Ottawa
Jun 30-Jul 3, 2023
AC460 YYZ-YOW, AC463 YOW-YYZ
It had been a number of years since I’d been to Ottawa on Canada Day. I recognize it is a stereotypical way of spending the holiday, but having lived there for a few summers growing up, it had a bit of nostalgia. Having recently adopted two new kittens, Tom decided his time was better spent at home helping them to adjust. Coincidentally, my cousin was in Ottawa the same weekend, so in addition to seeing friends, I was able to spend some time with her family.
Jul 1
Planning for a hot and humid day in Ottawa, I kept things pretty low key. I made it to the gym, enjoyed the Andaz breakfast, and met my cousin to watch the guard ceremony at Parliament Hill. As a kid living in Ottawa, I had been dragged to the changing of the guard ceremony every time a relative came to town, but had now developed a fond nostalgia for it. With the restart after the COVID pause, it was re-branded in 2023 to “Canada on the March” and was more of a musical march, but was a nice start to Canada Day.
With the threat of thundershowers and a very heavy downpour that I narrowly escaped, I decided it was best to watch the fireworks from my hotel window. It was a fascinating window on the world of the large, security surveillance drones hovering all over the city, and the large police force on the grounds of the Byward Market.
Jul 2
My good friend Lynn joined me for the Andaz hotel breakfast experience, and we hung out for the day. I also got to share in the Bank of Canada museum experience, which was more fun than one might expect with some nice interactive exhibits and cool currency from around the world.
Jul 3
Made my way back to the airport and home to Toronto to check in on Tom and the cats.
