Ottawa
Since we were on this side of the country, Gimpy and I decided we wanted to day trip to Ottawa. We hadn’t fully fleshed out our plans prior to arriving, but as our time in Montreal progressed we eventually settled on taking the early train from Montreal to Ottawa, to maximize our time in our nation’s capital. We woke up at the unfortunate hour of 4:30 to take the subway to the train station. From there we boarded our train at 6. ( We originally pre-scheduled an Uber but none were available at that time so we erred on the side of caution). Once aboard, it took about two hours to get to the Ottawa train station. From there we hopped on a bus for another 20 minutes before getting off near our parliament buildings.
Parliament of Canada
As a kid growing up in Canada, visiting our nations capital was always something I’d wanted to do. I’ve only ever seen our parliament in pictures so having the chance to see it live and walk around the grounds is actually very surreal. Maybe its the cold, or that it was family day in Ottawa but when we arrived there was barely anybody on the grounds, so in some ways it felt like we had it to ourselves for a bit.
Because we didn’t really spend that much time planning this portion of our trip, we were unable to book any tours inside any of the government buildings. While we were a little disappointed, we simply moved onto the next thing on our list!
The Rideau Canal
Another thing that feels incredibly “Canadian” is to be able to skate on a natural waterway and not just an indoor skating rink. And Ottawa’s Rideau Canal is a pretty iconic place to do it! Gimpy navigated us to a skate rental place, we got our skates and proceeded to “lace them up!”
Now I haven’t skated in YEARS, and it took us a good few minutes before we felt somewhat competent at it again! From there we were off! This must be what it feels like to be a “real Canadian”, with the cold fresh air all around, the wind in your face! It felt pretty good, for a few minutes! I’m pretty sure because they were rentals, and because neither Gimpy or I have skated in a very long time. Our feet were starting to feel a bit sore after about a kilometer. Thankfully along the canal are small areas where locals can get on and off the Canal. This allows those with skates to come in and out as they please. What it also means is there are benches. (more so for people to change in and out of their skates, but we didn’t care!)
We continued to pop in and out of these “rest areas” until we reached halfway down the Canal. There was a larger festival area setup with places to sit around the fire, apple cider samples and live music! We spent a little time warming up in front of one of the fires, enjoying our cider and the festive atmosphere around us! We decided to turn back from the festival point and make our way back to the place we started to return our skates and find lunch!
Lunch at Byward Market
After “all” that skating, we were famished. So we made Byward Market our next stop. Its a public market type building with many different stalls for different artisan items and food. I scoped out a middle eastern spot and decided to get some chicken rice and vegetables. Given how hungry I was, I devoured it quickly and loved every bite! We spent some time walking through the market and checking out the wacky decor and stores before heading out.
Winterlude
Behind Byward Market is a cool festival setup put on by Winterlude. Winterlude is a Canadian winter celebration held in Ottawa every February and we were lucky to be here as it was going on. There were some very cool things going on all around the area, but one thing that was incredibly fascinating was the ice sculpting that was being done or already done. We admired some of the intricacies of the sculptures and spent a good amount of time watching the sculptors do their thing.
We had to pull ourselves away from the ice sculpting and ended up at Blue bird Coffee. With little time left in the day, so we enjoyed a cup of coffee and relaxed a little before getting on a bus back to the train station.
Pho Evening
Gimpy and I took the time to nap a little on the way back. Given the early start, we were pretty tired and had a quiet evening in mind. On our way from the train station to our AirBnB we stopped at a local Vietnamese restaurant to pick up some Pho noodles. While this is not a very “Montreal” dish, being Asian, there’s nothing better than a hot bowl of soup noodles on a cold day! When we got back, we hooked up the laptop and put on La La Land, a movie Gimpy hadn’t seen yet! We pulled out our L’Express leftovers and made a feast of it! It was our last night in Montreal and we both agreed this was a great way to spend it!
Tommy’s Coffee
The next morning we checked out of our AirBnb and dropped off our bags at a hotel near the airport express bus stop. Our original plan was to simply explore the area and see where that lead us. Coincidentally, a friend from home sent me a Facebook message that highlighted some of the “best coffee shops” in Canada. Gimpy and I decided to visit one or two in Montreal!
The first one we hit up was Tommy’s Coffee. Its a cool multi level coffee shop with a lively environment. We ordered some breakfast and coffee and proceeded to enjoy our food, coffee and atmosphere. I quite liked Tommy’s and would recommend it again. The people were super friendly, food was good and the coffee is very tasty!
Pikolo Espresso Bar
Tommy’s was close to Old Montreal, so Gimpy and I decided to stroll through there a little afterwards. Oddly enough we ended up back at the port where we visited on our first day of exploration. We eventually made our way to our next coffee shop: Pikolo Espresso Bar. Pikolo is a bit smaller than Tommy’s and a little quieter as well. There wasn’t as much seating but the decor seemed pretty rustic and I still liked the vibe. While I enjoy a good espresso, I don’t think Gimpy enjoyed it as much. Given the atmosphere and overall coffee offering, I’d probably recommend Tommy’s over Pikolo, but you really can’t go wrong with either.
Back to Saint Viateur
As it was nearing time for us to head to the airport. Our last stop of the day was to hit up Saint Viateur Bagel again. We always wanted to return home with a few bagels. So, we dropped in and both Gimpy and I ended up with a dozen each. One thing I failed to recognize is the mass a dozen bagels takes up. So when we picked up our bags, we both had to “Tetris” a little in order to fit bagels into our luggage!
Homeward bound
We took the 747 Airport express back to Montreal where we got ourselves through security and into the National Bank Lounge. We had a chance to unwind, grab food and drink before boarding our flight back to Vancouver.
Our flight back to Vancouver went fairly smoothly except for one thing. If you recall, on our way to Montreal I made the newbie mistake of leaving my headphones at home and having to watching Netflix with subtitles on the way over. Well, to remedy that situation I had bought some cheap ear buds at a local drug store in anticipation for this flight home.
I thought I was set and was ready for the 5 hour flight home. Once got into the air and I pulled my IPad out to watch a show, I was presented with a Netflix logon screen! I tried unsuccessfully to log in and get at my downloaded shows. I even turned my phone’s airplane mode off (GASP!) in hopes of picking up a weak signal in order to tether my IPad for that single logon! Sadly it was not meant to be and I resigned myself to no in flight entertainment on the way home. So next time, I’ll be sure to not only bring headphones, but ensure I’m properly logged in before take off!
Past that the flight was very smooth and we had no issues returning home. This was a short trip Gimpy and I had planned. And overall it was a very fun, relaxing and tasty trip! I’ve been to Montreal before and really do enjoy this city. There is a lot to see, eat and do. I anticipate a return at some point, though hopefully next time, it will be in the summer.