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....

Yummie,yummie ...this is a bit like a flat doughnut - I had it with maple syrup and chocolate... the healthy version of course!!!

Enough excitement for one day... am exhausted and tired - off I go to my shared accommodation....

Good night.

S & D

God works in mysterious ways.... Ottawa

I've been relaxing, having lazy days, going for my walks, and relaxing....in other words, got used to a very slow pace. 

As my time in Toronto is soon coming to an end, I started thinking of the next legs of my journey... also, about Sudan - had not managed yet to obtain a visa.  Huda was trying through a contact at the Embassy and Walid was trying in Sudan - but no success yet.  So I prayed and put the matter in God's hands - Inshallah!

On Tuesday, I came home from my walk and had several voicemail messages from Huda and Sarah - I got really worried, thinking something bad has happened.  Turned out - Huda had been able to talk to her contact at the Sudanese Embassy in Ottawa, who said it would probably be possible to get me a visa.  However, I am leaving in 5 days.... how can we do this in time and get my passport back?

So I decided to take a train trip to Ottawa and present myself at the Embassy!  Oh my God... quick... lots to organize... I had to cranck up the gears quick and fast....

God works in mysterious ways!  and he does answer prayers... we don't always get the answer we want, but we do get an answer!  Hamdullilah!

So I booked my train ticket, got all the paperwork together, packed an overnight bag - just in case, checked out some possible hostels I could stay at.... the girls wrote me a letter of introduction.... I was ready and excited and thankful!

I had to get up at 4.30 a.m. to catch the first bus and first subway to the train station downtown. My train left at 6.50a.m. - it takes 4.5 hours on the train to Ottawa.  I made it ok on to the train... very comfortable, I had two seats to myself all the way... there was a coffee cart too... so I was fine!  The train had wifi and plugs... however, I did not have my laptop with me... I slept most of the way of course.

I arrived safely and took a taxi to the Sudanese Embassy (nervous.....).  Huda's contact is a very nice young man, - he knows the Bukhari family, and helped the girls last year to obtain a visa to attend Hisham's funeral - he took all my papers and money, sat me in the waiting room and served me a hot cup of tea....

Half an hour later.... he came back with my visa (jumping up with joy....in my mind...).  And ... I am progressing... first visa I got was for 2 weeks, second visa I got was for 1 month, this one is for 2 months....

THANK YOU!!!!

Now what do I do... do I stay in Ottawa or go back to Toronto?  Seeing I am paying a fortune for these train tickets, and I can't face another 4.5 hours on the train, why don't I stay the night and be a tourist?!  I walk towards town and go into a hotel to ask for a map and directions.  They were very friendly and obliged with the info I needed. I think there are a few nice things in Ottawa to see and explore (even though it is drizzling ....) - even though everybody told me: there is nothing in Ottawa, it is boring... just a capital....  How wrong were they???

I am hungry, I need to sit and plan my stay.  Oh what do I see - this one is for you Becky!!! A Pita Pit place. Becky recommend this place and so far I had not found it anywhere - so I have to try it... They have very nice shwarma - I had falafel, very nice...

Next stop.... find the hostel and a bed for the night.  The hostel is downtown and they have a bed for me in an 8-bed female dorm with 2 bathrooms on the floor to share.... this will be interesting. I am looking at this experience as a trial run for New York....

All this sorted, I venture out to explore Ottawa......

S & D