A visit to Ottawa on Canada Day seemed perfect and we had planned this trip for weeks. The plan was just about simple to watch the ceremonial noon show, see the Snowbirds fly and then enjoy the music concert in the evening. My daughter was super excited especially for the concert because Alessia Cara was performing and she is a big fan of her.
The plan was to leave home early, somewhere around 5.30 to 6 in the morning, so that we are able to reach Ottawa well before noon. But as in most cases things didn’t go as planned and we finally left at 6.52 am. On the way a quick stop at Tim Hortons and a nature call break and we reached Ottawa only at 12.45 pm. That meant we missed the noon show completely.
The hotel was the next disappointment. We were staying at Wyndham Conference Centre in Gatineau. Check in was only from 4 pm. We asked if we could check in early and they said the earliest they could manage was 2.30 pm and anything earlier would be charged. We agreed to 2.30 pm and went off for lunch.
We chose Pure Kitchen for lunch and that was my choice with some great online reviews that served all vegetarian food. To be fair, it was probably the healthiest meal we have had in a long time but my family is not vegetarian and to be honest we did not enjoy it much. It just did not feel satisfying and we left the place assuring ourselves that the dinner will be better.
By the time we finished lunch it had started raining. Just a day before there was a heatwave warning and now suddenly it turned into a thunderstorm warning. We rushed to the hotel, dropped our bags quickly and while we were hoping to catch the celebrations, is when we learned the sad news that all the programs for the day had been cancelled because of the thunderstorm.
At that point we knew our Canada Day trip was slowly getting washed out, quite literally. Even then we did not want to give up. With a toddler in my arms, we walked out after 7 pm towards Lebreton Flats hoping to find some bit of celebration happening somewhere. All we found were other disappointed families and travelers walking around just like us. It started pouring heavily but we walked in the rain and finally reached Tulip Resto inside the Hilton for dinner. Thankfully it was much better than our lunch.
The walk back after 10 pm in a light drizzle and darkness was actually quite nice and peaceful. The city was still buzzing though. Music was playing loud in the restaurants and pubs, people were partying and there were girls glamorously dressed, dancing and making videos, probably for TikTok or YouTube. The whole area had a festive energy despite the rain. We were tired and went straight to sleep once we reached our room.
The next morning breakfast at Wyndham was really good and gave us a nice start to day two. Hoping to make the trip worthwhile, we decided to visit Parc Omega which is about one to one and a half hours from Ottawa. Their advertisements looked amazing and that is really what pulled us there instead of spending the day touring Ottawa properly, especially since the weather was much better on day 2.
Honestly, for the entry price they charge, we did not feel Parc Omega was worth it. Yes, there were hundreds of caribou, moose and wild boars roaming around. But apart from that there was not much else. Wolves were supposed to be the big highlight of the park as shown in their advertisements but we could barely spot three of them resting far away in their enclosure. We headed back much disappointed.
For the evening, we booked the Lady Dive Amphibus tour in Ottawa at 5.35 pm and that was a one hour trip. There was a small technical issue with the bus and our start got delayed by 15 minutes. I will admit I was quietly relieved that the glitch happened before we entered the water and not once we were sailing in the Ottawa River.
The tour turned out to be really nice. We saw the Parliament buildings, the Prime Minister’s residence, embassies of different countries and buildings like the Canada Library and Archives and the Supreme Court. From the tour commentary, we also learned that the vehicles with red license plates belong to diplomats working in the capital. We spotted three such cars during the ride.
You really do learn small interesting things while travelling.
We went under the Alexandra Bridge during the tour and also saw the Rideau Canal lock, which gave us a nice refresher on how canal locks actually work. On the road, we passed the Fairmont Chateau Laurier hotel, where rooms apparently cost more than CAD15000 a night. Watching guests walk in and out of that hotel somehow makes you feel like working harder and earning more, so that one day you too can afford that kind of luxury for yourself and your family.
We ended the trip with coffee and a quick snack at Tim Hortons before driving back home. We reached home past midnight, tired but full of memories.
Travelling is never just about fun and food but rather teaches you things too and this trip was full of small lessons.
If we had left home on time on day one, we would have at least caught the noon show, which turned out to be the only event that actually happened before everything else got cancelled. A little planning and checking the weather forecast a few days in advance could have helped us reschedule better.
We also learned that being on time has its own rewards. We reached early for the amphibus tour and got the best seats in the front row simply because it was on first come first serve basis. Punctuality really does pay off.
On the trivia side, we found out that the Royal Canadian Mint in Ottawa now only makes bullion and souvenir coins. Actual currency coins are minted in Winnipeg now. The US Embassy in Ottawa is said to be one of the most expensive embassies in the world, worth millions of dollars. There is a popular story that the soil under it was brought from the US itself but that is just a myth and not a fact.
We were also reminded that Canada was formed in 1867, but complete independence, meaning the right to amend its own constitution, came only in 1982.
In the end, this trip did not go as we had imagined. The rain played spoilsport, the celebrations got cancelled and a couple of our choices like the vegetarian lunch and Parc Omega did not quite live up to expectations. But we still came back with good memories, some laughter, a few life lessons and plenty of stories to tell. Honestly, that is what travelling is all about, isn’t it?