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View From Laurier Bridge
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Okay, so Ottawa-Hull is probably not the most action-paced place in the world. Most visitors say things like "It's pretty", "It's clean" or "It's pretty clean."
It's biggest distinction, apart from being the capital of Canada, is that it's home to the world's longest skating rink, the Rideau Canal, which was originally built for some long-forgotten defence scheme in the nineteenth century.
Ottawa's full of beautiful gothic-style government buildings and some butt-ugly modern ones (the Provincial Courthouse and the Regional Headquarters are the best examples of hideousness.)
Despite its reputation as a boring town full of even more boring civil servants, there really is a lot to do here and in the surrounding area, particularly in the winter (Winterlude), late spring (the Tulip Festival), and in the festival season in the summertime.
A favourite spot for biking to (and only 20 minutes or so from my house...I'm so lazy) is Champlain Island off the Champlain Bridge. The bridge crosses the Ottawa River at Island Park Drive (it's well-marked). The island itself is quiet and shady and gives FANTASTIC views of the city. It's also a mini-Mecca for kayakers...an activity I hope to take up one of these days.
Taxis are insanely expensive and drivers (especially for Blue Line) have dubious reputations. Consider yourself warned.
For travel information, always check out OC Transpo. Our bus service is pretty nifty...you can even call an automated system to see when your bus will show up!
Woohoo!
A Little About Megan
Megan McLeod is currently unemployed. She would move to Scotland tomorrow if it weren't for the Quarantine laws. (For her cat, Hamish. Megan is not rabid...well, neither is Hamish, actually.) She last worked as a freelance writer for a commercial website...she is still struggling to scrub the dirt off.
Here's her website
Questions?
If you want more information about this area you can email the author or check out our North America Insiders page.
