Since I’ve been back in Canada, I haven’t been travelling.
So, since all of my exams have been at the end of the exam period, I took a
train to Ottawa to see my best friend. Julia and I have known each other for 19
years this September. She moved to Ottawa in the fall, and I hadn’t seen her
since November 11th. It was actually getting to the point where my
friends here didn’t think she existed. I was so excited to visit. I could go
for only three days, but it was wonderful. Canada’s capital city is stunning,
and although I have been there in the past, I never really did the full tour.
This time, I got to see it from the perspective of a citizen.
Day One
I’m skipping the first day I got there since we didn’t do
much. I had a paper to work on while she finished work, so I sat in a cafe
across the street. We had an amazing dinner, and we watched a movie.
Our first actual day together was perfectly us. It was a
crummy day so what better to do than to cafe hop? I had a massive paper due
that night, so that was my focus. We ended up at five different places, but we
managed to do a lot of walking around Ottawa. We check out the Parliament
building, and got another couple fantastic meals. It turns out Chipotle is safe
for me, so we had some and it was ah-mazing – highly suggested.
Day Two
We finally got to do some exploring. We had an early morning
start and did the tour of Parliament. I was checking out some paintings and
walked smack-dab into a divider (sorry Justin Trudeau). My favourite part was
the Parliamentary Library because it’s a library and it’s gorgeous. We intended
to go to the court buildings, but we wandered the opposite way down Bank
Street. We had breakfast for lunch (the best) and ended up in The Glebe which
is the expensive part of the city. We wandered in and out of the stores before
heading back to her house. We were supposed to go to a board game cafe, but it
was too full and we were tired, so we watched TV back at the house.
Day Three
The day started off with a delicious grilled cheese sandwich
from Red Door (also highly suggest). I even ended up buying another one for my
dinner that night on the train. It was so good. We went for a little walk down
the river and then through the Governor General’s estate. I couldn’t have
chosen an uglier time to be in Ottawa. The garden we walked through was
supposed to be a rose garden. Her mom’s boyfriend took us for a drive through
Rockcliffe where all the Embassies are. Those homes are so stunning. They kept
mentioning that some of the homes were worth more than the country they belong
to and I believe it! It was a great drive, and we went to a stunning lookout
stop. It was a fantastic way to end my trip.
I think I managed to get all parts of Ottawa in a mere three
days. I’m planning on visiting again if I manage to get some time off in the
summer. I loved Ottawa. It is so much more accessible compared to where I live,
and they have a great lifestyle. Ottawa is similar to LA but not so
in-your-face. They have yoga and workout studios everywhere, and everyone is
genuinely interested in being healthier. You see people of all shapes and sizes
taking a walk around the street and getting active. It is so refreshing. I can
see why Julia doesn’t want to come back, so I’m not going to hold it against
her for leaving me behind. I can’t wait for my next trip!
Please share any experiences you have in Ottawa below!
Daniella
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