Over the last few weeks I have had a lot going on out here in Ottawa, with my friend visiting from Finland, work at Brothers Beer Bistro, going to my cottage twice, bike polo, and much more. I have not had time or really anything of major significance to write about in separate posts. So this post will mostly, again, be pictures. But I will try to write as much as I can about some of the cool things that have gone on here in Ottawa.
Lasse was the friend from Finland that I met in Vancouver over Christmas. He was studying in Thunder bay in the winter and it turned out he would be flying back home from Toronto at the same time I was back in Ottawa. So I offered him a place to rest his head in Ottawa as well as guide him around town as best as I could. Apparently I am very good at drawing maps... Who would have known. ;)
We did a number of things around town, and most of it all involved drinking before, during or after. We visited some great pubs and eateries like Brothers Beer Bistro, Prescott Tavern, Sir John A's, The Manx, and Hintonburg Public House as well as took in a show at Mavericks Bar(Woe, Alaskan, and Occult Burial). We did a couple of Jane's Walks around the downtown core(below), drank beer at the polo courts, ventured around Nepean, and even showed him the bleak suburb of Kanata.
His friends Venla, Siri, and Ossi joined Lasse in his Canadian adventure and stayed in Ottawa for a few nights. We partied together a few nights and showed them off in great fasion with a great night at Mavericks and then at the Brig in the Byward Market.
Below left to right; Siri, Venla, Ossi, Andrew, Myself, Lasse, and Justin.
Anyways, here are a few cool things that I have done over the last few weeks.
Jane's Walk Ottawa
A few Saturdays ago was the Jane's Walk Ottawa weekend, a weekend where people from around the community do free guided walks and tell stories or facts about the neighborhood and city they love(Or are in some cases unhappy with). For more info on Jane's Walks in your town clike HERE
We first did a cool walk called 'Engineer's Stories of Ottawa's Built Heritage' and it proved quite interesting as well as a great scenic tour for Lasse and I to take some really great photos of Ottawa.
We learned about The Dufferin Bridge, Rideau Canal, the old railyway that passed along the canal to Hull, Colonel By and his Place of Residence, and the Alexandria Bridge. It was quite cool even for myself, a resident of Ottawa for over 22 years.
The second walk we did was the 'Bones of Old Wellington Street' with my friend Chelsea. I don't really have any significant pictures from this walk because there is mot much to see after the government expropriated and demolished Lebreton Flats in the 1960's.
King Mountain Hike
My friend Andrew and I took Lasse up to Gatineau Park just north of Ottawa to do a hike up to King Mountain where I had been told the best views of Ottawa and the Valley can be found.
These little guy's below we saw near the end of our hike. They are of course beavers and they were just chilling no more than ten yards away and chewing the bark off of sticks, very cool experience. We also saw four turtles just sunning themselves on a log in the lake!
It was a pretty overcast day but we were still able to take a few good pictures, see some wildlife and manage to stay dry and relatively bug free. Enjoy the pictures.
Cottage and the Outaouais
My Brother, Lasse and i went up to the cottage and I have also just got back from a second trip to the cottage on Blue Sea lake. It may seem that I have taken more pictures of the drive up and back and it is true. I was more taken in by the countryside on the way up than the actual cottage. I kind of missed that drive, and it was nice to see. Enjoy a bunch of photos.
Alright, thats it for now, Im off to Baltimore in a few days and will for sure have a post for you after I get back. (PS Sorry for the layout in the middle of the post... Blogger is pretty much the worst for laying out a post properly...)
Peace
