The adventures of “lionheart” the Nomad Dougal: Ottawa... a great place!

Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country.The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River. Ottawa borders the Province of Quebec.

The city's population is 812,129. It is considered the second cleanest city in Canada, and third cleanest city in the world.

Founded in 1826 as Bytown and incorporated as "Ottawa" in 1855, the city has evolved into a political and technological center of Canada.

I was pleasantly surprised... Ottawa is a great place, it is very 'French', being right at the boarder to Quebec; and it has some amazing buildings, especially Parliament Hill. And... it has water, a river, easily accessible, beautiful countryside around it. It being autumn, the leaves starting to change colour, and the whole atmosphere is just beautiful.

I am glad I decided to stay! I am armed with my maps and off I go exploring. I discover the Marche By = Byward Markets. It is so quaint and French - I love it!

A nice policeman came up to me and said: 'I think you should be in this picture'! How nice of him....

After the markets I wonder off down the street and to the lovely Major's Hill Park with a beautiful view of the Ottawa River and Parliament Hill.

Major's Hill Park is one of the most notable parks in downtown Ottawa. The park stands above the Rideau Canal at the point where it enters the Ottawa River. Across the canal to the west are the parliament buildings, to the north of the park is the National Gallery of Canada, and to the east is the Byward Market.

The use of the area as a residence gives the park the rather unusual quality of remaining a green space since the early days of Ottawa.

Squirrels and those little animals are all over the park...so cute....

View of Parliament Hill

The Ottawa River (French: Rivière des Outaouais) is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. For most of its length, it now defines the border between these two provinces.

Parliament Hill (French: Colline du Parlement), colloquially known as The Hill, is an area of Crown land on the southern banks of the Ottawa River in downtown Ottawa. Its Gothic revival suite of buildings — the parliament buildings — serves as the home of the Parliament of Canada and contains a number of architectural elements of national symbolic importance. Parliament Hill attracts approximately 3 million visitors each year.

Originally the site of a military base in the 18th and early 19th centuries, development of the site into a governmental precinct began in 1859, after Bytown was chosen by Queen Victoria as the capital of the Province of Canada.

The parliament buildings are three edifices arranged around three sides of Parliament Hill's central lawn, the use and administration of the spaces within each building being overseen by the speakers of each chamber of the legislature. Gothic Revival has been used as the unifying style of all three structures.

View from The Hill - so beautiful...

All this walking and these wonderful sites made me hungry and thirsty - I need a treat.... I wander back into town where I had discovered the 'Beavertails' hut. - Another one for Becky = had to go all the way to Ottawa to find all the good treats....