Off-Set Vacays #1: Ottawa- March 6-10, 2020
Being a nurse, I tend to work a lot, but over a short period of time. I typically work two 12 hour days and two 12 hour nights. As a result of working 48 hours in four days, I get four-five days off in a row, known as my “off-set”. Having longer periods of time off allows me to go on mini vacations at the cost of very few vacation days or none at all. So whenever I go on these mini vacations I like to refer to them as my “Off-Set Vacays”. My first one being to Ottawa from March 6-10, 2020
Day 1
With an early 0600 flight from Halifax, I was in Ottawa by 0700 (they are an hour behind). I bought myself a 5-day transit pass for $45. Which I thought was a better deal than using Uber or taxi services. I highly recommend the transit pass. I thought I could have made due with a taxi to the city and walking everywhere but I honestly do not know what I would have done without the pass. The transit is also very user friendly. I only looked up the system a few days before departing. Downloading a transit app was also a lifesaver. Getting to downtown is very easy using transit; hop on the 97 bus, then catch the line 1 train from Hurdman to the Rideau Centre.
As I was still much too early to check in at my accommodations at the HI Ottawa Jail Hostel, I stored my bag with them and made my way back to the Rideau Centre. The weather was a lot worse than I had expected and I had elected to bring running shoes rather than boots. Unless I wanted to stay at the mall I had to buy myself some boots. Luckily Eddie Bauer had some water proof boots for 40% off. With those I was ready to face the wet, snowy weather. The cashier had noticed I had an X-ring on. It turns out she was originally from Nova Scotia. She was kind enough to offer some recommendations for restaurants around the Byward Market.
Before leaving the mall, I sat down for a quick lunch at Subway around 1100.I decided to spend my time checking out the National Gallery of Canada. This was just past the Byward Market on the left hand side. On my way there I noticed the OTTAWA sign. After stopping for a quick picture I continued on my way. At the Gallery I purchased the Museums Passport for $35 which would give me access to three of the national museums over the next three days. Cheaper than buying admission separately. I spent close to two hours walking around the Gallery. The building itself was absolutely stunning. You could consider it an architectural piece of art itself. The detail put into the design and layout was very beautiful and made just walking around a joy in itself. Add in the beautiful pieces of art and it made for a very grand experience. I really enjoyed the contemporary art and the indigenious art. The special exhibit at the time: Abadakone/ Continuous Fire presented many pieces of indigenous art not typically seen at the Gallery on a regular basis.
Now close to 1500, I began making my way back to my hostel to check in. Walking through the jail was a very cool experience. It truly felt like walking through time. They managed to upkeep the hostel without taking away from its historic look (more on my jail experience on an earlier post). I really enjoyed my authentic jail cell. It was a very unique experience. Now onto the reason I came to Ottawa in the first place; my Lord of the Ring symphony. The concert began at 0730. After some research I discovered the Ottawa transit had special buses that ran during events at the Canadian Tire Centre. From the hostel it was very easy to navigate. Just walk to Rideau Centre, take the line 1 train to Tunney’s Pasture. And catch the 404 to the Canadian Tire Centre. I left early enough to get there an hour early so I could walk around the stadium and get something to eat. The look of the stadium was really neat. Since it is where the Ottawa Senators play, the building looks like a coliseum (or that's how it looked to me).
The show was absolutely amazing. The Two Towers is one of my favourite movies. The music from the Lord of the Rings is my favourite soundtrack and hearing it live was a very awe-inspiring experience. Every time the theme to the Rohirrim played, I got chills, especially when it played during Helm’s Deep (you know the part I am talking about if you have seen the movie). I treated myself to a book detailing all of the music of the Lord of the Rings with a forward from Howard Shore himself and even includes an exclusive disc with unused soundtracks made for the films! The only thing that could have made this performance any better was if we could have gotten the full extended film. I know that is unreasonable for the orchestra but it would have been great. Nonetheless the show was spectacular. One of the best movies to see with an orchestra.Now after midnight after taking another bus and train back, I went straight to bed once I returned to the hostel.
Day 2
My first night at the jail hostel was an interesting one. Around 0300 the fire alarm went off, forcing me to go outside in my pajamas to wait for the fire marshal to give the okay to go back in. I am still not quite sure what happened, but I did not need to wait outside ling (thankfully as it was cold).
As I had an interrupted sleep I did myself the favour of sleeping in a bit. The nice part of solo travel and being on one's own schedule. I then went downstairs to enjoy the continental breakfast of toast and fruit.
For today I decided on going to the Canadain Museum of Nature. It was about a 15-20 minute walk from my hostel. As the weather was not too cold, I elected to make the walk. A hat and mittens kept me warm enough.
The building itself was quite captivating. A century old gothic style building, that is actually referred to as the “castle” at times. It certainly looked like one. The inside of the museum had four floors with one or two different exhibits on each one. The first floor was dedicated to paleontology and featured many fossils of varieties of dinosaurs across the many eras. I have seen dinosaur fossils before but it is always awe inspiring to seem them up close. These animals were absolutely massive. I can not imagine how terrifying it would have been to see them in real life. Even the herbivores would have been scary. Imagine a multi ton giant lizard looking creature with, large dagger like horns coming out of its head coming towards you. Even knowing its diet you would still run.
The second floor featured a “Water” gallery and a “Mammal” gallery. The Water gallery was interesting. It spoke a lot on the pollution of humans and how we negatively impacted our lakes and oceans. A neat example they had was an area where you could look into two separate aquariums of water to compare jellyfish to plastic dumped in the water. It was not too difficult to see how a turtle could mistake the plastic as its favourite type of food. Speaking further to awe inspiring fossils, the Water gallery also featured a massive 19 meter, six year old blue whale skeleton. It is incredible to know that these massive animals are real in our oceans right now, and 19 meters is still considered small! A fully grown blue whale can reach 30 meters.
The next floor featured an “Earth” gallery meaning rocks and minerals, and a “Bird/ Insect” gallery with real live insects/arachnids. I have to say, I am thankful to be living in a colder climate where we do not have many large insects or arachnids. Lastly, the top floor featured the “Arctic” exhibit and also had an area dedicated to our indigenous people living in the North, and a “Special” exhibit space which cost extra (a bit annoying).
After the museum, I wanted to check out some bookstores, as this is one of the first things I look into when I travel somewhere new. Book Bazaar was just up the street. On my way I stopped at Subway for lunch when I noticed my ring was not on my finger. I nearly had a mini heart attack trying to remember what I did with it. I very quickly walked back to the museum. Thankfully security had it. I feared with all the kids running around, one of them may have found it and kept it.
After speaking with my dad through text he also mentioned some game stores. I saw that Strategy Games was on the same street as Book Bazaar and made the extra walk. They had both games my dad was looking for; Pandemic: On the Brink and Pandemic Legacy. Legacy was very expensive so I elected to just go with OtB. Legacy was cheaper on Amazon anyways.
For my last stop of the day I took a little bus ride further down the road to another little book shop called Black Squirrel Books and Cafe. I had not found anything I wanted at the other store but I had better luck here. I ended up leaving with seven new books, including a new Sanderson book, which in any case is always a win in my book.
After dropping my purchases off at the hostel I ended up going to Chez Lucien for supper as it was one of the recommended places to go. Me not being very adventurous, I just settled for a poutine. Can not go wrong with that!With my stomach full I returned to my hostel to relax and read before going to sleep.
Day 3
As the weather looked promising and as the UNESCO world heritage site that is the Rideau canal skateway was closed (Spring came early) I decided to do the next best thing and go for a run along the canal trailway. The trail was very beautiful and had some very nice scenery. I ended up going for 12 kilometers and found myself able to run even without music (I rarely run long distances without headphones). I found it to be a busy trail, there were a lot of runners and walkers, which would make my parents happy, no worries of me being kidnapped and murdered. I only wish I had a trail like this close to home. Oftentimes for long runs I am forced to run on the road. Living in a rural community makes it not so bad, but a trail like the rideau trailway is still preferable. To finish off my run I treated myself to a maple Beavertail at the Byward Market. The skateway would have had Beavertails on the ice, so to complete the canal experience I made do with the stall in the market. I can be adventurous with my taste sometimes, I have never had the maple one, usually I go for Nutella.
After showering and packing my bag, I was ready to head out to the Canada Science & Technology Museum. This museum was a little far away, so I took the 1 train followed by the 40 bus and I was there within 30-40 minutes. I honestly can not believe I had not planned on buying a transit pass. At least it was simple to learn. I only had a couple days before my trip to figure out the transit lines.
The museum was very engrossing. I enjoy science anyway so I loved to walk around all of the exhibits and see the progression of Canadian technology over the years. I was amused by the different bikes. Some of the really old ones looked so clunky and difficult to ride. Very different from my newer hybrid bike.
The tech created by people who became paraplegic from accidents was absolutely fascinating and very inspiring. A mountain climber who did not wish to give up his love, engineered a contraption that enabled him to continue climbing mountains, albeit, in a very different fashion. Regardless, it makes you a bit disappointed in humanity when you see so many people making excuses to why they can not exercise or become what they want. A paraplegic literally climbed a mountain! You can get off your couch and go for a walk.Another favourite of mine was the “Quiet cube”. You walked in and all of the noise from the museum went away. It was quite tranquil inside. I could have used a room with that kind of architecture for my days living in a dorm at university. Not pleasant memories, living in a dorm.
Following a quick lupper, I returned to the downtown area where I went for a little walk. My stroll led me to Nepean Point… which was closed, looked like for construction of some sort. I had hoped to obtain a nice view of Parliament hill. I came across a bridge leading into Quebec so I followed that and I did find a nice viewpoint. That is the fun in travel though, never be too set on destinations, it is about the journey and if your destination changes along the way, all for the better. I walked back through Major’s Hill Park, which also had some nice views of Parliament hill. The sun was beginning to set so adventurous me, grabbed some McDonalds to take back to my hostel with me. Again, I ended my day with a book before bed.
Day 4
Today was the beginning of the end. My last full day in Ottawa. The last day of my first official solo travel adventure. I had beautiful weather once again, so I went for another quick 6 kilometer run along the canal and was back in time to enjoy one last continental breakfast at the hostel. I had been expecting rainy weather later today and had picked today to do my jail tour (I have a blog post with more details). That started at 1100 and was done around 1130.
After having slept in the jail for three nights, it was fascinating to learn some of the history.
After the tour I went to Zak’s Diner and treated myself to a Nutella Milkshake and my favourite: chicken strips and fries. Eight years ago when I was in Ottawa with my family we had gone to a diner in the Byward Market. I am not sure if it was Zak’s for sure but it did look familiar. Nonetheless, the food was delicious so it was worth the visit. Even had some entertainment of seeing a man get a ticket for parking where he should not have. From there I went for a walk around the Parliament area. I had been inside before so I did not feel the need to do so again. That was also under construction. I decided to end my trip by seeing a movie. The new Disney movie Onward came out while I was in Ottawa so I thought; “why not?”.
The best option for a movie theatre seemed to be the Scotiabank theatre. Just a quick train ride and I was there. I never thought I could be so amazed by your standard theatre but this was quite impressive. They had a “Clubhouse” theatre where children could play on a playplace before the movie and my regular ticket theatre had leather style seats that you could pull up a foot rest with. I felt I was in some kind of luxury theatre and all for a regular priced ticket. Nova Scotia seriously needs an upgrade! Onward was a great movie, as expected of a Pixar film.
Then I was headed back to my hostel. I made it inside just as it started to rain. My plans ended at just the right time. I backed my bags for my early exit in the morning, read a little bit and enjoyed my last night in a jail cell.
What I learned from this trip:
Don’t be stupid, buy the transit pass
More research into places to eat may have been useful
Data is great, if I solo travel outside of Canada I should definitely get a SIM card
Sometimes not having a packed itinerary is a good thing
Day 1
With an early 0600 flight from Halifax, I was in Ottawa by 0700 (they are an hour behind). I bought myself a 5-day transit pass for $45. Which I thought was a better deal than using Uber or taxi services. I highly recommend the transit pass. I thought I could have made due with a taxi to the city and walking everywhere but I honestly do not know what I would have done without the pass. The transit is also very user friendly. I only looked up the system a few days before departing. Downloading a transit app was also a lifesaver. Getting to downtown is very easy using transit; hop on the 97 bus, then catch the line 1 train from Hurdman to the Rideau Centre.
As I was still much too early to check in at my accommodations at the HI Ottawa Jail Hostel, I stored my bag with them and made my way back to the Rideau Centre. The weather was a lot worse than I had expected and I had elected to bring running shoes rather than boots. Unless I wanted to stay at the mall I had to buy myself some boots. Luckily Eddie Bauer had some water proof boots for 40% off. With those I was ready to face the wet, snowy weather. The cashier had noticed I had an X-ring on. It turns out she was originally from Nova Scotia. She was kind enough to offer some recommendations for restaurants around the Byward Market.
Before leaving the mall, I sat down for a quick lunch at Subway around 1100.I decided to spend my time checking out the National Gallery of Canada. This was just past the Byward Market on the left hand side. On my way there I noticed the OTTAWA sign. After stopping for a quick picture I continued on my way. At the Gallery I purchased the Museums Passport for $35 which would give me access to three of the national museums over the next three days. Cheaper than buying admission separately. I spent close to two hours walking around the Gallery. The building itself was absolutely stunning. You could consider it an architectural piece of art itself. The detail put into the design and layout was very beautiful and made just walking around a joy in itself. Add in the beautiful pieces of art and it made for a very grand experience. I really enjoyed the contemporary art and the indigenious art. The special exhibit at the time: Abadakone/ Continuous Fire presented many pieces of indigenous art not typically seen at the Gallery on a regular basis.
Now close to 1500, I began making my way back to my hostel to check in. Walking through the jail was a very cool experience. It truly felt like walking through time. They managed to upkeep the hostel without taking away from its historic look (more on my jail experience on an earlier post). I really enjoyed my authentic jail cell. It was a very unique experience. Now onto the reason I came to Ottawa in the first place; my Lord of the Ring symphony. The concert began at 0730. After some research I discovered the Ottawa transit had special buses that ran during events at the Canadian Tire Centre. From the hostel it was very easy to navigate. Just walk to Rideau Centre, take the line 1 train to Tunney’s Pasture. And catch the 404 to the Canadian Tire Centre. I left early enough to get there an hour early so I could walk around the stadium and get something to eat. The look of the stadium was really neat. Since it is where the Ottawa Senators play, the building looks like a coliseum (or that's how it looked to me).
The show was absolutely amazing. The Two Towers is one of my favourite movies. The music from the Lord of the Rings is my favourite soundtrack and hearing it live was a very awe-inspiring experience. Every time the theme to the Rohirrim played, I got chills, especially when it played during Helm’s Deep (you know the part I am talking about if you have seen the movie). I treated myself to a book detailing all of the music of the Lord of the Rings with a forward from Howard Shore himself and even includes an exclusive disc with unused soundtracks made for the films! The only thing that could have made this performance any better was if we could have gotten the full extended film. I know that is unreasonable for the orchestra but it would have been great. Nonetheless the show was spectacular. One of the best movies to see with an orchestra.Now after midnight after taking another bus and train back, I went straight to bed once I returned to the hostel.
Day 2
My first night at the jail hostel was an interesting one. Around 0300 the fire alarm went off, forcing me to go outside in my pajamas to wait for the fire marshal to give the okay to go back in. I am still not quite sure what happened, but I did not need to wait outside ling (thankfully as it was cold).
As I had an interrupted sleep I did myself the favour of sleeping in a bit. The nice part of solo travel and being on one's own schedule. I then went downstairs to enjoy the continental breakfast of toast and fruit.
For today I decided on going to the Canadain Museum of Nature. It was about a 15-20 minute walk from my hostel. As the weather was not too cold, I elected to make the walk. A hat and mittens kept me warm enough.
The building itself was quite captivating. A century old gothic style building, that is actually referred to as the “castle” at times. It certainly looked like one. The inside of the museum had four floors with one or two different exhibits on each one. The first floor was dedicated to paleontology and featured many fossils of varieties of dinosaurs across the many eras. I have seen dinosaur fossils before but it is always awe inspiring to seem them up close. These animals were absolutely massive. I can not imagine how terrifying it would have been to see them in real life. Even the herbivores would have been scary. Imagine a multi ton giant lizard looking creature with, large dagger like horns coming out of its head coming towards you. Even knowing its diet you would still run.
The second floor featured a “Water” gallery and a “Mammal” gallery. The Water gallery was interesting. It spoke a lot on the pollution of humans and how we negatively impacted our lakes and oceans. A neat example they had was an area where you could look into two separate aquariums of water to compare jellyfish to plastic dumped in the water. It was not too difficult to see how a turtle could mistake the plastic as its favourite type of food. Speaking further to awe inspiring fossils, the Water gallery also featured a massive 19 meter, six year old blue whale skeleton. It is incredible to know that these massive animals are real in our oceans right now, and 19 meters is still considered small! A fully grown blue whale can reach 30 meters.
The next floor featured an “Earth” gallery meaning rocks and minerals, and a “Bird/ Insect” gallery with real live insects/arachnids. I have to say, I am thankful to be living in a colder climate where we do not have many large insects or arachnids. Lastly, the top floor featured the “Arctic” exhibit and also had an area dedicated to our indigenous people living in the North, and a “Special” exhibit space which cost extra (a bit annoying).
After the museum, I wanted to check out some bookstores, as this is one of the first things I look into when I travel somewhere new. Book Bazaar was just up the street. On my way I stopped at Subway for lunch when I noticed my ring was not on my finger. I nearly had a mini heart attack trying to remember what I did with it. I very quickly walked back to the museum. Thankfully security had it. I feared with all the kids running around, one of them may have found it and kept it.
After speaking with my dad through text he also mentioned some game stores. I saw that Strategy Games was on the same street as Book Bazaar and made the extra walk. They had both games my dad was looking for; Pandemic: On the Brink and Pandemic Legacy. Legacy was very expensive so I elected to just go with OtB. Legacy was cheaper on Amazon anyways.
For my last stop of the day I took a little bus ride further down the road to another little book shop called Black Squirrel Books and Cafe. I had not found anything I wanted at the other store but I had better luck here. I ended up leaving with seven new books, including a new Sanderson book, which in any case is always a win in my book.
After dropping my purchases off at the hostel I ended up going to Chez Lucien for supper as it was one of the recommended places to go. Me not being very adventurous, I just settled for a poutine. Can not go wrong with that!With my stomach full I returned to my hostel to relax and read before going to sleep.
After showering and packing my bag, I was ready to head out to the Canada Science & Technology Museum. This museum was a little far away, so I took the 1 train followed by the 40 bus and I was there within 30-40 minutes. I honestly can not believe I had not planned on buying a transit pass. At least it was simple to learn. I only had a couple days before my trip to figure out the transit lines.
The museum was very engrossing. I enjoy science anyway so I loved to walk around all of the exhibits and see the progression of Canadian technology over the years. I was amused by the different bikes. Some of the really old ones looked so clunky and difficult to ride. Very different from my newer hybrid bike.
The tech created by people who became paraplegic from accidents was absolutely fascinating and very inspiring. A mountain climber who did not wish to give up his love, engineered a contraption that enabled him to continue climbing mountains, albeit, in a very different fashion. Regardless, it makes you a bit disappointed in humanity when you see so many people making excuses to why they can not exercise or become what they want. A paraplegic literally climbed a mountain! You can get off your couch and go for a walk.Another favourite of mine was the “Quiet cube”. You walked in and all of the noise from the museum went away. It was quite tranquil inside. I could have used a room with that kind of architecture for my days living in a dorm at university. Not pleasant memories, living in a dorm.
Following a quick lupper, I returned to the downtown area where I went for a little walk. My stroll led me to Nepean Point… which was closed, looked like for construction of some sort. I had hoped to obtain a nice view of Parliament hill. I came across a bridge leading into Quebec so I followed that and I did find a nice viewpoint. That is the fun in travel though, never be too set on destinations, it is about the journey and if your destination changes along the way, all for the better. I walked back through Major’s Hill Park, which also had some nice views of Parliament hill. The sun was beginning to set so adventurous me, grabbed some McDonalds to take back to my hostel with me. Again, I ended my day with a book before bed.
Today was the beginning of the end. My last full day in Ottawa. The last day of my first official solo travel adventure. I had beautiful weather once again, so I went for another quick 6 kilometer run along the canal and was back in time to enjoy one last continental breakfast at the hostel. I had been expecting rainy weather later today and had picked today to do my jail tour (I have a blog post with more details). That started at 1100 and was done around 1130.
After the tour I went to Zak’s Diner and treated myself to a Nutella Milkshake and my favourite: chicken strips and fries. Eight years ago when I was in Ottawa with my family we had gone to a diner in the Byward Market. I am not sure if it was Zak’s for sure but it did look familiar. Nonetheless, the food was delicious so it was worth the visit. Even had some entertainment of seeing a man get a ticket for parking where he should not have. From there I went for a walk around the Parliament area. I had been inside before so I did not feel the need to do so again. That was also under construction. I decided to end my trip by seeing a movie. The new Disney movie Onward came out while I was in Ottawa so I thought; “why not?”.
The best option for a movie theatre seemed to be the Scotiabank theatre. Just a quick train ride and I was there. I never thought I could be so amazed by your standard theatre but this was quite impressive. They had a “Clubhouse” theatre where children could play on a playplace before the movie and my regular ticket theatre had leather style seats that you could pull up a foot rest with. I felt I was in some kind of luxury theatre and all for a regular priced ticket. Nova Scotia seriously needs an upgrade! Onward was a great movie, as expected of a Pixar film.
Then I was headed back to my hostel. I made it inside just as it started to rain. My plans ended at just the right time. I backed my bags for my early exit in the morning, read a little bit and enjoyed my last night in a jail cell.
More research into places to eat may have been useful
Data is great, if I solo travel outside of Canada I should definitely get a SIM card
Sometimes not having a packed itinerary is a good thing
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