I arrived in Ottawa Thursday evening, after spending eleven hours 'on the road'...and left Monday morning... to do more of the same...but add on a FOUR HOUR wait in Vancouver! But it was all good because my daughter and I packed in so much fun during those three days that I needed that extra travel time home just to process it all!
Here are some of the highlights...no I'm not on the boat tour (maybe next time?)...I'm riding my rental bike down the bike lane that followed the beautiful Rideau Canal...to a small lake and park.
Here I am starting us off on our adventure. Well, it was an adventure for me...my daughter rides a bike everywhere around Ottawa! They have wonderful bike paths all over this scenic city. Friday, after spending the morning in Parliament, we had lunch downtown, then went shopping in the little shops at the heart of the city. Then we road our bikes to an area of town where we had dinner and went to the movies (Bridgette Jones' Baby...don't laugh, I really enjoyed it!!), then took an Uber (taxi) home!
As you can see, there were no leaves turning colour...but it was a warm beautiful day. Ottawa hasn't had any cold weather YET...so there were no signs of Fall.
Highlights on Saturday~two outdoor markets, a Church Fair, TWO quilt shops, an Etsy Craft Fair in Kanata, a trip to Ikea, shopping in another part of town that was AWESOME...(I can't remember the name of the area but it reminded me of Robson St. in Vancouver!) We vegged on the couch, ate pizza and watched 'chic flicks' in the evening..
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Here are some pictures of our day...Markets' highlights-
Loved this booth...those are carrots...yellow and white stacked so artfully!
Off to a Quilt Shop in Kanata....it's called 'The Running Stitch'...it was a quick trip but I managed to spend a bit...in the book department!
Here are a couple of pictures of the quilts in the window...
And some shots of inside the shop...
The other Quilt Shop that we visited wasn't really a 'quilt shop', more like a Fabric Store...It's called 'Fabrications' and I really didn't have high hopes for this shop. In fact, I told my daughter that we should skip this one but she insisted. I am SO glad that I raised a persistent daughter...haha... because I LOVED this shop!
The shop had a huge classroom...they teach sewing skills...making clothes, jeans, etc..and yes, quilts!
To the left is the classroom and to the right is the shop...there is Curtis, the nicest sales person!
This was the wall of fabric...doesn't look like much but it was just what I was looking for...Japanese fun prints and unusual modern prints...perfect fabric for baby quilts!
Yes, I quickly put Curtis to work cutting Fat Quarters! (I will share my loot tomorrow)! AND YES I will definitely be going back to this shop on my next visit! If you like fun prints and linens then this is the shop for YOU!
Hayley and I spent the morning in Parliament watching Question Period! Alas our PM, Justin Trudeau wasn't there...we found out later that he was in BC entertain Kate and William! What? He should be entertain US! :o)) A tour of the Parliament Building should be on every tourist's list of things TO DO while in Ottawa! It's a magnificent building!
An Etsy Craft Fair...everything that you can order from Etsy Craft sites under one roof! WOW!
Very 'Qute'!
It was packed so I was surprised when I saw this picture! I didn't take any close-up picture as there were signs saying not to...but you get the idea! Lots to see and lots to buy...and lots of IDEAS to 'file away'.... (I need a Pinterest site in my brain so that I can retrieve those ideas at a later date!)
Sunday we took a REALLY long bike ride...until my legs turned to rubber...we even carried our bikes over the canal's locks! I bought a basket of strawberries at the market to eat for a picnic on our ride only to discover that I had been leaving a trail of berries behind me! The five remaining berries were DELICIOUS and I'm sure the birds were thanking me for their berry-lishous lunch ! Then it was off to the GLEBE (an area in town where there are the cutest shops and restaurants)... we put on over 20,000 steps...this is after our bike ride around the lake and looping back to the city!
Back at Hayley's apartment, as we vegged on her couch, I commented that the ONLY thing that we didn't do on this visit, was eat a 'Beavertail'...Me and my big mouth!! It was up off the couch and back to the city center (yes, we walked) because we HAD to complete our visit with a Beavertail... even it meant ruining our dinner!
For those of you who have never eaten a Beavertail here's what they look like...they are like a huge flat doughnut with different toppings and they are served warm and gooey! Mine was the traditional Maple and Chocolate...OMG GOOD... while Hayley had the Nuttela topping...which is just plain WRONG...but she said it was delicious! Dinner was light...very light!
To say that we had a FANTASTIC visit was an understatement...but the dogs' were barking (code for my feet were killing me!). I knew it was their way of saying that it was time to go home!
Sewing? Nope...nada...nothing! Not one stitch...didn't even get it out of the suitcase! :o))
BUT... I hoped you enjoyed my visit to Ottawa...:o)
Have a wonderful Wednesday and Happy Stitching!
