciate the art in his own way. But it was hard for him to understand why he couldn't touch some of the exhibits, especially the large metal or concrete structures, the garden, and the pool of water. 

Jon in the National Gallery

Resting by the pool

Will wandering the museum

Will and Jon were great and wandered through the museum a little faster than Grandma but never got too far ahead. And while this wasn't their first choice, I do think they found and appreciated some interesting exhibits. While getting Christian to stay in the general vicinity was tough, he also enjoyed looking at some of the exhibits. And I have some ideas for how to make our next art trip more successful. 

Tired boys

Will was excited to take a selfie with another "selfie" (self portrait)

Christian and Jon both liked these camels

One room that did capture their attention was a hall of nudes. Of course. When I suggested to Christian that we move into the next room he said "But mom, I'm looking at art" Later he wanted to show the hall to Daddy too. And as James followed the boys to the exhibits Will said in a very serious voice, "Daddy, remember that you are married" 

Boys in the museum

Jon

It was a beautiful museum and really, everything went very well. We only stressed out the security guard a little bit when he thought Jon was about to touch a painting. (He wasn't.) But by the time we left I was exhausted by the effort to make sure nothing did happen. 

When we came out it was beautiful and sunny so we took a short walk back to the other side of Byward Market. We found another good place to eat and had a very pleasant meal. Then we did a little more shopping before heading out to a playground at Lansdowne Park.The playground was pretty great and had a huge rope structure that was challenging and a little terrifying for the kids. But they had a lot of fun playing around while James and I enjoyed a walk. On the way back we found a pile of snow from the ice skating rink so of course we grabbed a couple of snowballs to throw at the kids. I waited until James threw his and then Christian and I nailed him. :-)

Playing with a fountain

Will climbing the rope structure

Boys on the rope structure. Only Will made it all the way across the first time

Will spinning Jon

James and I had plans to go out that night and Camille had very kindly agreed to babysit. She is wonderful! So we left the playground fairly early so we could get them all settled. They had a great night with movies, pizza, ice cream, video games, and all the sweets Grandma had stored away. They are very lucky kids!

Christian with a slide whistle

Daddy crushes his kids

My turn to drive

But soon we had them all set up and it was time to go and meet my friend! This is another one of my online friends and someone I've known for three years now. We've gotten pretty close in that time and I was super excited to meet him and also very nervous! Poor James... I honestly don't know how he puts up with my excessive over worrying. But I shouldn't have wasted my time, it was a really great night! 

Ottawa

 We met Bates on a bridge near the center of town and headed off toward the Market area to find something to eat. He knew all kinds of good restaurants, all of them more adventurous than I am used to. We finally settled on a little Japanese place, an all you can eat sushi restaurant. Not liking rice and being strongly opposed to eating any raw meat, I have until this point resisted eating any sushi. But tonight I tried raw salmon, eel, and shrimp tempura and it wasn't bad. (Don't get your hopes up, James, it probably won't happen again) And the shrimp tempura was so good I ordered seconds. 

Dinner was delicious and we had so much fun talking that I didn't want the night to end, even after we'd sat there a half hour after the table was cleared. So the three of us wandered Byward Market on a hunt for ice cream. We didn't find any but we did find a small cafe that was still open and serving some delicious chocolate and caramel cake. 

Me and Bates

By the time we finished desert it was getting late and time to head home. We gave Bates a ride back which was great because it gave us more time to talk. Or would have if I hadn't managed to miss my turn and take us down a back dirt road which ended up being closed... But it was an adventure! Thankfully the wrong turns happened before we dropped him off so Bates was able to get us back on the right road again.

It was such a great night and I am so happy I was able to see my friend! And very thankful for Camille who gave James and I a night off. What a blessing that was! But now it is incredibly late and tomorrow we are off on the road again. Thankfully just to Quebec City which isn't very far. Still, it is high time I went to bed. 
Goodnight!

Canada Day Four - Rideau Canal and Byward Market

What a great first day in Ottawa! We started off slow this morning, the boys slept in until 9 and James and I were so grateful for the extra sleep. Then, after a leisurely breakfast and cartoons in Grandma's room we finally headed out into the city. Getting in was super easy, perhaps because of the weekend, and we quickly found a convenient garage. The only downside was that poor Camille had to walk quite far before we reached the elevator. We emerged from the parking garage into a large lobby which had three high backed swivel chairs. Immediately the boys ran to them and proceeded to slowly turn round and say in a creepy voice "Hello Mommy (or Daddy), we've been waiting for you"

Creepy kids

We got down to the canal just in time to step onto the boat for the Rideau Canal Cruise. The canal runs right through Ottawa and is often bordered by parks or picturesque sections of town. It was a very pretty and pleasant ride. Our tour guide was adorable and very funny. She had to give the whole tour twice, in English and in French, which seemed exhausting! But she was cheerful and engaging the whole time. But both this and Niagara on the Lake made me feel rather bad about my lack of knowledge about the war of 1812 which seems to be a significant part of the history for both places.

Jon is ready to get on the boat

Will and Grandma on the Rideau Canal

Dow's Lake

Jon and Christian enjoying the boat ride

Jon's picture of Christian

Jon's picture of Daddy

Christian the photographer

The tour was an hour and a half long, right at lunch time, which was poor planning on our part and came very close to the end of the boys' patience. But both Christian and Jon were entertained for a large portion of the boat ride by taking pictures. Thank goodness for camera straps!

Jon's picture of me

Jon's picture of Daddy

Jon the photographer

Jon's picture of the Rideau Canal

Boys on the boat

Jon's picture of me and James

Christian's picture of a kayaker on the canal

We enjoyed the ride down the canal but by the time we got back we were starving. So we set off for Byward Market in search of lunch. The Market is full of shops, stalls, displays, and cafes. Very similar I think to Faneuil Hall in Boston but with its own Canadian flavor. One of the very first things we saw when we entered the area was a log stacking competition and a large crowd gathered to watch. We ended up having a delicious lunch at a beautifully decorated Irish Pub. And when we came back out we found a woodcarving demonstration which captivated Christian.

Beaver Tails

Woodcarving

We spent the rest of the day wandering the Market and going into various stalls and shops. One of the first things we did was order a Palestinian dessert called Knafeh (at least that's how they spelled it) which was being cooked at a small stall. It is apparently made with a bit of pasta, cheese, and a sweet syrup which made for a very unique taste. It was interesting to try but after the first bite the cheese and syrup together was just too strange for me. We also tried the Beaver Tails which Loobster and his sisters had recommended to us. This was much more familiar and delicious! It was very much like fried dough but a little bit more dense.

Watching them make Knafeh

Christian found some art

After our snacks and shopping we got drawn into a bookstore that was selling Tintin puzzles. (Even now I regret not buying one!) But we weren't in there long before we realized it was a French bookstore so we left and went to the larger, English bookstore across the street. And once we were inside we didn't want to leave! If they'd had comfortable chairs or couches we might have stayed much longer.

Boys in a bookstore

I love Christian's pose here

After the bookstore it was back to Byward Market and even more food. Camille had found a pastry shop and we all enjoyed a treat. And afterwards we had to stop at the chocolate store to get even more delicious desserts. I think we've had enough sugar today to last us the rest of this vacation! But by this time it was pretty late and time to head home. 

Will's cookie

We stopped to buy maple candy from this stall twice!

Carrying my tired son

Christian really liked this courtyard

The Rideau Canal

After all the walking and eating we did this afternoon our evening has been pretty quiet. But still the boys had plenty of energy for the pool and some drawing afterwards. And now the boys are asleep and it is still early enough that I might have time to get a little reading in before bed! Hooray! :-)

Jon's still life

Christian's picture of Munchlax

Canada Day Three - Road to Ottawa

Today we said goodbye to Niagara Falls and took off for Ottawa. We didn't go very far though before we stopped for lunch. I think I've mentioned before about my online gaming club and how that has led me to meet a couple of different people on our travels. Because of this group I have friends in Canada and today we met one of them for lunch. The boys and James hear me talk about my online friends all the time, so they know them, but Camille is very patient with all these strangers that we meet!

My friend, who goes by the name Loobster, met us for lunch at the Swiss Chalet which is a large Canadian chain restaurant. (We'd never heard of it before but the food was very good and I'm glad to have a Canadian place to eat the next time we head North!) He brought his two sisters which made me feel much better about bringing my entire family. I am always a little nervous about meeting up in real life with the friends I have online, but today was wonderful! They are also from a close knit, Christian, homeschooling family that loves board games and lots of geeky things so we had a lot in common. I already knew that I liked Loobster of course, but his sisters were a delight! We had a great time talking and before we knew it, two hours had passed and the kids were starting to bounce off the walls. It was a such a great time and I am so happy that we met!

After lunch we piled back in the car and really got started on the drive. It isn't that far in theory, but we'd had a long lunch and had very wiggly kids. So late in the afternoon we stopped again at a playground in the city of Belleville. It was a great playground and we spent a refreshing 45 minutes there as the kids played and James and I walked in the field. But all too soon it was time to get back on the road.

There really isn't anything else to tell. It was a good drive with lots of talking and singing. But we got in late, too late to use the pool, and went right to bed. I'm not sure what we are going to do tomorrow but we have more we want to do in Ottawa than we can possibly do in two days so we'll have to choose wisely. :-)