August 2, 2011 - Dow Lake, Ottawa, Ont

We had a beautiful day to spend in Ottawa.  Again, we were about 4 miles from the city proper so we bought a bus pass that allowed us unlimited travel all day.  The bus system is rather sophisticated.  You can call a number as you wait and enter the bus station.  It will tell you how long a wait you will have.

Parliment Building

Parliment Clock Tower

Gargoile

Incredible Cathederals

Ottawawa's 8 steps to the Ottawa River 

The city of Ottawa is breathtaking, truly like an old European city.  Parliament which is at the end of the Rideau (which we came to find out means "curtain" in French) is an enormous complex of Gothic architecture structures.  We decided to take a double-decker bus tour to cram in most of the sights.  The tour guide stressed that when designing the government buildings, it was most important that they not resemble Washington DC. We also learned that the War Museum was specifically designed to be ugly since war is ugly.  At a very narrow end of the building there is one window that looks off into the distance squarely at the Tower of Peace within the city.

We got off the tour bus to do a bit of walking around the Byward Market.  I suspect the "By" comes from Colonel By who was the architect of the Rideau Canal which joined all the waterways from Kingston to Ottawa.  And it was all accomplished in 5 years.  And
all of it still endures and functions!  Where was the Colonel during the Big Dig?

Anyway, the Byward Market was filled with street vendors largely selling produce,
all of it fresh and ripe.  There were also cheese stores and bakeries and the
scents alone would cause you to gain weight.

Byward Market

Obama was here...

Conveniently, the tour bus stopped at our marina at Dow's Lake so we jumped off rather than return to the city and take a city bus back.  We were within walking distance to what is known as Little Italy so we had dinner there.  Little Italy is easily as big and restaurant-populated as the North End in  Boston.  Dinner did not disappoint.  .
Speaking of disappointing, the Captain lost last night's round of 7 Roads to Hell, putting the standings at a tie.
Tomorrow we will come to the eight step locks of Ottawa.  We will hope to do a little more sight-seeing in Ottawa and then head to Gatineau which is technically in Quebec Province, not Ontario, and is within sight of Ottawa, just up the Ottawa River.  There is a casino there and the marina is free to those who gamble.  So, guess what we will do.
Gatineau (pronounced Gat-in-no) has been a source of amusement for the Captain.  He has been loudly singing "Gattin to know you, gattin to know all about you."  Honestly, it was hilarious the first few times.  Now, he is driving me freakin' crazy.  And it's not just the singing.

Full set of pictures are at: https://picasaweb.google.com/golphinut/201107BlueBelle02?authuser=0&feat=directlink

Click on any of the photos above to enlarge them.