But enough about me.

I've missed a lot of updates, and I apologise. My laziness combined with my tendency to take on too much at once AND having a very ill mother (and that's true, not a lame "the dog ate my homework" excuse) is a deadly combination.

But! 'Tis meant to be a joyous season. And even though right now the weather is a miserable combination of rain and snow (crampons and a wetsuit are required to walk anywhere in safety), hopefully it will be lovely and snowy by Christmas. And remember the words of Billy Connolly, "There's no such thing as bad weather, only the wrong clothing." Bearing that in mind, layers are a wonderful thing, Gortex is one of the greatest inventions of the twentieth century, boots should not have heels, and mittens are warmer than gloves.

Here's some of the stuff that y'all can see in Ottawa this month:

Hockey!

For the rich, a Senators game is an option. Tickets run from $21 to $165 (!!!!). Their home games for December are as follows:

01/12/01 @ 7:00pm playing the Boston Bruins
08/12/01 @ 7:00pm playing the Tampa Bay Lightning
13/12/01 @ 7:00pm playing Phoenix (I didn't even know they had a team!)
15/12/01 @ 7:00pm playing the New Jersey Devils
20/12/01 @ 7:00pm playing the Los Angeles Kings
27/12/01 @ 7:30pm playing the NY Islanders

To get to a game, you can either take the 417 (aka the Queensway) west to Kanata. Traffic can be a nightmare that time of day, though, so you might want to take one of them fancy buses that travel specifically to the Corel Centre for games/concerts/etc.

Slightly cheaper ($11 for adults) are Ottawa 67's tickets at the Civic Centre (parking is a nightmare, so take the #1 or the #7 from downtown if you can.)

Museums

Museum of Civilisation in Hull
This is probably my favourite museum in the universe. After the British Museum. It's a really cool looking building that's visible from Parliament Hill. There's underground parking available and OC Transpo's Number 8 bus goes right to their door.

A list of current and upcoming exhibits is here.
The IMAX schedule is here.

A warning in advance, in case you're planning a trip for NEXT month...the Museum of Civilization is closed from January 7-11, 2002.

Museum of Nature on McLeod Street (no relation)
Take the number 6 bus to get there to avoid the Queensway runoff.
This is SUCH a fun museum for kids. Permanent exhibits on bugs and dinosaurs are favourites.

Canadian War Museum
Really very interesting, even though I don't have anything interesting to say about it. It's right next to the National Gallery downtown.

National Gallery of Canada
Strike's over, so go and enjoy!

The best place in the city for local music/gallery/movie/artsy-fartsy stuff is the Ottawa X Press listings.

I wouldn't be a good employee if I didn't mention the Bytowne Cinema. It's a wonderful place that plays great stuff.

Just one more thing (promise!). There's a really lively pub in the Byward Market called Patty Bolland's. VERY good food and excellent Celtic music on Saturdays. Whee!

I hope everyone has a great Chanukah/ Soltace/ Kwanzaa/ Christmas/ Whatevah and a fantastic New Year.

Questions?
If you want more information about this area you can email the author or check out our North America Insiders page.