Canada Is Full Of Surprises!

A road trip from Trois Rivieres, Quebec to the capital, Ottawa and on to Niagara and back revealed many of them.

Being raised on an island (Puerto Rico), the most impressive thing about Canada to me is the large tracts of land with nothing but nature to impede the view. You can drive for hours and see only forest, fields, an occasional farmhouse in the distance, mountains, or lakes and rivers. Pure nature. Lovely.

Canada is the second largest country in the world (Russia is the largest) but has only about 10% the population of the USA. Even though Quebec and Ontario are the two most populated provinces, traveling through these two areas we saw immense tracts of nothing but nature. Of course, there are cities too, and Ottawa, the national capital, is one worth the visit.

Parliament Hill, where the laws are made, rests in the middle of Ottawa with several impressive buildings nearby. The hotel Chateau Laurier is certainly one of them.

Ottawa is not all buildings and asphalt. Far from it. Just across the street and down some artsy steps, is the Rideau Canal. The Rideau Canal is the best example of North America’s great canal building era. Stretching more than 200 kilometers from Montreal to Lake Ontario it was built during the war of 1812 to provide an alternative route to the St. Lawrence River for supplies.

The canal is deep enough for ocean-going vessels. There is even a mooring reserved for Queen Elizabeth’s yacht.

A two-hour tour on a canal barge gave us a good feel for the city. There are plenty of green areas, parks, and bike paths for outdoor activity All along the canal we encountered joggers, bikers, and people paddle-boarding, and canoeing. There were benches and places to have a picnic. I could totally picture myself living there (in the summer). Lovely as Canada is, I don’t see myself there in the winter….ever.

Our first day in Ottawa ended in an Irish part of town with a cold brew.

Tune in tomorrow for the rest of our road trip to Ottawa and beyond.